Last night I read an amazing essay in the June 2208 Glamour magazine. It was the personal essay contest winner of the year - won $10k, in fact. Andrea Coller, 27 year old Hodgkin Lymphoma patient wrote a kick-ass essay about her experience. Irreverent and funny, incredibly well-written. Awesome. You can read it here. So I googled her tonight to see if she writes a blog or anything. Aaaaannnnddd...she's dead. Died April 30th. GODDAMMIT!
Also learned yesterday that the mother of a high school classmate of mine died Tuesday of cancer. She was diagnosed about the same time I was and has been fighting her ass off. She was 52.
Sigh. I let myself sob here for about 5 minutes and that is all I am giving it dammit! That is all. It isn't fair, it isn't right. And today it isn't me. So I just have to keep on going and forget about it. Today I have to forget about it.
Cause if I let myself think about it and hurt too much for those who didn't make it and for the specter of it hanging right the fuck over my own head I will go crazy. And I am not going there.
I hope she spent every dime of that $10,000 dollars...
6 comments:
Marsha, You're too full of spitfire to go anywhere any time soon. You are going to be around to deal with the Luby's poop storm that your next child creates. You will also be around to help out with all of the general chaos that goes along with the Palace Theater operations. You will most likely even be hot enough to play a hussy ten years from now if the Palace puts on BLW again. I have the utmost respect and admiration for those who have not made it through their battle with cancer. However, you have and will continue to make it through this battle. FUCK CANCER!
Oh man Marsha, that was really moving and funny. Thanks for sharing. It's amazing how you can sob reading the story of someone you never met who's now gone.
What an amazing woman. Thank you so much for linking to her essay. I don't have time to read much these days, but that was more than worth it.
I wish I could say *something* about all of this, but -- like the people Andrea mentioned in her essay, the ones who called her "brave" -- I'm clueless. My only perspective is through my mom, who lost many friends from her support group. Then and now she has a "Fuck Cancer" perspective, though she'd never put it that way. Or maybe she would.
When your tagline "Cancer's ass is being kicked!" comes to mind, I always think, "Hell yeah!" That is the way you inspire, Marsha, as you're uniquely talented to do.
Hi Marsha, I am catching up on all my favorite blogs, finally. I am definitely with you on the "dammit" stuff. Having cancer is like buying a car, isn't it?....you notice all the other cars on the road just like the one you bought. That happened with my Saturn (1993) and my Toyota (2004). And now, with cancer (2006, 2007)..I know, a dumb analogy....this is a disease, and it sucks. But it's true that we are more aware of others with cancer. And we certainly know what they've gone through, so I think we hurt more for them as well as ourselves.
But I am a firm believer in a good, cleansing cry! Cry for those who didn't make it, those who put up a great fight, and those who are still here and grateful for every day we wake up in one piece. I can tell from your blog that you are too strong a person to be down for long. From one toughie to another: Keep on keepin' on! Your cancer friend, Katie
I predict you'll live to see grown grandchildren.
That's that.
ok. Great-grandchildren.
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