Dear Cancer

Dear Cancer,

A thousand times I’ve tried to imagine your face. Mouth hard and eyes like coal. Cold, unblinking, angry. Lacking warmth, kindness or guilt. Your teeth are not fangs like one would first believe. Rather they are blunt, dull and nubby. You make it hurt more that way, don’t you? Your cheeks are sunken and your skin as pale as death. I’m pretty sure in spite of your ugliness, your face is not remarkable or worthy of remembering. It’s what you do that makes you unforgettable not the face you wear.

You think your victims’ tired bodies are weak. You  believe by stealing their energy, their dignity, their hair and their peace, you can make them yours. You believe making their eyes sunken, faces swollen and skin pale will turn them into you. You are foolishly mistaken. Those faces are not the faces of cancer. They are not like yours and they will never belong to you. They are the faces of the ones brave enough to fight you. Looking at it that way, I do believe they are the strong ones. Wouldn’t you agree?

I know you have left your teeth marks on many. Scarring people simply for the sake of saying you were there. Changing their bodies, taking away who they were. But you’re looking at the wrong thing. Stop focusing on the scars you left for a moment and look at their attitude about those scars. What you didn’t expect is that they’ll use that scar to show the world that they were strong enough to spit in your face. What you didn’t expect is that instead of generating fear those scars plant the seed of hope. For if one can beat you, why can’t more?

You’ll point out the grieving family, the funeral and the tears. You’ll show them to me and tell me that you won that one. You believe there’s one less fighter in the battle because of you. And at first look, it would appear that you are right but I know better. You’ll turn to go then, claiming it as another victory for you. But I’ll watch for a moment more, knowing I’ll find exactly what I’m looking for. There she is, the thin woman in a black sleeveless dress. Do you see her? Just a moment and she’ll turn around. There now, look at her closely. You’re smiling because she is no threat to you. She has no PhD and no millions to donate for research. But you haven’t looked closely enough. Look in her eyes and you will see it. There you go. Where’s your smile now? You see it, don’t you? She loathes you. She knows, it’s not just the sick ones that can fight you. It’s the healthy ones who can spit in your face, too. By taking someone she loves, you’ve made sure she’s vowed to do just that. You think you are taking fighters out of the battle but by doing so others are stepping up to take over the fight. So you see, you will not win.

You anticipated everything except stubbornness, faith, loyalty, the human spirit and love. Oh yes, you most certainly underestimated love. In the end, that will be your downfall and oh, what a wonderful day that will be.

A Woman in A Black Sleeveless Dress

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