© Brenda Coffee. All rights reserved.
I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t know this is breast cancer awareness month. In many ways, I’ve tried to run from October’s pink madness. I’ve put off writing a blog because once again, I didn’t want to address the controversy and the cloud that hangs over our community. All of us who are breast health advocates and bloggers have written and spoken out about the lack of moral compass when it comes to “raising awareness.” For those of you who don’t know, awareness usually translates into raising money for the cure, and too many of us know too much about where pink money does and does not go. For that reason, I’ve ignored dozens of requests from people who want me to promote their pink widgets. However, the one thing I can’t ignore is the devastating toll breast cancer–all cancers–inflicts on those who are inexorably ensnared by rogue cells that cause destruction and sometimes death. Long after I lay down to go to sleep, I hear the words of my unprepared friend, Donna, who’s new doctor, the first time she ever saw him, had the “end of life” conversation with her, or Lisa, a fellow breast cancer blogger who just learned her breast cancer has metastasized, and she wonders how to tell her children. It’s getting harder for me to write about cancer. Too many of my friends, many of whom I’ve met here on my website, are battling Stage IV cancer, fighting with everything they have to stay alive. I care deeply for all of them and in many cases, I love them. They are men and women I’ve come to know on so many levels; people I admire for their spirit and in some cases, for their sheer determination and will that keeps them alive. Others are not so lucky, but not because of their lack of will and determination. Sometimes I think I know too much about cancer and the course it can take. I often wonder why oncologists don’t burn out more frequently than I hear about? I’d like to think diet and exercise, positive attitude and meditation will trump killer cells gone awry, but that’s not always the case. Then there are others, like my friend Susan Pollack, who lived for 14 years with metastatic breast cancer. She ate red meat, never exercised and drank alcohol. Go figure! Sometimes it’s really difficult to stay positive about the future of “the cure” when everyday, people I know, love and admire are hanging on to positive thinking and determination. So, if from time to time, I write about something else, like the power of friendships on the healing process, or who knows… why the sky is blue, that’s why. I know too much about this wicked, evil thing called cancer, and forgive me, but sometimes it’s just too difficult to slap on a happy face and say, “we can beat this thing.” But if those of you who are in the trenches can do it, I will continue to be here to honor your valiant fight. Daily, I ask God to bless each of you and your families.
