More Than My Cancer....

When I was first diagnosed, I think it's fair to say that my friends and loved ones were as scared, as disoriented, and as freaked out as I was.

The world had changed. I had become something different. A cancer patient.

A lot of time has passed since then. That frenzy, the panic, has pretty much gone away. I have been changed in profound ways. But in some ways I think I've returned to my old self, at least a tiny bit.

I wonder how my friends are doing with all this. Have things gone back to normal, at least a little? When we talk, even if we don't mention the cancer, are they still thinking about it? Do they ever forget? I hope so, for their sake and for mine.

I was talking to one of my best friends the other day and several times he said, "I shouldn't complain to you."

Nonsense. Of course he should. That's why I'm here. That's why I'm his friend.

And I try not to talk just about my cancer. I am more than my disease. Plus, I don't want to be boring.

Yes, I have terminal cancer. It's trying to kill me. I'm trying to stop it from doing that. Most days that seems to be enough to say about cancer.

The world is full of far more interesting things.