I had the strangest thought last weekend as I attended my daughter’s fifth grade orchestra concert and surveilled the audience in the (nearly full) auditorium:
Who here has cancer?
Statistically, nearly 40% of people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.
That is sobering information.
Scanning the crowd, I didn’t see any obvious candidates.
But then again, I was there with my post-mastectomy surgical drains hidden under my boxy jacket.
I was also there last fall, attending a prior concert, and undoubtably I had cancer then.
I just didn’t know it.
Who else was here, knowingly or unknowingly living with cancer?
Of the U.S. total, there are 768,470 women survivors who have lived more than 30 years since diagnosis.
I would do almost anything to be one of them.
In Canada, stats indicate that 1 in 2 Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetime. For those who are not affected (from near or far), that’s just a statistic. But I work in a cancer wellness centre and meet people every day, young and old, who have been touched my cancer. None of us get a guaranteed free pass. In some ways, we are all looking over shoulders and wondering: Will I be next? But, as you probably know, the good news is that much progress has been made in treating some types of cancer. Here’s hoping that trend continues. Wishing you the best in your ongoing recovery.
Thank you for the good wishes and the important work you do!