Description: Life after chemotherapy
Well, the parrot’s name is Grace, for those of you who were wondering. My cousin thought of it and he was exactly right. Grace is the perfect name for her. She is still here, just sitting on my shoulder and keeping me company. I have grown quite fond of her presence. She is a good reminder of what is really important in life.
And while I was thinking of what is really important in life, I was talking with another cancer survivor last week and something odd happened. He kept referring to his cancer and his chemotherapy as “all that stuff I went through last year”.
It struck me that he was very careful not to use the word cancer or the word chemotherapy. I didn’t ask him why, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. There is such power in words. Does he think that if he says the word cancer it somehow gives it more power? Or is it an avoidance kind of thing? The “if I don’t say it then it didn’t really happen” kind of thing. I wish I knew him better so I would feel comfortable asking him about it. But I don’t, and it really isn’t any of my business anyway. If he wants t