Thursday, May 7, 2015

A Monster Called Cancer

Cancer is a monster.

It creeps up on good people and destroys lives.  It seeks out those who are healthy and takes everything it can away from them.

Sure, cancer is a disease, but in a way it's also a form of living creature.

My mom had cancer last year.  She had a painful surgery to remove it and so far she is cancer-free.



So far.

I was incredibly upset as this all took place.  There was nothing I could do but be a sort of cheerleader while she went through all of that nastiness.  Feeling helpless sucks.

William Meikle has put together an anthology about this monster.  All profits go to The Beatson Cancer Research Institute.

On his website, William Meikle says,

My Dad has cancer. More than one kind in fact. He's fighting hard, but cancer is a devious bugger. It hides, it lurks, and it pounces when you think it's down and defeated.

Cancer is a monster.

It has been a presence in my life for as long as I can remember. I first came across it in the late Sixties. My Gran's brother came back to town to die with his family. I was fascinated by this man, so thin as to be almost skeletal, wound in clothes that were many sizes too large for his frame, his skin so thin that I could see his blood moving... not pumping, for it had long since stopped moving enough to keep him alive long. He rarely spoke, just sat by the fire as if trying to soak up heat, his eyes frequently wet from tears, not of sadness, but of pain. He lasted for months in that condition until it finally took him and I knew then that cancer was a monster.


This anthology has a great list of names and has been in the making for years.  I'm really excited to see it has been fully realized.

Now we need folks to buy it and read.

Everybody knows somebody who has cancer.  And sadly too many of us have to watch family members fight this monster.  It's an ugly thing to watch.




Please check this out and have a read.  Not only are the writers top-notch, the cause is way too close for many of us, and we cannot sit idly by while those we care about suffer.



No comments:

Post a Comment