I was poking around the Outpacing Melanoma 5K race site the other day, and ran across this link, which shares the story of why this race got started.
Long story not so long, her husband had a melanoma removed from his back in 2005, had the 6-month checkups and then five years later out of the blue, he developed a cough and had back pain that felt like sciatic nerve issues. It was metastatic melanoma, stage 4.
He went from totally fine to a nagging cough and some pain and then dead in six weeks’ time. I'm telling you, this is one nasty cancer.
Her story was sobering and the parallels for me are inescapable. I too had a melanoma removed from my back, on my spine to be specific. I too am on the 6-month checkup plan for the next five years. I too have a nagging cough (but also have reactive airway disorder . . . so is this a cough from the reactive airway disorder or something else?). And I too have been having back pain (which is almost certainly from running two half marathons a week apart). It’s probably nothing.
Still.
I’ve been thinking about how or if I would change how I live if I end up in the same situation as her husband. Never mind the memes about eating all the cake, drinking all the wine, etc. What would really matter to me if I had weeks left? And when do I start living that way, as though this is it?
I would hate to get to the end without having thought this through, figured out I would need to do or say and then done it.
Long story not so long, her husband had a melanoma removed from his back in 2005, had the 6-month checkups and then five years later out of the blue, he developed a cough and had back pain that felt like sciatic nerve issues. It was metastatic melanoma, stage 4.
He went from totally fine to a nagging cough and some pain and then dead in six weeks’ time. I'm telling you, this is one nasty cancer.
Her story was sobering and the parallels for me are inescapable. I too had a melanoma removed from my back, on my spine to be specific. I too am on the 6-month checkup plan for the next five years. I too have a nagging cough (but also have reactive airway disorder . . . so is this a cough from the reactive airway disorder or something else?). And I too have been having back pain (which is almost certainly from running two half marathons a week apart). It’s probably nothing.
Still.
I’ve been thinking about how or if I would change how I live if I end up in the same situation as her husband. Never mind the memes about eating all the cake, drinking all the wine, etc. What would really matter to me if I had weeks left? And when do I start living that way, as though this is it?
I would hate to get to the end without having thought this through, figured out I would need to do or say and then done it.
1 comment:
When to start living that way is always now, of course.
Today I met my 22-year-old son as we were both walking across the college campus where we work. He gave me a little wildflower he'd picked, and I thought about Tuesday, when I'd walked across campus looking at the dandelions and thinking about when he used to pick them and bring them to me.
Post a Comment