"My Biggest Secret is a Real Taboo!"

Way back, when I was younger, my mother developed "an illness" which was diagnosed as ovarian cancer. It was 'Taboo' to talk of such things unless it was another family member. Family business was family business! It was the mid-70 and her outlook for survival was slim to none. As so many, at that time, were going overseas to find relief or that new miracle cure, we joined the pilgrimage. Finding relief in London, mom became a survivor. By the early 80's, my father developed another 'taboo' and was treated for prostate cancer while we were living in Colorado. A couple of aggravating years passed with stints and such before passing away with cancer of the brain. Meanwhile, mom had developed breast cancer and all but kept it quiet until a physician contacted us and again it was another family secret! Loosing parts, which were no longer in use, was devastating to her and again she survived. I pleaded for her to tell her story; share with others in hope of spreading a glimmer of light to those in needs but once again, that old black magic came into play with, "ssh! We talk not of such things", she said," for they only alienate us all and it is a real taboo."

In 2003, my mother moved away to Arizona but not before, I joined the club of Taboo, too, with a rare form of melanoma.

What was I to do?

It started as just a funny shaped mole, as if any other except it was, blood colored, itched and always felt as if it were falling off. The MRI showed a larger unseen growth under the skin like a flattened grapefruit. I opted for a new "experimental" type of Chemotherapy. Agreeing to this new therapy, I had a valve placed into my arm and I joined what I called the "Drip Club." Six months of a daily injection of drips from a bag as you sat in a room with other drips and tried to figure out "Why are we here?"

There must be a reason, maybe...

Angry, frustrated, pissed-off would have been an understatement; scared out of my wits was closer to home and what had I done with my life to help others up till now? I was too young to die, not now; oh what was I to do?

Maybe we are here for each other, for as a team we can survive as individuals and as individuals we can shout as a collective about our survivorship. Our friends and family can learn to understand this stepping-stone, viewing it as an aid in giving the moral support we all need in growing up. Having a cancer is not a Taboo and told from the highest of all places; our hearts. Giving the gift of understanding, knowledge and love will and does bring us all together in a true survivorship of each other.

"It is time to open the doors and let the sun shine in!" Secrets and Taboo breed fear and discrimination. Shouting it from the rooftops and the valleys below will bring us all together. Survivorships are not just about those who have developed one of the mutations of life but also for those around us who know. It is of a team effort that we can fight this mutation called cancer and together we can destroy this thing called a taboo.

Having had and survived, I now truly believe we are our brothers keeper and, in such, must do what we can to help each other out; for I believe we all were put here for a reason and it was not just to live and work!

If anyone, anywhere needs any moral support please feel free to contact me.

Supporting Cancer Recovery

One Day at a Time