Cancer is a lump in one's throat and the fear when told the diagnosis. It causes you to leave your dignity, modesty and self-esteem in the hospital parking lot. Cancer is the bitter disappointment that Maddie was turned away at the QEH door due to the H1N1 visitor restrictions. This survivor spontaneously traveled from Sussex, New Brunswick to offer her smile and optimism.
Cancer is the last meal before your surgery – broth that was hot water in a cup with a chicken waved twice very lightly over it from five feet on high. It is feeling sorry for a nurse searching for a vein to put an IV line in. It is getting angry at the IV pump. No matter what you do with your arm – except leaving in perfectly still, it sets the alarm off over and over again.