I’m scared for any person who is sick these days. I’m scared for friends, loved ones and anyone battling Cancer. I’m scared for every person with any illness right now, not just COVID-19.
I knew what it was like to self-quarantine well before Corona. Any one who has gone through chemotherapy knew and understood some of the precautions. We washed our hands. We stayed home. We studied every product in our homes. We wore masks. We went for a walk around the block as the one activity for the day. That was a huge accomplishment. We learned all about what is good and what is bad for us. We were religious about our vitamins. We wanted only organic, packaged food so we didn’t get anyone else’s germs. We were overly concerned about our food and what we would eat (if we could eat at all). We were sick. We were weak. We spent so much time in the bathroom and on the bathroom floor. We were happy, then depressed. We had tears flow for no apparent reason at any moment.
Denise in a mask while undergoing Cancer Treatment in 2017
We saw the light, then the darkness. We were full of emotions but tried to remain positive. We were up and down. We had to be strong for the kids. So we were.
We had a disease that kills. We had a disease that makes us sick. We had a disease that changes who you are and how you look. We had a disease that treated us differently every day. We had a disease that was moody. We didn’t know if we would be one of the lucky ones to survive. We had a disease that we could not control.
I have a friend whose husband was just diagnosed. He can’t begin treatment. I have a friend in treatment. She can’t see her kids. She can’t live with her family. I have another friend whose husband is in treatment and now doubly scared, if that’s even possible, every time he goes to the hospital – alone. He doesn’t know which will get him first. Cancer or Corona.
Cancer, like COVID-19, is a scary, lonely, life-changing journey if you are lucky enough, like me, to get through it. I can’t imagine going through it these days with all of the added layers of life as we are currently living it. I was lucky enough to turn 46 less than a month ago. I never think about gifts, but consider this the best gift of all; that I went through cancer treatment before coronavirus.
Now, unfortunately, because of all the coverage we can all imagine what it is like to be really sick. I hope next time someone you know is diagnosed with Cancer you will remember this time and help them through it in any way you can.
Albert and her boys while sick in 2017