(Cancerventures Book Excerpt)
“…And Now, Some Words Hurled at Me, the Diagnosed Person…
Sometimes, it’s a few particular words said too often, like a parrot who learns to cuss and that’s all you hear.
Polly wanna shut up already?
We get it. There are cancer buzzwords.
Journey:
I get irritated by this word. I know it’s about creating that positive spin around a challenging circumstance. But, concerning cancer, it is overused. It can show up at every appointment, with every specialist, in every cancer-laden context. I’ve made an ‘I spy’ game out of it. I count just how many times the word will be uttered.
If I turned it into a drinking game, I’d be drunk.
‘Journey’ can often sound lame, even with so much effort in creating an atmosphere of adventure and bravery through it.
For, if you hear it every single day, the word loses its meaning. And it becomes grating.
Or is that just me?
We overuse “Journey,” and not just in a cancer context. We use it to describe almost every situation, some far from harrowing or heroic.
We don’t need to hear about your ‘journey’ getting a latte this morning. Not everything is a journey. Sometimes, it’s just coffee.
Warrior:
And journey’s journey usually won’t take too long before the warrior shows up. Oh, yay!
This is especially the case with Breast cancer pink.
Warrior this, warrior that. Warrior, stand up, sit down, fight, fight, fight!
I’m already tired; no, thank you.
Putting that whole warrior thing out there can add a pressure that doesn’t need to be there. If you’re just trying to feel like yourself, that’s fight enough. Warrior calls forth images of some goddess queen, with a bow and arrow, galloping on a white steed, through green hillsides, all to defend her people.
I am not that, even as much as I love Wonder Woman.
Again, I’m already tired. I showered and did some laundry. And yes, maybe even wrote a
bit.
All hail, all hail!...”
