Really enjoyed this piece, Theresa. As a native New Yorker, we are encouraged to use the F-word as a noun, verb, adverb, and adjective in our daily parlance. As a doctor working in healthcare until my recent retirement, I found its use particularly relevant in navigating the maze of insurance issues and bureaucracy inherent in contemporary medical care. And what a delightful way to express yourself (in Morse code - brilliant!) while maintaining the decorum of an accomplished author...
I hope this comment makes you laugh and smile. And again, congratulations on hitting that 5 year milestone with great energy and nice glasses!
Hi Lou, This comment does make me smile. I'm reminded of a T-Shirt I saw on sale on Canal Street that said something like, "Fuck this fucking fucked-up fuck." Very NYC and very funny. I also swore a lot more when I worked clinically. There's a lot of fucked-up-ness there and it helps to call things like we see 'em. Thanks for you congratulations and hugs to you!
Thanks for sharing this part of a deeply personal journey; I got another clear PETscan in May and am now two years out from the initial dx of Merkel Cell carcinoma. Cancer does cast a long shadow, and it takes energy to stay positive. (New haircuts or browsing the racks at TJ Maxx help keep my sunny side up.)
Ditto remembering to be grateful; On the other side of the Commonwealth from you, I think I was lucky to have the team of four physicians from Perelman Center at UPenn, and their support staff. I was surprised that a big city hospital was as supportive and caring (I have cell numbers for two of the docs).
I am disappointed that cancer treatment hasn't advanced further, but there are some new treatments being tested, so maybe the folks coming behind us will have more options.
Cheers to you and I raise a middle finger to our4mutual foe.
Thanks for the update. I am so glad to know you are doing well. I hear good things about the UPenn Hospital system. It shows that humane compassionate care is possible, even within a big system. Finding fun, gratifying activities is important, I agree, to counteract that long shadow. I'm also finding that surviving is a shot in the arm all by itself. Hugs to you!
Thank you so much for writing, Elaine! Thirty years is a long time and I'm sure you've seen quite a few changes in that time, many, as you say, not for the better.
What a lovely essay, Theresa! Those glasses are fun and fantastic, and they remind me of a story about my Turkish sister-in-law, Mel. One day she gave me an evil-eye bracelet she had bought in Istanbul. I loved it and wore it everywhere--until the day I noticed that it had disappeared. I must have lost it at some point that day and had no hope of finding it again. The next time I saw Mel, she noticed that the bracelet was missing. I apologized profusely, but she interrupted me and said, “The reason you lost it is because it worked--it protected you from something and then fell off because its job was done.”
So I think that’s what those wonderful dancing glasses were for you. They protected you from something terrible that wanted to kill you, and they now can fade into a well-deserved retirement, maybe even with my evil-eye bracelet!
Oooooh! I love this story. Yes! Now I'm imagining my old glasses and your evil-eye bracelet going for a dance together, glad their work is done. Perfect!
Really enjoyed this piece, Theresa. As a native New Yorker, we are encouraged to use the F-word as a noun, verb, adverb, and adjective in our daily parlance. As a doctor working in healthcare until my recent retirement, I found its use particularly relevant in navigating the maze of insurance issues and bureaucracy inherent in contemporary medical care. And what a delightful way to express yourself (in Morse code - brilliant!) while maintaining the decorum of an accomplished author...
I hope this comment makes you laugh and smile. And again, congratulations on hitting that 5 year milestone with great energy and nice glasses!
Hi Lou, This comment does make me smile. I'm reminded of a T-Shirt I saw on sale on Canal Street that said something like, "Fuck this fucking fucked-up fuck." Very NYC and very funny. I also swore a lot more when I worked clinically. There's a lot of fucked-up-ness there and it helps to call things like we see 'em. Thanks for you congratulations and hugs to you!
Now I need to go into the city to find that shirt...!
Indeed! Get me one, too.
Thanks for sharing this part of a deeply personal journey; I got another clear PETscan in May and am now two years out from the initial dx of Merkel Cell carcinoma. Cancer does cast a long shadow, and it takes energy to stay positive. (New haircuts or browsing the racks at TJ Maxx help keep my sunny side up.)
Ditto remembering to be grateful; On the other side of the Commonwealth from you, I think I was lucky to have the team of four physicians from Perelman Center at UPenn, and their support staff. I was surprised that a big city hospital was as supportive and caring (I have cell numbers for two of the docs).
I am disappointed that cancer treatment hasn't advanced further, but there are some new treatments being tested, so maybe the folks coming behind us will have more options.
Cheers to you and I raise a middle finger to our4mutual foe.
Thanks for the update. I am so glad to know you are doing well. I hear good things about the UPenn Hospital system. It shows that humane compassionate care is possible, even within a big system. Finding fun, gratifying activities is important, I agree, to counteract that long shadow. I'm also finding that surviving is a shot in the arm all by itself. Hugs to you!
I have been a nurse for thirty years and agree that our healthcare system is lacking compassion
It seems that it is all about profit, not patients. I commend Theresa Brown for writing about her cancer journey and her experiences as a nurse.
Thank you so much for writing, Elaine! Thirty years is a long time and I'm sure you've seen quite a few changes in that time, many, as you say, not for the better.
What a lovely essay, Theresa! Those glasses are fun and fantastic, and they remind me of a story about my Turkish sister-in-law, Mel. One day she gave me an evil-eye bracelet she had bought in Istanbul. I loved it and wore it everywhere--until the day I noticed that it had disappeared. I must have lost it at some point that day and had no hope of finding it again. The next time I saw Mel, she noticed that the bracelet was missing. I apologized profusely, but she interrupted me and said, “The reason you lost it is because it worked--it protected you from something and then fell off because its job was done.”
So I think that’s what those wonderful dancing glasses were for you. They protected you from something terrible that wanted to kill you, and they now can fade into a well-deserved retirement, maybe even with my evil-eye bracelet!
Oooooh! I love this story. Yes! Now I'm imagining my old glasses and your evil-eye bracelet going for a dance together, glad their work is done. Perfect!