Elephants and Tea - June 2022 - 6

Dear Cancer...
MARICIA COLE
Dear Stage 2 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma,
We met in 2020 during a pandemic. So, I guess you wanted to be memorable. I am not
sure what else your agenda was, but if it was to defeat me, I am sorry that you failed at
that mission. If it was to turn my life into purpose, I thank you for coming into my life
but leaving when I found my voice. To defeat you was difficult, but I was prepared in
hindsight. Maybe my spirituality, family support, former athleticism, and my knowledge
of healthcare put me at an advantage to defeat you. You messed with the wrong person. I
am petite, but I come with some force. I get what I want, and this time was no different.
I wanted to be healed, whole, and restored from cancer and I am thankful that I can say
that I am that today.
Cancer, please stay away from me in the future. I have defeated you once and I expect you
to never be a part of my life again. I will continue to help advocate for other young minority
communities of women with cancer so that we can all continue to defeat you. You will not
continue to destroy our lives no matter how hard you try. We will arm ourselves with all
the resources we need to prevent cancers like you. We will make sure our voices are heard
and that changes are made for equitable treatment to improve quality of life and reduce
mortality rates. Lastly, Cancer, I will say I saw a light at the end of my dark tunnel, and I
will keep going in support of other patients with cancer to also see and shine their light.
Sincerely,
MC
RESILIENT
DEAR CANCER, YOU FAILED
DEAR CANCER, YOU NEED TO BEHAVE
CODY MORRISON
Cancer,
Let's sit down and have a talk.
I am just going to come out and say it: you
need to behave. I know you and I are going
to be stuck with each other for the rest of
my life, but can you at least make things
a bit easier? As I write this, I am feeling
tired, and I don't know if it's the fact that
daylight saving time just kicked in or if I
need a blood transfusion.
I am going to take a break.
Hi there, it's tomorrow and I am back.
Let's finish this letter. After writing the first
bit yesterday, I ate lunch, watched TV (why
are game shows so entertaining?), played
some computer games, and did my usual
routine around the house.
To start, let's stop calling you cancer-
let's call you by your full name (remember
6
ELEPHANTSANDTEA.COM
JUNE 2022
when your parents would call you by your
full name and you *knew* you were in
trouble? Maybe it will work like that)-
chronic natural killer (NK) and chronic
T-cell large granular lymphocyte leukemia.
(Yes, I know, I am lucky enough to have
two types of you at the same time. Because
of that, doctors are especially interested
in you, so I have had three bone marrow
biopsies and more than 150 blood draws
in the last seven years). I think you dislike
the " little pinch " as much as I do, so if
you could stop misbehaving, we won't get
stabbed as often!
I wish you would stop needing treatment,
but I know that isn't going to happen any
time soon, so please keep responding to
the current treatment. I don't want that
uncertainty that comes with starting a new
treatment again: " Will it work? " " What kind
of side effects am I going to get? " " How often
am I going to have to see the doctor? " " How
long will I have to be on this new med? "
Let's make things as pleasant as possible
for both our sakes. Hopefully, I don't have
to write you another letter for a while.
Sincerely,
The body that the bad blood circulates
through (a.k.a. Cody)

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Elephants and Tea - June 2022

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