Cancer Reactions

Got cancer? People’s responses are varied and fascinating. I have detected several variants. If you have more, please add a comment.

• The Silent, or near silent. They stare at you. Mute. Not knowing what to say. Duh – I am not a lorry at night and they are not rabbits in the road. Yes, I’ve had a few of those. “It’s not catchy you know” I want to say.
• The Ghosts. I’ve had “ghosts”, people who are acquaintances, who disappear from sight. I don’t bump into them anymore. There are often reasons for this, say they have lost a loved one to cancer, and just can’t bear going through another tale of treatments and topsy-turvy hopes. Cancer is not a plague. But in a way, it is a modern plague and people are fearful of it.

The Kid and Bob Diamond

Bob Diamond

Is anyone too young to be a lifer? And what makes you a lifer, too? Here’s a lively exchange I had with two lifers: The Kid, and Frankie, an older man.

– The Kid is too young to be in here [in this prison on a life sentence].

– Why?

– He’s only 23. He’s just a kid.

Cancer

Getting a letter from the GP that says “please call us as soon as possible”. Oh, that’s a surprise, so I call. I get though to a doctor who is not my GP. He tells me something about high scores, and that this is a cancer indicator. Eh? It feels like I’ve been told there might be some rain tomorrow. Oh – they’ll need to repeat the tests. Just in case. You know.

Know? Strange to say, I didn’t need to wait for second tests. Intuitively, right from then, I expected the results to be confirmed. And they did. I’m a fit man. Not so old either. With no obvious symptoms. And… I’ve got prostate cancer.