Difficult Seasons

Buttons to Match Your Outfit

As I drove home from visiting folks at M. D. Anderson this evening, the phrase that rang in my ears was one I heard a patient say this afternoon: “Cancer sucks.”  He had every right to say it.  And part of the reason it stuck in my mind was that some of the folks that I saw today had been ravaged by their particular brand of cancer.

This is not a word normally in my spoken vocabulary.  I shocked my whole family one day when I said it.  That’s because of the ambiguous meanings associated with the word.  So I want to make clear which definition this man meant, and the one that is used in the headline of this post.

Definition:  (colloquial) Term of general disparagement, to indicate that the subject or situation is unfortunately or unreasonably objectionable, and has no redeeming qualities.

That pretty much sums it up where cancer is concerned, at least physically.  But it’s also often true emotionally.  I do often get to see healthy spirituality alive in cancer victims, and I’m thankful for that.

There are no pretty words that describe cancer.  Saying cancer is unfortunate or even unreasonably objectionable doesn’t seem to communicate cancer’s effects very well either.  To say that cancer has no redeeming qualities seems like an unreasonably objectionable understatement.

Sorry, but I think we’re stuck with a colloquial word that is found objectionable in some circles.  But at least it honestly communicates some of the physical and emotional toll cancer exacts.  So yes, cancer sucks.

And if you want to wear a button or tee shirt proclaiming it, it’s fine with me.

Tags: cancer, Illness

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 at 5:59 am and is filed under Illness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.