<p>Depending on how much cyber-company you’re in the mood for, you might find some of the myriad cancer-related websites and blogs of interest; here’s a very small sampling (some of which, I realize, you may well already be familiar with):</p>
<p>(P.S. to Mods: I realize that CC’s rules generally prohibit links to blogs but thought that, in light of the unusual circumstances, an exception might be made here.)</p>
<p>In the early 1990s, Harvey Pekar - he of American Splendor movie fame - was diagnosed with lymphoma. As someone who had been chronicling the ups and downs of his life for years in the American Splendor series of comics for grown-ups - and in the spirit of if-life-gives-you-lemons-make-lemonade - Pekar, his wife Joyce Grabner, and illustrator Frank Stack chronicled this experience in the book Our Cancer Year. </p>
<p>OCY offers a take on the experience of living with cancer that is unlike any other that I’ve encountered - in any medium. (Yes, there’s been at least one other graphic rendering of the cancer experience - Cancer Vixen, which I mentioned a while back - but the grumpy and eccentric Pekar, in temperament and style, could not be more different than the creator of CV.) One review (in Publisher’s Weekly) called OCY “by turns amusing, frightening, moving, and quietly entertaining.” Entertainment Weekly named it their “graphic novel of the year” (the term “graphic novel” often seems to be applied, as here, to works of nonfiction as well as fiction). When I read it (many years ago), I thought it was brilliant.</p>
<p>I guess one lesson we can all learn is–we’re all mortal, but some people have more advance notice than others of when their time may be coming to an end. This can be viewed as a blessing, not a curse. Or both at the same time.</p>
<p>Bunsenburner thank you for that; I think I’ll keep her I really could not have done the hospital situation without her. She is on an airplane as we speak; she is going with me tomorrow morning to meet with a new oncologist to discuss some preventive actions, if any are available (the goal being to try to head off relapses post-treatment). </p>
<p>From the “things can always get worse” department; I am handling this o.k. with the exception of mornings - mornings are very, very difficult for me, at least for the first ten minutes or so. Prior to diagnosis, I would wake up every morning so excited I couldn’t see straight. Saturdays in particular I would be so excited that I could sleep late that I couldn’t sleep, and would be drilling into my work at 4:00 a.m. or something. I actually haven’t used alarm clocks for over 20 years because I always wake up very happy, very naturally. </p>
<p>Post-diagnosis, my eyes open in the morning; the reality of CANCER comes slamming down, and, it takes a few minutes for me to re-orient my perspective. Mornings are very difficult. I fight this off by forcing myself to move quickly through espresso and shower and getting dressed and then rush into my day, and, this keeps the CANCER demons away - exercise helps fight this off too - anyway - last night, I read about a quadriplegic (sp?) who wakes up every morning, and, his particular reality comes crashing down: he cannot get up. Period. There is no hopping out of bed to go make espresso or take a shower or hurry to get dressed and get to one’s office to fight off sadness or fear or anything else; he stone cold cannot get up, and that is how he wakes up every morning. </p>
<p>Given how things could be, I feel rather fortunate (at least I can get out of bed, get moving, take action and try to do something to fight back)…Ephistrophy, you are right, we each all have right now.</p>
<p>Everytime I haven’t wanted to get out of bed in the morning in the past several years, I’ve thought of Christopher Reeve and how he would have LOVED to leap out of bed to face the day. You are doing an amazing job of keeping perspective.</p>
<p>For some reason, the original Support for latetoschool thread is experiencing technical difficulty and neither posters nor moderators have been able to access the end of the thread. For that reason, at least until we can solve the problem with the original thread, we are starting a PART II so that posters can continue to offer their support, suggestions, etc. to latetoschool. Once the original thread is “fixed,” we will include a link at the end of it to this new thread and then close part I, but it will still be available for viewing.</p>
<p>THANK YOU to all the members of the CC community who have reached out to support this member who is going through a very challenging time. The responses to this thread, in post numbers, number of views, and particularly in expressions of caring and helpfulness, have demonstrated some of the best of what an online forum can be.
– Mod JEM</p>
<p>Just as background, here is how the original thread <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/397947-support-latetoschool-part-i.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/397947-support-latetoschool-part-i.html</a> began, on 9/28/2007:
**
Moderator note: on another thread, a poster asked where latetoschool has been, as members had not seen her post lately. Latetoschool responded with the post below, and the entire thread which was on a different topic turned to latetoschool. I have split the rapidly growing posts meant for LateToSchool to their own thread…this thread. LateToSchool…you deserve it and we want people to be able to find it under the right subject heading. All of us at CC will be thinking of you. - Moderator CollegeMom**</p>
<p>OK, LTS, this is what must have happened…there is so much love and support for you from this “community,” that critical wiring systems to “your” thread have been overloaded. Hoping that you are having a good day and a good week.</p>
<p>I had NHL when I was younger, for about 2 years. It was a complete nightmare, Why not create a card signed by all the members of CC and mail it or email it to latetoschool?</p>
<p>Was there a recent update from LTS in the original thread that I missed? I miss “hearing” her voice! Didn’t she have another treatment scheduled for earlier this week? </p>
I really could not have done the hospital situation without her. She is on an airplane as we speak; she is going with me tomorrow morning to meet with a new oncologist to discuss some preventive actions, if any are available (the goal being to try to head off relapses post-treatment). </p>