Sneaky, Nasty Thing!

Cancer is a sneaky, nasty thing.  It lurks in the shadows, building strength, biding its time.  You can think you are all in the clear and then, bam, it strikes.  This happened last week to Donna, who came out to cheer for me at the Komen 3-Day nearly two years ago now.

Donna had breast cancer five years ago, and was in remission.  To anyone with cancer, five years is the magical mark of survivorship.  When you reach five years, you start thinking "Maybe, just maybe, I've beat this thing.  Maybe I will continue living."  Realistically, as you learn more, you know that there is truly not a magical milepost.  So five years is as good as any.

Donna was feeling some terrible back pain.  When she checked it out, she found that metastasized breast cancer had taken up residence in her spine.  Some cells had survived her chemo of five years ago, taken a trip in her blood stream, and stopped at her spine.  Now, they are hard at work replacing strong bone tissue with useless breast cancer tissue.  Not a good trade off.  This was five years and two months for Donna.  Now, she once again is in a fight for her life, this time against stage 4 breast cancer - the most dangerous and hardest to fight stage.  She is starting radiation, which will hopefully be effective for a while, to attack the spinal tumors.  But stage 4 breast cancer is almost never really ever defeated, so there could be many more tough times ahead for her.  She is in my thoughts and prayers.  In my mind, I am now the one holding the sign for Donna.  It says: "Donna - You're the Best!  Fight Hard, and Beat This Sneaky, Nasty Thing!"