Dear Cancer

Dear Cancer, You Will Ruin My Life

Dear Cancer,

You will ruin my life. If I let you. But I choose not to give you that much power. You don’t deserve to take anything else from me. My life got turned upside-down, sideways, and every other direction a year and a half ago because of you. It’s like I’m still spinning out of control sometimes.

Dear Tammy (the Tumor)

Dear Tammy (the Tumor),

Hey, it’s me! It’s been a while, over 15 years. Can you believe it? How time flies! I understand you’re still dead and not to be a jerk, but I’m still really excited about that.

Anxiety, Depression, Suicide, Faith, Cancer, and Now?

Dear Cancer, 

I’m not sure if I should curse you or thank you for coming into my life. Looking back at the last two years since you made your presence known, you have done more good than bad. Yes, getting chemo sucks, but I got to see people’s true colors. Yes, it’s been sad and hard to go bald and through all the other chemo effects, but I was able to pull through.

Dear Cancer, Are We Friends or Foes?

Are you my friend, foe or imaginary friend?
The way this story starts doesn’t make sense with how it ends.
It seems like you only made yourself visible to me,
Through these waves of endless grief, what is it you want me to see?

Dear Cancer: Twisted Symbiosis

Dear Cancer,

When you made my blood your home, I understood you. I always wanted to feel like I belonged somewhere. Walking through my middle school during overcast January days, I kept my head down, unsure of who thought of me as a friend or as a convenient distraction from their own loneliness.

An Open Letter to My Cancer, Dirty Gertie 

Dear Cancer (a.k.a. Dirty Gertie),

I hope this letter finds you unwell. More accurately, I assume—with fingers crossed—that this letter finds you dead and gone. Unfortunately, my total confidence in your demise has been restricted by a single, nagging whisper that constantly threatens: “What if it comes back?”

Dear Cancer: An Evolution of Hope and Advocacy

Dear Cancer,

It is with a mixture of relief, gratitude, and determination that I address you today. You, who once infiltrated my life with fear and uncertainty, have now become a symbol of resilience, hope, and the power of human spirit.

Hidden But Not Forgotten: A Story About Refractory Cancer

Dear Cancer,

I remember being diagnosed with you back when I was 27. How the simple words, “You have cancer,” changed my life in an instant. I was alone with a pathologist and a radiologist, not exactly hearing the words that were being spoken to me.

Dear Cancer, I Will Never Bow Down to You

Dear Cancer,

You entered my life before I could even form my first official memory, as if you wanted me to come into this world knowing only pain and suffering. You broke my parents’ hearts and stole their hopes of having another happy, healthy baby.

Dear Cancer, It’s Time to Break Up

Dear Cancer,

When you first entered my life, I greeted you with my fists up, ready to fight. You were scary… but I knew giving up was scarier. You never failed to remind me day after day that you were there. You whispered in my ear, “Time is running out. Just give up. You’re never getting out of here alive.”