The thing about Cancer
not just the most frightening diagnosis
The thing about Cancer is it’s not just the most frightening diagnosis
The terrifying thing is just as much the treatment
Cancer tip toes in unnoticed, but when tests reveal it’s presence
the warheads are called in, chemical weapons and swords
and the timer is set
Before diagnosis, there probably wasn’t even a hint of invasion
After, it becomes a competition between cancer and chemo
T-cells, B-cells, and CA-125, a time when numbers and ratios matter
An inner battle for territory has begun and cancer marches from inside
the body to outside, where she’s stripped of femininity, her body cut up,
parts taken that don’t just define her outline but reside in her identity
Her life now overridden by weekly drip sessions, tests and rechecks
nausea and sweat, metallic taste, strands of hair showing up here and there,
thinning patches on her scalp, her eyebrows blow in the wind, fingernails weaken
She’s caught in a whirlwind of invasion with medical wizards taking over
Cancer smothers with threats of pain and death shadows her every step
Her body no longer hers, her path no longer her walk
This thing called Cancer has invaded and her fate wavers as she dangles
by a thin thread held by cancer’s tentacles
Cancer seems to be invading my family lately. But this poem comes from witnessing my sister’s three-time walk through cancer’s tentacles.
-Gretchen Brooks Nassar
