Cancer sucks.

Most of you probably already know that–maybe some of you have had loved ones suffer, or you yourself have suffered, through the disgusting disease known as Ca. N. Cer; he is not a nice guy–the complete opposite of kindness.

If so, I commend you for taking the punch. It’s a rough patch of life to get stuck in; but, thankfully we have thousands of faces smiling down on us and saying, “Remember, we’re here for you…whenever you need us…give us a call…”

Whenever I enter into a conversation now those phrases flush through my mind; I could be  chatting football with a close friend–not that I often talk sports–and, by some chance happening, find myself on the topic of cancer: Hey, they doing all right? You should remember, we’re here for you guys…

I know. I have known. And I really wish everyone could stop being so damn awkward about it. It happened. Maybe it is still happening; but you all should know we can power through the roughness.

Do I need to write a memo? A note–a sticky note; here, take one, take a hundred!

Got it yet? I hope so.

But bitterness is not my style; more so I am simply tired of having to wear a mask anywhere I go where people know about the cancer. It’s like a trending topic on Twitter or something–a caption runs above my head and reads, This man is in a family affected by the CANCER! And, yeah, it’s in huge uppercase letters, because it’s a big deal.

Anything’s a big deal when you put it in uppercase letters. Say I’m eating a bunch of green beans and the caption appears with, This man is eating GREEN BEANS; he is the prodigal son of the Green Giant! Or–this man is using TOILET PAPER; and when is that not a big deal?

Cancer is a big deal. I already said so. I promise to stop beating you over the head with it if you do one tiny thing for me–listen well, dearies, I want you to give anyone you know with cancer, or who knows someone else affected by cancer, some good amounts of SPACE; they will love you forever and buy you a fruitcake for the next Christmas.

Think daily,

A Southpaw