The “C” word. Nobody wants to talk about it. Nobody knows how to talk to someone who has cancer or someone whose loved one has cancer. I get, it’s hard. But want to know a secret? The best thing you can do for someone in this situation is to act normal. Now that doesn’t mean that you have to avoid the topic all together because chances are they want to talk about it. They want to process with someone who has an outside view. What I mean by “act normal” is don’t pity them. Don’t give them the puppy dog eyes as soon as you see them because that is the opposite of what they want.
I am not saying this because this is how we are being treated. Some people, yes, are treating us this way. But most people are surrounding us with love, encouragement, prayers and support. Which is EXACTLY what we need. We don’t want people to feel bad for us. This is life. This could have happened to any one of you!
Now if you have me on Instagram you would have already read this next part but I think it is important, so I am going to say it again. Most of the people that we told about Shawn’s cancer replied with, “Wow! That sucks.” or some variation of that phrase. But my response to that is: “no it doesn’t.” Sure, it is not the most ideal situation and our life kind of got flipped upside down in the last two weeks BUT it could be a lot worse. I would gladly give up my summer and in return have a healthy, cancer-free husband.
One of the things people don’t realize is that we have a choice. We all have a choice when we wake up in the morning to either be happy or mad/sad. And the same is true for Shawn and me, we can either choose to be mad/sad about this situation or choose to be happy. We choose happy. Why? Because being sad/mad/upset/angry/discouraged isn’t going to help anybody and it surely isn’t going to change anything. My husband would still have cancer.
Instead we will be happy and trust that the Lord has a plan in the midst of all this. After all, He is the great healer! Our God is bigger than our suffering. This is just a season of life. We WILL get through this. He will get us through this.
Daily Update:
Today Shawn had chemo from 7:30am-12:30pm. He is feeling super tired, a little nauseous, his taste is starting to change and the hiccups are still going strong. They did give him some medication today to hopefully help with the hiccups, which would be great! Prayers that it does actually help and that Shawn can get a well deserved full night of sleep. Tomorrow is the last treatment of the week and then just 11 more weeks to go.
We want you all to be as informed as you want to be. So if you have questions, please ask. We don’t mind!
Ice water, celery, chicken noodle soup broth, mint/ginger tea, popsicles and frozen grapes were what I could manage on my days with bad taste. It was an indicator of coming out of the chemo cycle when I could enjoy a cup of normal tea in the morning. Praying you through this time. You will get through this tunnel. Just heard of a ‘Jar of Joy’ where a woman wrote on cards about the things that brought her joy during her chemo treatment and she popped them into a jar to look at on her low days.
In Christ, Jewell