A- MUSE-in Cover Revolt

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Sunday, June 2, 2013

The BIG "C" Strike

When I was a girl,

you never talked about it. If you had it the last thing you did was admit it...or even mention it above a raspy whisper. You were ashamed of it much the way you'd be afraid to mention having syphilis...or crabs, so it came as a shock when the father of my friend's father...yep...her grandfather allowed us to SEE the effects of

The BIG "C".

When I think back, though, I wonder how they could have kept Mr. Johnson's DIS-ease to themselves. Mr. J. had

skin cancer. It was literally eating his face before our eyes. Short of being sent off to some godforsaken hell hole like they used to do with lepers, how could Mr. J. Have kept his "shame" to himself?

We didn't talk about it. We just buried our heads in the sand and pretended. As long as we never...{gulp}...mentioned its name, we were safe with our heads in the dirt and our asses aimed towards the sky. Right?

Mr. J. died...thank heavens. I can still hear his screams from the pain it caused. Morphine dulled the raggedness of it chewing inch upon inch, layer upon layer of his face. (I have no idea when dilaudin was discovered, but I don't remember overhearing anyone mentioning that and Mr. J's treatment together back then.) Thinking back with the knowledge I have now, I shudder to imagine what the skin beneath the clothes dangling from Mr. J's diminishing frame looked like.

Fast forward. Times change. The Big "C" moved from something you discussed in hushed tones behind your raised hand, to the

MAINSTREAM...in fact it seemed to become almost FASHIONABLE to have, or know someone who HAS cancer by the 1990's...

So being a modern minded gal, my body jumped into the mainstream with glee. Can't say my mind agreed with the body, but there you have it...and of course, I don't do things by halves...I jumped into that BIG "C" sea


CHEMO and RADIATION...to ME they're curse words...because they act upon your body like a curse.

My children

weren't little cherubs I could easily hide things from any more. They were in their teens BUT for the most part I kept from them the horrible side-effects of the destructive combination. I'd wait until they went to school to go for my dose of poison, vomit like it was my avocation the whole time they were gone and only be lying in bed moaning and groaning when they got home. (OH before heading for my deadly cocktail, I'd make certain to pack the fridge with sandwiches for the kids' dinners.)

I DID lose my hair...Not ALL of it, but enough clumps of it the kids KNEW Mom was battling the Big "C". Somehow I made it through that nightmare BOTH times.

Fast forward...Angelina Jolie...There are those who are claiming her choice to go public with her decision to have a double mastectomy to reduce her chances of breast cancer is nothing more than a publicity stunt...and they are the ones I am forced to write this posting because.

I have followed Ms. Jolie's career. When she was married to Billie Bob Thorton and boasted wearing a vial of his blood THAT was a publicity stunt! Having your breasts removed to reduce your risk of having cancer mutate your body's cells is NOT!

Ms. Jolie watched her mother battle the Big "C". She KNOWS the toll the battle demands the body to wage...she does not want her children to have to watch her wage that war.

I sat on the sidelines during the stupid idiocy of the Anniston vs Jolie camps that waged when Brad Pitt first started with Ms. Jolie. That was foolishness on the parts of those with no lives enough to bother ranting about this. HAD the Pitt-Anniston marriage been strong NO ONE could have come in from the side lines and tsunamied them apart. True love cannot be shattered...as

Mr. Pitt is proving now as he steps up to the plate to support Ms. Jolie in her courageous stance to pre-empt

a war against the Big "C".

I despaired for MS. Jolie when she was wearing Billy Bob's blood, but the moment she wrapped her heart and soul around being a mom, she found her true passion. Dedicated moms will do anything to spare their children the agony of watching them battle death.

MS. Jolie has once more proven her grace, maturity, depth of love, her honor, and her true beauty. I pray those who find fault with her willingness to share her journey with the rest of us never have to face the same choices. The Big "C" is a vicious foe, that no one should ever have to go to war against, but a pair of

boobs, a pair of ovaries...some hair...a bit of blood...bile...they're a small price to give up for a C-free future.

Thank you Ms. Jolie.

2 comments:

  1. A lot I know. I ever heard a bad thing said from Jolie, Pitt, Or Aniston. I thought they handled everything in a mature mannor. It was the press who wanted to turn it into a soap opera.

    I happen to support all of their actions.

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  2. You're right. The media which has become paparazzi wikll do anything to fuel the frenzy for their next photo-op. When they fuel it over something like cancer I grow angry. Cancer is NOT funny.

    ReplyDelete