Sadly, another one of my father’s brothers has been diagnosed with cancer.
It’s happening again.
Sigh.
He was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. It is the same one my father was diagnosed with more than sixteen years ago. But there is hope for my uncle. His was diagnosed at Stage 1 and the technology has vastly improved in the last 16 years. My father, being the stubborn butt that he was, ignored all the pain, the headaches, the frequent nosebleeds. His cancer was not diagnosed until Stage 4. At that point, he was given a year to live.
My father fought his cancer for six years. We traveled all over the world searching for technology, science, medicines, religion, and any semblance of hope. The cancer took its toll on my father. The chemotherapy weakened him such that he weighed little more than 98 pounds at some points, the radiation burned through his vocal chords that for years he could not speak, he was unable to eat solid foods, and he was constantly in pain.
It’s really hard watching someone you love go through something like that.
I wish my uncle the best. I wish his family strength and hope. I also wish the rest of our family the same. Our family has lost so much in such a few years.
Here’s to hoping.
Stop and Stare 