http://imermanangels.org/blog/?p=1639 Imerman Angels Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:45:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://imermanangels.org/blog/?p=1639&cpage=1#comment-1617 Kim Phillips Mon, 01 Nov 2010 20:14:36 +0000 http://imermanangels.org/blog/?p=1639#comment-1617 My mother died on October 11, which was 13 months after her diagnosis with stage 4 small cell lung cancer. She was much beloved, with a wide circle of family and friends. The science on her disease shows a 1-year survival rate. Maybe having a loving community gave her those three extra months, though I tend to think it was the chemo and radiation. Those last three months were horrible, with much suffering. I really resent it when people create false hope and encourage them to be "fighters" and endure more pain than they should because of all the happy talk... makes them feel like "losers" if they don't do it. Everyone should read "Brightsided" by Barbara Ehrenreich for a clear-eyed view of plain, ole lousy events. There is nothing good about lung cancer, nothing at all. It's time we admit that all the prayers and peppy language is for US, not for THEM. And that it takes just as much courage to say "no more treatments please" as it does to "fight" all the way to a nasty end. And that folks dying around us just remind us of our own mortality and we don't like that very much. We should put our efforts into a cure if we want to do some good. My mother died on October 11, which was 13 months after her diagnosis with stage 4 small cell lung cancer. She was much beloved, with a wide circle of family and friends. The science on her disease shows a 1-year survival rate. Maybe having a loving community gave her those three extra months, though I tend to think it was the chemo and radiation. Those last three months were horrible, with much suffering. I really resent it when people create false hope and encourage them to be “fighters” and endure more pain than they should because of all the happy talk… makes them feel like “losers” if they don’t do it. Everyone should read “Brightsided” by Barbara Ehrenreich for a clear-eyed view of plain, ole lousy events. There is nothing good about lung cancer, nothing at all. It’s time we admit that all the prayers and peppy language is for US, not for THEM. And that it takes just as much courage to say “no more treatments please” as it does to “fight” all the way to a nasty end. And that folks dying around us just remind us of our own mortality and we don’t like that very much. We should put our efforts into a cure if we want to do some good.

]]> http://imermanangels.org/blog/?p=1639&cpage=1#comment-1608 Gwen Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:07:40 +0000 http://imermanangels.org/blog/?p=1639#comment-1608 There's no denying the healing power of love :) There’s no denying the healing power of love

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