Too Much on Our Plait: Like Daughter

Like Daughter - 03

People look at me with the most predictable faces when I tell them I've had cancer. I get one of three looks: pity, confusion, and blank. The blank one is the funniest, because that usually means they are either trying to figure out if I really did say "cancer," or it is because they are trying to choose their words carefully. It really is boring, actually, telling people about my story. It's all the same stuff but from different people. Every so often I revel in the sea of pity, more than likely because I am mildly depressed. But more often than not, it irritates me.

I was one of those people who used to think that people with cancer pitied themselves, that they walked around looking like death because they had no other mindset. I only have one word for that: bullshit.

Through i[2]y and my encounters with other cancer fighters/survivors, I have met some of the most incredible people. My sister and brother-in-law are both cancer survivors, my sister from cervical and vulva cancer, my brother-in-law from, well, take a wild guess (papillary thyroid cancer, if you didn't feel like guessing). They both hardly mention it, nor do they wear it on their foreheads. Both are incredibly strong, especially my sister. She amazes me every single day. There is no such thing as pity in her vocabulary, that's for sure.

Honestly, I can't wait for the day when I meet someone who is NOT a cancer fighter/survivor who looks at me and simply tells me, "Okay." I do not want people to keep telling me how "I'll be fine," and "I'm too young for this." Well, duh. Tell me something I don't know.

I'm glad my mother has the mindset that she does. She obviously understands what will happen when she tells people, and she is ready for it. She does not want anyone to pity her or ask her how she is all the time, because obviously, she's fine! We're all fine; we wake up in the morning, go about our daily routines, and count our blessings. Cancer sucks, and it's not on the "blessing" list, but I can tell you one thing: us Plaits/Mannings/Facketts/Layes do not let it hold us back.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Adelina and Dori |

0 comments

Post a Comment

Like Daughter, Like Mother: Our Thyroid Cancer Journey

Behind the Blog

Adelina is a full-time wife, mother, practice manager, and medical transcriptionist. After receiving an ultrasound and countless biopsies, she was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer on December 11, 2009. She successfully underwent surgery on December 29, 2009, and had her first radioactive iodine treatment in February 2010. Following treatment, Adelina now sees her doctor once a year for follow-up. She has been doing well, and refuses to let cancer slow her down.

Dori is 26 years old. She was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer at the age of 17 on June 1, 2006, just three days prior to her high school graduation. Dori endured two radioactive iodine treatments and two surgeries to remove her complete thyroid and 39 total lymph nodes from her neck. She is now under close watch by her doctors, and only time will tell if the cancer stays at bay.