A Club Nobody Wants Membership Into

Over the course of the year, I have made many new friends through cancer. Funny what a serious illness will do. Aside from the usual shots, surgeries, doctor's appointments and medications, you also become a member of a not-so-exclusive club. Admission is cancer. You pay your dues in time, money and body. But, quite honestly, some of the members are joys to be around.

Today was my usual Thursday lunch with survivors Laura and Sara. However, Laura couldn't make it due to chemo yesterday and, the bigger issue, her in-laws are in town for a month. Yikes! So, Sara and I did what any good friends would do in this situation. We had a glass of wine in honor of Laura's patience. I met Laura through a mutual friend of ours - Amy. Amy has since bemoaned about Laura, Sara and I having weekly lunches and we never ask her to join us. "Well, Amy, nobody wants to be a member of our club," I laughed. But, it's really true. People ask how you're doing, they care, they sympathize. But they really don't understand. And, truthfully, they don't want to listen to too much of it. It's just too depressing and they really don't want to think of their own mortality over the lunch portion of seafood enchiladas.

But with survivors, no subject is off limits. Constipation, fear, dry skin, loss of appetite, doctors, etc. It's all on the table to be analyzed and discussed. Survivors make you feel normal. In your own home and close circle of friends, you may be the "sick" person. But with survivors, you're normal. And after months of tests and doctors, feeling normal is a huge booster.

So, each week I am so thankful for my Thursday lunch bunch and the many others who have helped to guide me over the year.  Thanks cancer for giving me a new set of friends.

Wondering if other afflictions bring so many people together.

The Wondering Texan