I have not written recently. This also means that I have not checked my blog recently. Last night, I decided to see how things were going with my fellow bloggers, something I can do from here. What I saw shocked me; from SpruceHill was the comment, "Please Join Us to Celebrate the Life of Sarah Stump Streett". No, this can’t be right. Sarah keeps a wonderful blog on her experience with breast cancer. I knew the cancer had returned, but she was fighting it. However, I missed her last post which dealt with her illness. The cancer had spread to her brain. A month later, she was hospitalized for breathing issues. A few days later, she was gone.
I cannot describe how devastated I feel. Never have I felt so frustrated, angry, and helpless. I know there’s no point questioning why this has happened, but oh, how I want reasons. There are similarities between Sarah’s story and my own. She and I both were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. We both had mastectomies, we both had chemo, and we took it in stride. She was my age, she was a stay-at-home mom. We shared a love of Diana Gabaldon’s books. We enjoyed cooking, photography, and blogging. My cancer has stayed away, Sarah’s cancer returned.
Last night, I was ranting about how unfair it was. My daughter, Victoria was comforting me, and asked if I would rather have been someone else. No, no. I don’t want cancer to touch anyone, not me, not Sarah, not my friends or family, not anyone at all. It is my wish that we all do all that is in our power to stop this horrible disease from taking one more person.
Speaking of my daughter, Victoria is my teenager. She hates when I hold her hand or when I touch her, yet she was there for me last night, holding me tightly. She argues with me and gets embarrassed by me and the things I do, but she knew just the right words for me when I was hurting. I have been so focused on the daily challenges that I have overlooked the fact that my wonderful, kind, loving girl is still there.
I hope that Sarah was able to see beyond her challenges, both small and large, to see her life as amazing. From what I know of her, by reading her blog, she appreciated the little things in her life. She loved flowers, animals, and chocolate. She delighted in the minute and beautiful details of nature. Was she also able to siphon off the bad stuff; was she grateful for both what was hers, and the good she gave to others? In spite of her battle with cancer, or maybe because of it, I hope her life was full of joy and peace. Her blog certainly inspired the joy and peace in me. Thank you Sarah.
All of these beautiful photographs were taken by the talented Sarah Streett. Click on the photos for the links to my favourite blog posts from SpruceHill:
1 comment:
I wish I knew the answers, too. Sarah was the first cancer blogger I ever read and I was devestated to learn of her passing. It hit me hard. I chose one of her recipies and made it in her honor. I just had to do something...
I have another good friend who has been in treatment for early stage colon cancer. We just learned this week that he has metastatic tumors on his liver. I can not bear the thought of losing him.
Seems like we need to throw all of our resources into defeating cancer. It touches so many of us.
I hate cancer.
Sherri Jo
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