tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7191205038617397351.post8889566650689906697..comments2024-03-27T07:42:27.263-04:00Comments on A Colonel of Truth: BREAST CANCER - AN AVERAGE GUY'S TAKEUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7191205038617397351.post-40603236073658113562020-10-08T12:46:30.801-04:002020-10-08T12:46:30.801-04:00Bob Castaldi,
Thanks for the firsthand experience ...Bob Castaldi,<br />Thanks for the firsthand experience and seconding the commentary’s message. Surviving depends much on courage - from early detection to post treatment. A Colonel of Truthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00968917380253732621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7191205038617397351.post-41133465894052366992020-10-08T02:57:38.717-04:002020-10-08T02:57:38.717-04:00Colonel, I read this the other day and took a few ...Colonel, I read this the other day and took a few days to get my thought together. See I have experienced the fight with breast cancer. I had a friend, a boss when I worked construction. We worked well together. And then one night, she called. And I could hear the fear in her voice. The doctor had told her Stage 3 breast cancer. She was taking care of her elderly parents who were both disabled and her son who was not ready to launch. Throughout her battle, there would be many more nights on the phone, sometimes all night. There were calls interrupted by her vomiting. There were calls with her crying in pain. There were even a couple with me talking her into putting down her gun as she only wanted everything to end. And, obviously, I was successful. She is now 18 years cancer-free, and we are still friends.<br />Then, a past girlfriend's mother was a breast cancer survivor who had gone through the fight in the "early days" back in the early '70s. She was fortunate to have a doctor who was researching breast cancer and who sampled what other doctors would consider an excessive number of lymph nodes to ensure cancer had not spread. Mary is closing in on 90 and we still keep in touch.<br />Next, the finest woman in my life, next to my mother, who I foolishly chased away years ago, was diagnosed with breast cancer. While I don't know the severity or exactly how much treatment she went through, I do know she had radiation and now she is well. The really coincidental thing here, she and I used to love to go out dancing. And one of our favorite songs to dance to was "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf. Some of the bands we would go to see knew us and would put it on their playlist and wait for us to get there to play it and the dance floor would clear because we would be all over it with spins and splits and twirls and jitterbugs. That was back when my knees and hips worked a lot better, but the memories live on. And me, being male, and a Marine, made sure she did her exams, and I would check her work. Yes, that section of this column brought back many memories. And then, maybe by fate, on Facebook's "People You May Know" suggestions for me, her profile popped up. Karma?<br />Last year, my niece/goddaughter got the same dreaded news. She is a divorced mom of one. She's already been through hell in her life, she really didn't need this. She's still fighting, but making good progress.<br />Breast cancer hits hard. And it causes more than physical pain. It is scary, it is deadly, and it is life-changing. And one thing I learned when I started as a volunteer firefighter at age 16 and was working to cut a dead body from a car and trying not to lose my dinner. Sometimes, in the most horrifying and saddest situations, you have to find a way to break the ice, bring a little levity to the situation. Make a joke. <br />Colonel, you did it with "Save 2nd Base!" I once did it by paraphrasing a line from the United Negro College Fund saying, "A Breast is a Terrible Thing to Waste." There's also the "Feel the Boobies" campaign. Whatever gets the attention and makes the self-exams be done.<br />Thank you for spreading the word. My prayers that your wife remains cancer-free. And thank you for sparking some wonderful, cherished memories for me.Bob Castaldinoreply@blogger.com