The Semantics of Cancer

A real quick post, as I deal with the wonderful busy-ness that comes from having three talented children:

Karin Diamond wrote in the Huffington Post a few days ago, a nice article called "The Semantics of Cancer." It seems at first like a release of frustrations at being given advice from strangers, a variation on the timeless "Things You Shouldn't Say to Someone with Cancer" article. Diamond, who has Hodgkin's Lymphoma, writes in particular about people who don't know her, but who make suggestions to her about how changes in food, or a reliance on spirituality, might help her cancer.

But the article is more than that. I think, ultimately, Diamond is talking of the dangers of being being judgmental, from both sides of the cancer aisle. Just as she doesn't want people to judge her choices, she tries not to judge other peoples' choices, either.

It caused a little bit of reflection for me, given what I wrote in my last post. I don't want to judge anyone's choice of food, or religion, or anyone else, and as a commenter wrote, sometimes feeling like you're doing something is the most important thing. And, as Diamond says, it's ultimately the patient's choice to do or try or believe whatever she thinks is best.

I guess my bias is for informed choices. I've always seen Lympho Bob as a place to share knowledge with others, but more importantly, to work through that knowledge for myself.

Recognizing, of course, that what I see as valuable is not necessarily what others will see.

Certainly lots to think about there.