“Got” Cancer
It is an astonishing understatement to say that dealing with cancer is difficult. Difficult to describe. Difficult to talk with others. It was difficult enough for me twelve years ago. And it remains difficult when I learn that someone else has to deal with the language concerning this abominable disease. Perhaps because I write poetry, […]
Got Cancer
In this poem I tackle one of the words about cancer I really do not like. Doing so has given me some relief. Something I can tackle. I wrote this after I learned that someone close had been diagnosed with cancer. Please send any thoughts you may have about words and cancer.
Moving On
This is humbling. I do not have cancer. My energy is returned. I went for a run and I was not tired. I wonder how much of my tiredness before was related to low iron and how much to fear. Anyhow this old boat seems to be a good metaphor for me/my life – I […]
I Am Cancer
I apologize for my absence. I have been tired for several months, I have been afraid and I have been denying that I am afraid. For a long time, I said to myself that I was only afraid of screwing up the process of posting. And while it is true that I do not enjoy […]
Morning Counts
Not everything about my cancer was sad or scary. I still had to get up in the morning and do things. It seemed sort of funny, in a way, that while I was worried about treating my cancer, impotence and incontinence, I still had to go to the can, brush my teeth, clean the house, […]
Poison
Poison. Betrayal. Despair. When I wrote this poem, I was flailing about. It seemed so unjust that my body, and in particular, that part of my body which had, throughout my life, brought unimaginable physical and spiritual pleasure, would now possibly be the source of my death. If you find this poem and my thoughts […]
Ripped Out: Finding Words to Get Through Prostate Cancer
Beginning with my diagnosis 2006, I began to write everyday about what was happening to me and how I was reacting. Eventually, I transposed my daily journal writings into a book called Ripped Out: One Man’s Journey Surviving Prostate Cancer. Writing everyday saved me from despair. Pulling those writings into a book was one of […]
