Fighters

Holy emotional day, Batman.  Even when I put on my totally rational head and try and shelf my uber-emotional, alarmist head, I still occasionally freak out.  Yesterday inspired quite a high volume of freaknosis.  Prepare for a little soap-box-itude.  Apologies in advance, but a girl’s gotta do…

First, Ethan Zohn‘s Lymphoma is back.  I’ve no idea why I’m so wrapped up in this news.  Did I follow Ethan’s career before he was diagnosed?  Nope.  I’ve never seen an episode of Survivor.  I don’t play soccer.  I don’t need a special cereal bowl.  I’ve never even seen him in US Weekly.

I do follow him on Twitter, though.  All the cancer peeps I stalk online follow him, too.  He’s got a great spirit.  He’s making a difference.  Somehow I’ve totally fallen into being incredibly emotionally invested in his battle.  Learning he’s headed back in for more chemo, and then a stem cell transplant just makes my heart hurt.

Later that evening I learned Patrick Swayze died.  I suppose there should be no real surprise there.  Hell, I’ve heard that horrible joke.  Somehow I’d managed to convince myself he was rallying, that he was going to survive this most devastating of cancers.  At the very least, I thought he had more time.  I’m sure he did, too.

Of course, as a cancer survivor a mere nine months in remission, I don’t like hearing about people losing their lives to cancer.  Those wounds are still a little too fresh, too close to home.  I’m hoping that will eventually ease with time, and I’m hoping I have the time to wait and find out.

I hate when the news anchors say “lost his battle with cancer.”  It implies the blame or shortcoming is on the part of the patient.  What about insurance companies, drug companies, the government, the medical community, or even society as a whole for ignoring the never ending deluge of carcinogens we pump into the earth, air and water?

Fuckers.

Patrick fought one hell of a fight.  He bought himself time.   He completed a new TV project, wrote his memoirs, spent more time with those he loved, and put his affairs in order.  How can that be considered losing?