A seed was recently dropped on the "ground" around me and this idea grew out of it. The sapling has given me cause for reflection and the challenge of concept development.
When the kids were little (I mean really little), and they saw two things that were similar, they would proclaim: "same same." The story of my health situation has been well documented within these digital pages (enough already, huh?), but there are many, many more who have also gone through their own health issues and journeys. And the fact that those circumstances weren't as seemingly high-profile as cancer (according to whom?), their challenges were equally scary, foreboding and impactful upon them and their families.
Surgery (any surgery) whether emergency, proactive or elective, is serious stuff. It entails cutting into the human body, seemingly to remove or fix a diseased/damaged part of one's anatomy, and hope that the resulting outcome will be anything from an improvement to life saving. In any case, there is a degree of risk and uncertainty that brings with it angst for the patient and the family. In many respects (though without the "surgery" part), this is not dissimilar to what my family and I went through with my cancer journey (and persists to some degree to today).
For some within our family (as I suspect is also the case with many within your inner circle) heart issues are becoming an increasing area of prevalence and concern. A few of our nearest and dearest are coming to grips with the need to more closely monitor their diets, be more mindful of the cardiovascular consequences of their culinary choices, and perhaps rethink some of their lifestyle indulgences (frequency and/or nature). And other of our loved ones are struggling with more advanced issues which feel frustratingly overwhelming, temporarily debilitating, and at times emotionally insurmountable. In the same vein (pun intended), the realities of a cancer diagnosis are a major roadblock at first, and then can cause us to rethink our daily lives and decisions over the long haul.
And yes - even cancer itself can vary from person to person, disease area to disease area, treatment regimen to treatment regimen, and severity to severity. But for all members of "the Cancer Club" there are certain commonalities among patients, families and caregivers. I have said it before, and will continue to espouse that no two cancer journeys are the same - and yet so many encounter myriad similarities that can be helpful when heard from others and powerful when shared to others.
Like the kids used to say "same same." Be it two people who look roughly the same, two stories that sound somewhat the same, or two medical maladies that can't possibly be compared and yet are very much the same - in their effect on the patient and their loved ones.
