HANGING ON TO HOPE

Hope is such a critical tool in fighting cancer. With it, the mind works with the body, focusing attention on surviving both the disease and its treatment rigors. Without it, the mind and body fracture their relationship and go their separate ways. Gloom and despair take over, and the days grow dark and endless.

I stepped out this morning to fill the bird feeder and noticed the little statue popping up in the snow. My mother used to refer to her as Cuckoo, the Bird Girl. The chickadees and sparrows love to perch upon her head as they flit to and from the bird feeder. She was a "treasure" found in a resale shop, a garden statue that needed a home. And now, in the cold, cold months of winter, she still earns her keep.

The first thing I thought of this morning as I saw her there, buried up to her neck in snow, was that soon it will be spring. She is a reminder that the lush pachysandra, rhododendron, and hydrangea will bloom again. She is the messenger that these cold days will soon end and a new cycle of life will begin.

Hope is the desire that lives in all of us. It is part dream and part reality. When we feed it, nurture it, and believe in it, it is the tool that can help us rise above adversity. It is the rope that can pull us out of a hole. But we have to see the rope and use it in order to get the greatest benefit from it.

Often in cancer treatment, families long for a cure and are disappointed daily that it takes so long to see results. They often forget that by the time most cancers are discovered, they have been steadily growing over time, hidden from view until they became a noticeable threat to life. We don't always see the slow improvements of our loved ones as they begin to fight back the cancer. We expect big miracles, and when they don't immediately manifest themselves, we give in to the sadness, the sorrow, the ache that things aren't the way we wish them to be.

When I look at this little statue in the snow, I know there will again be a spring. I cannot tell you when, but I know it will come. I will begin to see the end of winter as the days grow longer and the sunlight lingers with me.

When you look at your loved one struggling with cancer, remember to also look for the little changes that tell you things are going on deep within. Is there improvement in pain? In breathing? Is the color of the skin better? Is there an increase in appetite? These are the signs of spring for a cancer patient. There will be sunny days to come. Rejoice. Celebrate and appreciate the good fortune you have now and in the opportunities that will come. Don't think about the years left. Think about the season ahead. Let hope live.