P O I S O N

May 23, 2019
Chemotherapy has nothing on fear.

They tell you a lot about the poisons that come with a cancer diagnosis.
They tell you a lot about the drugs.
They tell you a lot about the chemotherapy.
They tell you…a lot.

But there are other, very real poisons they don’t tell you about.

They don’t tell you about the poison of unrelenting, bad news.
They don’t tell you about the poison of consuming worry for the one person whose job it has been to be worried about you.
They don’t tell you about the poison that looks like anger, anger that threatens to choke you — makes it impossible to breathe.
They don’t tell you about the poison that is regret, for the days you missed and the distance you placed between you.
They don’t tell you about the poison of despair, when the realization of what you will never get to do crushes you not once a day, but once a minute.

Cancer is just an unrelenting poison — the poisonous disease, the poisonous updates, the poisonous fear.

They don’t tell you enough about all of the poisons.