Joining the club

During the past couple of weeks I've heard of two people newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. My heart goes out to them and their families. I know what they're going through. First there's the almost literal feeling of having been punched in the gut. Then perhaps a little relief -- after all, people don't die of cancer much any more, do they? .... And then, the nasty statistics. How can anyone stay sane after reading them? Some people feel numb. Others go straight into anger. Others simply get depressed and give up.

Oh, yes, I remember. And there are times when I react to the eventual realities of my situation and mourn the years and experiences I will miss. Most of the time, though, I'm too busy living the life I have, made easier by all of the support and love that surrounds me.

Here are three sites which have helped me over the past two years. First is a famous essay by
Stephen J. Gould, the evolutionary biologist who was diagnosed with a horrible form of cancer at an early age. It puts some of those nasty statistics into a better context for us:
http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/news/medianNotMessage.html

Next are the two sites for PanCan, the Pancreatic Action Network. The first is the general site where you can find various kinds of help, including a telephone number where you can reach people who can answer any question you might have:
http://www.pancan.org/

The second is the forum in which people with pancreatic cancer and their caregivers share thoughts, ideas, rants, questions, and their own answers. Sometimes the posts are poignant, sometimes annoying. If nothing else, they remind me that we may all have the same kind of disease, but we remain ourselves, at our best and worst.
http://pathology.jhu.edu/Pancreas_chat/

Finally, while I'm not an expert I'm happy to share my own journey. Email me or call me. We survive best when we support each other.