- Athletic injuries tend to be most prevalent among the young and the young at heart.
- Gynecological medical issues most often focus on women (duh!)
- And geriatric conditions seem to be part of the secret (unheralded) reward of aging.
- But cancer doesn't seem to care who you are or how young/old you may be.
On a recent visit to my Oncology clinic for regular blood work (all seems to be in order), I gazed around the waiting room and was taken by both the age span and racial diversity (I would also imagine that the socioeconomic landscape is equally as varied, but that's not something that can or should be judged by appearances). Granted it's never certain who is the patient and who is the caregiver (until the nurse calls them in to the clinic itself), but after awhile you learn to pick up on certain clues as to who's the one "in the club" - the cancer club. Members generally include: Someone wearing a surgical mask, someone whose constitution exhibits frailty from the disease and chemo, and the one who is not projecting the look of fear and concern in their eyes (that's usually the caregiver - the patient's eyes most often reflect resignation and the hollow feeling caused by the cancer within).
Young or old (though not children thank goodness, as this is not a pediatric practice). Male or female. Short or tall. Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Asian and on and on. Mine is a blood-borne cancer (Multiple Myeloma), so everyone here shares that same commonality - but that's where the similarities end. And though the disease doesn't seem to care who it forcibly enlists into its cadre, this then becomes the other thing that we all share.
Cancer doesn't care who you are, what your age is, where you come from, or even if your health is good or bad (judging by my personal experience as well as a read of the room). When cancer comes a calling, the "complexion" or complexity of its target is immaterial. And there is no way to determine who is next. Yes, cancer screening is getting better and better, but even a possible propensity is not positive. Smokers, don't all get lung cancer. People who drink gallons of diet soda (that's Pop, for those of you outside of the NYC area), don't necessarily get colon cancer. And women aren't always the only ones who get breast cancer (for men, the lifetime risk of getting breast cancer is about 1 in 833 - think about that for a minute).
So like Justice, Cancer is blind - and it doesn't care who it taps next. This is not intended as a reason for fear, but rather an acceptance that if heaven-forbid you should become enlisted, it's not always something that you did wrong. Get past the "why" and focus on the "how" - how are we all going to work together to beat the big C.
