What We Talk About When We Talk About Cancer
My mother refers to her lymph nodes as "Fishy". She describes her voice box as "a box full of cancer". She recounts an incident where a doctor accidentally spilled her brother's tumor during surgery.
I search for "cancer images" and find a multitude of disturbing results, with tumors resembling "splattered burrs leaking radiance" on a lunar surface.
I recall a man who removed wasps' nests from our eaves and my mom using a two-sided utensil to scoop cantaloupe into marbles.
She says once a doctor spilled my brother’s tumor trying to take it out.
The uncertainty of my mother's surgery weighs on me, but I recognize that the specifics of the tumor are not for me to know.
There is a Canadian doctor who will handle her case, and at her second appointment, my mom wore a sweater with a Norwegian Maple leaf, a small gesture of hope.
Author's summary: Exploring the emotional impact of cancer on a family.