Roller coasters have never been a favorite of mine. I prefer to keep my stomach in one location. Dealing with cancer is a roller coaster ride of epic proportions. One day you're riding high when things seem to be going well. On another day you've been hurtled down literally into "the valley of the shadow of death," wondering if this is the last time you'll get to hold your spouse and see her sweet face this side of eternity. On still another day everything seems normal, like it was in the pre-cancer days. For me, an important factor in dealing with this is to maintain an even keel. Don't panic in the valleys. Don't become unrealistic at the peaks. Stay steady and enjoy the time you have with your loved one, caressing every moment you have together as if it were the last. (Actually, why should we wait for a long-term illness to make us appreciate life's precious moments?)
The last two days have been good ones as we wait for the pneumonia to go away while anticipating surgical repair of Shannon's lungs. With the completion of these two steps, we can move on to the next treatment in hopes that this will be the one that sends the cancer into remission.
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Mike and Shannon Gifford
An Introduction
Our foray into the world of cancer began on May 27, 2009 when we learned that Shannon had a rare, uterine sarcoma. Through the surgeries, hospital stays, visits to doctor's offices, and all of the other trappings of cancer, we have found strength in each other that has helped us both not only cope with this disease, but conquer it. To the end that other couples dealing with cancer can benefit from our thoughts and feelings we dedicate this site and intend to make regular, if not daily, updates to it.