closet

it is almost a taboo to talk about cancer. some people don't even mention it by name - 'that disease', they call it. as if it were something shameful. as if it were syphilis...


you run into someone you know at the oncology department and it feels like you just caught them red-handed, doing something secret...

and suddenly, now that we have the disease, it turns out that everybody you talk to has already had some contact with it.

our child's school teacher had cancer. his judo teacher had it. the manager's grandchild had it. and so did the child, sister, parent, grandchild of many other people that we talk to...

once they hear about you, they all come out of the closet...

aba david, 5/10/10