Yes this seems depressing, and I must say pessimistic, but I know for certain that this wound I have will always be open and present. I'll feel it when I'm ecstatic about something; I'll feel it when I walk down the isle on my wedding day, or I look into my child's eyes. I'll feel it when I'm upset; I'll feel it when I attend a funeral, or when I can relate to the pain someone else feels. This wound is something that will be forever present. And the wound's name is Diane.
Diane was my mother. She died five years, four months, and thirteen days ago. I've come a long way since that moment, but I know I will forever be wounded and that this scar will never be healed. Time is just a clock, a gauge to tell us all when our 'ticking' has come to a stop. The clock can be as harsh or as silent as we make of it, but I know that in the moments when I don't feel comforted, the tick tock is just as loud as the sound of a gong.
I'm writing this blog for those of you who will read it. I'm writing to let you know that it'll always hurt when someone as dear to you as your own life passes. But I also want to ask for your help. Throughout these long, torturous days, I have found that, even though I would take away this pain in a heart beat and bring her back if I could, I would rather save someone else from the wound that will never heal.
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth deadliest cancer in the world. In the later stages, rarely any amount of chemotherapy or radiation can save a person's life. In the early stages, it is hard to detect because of the location of the organ. The survival rate is only five years from the day that it is diagnosed, for only 20% of the patients diagnosed with it. That means the other 80% fall into my mother's category; less than five years of pain, fatigue, weight loss, rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, surgeries, countless doctors appointments, and complete deterioration of the body.
So many people today are donating to breast cancer and every other cancer society as well as to the poor, the hungry. This donation helps save lives, and understandably I agree that it should be done. But, on the other foot lays the fact that not many people donate for the cure of Pancreatic cancer. I'm asking you, the reader, to help me raise money so that little girls and boys don't have to worry about watching their loved ones die in front of their eyes. I'm asking you to help me raise money in memory of my mother, to honor her name in the process of helping those who need us more than ever. One dollar from thirty people can provide supplies for doctors around the world to find a cure.
I hope my story has touched a part of your soul and you will donate in remembrance of my mother and in the hopes of finding the cure.
Please donate to The Lustgarten Foundation. All of the proceeds will be used to find the cure for the fourth deadliest cancer of the world. The Lustgarten Foundation has teamed up with Cablevision to help fight this disease, will you team up with me to find a cure?
Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support The Lustgarten Foundation
