Dear 2024: A Letter from a Cancer Fighter

Dear 2024,

In preparing my farewells to 2023, I also prepare to put out the welcome mat for you, my dear 2024. I trust you will be a welcomed addition to my life. I don’t know you yet, so I suppose it is normal to anticipate your arrival with both hope and trepidation. The latter because you come with so many questions. Who will be our next president? Will peace be part of your package? And… will I be here to enjoy all twelve months of you?

Your predecessor seemed to have prepared us well for your anticipated drama. We are still experiencing world conflicts, environmental challenges and political unrest. And on a personal level, 2023 brought my first cancer spread. In medical terms, they refer to it as the cancer progressing, which doesn’t make sense since a cancer spread is the opposite of progress.

In any case, the new treatment is working to get this spread — this progression — back under control. I hope that you do better than your predecessor on that front and have packed cancer stability in your bags for me and all cancer fighters.

I also lost some special friends to this disease this year. Those are always the most unwelcome surprises a visitor can bring.

So, I respectfully request that you, 2024, leave those kinds of bags at home. But I don’t want to paint 2023 as all bad. There were some definite happy memories woven into the past twelve months. For example, I met my comrades in person, the people who are fighting the same kind of non-small cell lung cancer I have. We make up alkpositive.org; “Alk” being the driver of our particular NSCLC. Alkpositive.org does so many good things, one of which is holding an annual conference where we “Alkies” can learn more about the weapons being created to win our Alk-driven battles. I also was healthy enough to enjoy another family vacation, day trips to New York and afternoons just sitting by the Connecticut coastline. So, heads up, 2024, I expect the same splashes of joy from you too!

So here I sit, reminiscing and anticipating, as one year leaves and another arrives. I have faith in you, 2024. Please, be kind.

Sincerely,

A Cancer Fighter

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