Choosing your words
Afraser
Member Posts: 4,443 ✭
in Day to day
My Cancer Is Not A 'Journey'. Here Are Some Other Words I'm Happy To Use
“Cancer is an unexpected lodger who turns up, messes things up and causes chaos. You finally get rid of them, then realise they’ve kept the key.”
From an article in the Huffington Post, title above. Nice read for those not mad on ‘journey’, ‘battle’ etc.
12
Comments
-
Love it!0
-
Too true @Afraser,
Whoever came up with "journey" needs their head read. I doubt any one of us likes that word and are inclined to slap people that say it to you.
More like an epic freaking up hill trek while dodging falling rocks. An intruder that breaks in while you aren't looking and vandalizes your place then just ducks out the back and hides in the bushes.
ughhh7 -
I had a pathologist once who referred to my ‘adventure’. I nearly bit his head off but thought better of it, he was wielding a large needle at the time. On reflection however, I realised it’s not a bad description. Some ‘adventures’ are fun, but some are horrible and some are like my partner’s description of flying (he had a pilot’s licence in the day): ‘Hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror’.5
-
The problem is that word Journey in relation to breast cancer is well advertised. I had some close friends and family often say to me it is YOUR Journey. I just kept my mouth shut, but it did wear me down somewhat, and grated on my nerves. Noticeably the medical team never kept saying to me it is YOUR Journey, so very thankful for that.
I agree @kezmusc that whoever came up with the word "journey" needs their head read. Perhaps more aptly could be the logo, My Journey to hell and back.
Or, My Booby Prize, (sarcasm).
6 -
@Afraser wouldn't "misadventure" be a more apt description? But I guess the pathologist was trying to keep upbeat, but I have to wonder if he would think it an adventure if he was diagnosed with cancer? All I can say is he must lead a very dull life if cancer is considered an adventure to him, SMH.
3 -
I prefer to say cancer is a disease and I am having treatment in order to eliminate or reduce recurrence. Journey...ugghhh.7
-
An unwelcome pet.
A stray that wanders in and has been eaten all the birds in the garden before you even know it's there. Before you really see it, you are feeding that stray and it thinks your house is it's house.
It finds it's way inside, it wants to sleep on your bed.
Then you have to call a beast wrangler to drag the fucker out of your building. Given the general availability of beast wranglers, and the paperwork involved, the mongrel thing has probably pooed on your couch and chewed up your best dress before the expert arrives. It's evicted with a great howling and shedding of blood. Body parts are lost.
Of course, its a protected species which you can discourage, but can only kill at risk of your own life.
So, the bloody thing is now outside, looking in the back door, licking at the glass. It wants to come back in. Even if you pull the curtains so you can't see its beady little eyes staring at you, you know it's still out here.
My unwelcome pet. Mxx16 -
My name for this is the INTERLOPER something or someone that becomes involved in a place where they are not wanted and do not belong
love the BCNA network keeps me going. I don’t always post but read a lot there’s always something new and relevant.
7 -
"Survivorship". Need I say more?
2 -
I called it a dance. I had a dance with cancer. Now we've parted ways (hopefully forever!).4
-
Understand the sentiment but I have never anthropomorphosed cancer that much. Rogue cells were still part of me, let’s face it. I just want cancer to stay away. I like the dodgy lodger image because the idea of still
hanging on to the key resonates with me. Gone, unlamented, but just might decide to do a little encore. But that won’t stop me enjoying the absence!
2
