Thursday, May 31, 2012

Cancer Sucks

Last week, I grabbed my mail from the box as I was leaving the house. I was on my way to work and sifted through it while in the car. It contained the usual junk mail, a bill from Bell and a fat envelope from London Health Sciences Centre. The week before, I had signed up to be a Change Bandit for Children's Hospital and I assumed this was my information packet. I stuck my finger in the corner and slid it along the edge to open it. As I read the letter that was included, I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me.

The letter was from the Cancer Genetic Clinic at LHSC. Because of my family history, my family doctor had recommended me. I read and re-read the letter during the red lights on my way to work. They would like me to complete a family tree with as much information as I know about cancer in my family. Wow, how did cancer make its way into my family? It still seems so foreign to me.

The process is, of course, voluntary. This caused me to pause and wonder if it was something that I wanted to pursue. However, I determined that I want to be as proactive as I can be, so I will be completing the packet of info and going from there. It just caught me off guard arriving in my mailbox, as unassuming as it did.

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