Lost a friend

Throughout our journey, we've read a number of books on cancer. Perhaps one of our favorites is Glass Houses by Cherie Geiser. Our friends Mike and Cindy sent us this book, which was a double inspiration - Cindy is a cancer survivor, and Cherie Geiser (the author) fought metastic colon cancer. We found out today that Cherie Geiser passed away on February 22, 2007.

As I'm sure you know, much of the marketing we see regarding cancer is for breast cancer or for the leukemia and lymphoma foundation. Colon cancer doesn't have the benefit of marketing that some of the other cancers have. Cherie Geiser was diagnosed at 36 years old. She used the proceeds from her book to set up the Embracing Hope Foundation to further cancer research.

Cherie was diagnosed in 1998. Some of the therapies that are now offered as first-line drugs or solutions to Jim weren't even available to her nine years ago.

I'm sad today because after reading Glass Houses, it almost felt like we knew Cherie. We felt her struggle, we feel her fear. We know that even the best people are struck with cancer, and it makes you think"it's not fair!" One of the things that bugs me every day is the injustice of it all.

Cherie was from our hometown, Rochester, NY. She had young children at diagnosis. She was a runner. Nine years later, she had touched the lives of many people, including those she didn't know were reading her book. The book struck so close to home that Jim and I both read it, as well as Jim's Mom and Sister, and my Mom.

I expect that nine years from now, Jim will have a perfectly healthy, cancer-free body. I expect that nine years from now, they will have found a cure for cancer. I expect that in those nine years, Jim will have touched the lives of as many people as Cherie, but he will be able to continue on where she left off.