Readers React: ‘Know what inspires you. So let that drive you and not the cancer.’
To the editor: Like op-ed article writer Melinda Welsh, my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. (“‘I have terminal cancer. And I’m dying in a yearish,’” Opinion, Nov. 11)
It was the hardest thing I have ever gone through. But through a trying time you also appreciate every thing so much more. And you become incredibly focused and avoid worrying about little things.
My mother had brain and lung cancer (even though she never smoked). What helped her and us was refusing to give up. We always had the belief there would be a tomorrow.
She kept busy, even proofing a book. She ate lots of McDonald’s. And she watched many “Criminal Minds” episodes, probably because when she grew up in Washington, her mother rented out rooms to FBI agents, who were like heroes.
No one knows how much time is left, at least on Earth. But you do know what inspires you. So let that drive you and not the cancer.
William Lambers, Cincinnati
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