Most cancer patients and survivors know their dates. How many years since it all began and the count down to remission's clearance. We count off the months and years. We make it to three or five and then we take not quite a deep breath but a deeper breath than usual.
Cancer caregivers have dates burned in their souls too. We remember the day the doctor called and said, "Can you come back for another test." We remember where we were and what we were wearing when we heard, "I have some bad news." I remember the routine colonoscopy and our plans for a nice lunch afterward that changed to fears and tears just stark cold shock. I remember standing in the little gazebo outside the doctor's office and trying to absorb the news we'd just heard and what was to come. The day is burned in my memory while John's is the day his port was installed.
This week I learned a new word for these dates: Cancerversary. For some it's the day of the bad news, "You have cancer", and for others it's the day they reached five years or heard, "We can stop now."
Here is an article from this week's New York Times that describes cancer countdowns and how people celebrate or remember their Cancerversary:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/fashion/Cancer-Survivors-five-year-Celebration-Day-known-as-cancerversary.html?smid=pl-share
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