To My Dear “Old” Friend

To my dear “old” friend,

I was so pleased to hear your voice when you called a few months ago — until I heard why you were calling.

You’d heard that I’d been through the same machalah with which you were now diagnosed, and you wanted to speak to someone who was on the other side of treatment.

I answered your questions and described and explained, trying to give you the information you needed without overburdening you. I was upbeat and positive — as I’d tried to be when I was going through it.

I hadn’t known much when I started out — probably it was Hashem’s chesed that I didn’t know how long the chemotherapy and radiation would last, how my body would react, and for how long I would feel so weak and unable to eat. Everyone is different, and no doctor can predict exactly how any individual will be affected by the treatment.