I've heard many refer to cancer as "the silent killer". I'm here to tell you it definitely is not silent. When it strikes, yes, it is as stealthy as the most skilled ninja warrior. However, its aftermath is anything but silent.

Cancer screams in the agony heard from our friends, family and acquaintances as they struggle to fight it. We hear it and it tears at our souls as we watch their struggles, all too aware of our own helplessness in the face of such a foe. We cry, pray and scream as we try to understand the "why" of this disease. "Why them"; "Why me"; "Why strike a child"; "Why my mother/father/husband/wife"; "Oh God! Why take my child!"; and the "whys" resound around the world, throughout religions and languages. Cancer will strike anyone, anyplace - it holds no preference to race, religion, social standings, wealth or even species as it strikes our pets too.

Far from being silent, cancer is one of the diseases that causes humanity to cry out in unison for a cure, for relief, and for compassion for those afflicted. We cry for strangers when we see their struggles in public; we mourn as one when we see a valiant effort at survival cease as the battle is lost; we hope for a future without this terrible disease.

The only way cancer will ever be silent is when we remove it from our vocabulary by curing it. It is that cure which I hope to see in my lifetime so that I don't have to see another relative pass from it as my brother-in-law did when his battle ended this past Thanksgiving day.

#cancer
#findacure

I'm very sorry you lost your brother-in-law to cancer.

May we all have the opportunity to see in our life time some positive research in light have ending cancer. Too many have fallen to cancer and too many fear this is the inevitable, rather then just passing from a life time of aging.

Thank you! I hope there is a cure some day too.

Me too!! Being there for our friends, family and loved ones when they are going through their illnesses means so much to them, more then they can likely express as loneliness is so much worse when you are ill. Sometimes people say, "they don't know what to say to their friends when they are around them with a serious illness." I'd like to add, the best words that can be shared is just comfort, listening and depending on the situation, if you and your friend can have some light-hearted conversation with a few laughs, laughter is great medicine for the soul.

That was the reason behind In a Letter - a site I started but my friend backed out so I had no one for the advice column. It was for writing therapy to write our innermost feelings in a letter to get them out. I still have the domain.

A site for writing therapy sounds very special and would serve so many that could benefit from a resource like your domain.