My initial diagnosis was about the same as Melissa's, and we
mostly e-mailed back and forth about our experiences with chemo and what was
working for us to help with energy or nausea.
It was somewhat comforting to know another person going through similar
treatment, and Melissa became a friend or a sort-of e-mail pen pal.
Within a couple of months, I learned our journeys were
taking very different routes when they found Melissa also had esophageal
cancer.
As I continued and
finished my breast cancer treatments, Melissa continued on with treatment after
treatment for esophageal cancer which eventually took control of her body. She kept such a positive attitude through it
all. In the midst of treatments, she
traveled to New York City and also made a recent trip to San Diego with family,
and she lived life to the fullest. Melissa was smart, and as an ER doctor at
UAMS, and she knew from her medical training that esophageal cancer was brutal
and left no survivors. She took
advantage of the good times and focused on the people in her life, because she
knew the most difficult times were ahead of her.
It has been a somber week for me as I have thought about
Melissa and hospice, and it has taken me back to where we both were a year and
a half ago. I am very sad for Melissa's
family, and I pray a peace that passes understanding for them as they deal with
her loss. I still say it just shouldn't
happen this way when a person is still in the prime of working and living life.
But cancer isn't fair.
For the time that I knew you, I thank you for being the
encourager that you were, Melissa. You
will be missed.
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