~A ROAD TRAVELED BY MANY~

It's a road that has been taken
by many people
Every step they take is a fight
Our hearts are breaking as we watch them
We cannot help but think,
"It's just not right"

It's a road I watched my Grandma walk
But at the end of the road she lost
She was a fighter every step of the way
And with every step she knew the cost

I have seen Aunts and Uncles
even friends take that walk
through the many years
Most of them never turned around
and came back
I had to say, "Good-bye"
through all my tears



Then my Mom and Dad took that road
But they both came back to me
They got to the Doctor just in time
It was cancer they had to fight you see

That was four years ago
Now my Father's fighting it again
He is doing everything that he should
Yes, and again he just might win

I do not say these things to make
you feel sad
But this cancer is an ugly plague
We need to understand it more
Learn about it and not be vague



My chances of getting it
are very high
Because so many have had it
in my family and that's why

But don't let that be a mask for you
to hide
Perhaps you can say
"It's not touched anyone in my family tree"
Don't be fooled....
You still get checkups because
that does not mean you'll be free

Do you think in the future
we might see a cure
Wouldn't that be wonderful
Then cancer would be in the past
and nothing more we would have to endure

Copyright © 10/06/03


~~

I know this terrible disease is not about
poetry, music and pretty backgrounds.
But, I also know many people read these pages.
And if this sends just one person to get a checkup,
then this page has done what I had hoped.

~~

The third Friday in October each year is National Mammography Day,
first proclaimed by President Clinton in 1993.
On this day, or throughout the month, radiologists provide discounted or free screening mammograms.
This year National Mammography Day
will be celebrated on October 17.