Fuck Cancer-- those two words say it all.

One week ago, my dad lost his year-long battle with pancreatic cancer at age 56. After all of the research, reading, stories of those who have lost family and friends to cancer, explanations from doctors about how this nasty disease works, I really realized that cancer is a monster. Not only did it invade dad's body and spread, but it sucked the life right out of him, painfully slowly yet painfully quickly. It not only consumed whatever energy and nutrients he put into his body so that the cancer can use that energy to continue to grow and multiply, but it also stopped dad's body from absorbing any leftover nutrients after the cancer is done with them. When I was little, I had an image of a monster...big, dark, scary, loud, manipulative, able to take over anything quickly and swiftly, all the time making the sound of an evil laugh. As an adult, I've seen that monster now. That monster is cancer.

Dad fought with an amazing spirit. He used his religion and spirituality as a pillar, and kept family and friends closer than ever before. He still laughed and joked right until the very end, when he asked my brother to "call God." He didnt complain, didnt ask "why me", just went with the flow and made the best of his time. The way he fought was inspirational.

Anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer, and anyone who has had a family member or friend diagnosed with the ugly disease will probably agree that FUCK CANCER is the only way to express our feelings towards this monster. Fuck you, cancer, we'll beat you one day soon.