My mother Pansy

by Chris Franklin
(Weston, Florida)

My mother was not diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but with stage IV ovarian cancer. However the journey is the same - the highs and the lows; the ups and the downs; the good news, followed by bad news, then by good news, then by bad news and then more bad news.

I completely connected with you through my own experience and thank you for putting it all out there - warts and all. It is a journey that can be very unpleasant at times; and you have to monitor and re-think many decisions. But in the end, you do the best you can to give the love and comfort to the patient.

My experience with helping my Mom deal with cancer has been the worst thing that has ever happened in my life. It was difficult to watch the suffering, the pain, the loss of hope, the despair - the entire dying process.

But in a way, it has also been the best thing that has ever happened in my life. Don't get me wrong, I would have preferred to have my mother still with me, but this is the way she went and I learned so many valuable lessons from the experience. I learned more in that year than I learned in all my life. I learned about love, compassion, friendship, caring , empathy, and sympathy. There were so many acts of love committed during the time that I am convinced that the process of dying is also for the living. So many people did so much good in such a short time for us.

But most of all, I learned about God. I came full circle back to my childhood when I knew instinctively that we were never born and we never die. We shed our bodies, but our souls are always here.

Thank you for sharing your story. I was doing research for a co-worker who has Stage IV pancreatic cancer and found your wonderful blog. May God bless you and your family.