Story 9. When You Don't Know
Back in the 1960s, when I first heard the word "cancer", I was seven years old.
My two sisters were ten and twelve.
It hit us hard when one of our uncles passed away at the age of 48.
We overheard the adults saying that he died of cancer.
Cancer?
What was cancer?
My mother told us that it's a lump inside of one's body, and it's very hard to cure.
My uncle had gastric cancer -a cancer in the stomach.
That night when we were in bed, all of us were scared.
One of my sisters started to check her abdomen to see if there was a lump.
After using her fingers to press everywhere, especially in her stomach area, she felt something like a small lump.
She thought she had cancer.
She pressed hard from left to right to compare.
Then she confirmed her conclusion.
Soon, my other sister did the same thing.
She used her hand to touch her back and front, and checked from side to side.
She found something hard too.
I followed their lead and checked my body.
Before long, I pinpointed lumps in my neck.
We all found lumps!
"Mom!" my sister cried.
"What's wrong?"
Mom came to our room quickly.
"We have cancer," my sister said.
"What?" asked Mom.
"Yes, all three of us found lumps."
Mom listened carefully and checked our lumps separately.
Then she laughed, "Don't be silly.
That's your bone, Anne.
Kelly, you're touching your bones too."
Mom continued, "Our bodies have 206 bones.
Some are big and some are small.
Many of them feel like lumps.
But not all lumps are cancer.
I understand that the word "cancer" made you start with this.
But it's not very common to have cancer.
Don't worry about it for now.
Okay?
Eat well.
Rest well.
Your body's immune system will safeguard you from illness.
You will grow up healthy, okay?
Good night!"
We went to sleep, hoping to have sweet dreams.
