Stefanie Spielman

So it is November 19, 2009 and somewhere the family of this woman are mourning. For those of you who are not familiar with Stefanie Spielman, she was a woman who made raising money for breast cancer a focus once she was diagnosed. She ended up being a local celebrity married to a former Ohio State player, Chris Spielman. They had four kids and she was 42. Her passing is already on the news, and her obituary was published within 20 minutes of her death. Tomorrow will be full of this sadness.

I think on death and how it affects those who are in cancer treatment, and those who have lost loved ones to cancer. I do feel bad for this family's loss. This sucks. Their children are young to have to deal with this and it just sucks.

Here is where I have my own thoughts. Like I said I am sorry for this family's loss, however, I have this feeling that the news will make more of her and her life just because she had cancer. This is the part I hate about the disease, those lost are often euligized as having had a great fight, and they were troopers. I think the disease is evil and works with guerilla warfare, sneakily, and steals parts a little at a time, until it is beaten or it finally shuts down your body (which I kind of think is funny because it is like it kills itself), and I hate giving it any more attention. I would rather Stefanie's life were defined as the mother she was and how she gave to the community, instead of sort of taking the disease and then making it a definition of your life.

I remember when my dad was sick at home with hospice. He lived his life not letting that cancer get in his way, until it stopped him in his tracks. Never was he defined by his disease. I like instead that he lived in spite of it gradually taking away the things that he loved and what he wanted to do. Even near the end he paid attention to his beloved grandchildren and interacted with them as best he could. When the media glorifies cancer deaths as sort of an end to an era, it is just so wrong. Cancer is evil and painful and unless your loved one died of cancer and you were with them every step of the way, ribbons and merchandise just don't depict it's ugliness.

Conclusion: Cancer sucks. I still hate it.