Statement of Purpose

For the rest of this summer, I will try to ensure that every blog entry is cancer-inspired, beginning with “MEMO TO MR. HODGKINS,” which was like my declaration of war (no more occupation!). That is, I will attempt to share experiences and thoughts that I do not think would have arisen in my mind, at this juncture in my life, without the help of Mr. Hodgkins’ (I am on personal terms with my illness; my description of him will come later) temporary residency. In this way, I suppose, you could call these entries a journal of my “cancer journey” (as people within the cancer community like to call this experience that I, like many, many others, am going through). I’m a little hesitant to embrace the term because of the numerous implications the word “journey” has; I admire the correlation between personal life and story (because we are all chapters within chapters of stories bound to other stories) that “journey” entails, but then it also sounds a little hokey, like the way Oprah would describe a novel in her book club; “journey” also almost sounds like a vacation, or an epic odyssey that one willingly takes. I know I am and will be further grateful for what I will take from all of this; I do know I will be stronger when I emerge, but it is not a “journey” that I would sign up for, especially since the specter of cancer will be one that will lurk around me for the rest of my life.