I quickly discovered  two months ago  that those people who have gone down the same path  that I was embarking on  were the ones  who truly ''got it.'    They understood perfectly  the emotions,  the rollercoaster ride  that I was going through.   There was a pure sense of empathy  there that I was never given  anywhere else.

     An online friend,  who traveled this path  last year,  understood  my thoughts  and emotions.  She would offer words of encouragement  and support  that  comforted me  beyond words.  I didn't have to justify  what I was going through  (as I seemed to have to do with everyone else)  she just understood. I consider that a gift.

     A  gentleman at my church  has recently gone down this path as well.  He was just told that he does not have to have anymore  radiation treatments,  so his  experiences are still fresh.   When I told everybody at church  that I had cancer,  he made a beeline  to me,  with tears streaming down his face,  gathering me in a very strong hug.     Yesterday,  he came to me as soon as church was over to see how I had made out at the cancer clinic.   When I told of my emotional rollercoaster,  he nodded  and said  he knew all about that ride.  He knew all about the draining  emotions  and the emptiness you feel after it was all over.   He got it.

     Yesterday,  a woman on my e-list  asked for prayer  for her 40 yr. old friend,  a  mother of 6, who had just discovered that she had cancer.  I stared at the computer screen and started to cry,  reliving all of those emotions,  but this time  it was for a total stranger.   I do know  now  a little bit of what she is feeling right now.   My heart  hurts  so deeply for her.

      I guess  that I have now been initiated  into  a strange sort of club,  the Cancer Survivor's  Club.   We, at the club,  have a sense of empathy  that you cannot  attain anywhere else  until you go through the journey  yourself.   I pray  that this membership into this club  will enable me to help those  in the future  as those cancer survivors  have helped me  these past two months.   It is also my prayer  that God will never let me forget  what I have gone through these past two months.  I pray that this empathy  will be alive and well inside of me  for  a long time to come. 

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