The people you need when something goes wrong
Catherine leaned against the wall, took a deep breath and told me she just found out she has breast cancer.
As she talked about her fear, what the doctor said and treatment options, Keira joined us, so Catherine started from the beginning.
It was hard for her to tell because she can barely believe it.
This is her story now. She’ll have to tell it again and again.
“You’re not going to die from this,” I said, sure of it.
A lumpectomy and radiation. Maybe chemotherapy, depending on what the doctor finds.
I smoothed her long hair back from her face. I’ll shave my head if she has to, I told her, and Catherine laughed. Keira cried and hugged her hard.
Catherine will need us, the optimist and the consoler. She’ll need her husband and family. She’ll need her friends.
Jessica, one cubicle over and always there. Dawn, calling every day and coming to visit.
She’ll need Alia, maker of macaroni and cheese and organizer of a happy hour of women from the newsroom. We made T-shirts to wear in support of Catherine.
She’ll need each of the women who crammed onto the big sectional with her at the happy hour.
The good listeners. The errand runners. The bringers of daffodils.
Cancer survivors with strong emotional support adjust better to the changes a diagnosis like this brings, are more positive and have a better quality of life, studies show. We’ll prove it.
Catherine is supportive and generous, always with kind words and quick to offer to help. Now she needs us.
We’ll be there, for late night phone calls, rides to appointments, bottles of wine, British crime shows, the ups and downs, and hugs at work.
“I feel so lucky,” Catherine said. She feels hopeful, too.
Reach Karina Bland at karina. bland@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter @Karina Bland.