Saturday, July 12, 2008

Mask

Fear flickered quickly
She smiled and a mask appeared
"My cancer is back"

For any friends reading this, this isn't about me. This is about a woman I spoke with at my Relay For Life training today. She was so positive and upbeat when talking about beating cancer. But as she told me about a new mass they found, her face changed momentarily. It was subtle yet profound. The smile she wore dropped a bit then came back with full force.

I have smiled that smile before. You are wigging out, but you don't want to see the "you're doomed" face from the other person, so you pump up the volume in your own face - a mask goes up. It's self defense as well as an act of sparing the person you are telling the bad news to.

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