Living With Cancer Jonathan Alter’s April 9 essay, “my Life With Cancer,” was so poignant it took a while to collect myself after reading it. He described to near perfection my own experience as well as the emotional, intellectual and physical roller-coaster ride that I have been unable to put into words. My cancer type (throat) and specific treatment were different, but the awful journey was the same. About the only thing Alter didn’t mention was the profound sense of aloneness (not the same as loneliness) that my wife and I both experienced despite being surrounded and supported by loving family and friends and my medical team. Since it seems that I will be a cancer survivor, I now know how to answer the frequently asked question “What is having cancer really like?” My recommendation: read Alter’s essay. Travis B. Goodloe, M.D. Highlands, N.C.
My non-hodgkin’s lymphoma was declared to be in remission last week. I chose to “fight my battle” in semi-isolation, as I was certain no one could comprehend what I was experiencing. Jonathan Alter’s article “My Life With Cancer” reveals that contrary to what I had thought, my hidden sentiments are shared by others. I have read and reread his article and underlined those passages that echo my own experiences and feelings. He not only deftly articulates the desperation and helplessness that cancer patients often feel but, more important, reveals an avenue of hope. Jerry Cox Langlois, Ore.
Like Elizabeth Edwards’s, my breast cancer has returned after 10 years, and it has gone to my bones, ribs, spine, pelvis, neck and skull. I know that this time I will not win the war. I will, however, continue to savor each day, and surround myself (a single woman) with the love and affection of my small family of relatives and good friends. All of us will die someday—the only difference for me is that I know what I will die of and my death may come more quickly. In the meantime, I will fight each battle as it occurs and do all the simple little things that bring laughter and pleasure to each and every one of my remaining days. My thoughts and prayers go out to Elizabeth Edwards, Tony Snow and all of us who are facing this battle again. Sue Battaglino Little Falls, N.J.
I, too, have cancer, so I immediately read your cover story. I learned of my diagnosis (grade-IV brain tumor named glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM) in June 2005 and had the same thoughts Jonathan Alter so aptly described. I am fortunate that I, too, have a friend in the medical field who pointed me in the right direction. The fact that I am still alive is a testament to the treatment I received and my team of doctors as well as to faith and a positive attitude. Yes, I lost my hair twice, but I have a wig that most people think is my natural hair. Yes, all the medical visits are inconvenient, but they are necessary to keep me alive. Yes, it would be easy to become depressed, but my 7-year-old son needs his mother. No, insurance doesn’t cover everything, but it comes fairly close. And, yes, I work full time teaching dance in a university. My advice to others facing a cancer diagnosis is to be your own advocate: find out as much as you can about your particular cancer, don’t be afraid to ask questions and insist on the best possible care. Carol Smiarowski Buford, Ga.
During my father’s four-year battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, he often spoke of the importance of the quality of his time versus the quantity. A teenager at the time, I was more concerned about the quantity, and couldn’t bear to think about a future that didn’t include him. As an adult with my own children, I now understand that one of my dad’s most important legacies is the appreciation of each and every day spent with our loved ones. I applaud Jonathan Alter and Elizabeth Edwards for placing a value on the quality of their lives, and for not relinquishing control over their lives, to the extent that that’s possible, to cancer. I wish them the best. Susan Guldin Fischer Medina, Ohio
Elizabeth Edwards, Tony Snow and other public figures who battle their cancers in public show bravely that you can fight this disease. Nearly 30 years ago, my husband, the cofounder of H&R Block, was told he had advanced lung cancer and only three months to live. A second opinion recommended an aggressive course of treatment, and two years later Dick was cancer-free. He dedicated the last 27 years of his life to helping others fight for their lives. We established the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation in 1980 to provide information and support to people diagnosed or living with cancer to give them the best chance of beating this disease. The foundation’s free services and hot line continue to help thousands each year by connecting them with survivors of the same type of cancer, identifying places to get second opinions, and sending patients and supporters books that Dick and I wrote about battling cancer to give them hope. We have also established Cancer Survivor Parks in 22 metropolitan areas in the United States and Canada as tributes to survivors. A national network of support organizations stands ready to help cancer patients and their supporters. We’re proud to be part of it. Annette Bloch, PresidentR.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation Kansas City, Mo.
A huge thanks to Jonathan Alter and NEWSWEEK for “My Life With Cancer.” I had breast cancer 10 years ago at the age of 42, and I have always kicked myself for not writing down how I felt and what I was thinking in those moments. Alter has done a wonderful job of expressing what I felt at the time, even though our cancers and experiences with treatment were very different. I particularly appreciate his detailing the unnecessary irritations and battles that cancer patients face. There is an unhelpful mythology that has grown up around the heroic cancer patient who dies nobly or the gritty survivor who doesn’t break stride while battling the disease. Reality is far different, and I found Alter’s piece refreshing for its honesty. Nancy N. Palmquist Crestwood, Ky.
Thank you to Jonathan Alter for eloquently and accurately describing the ongoing ordeal that many of us have experienced. I have been living with brain cancer for more than two years and am fortunately doing well (for now). After a year and a half of chemotherapy (analogous to burning down the entire forest to kill a sick tree), radiation therapy and two craniotomies, I lead a “normal” life. I have returned to work full time and started a family (the height of hubris?). Alter’s case illustrates well the fact that life goes on for us survivors, and that we can go on to prosper physically, spiritually, socially and professionally. I wish Alter well. Spiros Pina Minneapolis, Minn.
After five cancer surgeries—three squamous-cell skin cancers for me, including the loss of my left eye, and two breast-cancer surgeries of quite different cancer types for my wife—we are enjoying retirement, eating carefully and exercising regularly. Every day at lunch we clink our glasses and say, “We are having fun; one day at a time.” Arthur L. Henry Monterey, Calif.
Pondering God’s Existence Jon Meacham’s interview with Christian pastor Rick Warren and atheist Sam Harris was interesting but missed the possibility of an alternate path: the idea that no all-controlling deity exists, but that there is spiritual connection among us (“The God Debate,” April 9). God/the gods have been given many names over the millennia, names that are masks for one spiritual reality: we, the entirety of creation, are all connected. Harm one of us mindlessly—another human being, a forest, an ecosystem—and we are all harmed. “Salvation” will come only when humankind understands this and ceases the absurd and too-often horrifying power struggles over whose mask is biggest and best. The path to righteousness is not in which religion we claim but in how mindfully we live the life we are given and how willing we are to help others along the way. Lisa Lofland Gould Winston-Salem, N.C.
“The God Debate” illustrates the gap between reason that leaves no room for faith, and faith that leaves no room for reason. This discussion from the extreme ends of the spectrum serves only to polarize the two sides. In fact, many individuals have found enrichment from both modern scientific reason and faith in their lives. A bit of humility from both sides would contribute greatly toward bridging the gap between the extremes of arrogant reason and prideful faith. Paul Martin Seattle, Wash.
The poor showing of Rick Warren in “The God Debate” was not entirely his fault. He had to try to present the Bible as something other than the very fallible creation of man that it is. But Warren might have avoided total surrender to atheist Sam Harris had he made some plausible rejoinders to the Harris onslaught. Instead, Warren made inane comments about seeing the “fingerprints of God” in culture, law and literature—all exclusive creations of man. Whatever role Warren’s god has in them has been fashioned by men and women throughout the centuries who may or may not have had any religious belief. Perhaps Warren should become more familiar with the works of Mark Twain. It is doubtful that he would find any deity’s fingerprints there. Brian Hill Tulsa, Okla.
A middle ground exists between the rigid positions of Sam Harris and Rick Warren. It is one of simple spirituality; a nondenominational sense of a benevolent higher power that calls us to serve mankind and the planet through love. Most people intuit this power, as Warren says, but then describe it through the convenient language of their local religion, with all the subsequent attached baggage Harris aptly points to. Any time you choose a religion, you deny in some measure all others, an act of supreme arrogance. But if you say there is no God, you sadly deny the abundant evidence witnessed in the mysteries of life, conscience, spirit and soul we humans have poured so much energy into fathoming for millennia. Gene Golus North Massapequa, N.Y.
As indicated in your article, religious behavior is nothing new, as evidenced by primitive societies and archeological findings, and seems to be intrinsic, just as sexual and social behaviors are. Such instinctive behaviors are adaptations selected, as Sam Harris would understand, by the environment. Whether the object of this innate faith is fact or myth is irrelevant, as there are “no final proofs” either way, at least not through the scientific method. Ridding our society of a behavior that comes so naturally to at least 90 percent of us could therefore not possibly be justified or beneficial. Harris’s ideal is more like a frightening science-fiction novel than rational thought. Rebekah Wagstaff Succasunna, N.J.
Clarification In “Gonzales Crams for a Senate Grilling” (periscope, April 16), we reported that Justice Department official Courtney Elwood had been “shutting down” most inquiries from Congress and the news media about the firings of U.S. attorneys. Elwood did not respond to NEWSWEEK’s request for comment until after deadline. She and another Justice official told NEWSWEEK then that while Elwood did recommend holding up some responses to Congress and the news media, she did so only to make sure they were fully accurate before they were released.
