Other than you being a former president of the United States of America and me being just one of the millions of Democrats who gladly voted you into that office, you and I have a good deal in common. I, too, am an “old guy” (past 80), have some kids I am proud of and I go to church regularly.
Of course, I head to a Baptist building and you find a Catholic one — but I admire the way you go to church for holy reasons and not as a photo-op.
Now I hear we have something else in common: Prostate cancer.
Dan Day
Even your Gleason score and the attendant medical jargon following it are an echo of what I heard from my doctor’s lips in September 2021. But, I am still here — and my quality of life is still good.
Once I got over the shock of being a cancer victim with a scary tomorrow in front of me, I began to accept some of the new disciplines and feelings (sadness, anger, weakness, hope, resignation) that accompany such a diagnosis.
One doctor told me, “Well, if you’re going to have cancer, yours is the best kind!” He meant well, but after three years living with “the best kind,” I’d like to tell that doctor, “OK, but it still sucks!” Just living every day with the swinging sword of a deadly disease hovering over you is hard work.
“Just living every day with the swinging sword of a deadly disease hovering over you is hard work.”
But eventually I came to an acceptance of my unchangeable situation and with that acceptance began to approach my life the way we’re told we should — “one day at a time.” I did not know scrambled eggs could taste as good as they did, or that sunsets were still just as majestic as I remembered from my youth. A sincere smile and a genuine thank you registered as being as holy as a papal blessing. The feel of my wife’s smooth hands delighted me. Every day made me happy to be here, without constant grieving or wondering if this would be the last time I’d experience this.
So, yes, taking it one day at a time is a big help.
You’ll likely remember that a Country and Western song almost as old as we are made a prayer of this “one day at a time” philosophy by adding the prayer-phrase, “sweet Jesus.” Well, I’d be omitting the deepest truth about my response to prostate cancer if I didn’t add that a lot of talking to “sweet Jesus” has played a king-size role in my well-being. The presence of a caring friend at 3 a.m. is indescribably rescuing.
Joe, I admire you for many reasons. And here’s my pledge to be praying for you as you deal with yet another of life’s unwanted headlines. God bless!
J Daniel (Dan) Day is pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church (Salisbury St.) of Raleigh, N.C, whose cancer story is told in his 2024 book: At the River I Stand: Conversations with God about Dying and Living.
Related articles:
As Biden faces cancer diagnosis, Trump family and MAGA hurl insults
Two ideas for living with death | Opinion by Dan Day