When Travis wrote the following, he was 12 years old celebrating six years of being leukemia free after a match was found through the National Marrow Donor Program. Just wanted to share his message.
If You Haven't Had Cancer
By Travis Yon
If you haven't had cancer, you don't know attention. You can't know attention. The constant questions and the feelings of being surrounded. The "Does this hurt?" and the "Can you feel that?" You are never alone. There is always someone watching you. Whether it's your doctor, nurse, mom, dad, brother, or sister, grandpa or grandma. You are always supervised. If you haven't had cancer you don't know attention.
If you haven't had cancer, you don't know medicine. There is no way you can know medicine. The continual injections, pills, swallowing, and IV's. The charts and keeping track. The discomfort and vomiting. The exhausting chemotherapy and radiation. The 75 medicines a day. If you haven't had cancer you can't know medicine.
If you haven't had cancer you don't know pain. You can't know pain. The injections, the radiation, and the chemotherapy. Pure torture. Fear. That is pain. It's the worst. If you haven't had cancer, you don't know pain.
If you haven't had cancer, you don't know long-term. You can't know long-term. The long, boring hours of just waiting. Doing nothing. Pathetically trying to brainstorm ways to amuse yourself. Waiting for it all to be over. Waiting for the results. It is grueling. If you haven't had cancer you don't know long-term.
If you haven't had cancer you don't know joy. You can't know joy. The joy of surviving, making it, you're done, sprung, released, out through. If you haven't had cancer you don't know joy.
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