Page 2 - MidWeek Kauai - January 25, 2023

2 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK JANUARY 25, 2023
DIRECTOR OF CONTENT/ SUPPLEMENT PRODUCTS RON NAGASAWA
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
BILL MOSSMAN
MANAGING EDITOR
NICOLE MONTON
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Kaua‘i Midweek is published every Wednesday
by Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd.,
Suite 7-500 Honolulu, HI 96813.
with Kaethe Kauffman
A fter a bout with can- cer, friends told me how brave I was. Really? As a vegetarian, I’d assumed I was immune to can- cer. As I fantasized about the upcoming operation, I con- vinced myself that the surgeon
I recovered from surgery in good humor. After the sur- geon told me she’d removed a 1.2-centimeter tumor, howev- er, I began to realize the rascal existed. The cancer was real. Happily, the ordeal was over, I thought.
For me, “saddling up” meant facing cancer with in- creased meditation, prayer and honest discussions with friends and support groups. Slowly, at the gut level, in- sight arose: I had vulnerable flesh, just like everyone else, vegetarian or not.
would find nothing because: 1. Someone made a big
But being a cancer survivor meant taking ongoing pre- ventative measures to thwart the disease’s reoccurrence. No longer being in denial was positive for my mental and physical health. Sadly, the acceptance process also aroused distressing thoughts of mortality.
With this negative realiza- tion, oddly, I felt more com- passion for myself and for others who were facing can- cer or other serious disease. In my next “saddling up” effort, I began a new volunteer job — visiting hospice patients.
mistake.
2. On the off chance there
was a tumor, it had dissolved because of my positive think- ing.
I kept these fantasies to my- self, but in quiet moments, I knew I was in denial.
For the first time, I realized why people told me I was brave. Actually, I was fright- ened. I thought of my child-
What Cancer Taught Me
“... When we long for life without ... difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”
— Peter Marshall (1902-1949)
Together, we mustered courage to share our mutual vulnerability. In the end, can- cer taught me humility and to experience deeper levels of emotional healing with others.
Writer and exhibiting artist Kaethe Kauffman (pen name, Cate Burns) has won numer- ous awards for her book of humorous essays, “Libido Tsunami,” and her poems have been featured in six award-winning poetry anthol- ogies. She has just finished a book of personal essays, “Hu- mor When You Need It.”
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Lynne Johnson and Robin Stephens Rohr.
www.gardenpondskauai.com
In Kilauea, next to Mini Golf • Open Wed-Sun • 12 to 5 pm
unnecessary. Although I saw sonograms that supposedly showed a tumor blob, to me it looked like mashed potatoes on the screen.
hood hero, actor John Wayne, who said, “Courage is being scared to death ... and sad- dling up anyway.”
Creating that
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(808) 828-6400
I finally consented to sur- gery, still convinced it was
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