Carl's cancer blog

My good friend and mentor Carl Volkmann has his own blog up now, detailing his now 10 year+ battle with cancer. (Click the title of this entry to get there.) That's how he sees it (a war -- and he's a very gentle man!), and his continuing focus is impressive.

We were talking today (as he chauffeured me around Springfield) about this weird truth: there are some people who avoid him now. They don't know what to say about his cancer. Yet the important thing to Carl is that his friends know what's up -- he's convinced that their active support is part of what keeps him healthy and whole.

I have other friends battling other diseases. But I found this a powerful reminder: talk to each other. Ask direct questions. Let our friends know they matter to us. We are more than our diseases.