Writing letters to strangers helped me manage my fears about my dad's esophageal cancer treatment

It was December 2018 when my family knew something was seriously wrong with my dad. An otherwise healthy 54-year-old man and avid tennis player was sitting in front of us, barely touching his dinner.

节日来了又走，但他努力保持粮食下降没有。仅在几个星期后，我收到了难以想象的电话：我的父亲被诊断出患有III期esophageal cancer.

What led us toMD Anderson食道癌治疗

这是很难形容的感觉如何时，心爱的人患有癌症。这里有一个永远存在的沉重，使得它难以呼吸。我拼命地渴望世界，我们会在我爸的居住诊断— a reality that was starting to feel eerily distant.

爸爸的当地医生告诉他，他的肿瘤的大小和位置意味着他需要更专业的护理比他们能够提供。并做了一些研究之后，清楚地认识到我们所有人188bet体育网址MD Anderson是最好的选择。

Once my dad decided to seektreatment在那里，事情开始快速移动。48小时内，我的父母收拾行李，准备从亚特兰大到休斯敦飞行。

Taking action to manage my fears about esophageal cancer

It was during this time that I sat down with some notebook paper and started writing letters. I wrote to the medical oncology team, theradiationoncology team and thesurgery团队将被分配给我父亲。

我想我爸爸的照顾者有谁瞥见他和多少他的意思是我们的家庭。我也希望会有人 - 我们都不知道在那个时候 - 谁曾在他的旅途一个显著的影响。我写信给我的父母会在途中遇到的人，以及那些谁将会帮助他们。

What I said in the letters

有些收件人，我给我爸最喜欢的话题的谈论话题。我知道我的爸爸会不舒服，扫描和程序时可能害怕，不过说起堪萨斯篮球，比利·乔的音乐可能有助于平息他的神经。

对其他人来说，我感谢他们的东西，他们还没有完成。这些信件可能是最难写的。但它是有帮助的想象，我感谢人们对最终成为现实的事情。我知道，当收件人阅读我的信，他们会意识到他们刚刚多少意味着我的父母。

As soon as I finished writing the letters, I felt a wave of comfort wash over me. I wouldn’t be able to be with my dad at every appointment, but a piece of me would go with him and get to all the people who were going to change his life. I could stay close to him in that way.

How my father is doing today

Five months later, my parents had given out all of my letters. Some were handed out during tough times; others were shared on days filled with hope. My dad delivered the last one at the airport on his way home, and it was an emotional experience for him, my mom and that special person.

Today, my father continues to recover. But he is doing well and shows no signs of cancer. He had his feeding tube removed last month and returned to the tennis court for the first time since his surgery. Both of those were big moments.

我最后的公开信

我甚至不能开始计数所有谁走进我们的生活，并支持我们的家庭为我的爸爸通过这个去的人。所以，这里是我的最后，公开信：

To all of the doctors and staff atMD Anderson: thank you. Our family is forever indebted to you for saving my father’s life.

我爸：我爱你。你已经面临癌症，每天用坚定的力量打它。

Lastly, to anyone who needs encouragement: Even on your toughest, darkest days, remember there will be a time when you can breathe again. My dad is proof.

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