COLDS, CANCER AND CAUTION – Janice Anne Wheeler, Sparring With Mother Nature
The other two, well, I’m intimately familiar, as are most of us. The other two knocked my feet out from under me this week—my wonderful PA took a skin biopsy which turned out to be positive for what we didn’t want, as so often happens. I carry the BRCA2 genetic mutation which indicates a stunning array of cancer, predominantly breast and ovarian. (Not looking for sympathy here, since we’re all friends I’m just sharing my world.) She referred me to a local general surgeon, who offered on-the-spot surgical removal at my consultation. No caution required! Hey, what’s a couple more inches of scar on this girl? Doesn’t matter in the least. Surgeon and lovely Nurse Practitioner efficiently removed said cancer. One hour consult-surgery combo. Boom. Caution? None. I say get rid of that stuff just as fast as you can! If you don’t already know, I opted for immediate preventive double mastectomy and hysterectomy as soon as I discovered that gene. Brutal legacy on my maternal side. Maybe that is caution. Or fear. I came home, laid down with my new stitches and just the beginnings of a little cold. Boom, this body said, reset and simply took me down and out. Never experienced anything quite like it, honestly. I’ve been worthless for three days, melted into the mattress in such a way that I can hardly move, must less function. Have you felt that? Whoa. Was it the stress of the C word? (not the shocking one, the terrifying one). Yep. Absolutely. My third time with Squamous Cell Carcinoma, hoping it’s a charm. In a good way. I’ve had enough; it’s what took my Grandma Pearl after a long tough fight. So many have battled! We can’t cure the common cold, or even make it much less miserable, so, while I know there are advances in treatment, I hesitate to see how we’ll stop cancer; and let’s not get into the awful conspiracy theories that involve greed. And that’s enough of that!The proceeding paragraphs are my (reasonable, lengthy) excuse for offering up two pieces from the archives rather than fresh, fabulous reading material this week. Here are a couple SPARRING stories that I truly hope you’ll enjoy. Settle in. 
A TURTLE TALE. That happens to be about caution. “His expression told me, very clearly, that I hadn’t learned enough respect, yet. With a distinctive sense of something forever altered, I understood and gazed disappointedly after the dark, descending loggerhead. Was it caution that I had gained in addition to understanding?” READ ON….
A STORY OF OTHER ENDANGERED THINGS, and how we eventually lose them. “In all the time STEADFAST has been here, no birds of prey have chosen our spreaders. That fact hadn’t dawned on me until the osprey appeared and that chapter of my life was re-opened. I stopped at the bottom of the ladder, glancing up to confirm the unexpected silhouette. It was gone.” READ ON…
Until next week, thanks for staying aboard through the crests and troughs of life! ~J It’s Breast Cancer Awareness month here in the US. I wrote my first self-published book about choosing preventive surgeries. Just for fun, I call my rebuilt breasts “The New Girls”, and that is the title of the Memoir. You can see more of my work here on my website. Get on there!
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© 2026 Janice Anne Wheeler
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