Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Keeping a brave face

I found out today that the husband of a good Chinese friend of mine in Bamboo Forest has pancreatic cancer. What a blow.

Back in May he had low energy, was losing weight and was jaundiced. They went to the doctor, not all that common of a practice here. After a week of running tests, they found out he had this cancer. In China, cancer patients are not told they have cancer, just their family members are told. It is believed a cancer patient will lose his spirit and will to live if he knows the bad news. I always feel so strange when I know someone has cancer and that person doesn't even know himself. I wouldn't tell you this secretive personal news on this blog if there was anyway you would possibly know who he is. Not one reader of this blog has ever met this person though, so that's the only reason I feel I can talk about it.

He was told he has a bad cold/flu.

The 49-year-old is undergoing chemotherapy ten days a month, losing hair and has some nausea for his "bad cold." When I saw my friend today, she tried to tell me his situation is not too bad, but I knew she was just putting on a brave face, because she looked like she was about to break down in tears. I don't really know how much she knows about pancreatic cancer. Her daughter has looked it up on the Internet, but they can't discuss it at home. My friend looked really tired and worn out.

I'll make up some English pseudonyms for them so you can pray for them if you want to: Luella and Hank. They are super nice people and I have been to their home several times for meals. On the government official classification system, they are peasant farmers (but they live in the city and have low-paying jobs that do not involve farming). They are not the poorest of the poor, but neither are they as well-off financially as the middle-class. May God bless them.

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