Gilda Radner was a well known comedian who died of ovarian cancer in 1989 . Her biggest legacy was her work in raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer and the genetic link between breast and ovarian cancer. After her death , her husband the actor Gene Wilder , her psychotherapist Joanna Bull and the film critic Joel Siegal established Gildas Club a place of support for cancer patients and their families. Radner was a gifted performer who managed to capture the experience of cancer in a way that allowed her to use humour as a way to empathizing with other people going through similar experiences. She said very poignantly , "I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end" .
I hear ya' Gilda ! We don't like it and we don't want it. It's unfair and,to use the wonderful American expression, it "sucks" but the bad news is that Mum has been in pain the last couple of days. Not a "twinge" or an "ache" ,she's been struggling. Today she told me that she was feeling tired of it all and as turned to her at the front door of her condo, I could clearly see that she was looking and feeling more frail . She even talked about cancelling bridge with her friend Joan and just taking to her bed. It's not like mum to feel discouraged.
It is upsetting. Just as she makes some progress ,a clear MRI scan and plenty to look forward to , she has to contend with something else .
Oh well , in the words of Gilda , "Dreams are like paper, they tear so easily” . We'll get through this and we'll get mum to the warm sunny beaches of Mexico thirteen days from today. In the meantime, she'll have to rest, take plenty of pain killers and if necessary, we'll go to Roswell this week and check in again with her doctor.
