Literary Inspiration: Khalil Gibran on Joy

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

- Khalil Gibran, author of The Prophet.

As some of you will know already, our family received the best news possible yesterday. My mother had an appointment with her surgeon to receive the pathology results from the autopsy of her breast tissue removed in her mastectomy a week ago. We were all incredibly nervous. It's been a hard slog since she first got diagnosed with her rare and agressive form of cancer nine months ago - chemo, radiation and infections all documented in this blog and in her own. The survival rate on this type of cancer has been improving but it's still one of the crappier cancers to get. 3pm saw me and my sister at home waiting impatiently for a phonecall.

Ring, ring...

The phonecall came, we held our breath... the cancer was gone. As in not a trace. The pathologist had actually rung the surgeon to confirm that it was actually cancer they were meant to be looking for. They will be performing what they call a resection - where they cut the little pieces into smaller pieces but it doesn't change the result. It's gone, that part of our life that's in statis can now move forward and flourish. We live life newly grateful for what we have... the trial has made us stronger.