Unwanted News

She sat there trembling, the words that she had just heard instantly dissolved her thoughts. Could this possibly be happening or was it all a dream. She could feel tears as they started to form in the corner of her eyes. There was no way around it, the words had been real and yet numbing at the same time. What she had feared for years had finally arrived and now she had a decision to make. Was she going to stand up and meet it head on or was she going to pull herself back into a little shell and hide from it?
****Her doctor sat across the desk from her in silence as he watched her expression. He knew that what he had said to her were words that cut through people sharply and each handled it in their own way. Cancer was a disease that was treatable for some and terminal to others. He knew in his heart that the disease she had could be fought and there was a chance that she could beat it. However it was his job to prepare her for what lay ahead depending on the course she would take. He knew that the decision would take a while along with a lot of thinking about her family and what effect it would have on them. She finally looked up at him with a blank stare and he tried to think of words that would comfort her.
****She slowly gathered herself and stood from her chair, running her hands down over her skirt smoothing the material that had ceased from sitting. Finally she spoke in a soft and trembling voice, "When do you need my decision?" He looked at her as he stood from his chair and walked around the desk to her. He calmly took her hand and said, "Take your time, I know it is a big decision and one not to be made without thought." She nodded and turned and walked to the door beside him. He reached out and opened the door for her watching her leave his office and walk slowly down the long corridor that led to the exit.
****Another life had just been altered by those very words that he had spent much of his career saying, "Sorry to bring you this news but your test have come back positive for cancer." His heart was as heavy as hers now as he knew the crisis that she had felt. When he received her tests his heart had sunk deep in him and he knew that telling her would take all the strength that he could muster. He, better then anyone knew that those words had destroyed some and yet had made others stronger. He sat there alone in his office now, his eyes closed and tears running down his cheeks. He wondered now what his mothers decision would be since he had just told her that she had cancer.
****Many times in life we are asked to stand up and tell someone things that they do not want to hear. No matter how big or how small we need to respect the pain that it may cause to the them and be willing to reach out a helping hand. He now knew that he would respect whatever wish she would have and stand by her in strong support. That is all one can ask from family and friends in their times of need. The love of true support, never dictating or demanding, never questioning the rights and wrongs of decision one person makes in their battles for survival.