Nine Centimeters

"Nothing is worth more than this day." ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

9 centimeters

The length of antique coffee spoons put up for auction.

9 centimeters

The length of a Hatchetfish found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

9 centimeters

The width of a Moleskine Notebook that fits nicely in ones shirt pocket.

9 centimeters

The size of a cancerous spot found on my friends kidney.

It is merely a number by which one uses to describe something. Like an infinite amount of other numbers, it could be larger or smaller. What it doesn't describe is how how we live life. It does not determine how strong the human spirit can be. It does not dictate how we view our future.

Any time the word cancer strikes the ears, one has an instant view of fatality. The word cancer can strike fear into one's heart and consume our day. But the word cancer can also realign what is important to us in life. It can cause us to let go of yesterday. It can cause us to value today.

I know of many cancer survivors and have had heart wrenching loss of others to cancer. But for all those involved, the cancer patient, the cancer spouse, the cancer children, the cancer relatives and the cancer friends; each of us gain so much from the experience of cancer.

Cancer can turn all of your life into a negative replay of regrets and disappointment. But I choose cancer to be a positive statement which reaffirms my belief in the good things our lives have. I choose to believe that my friend will overcome this cancer as they found it early. I choose to believe he will live to be an old man, rocking his grandchildren and teaching them how to fish.

9 centimeters, just a number on a chart.