Unravel Cancer: Experiences with family battling cancer: Cancer: the meshing of art & athletics

12 September 2010

23:13 Cancer: the meshing of art & athletics

Thank you for your patience, dear readers, as I drop back into Earth's orbit after a wild & woolly ride to Black Rock City, NV for Burning Man 2010. I know everyone is feinting with anticipation at the photos & my thoughts. Rest assured, those thoughts are beginning to settle & will be downloaded for you in this here electronic forum very soon.

Meanwhile, the one that's fully baked was a blog post I didn't have time to write before I left. It'll be short & sweet, and worth it. Please read on...

Can art and athletics meet on common ground?
Yes, by golly! And cancer is what brought them there. Doing the Flammable Stanley Cup for Cancer Survivors project challenged me in ways I didn't expect. The setbacks, the length of time it took to get everything done. I didn't even have time to write the names on the Cup til I got to the playa!

Anyway, it was an exercise in patience, in accepting reality, versus my vision of it. And, it got me really humble in a hurry. If it wasn't for my buddy Mark coming to my construction rescue, the project wouldn't have happened, over 100 people would have been disappointed in me, and my goose would've been cooked. Here's Captain Table Saw in action:

But the point is, all the emotions - the setbacks, the frustration, the fears, the reminding myself to stay calm to get through it all - were the same ones when I'm on a rock wall. I'm no psychologist, but something tells me I pushed myself into this nutty adventure because I wasn't getting my fix climbing, due to so many injuries. Somehow, a catharsis was needed, and climbing wasn't an option anymore.

And catharsis I got. But more on that in my upcoming posts.

I'll leave you with this little ditty to brighten your day. When the going gets tough, the tough get an air banjo:

PS: I highly recommend developing an art project if you are a) in cancer treatment, b) are a helpless shlameel family member watching someone else die from cancer. Many people asked me why I don't fundraise or contribute some kind of research towards fighting cancer. I'm just not a scientist, I'm an artist. Engaging in the ritual of art heals many things, both for myself & others. Give it a try - you'll feel much better. Oh, and once you're done, burn it! Then you'll really feel great. Ta...

Labels: banjo, Burning Man, cancer, cancer survivor, catharsis, family cancer, rock climbing, Stanley Cup

Breathe.

I'm a 30-something professional woman who's mother & brother were both diagnosed with Grade 3 Astrocytoma tumors within about a week of each other. My mother's tumor is in her brain, and my brother's tumor is in his spinal cord, causing him to lose feeling in his arms & legs. These writings are about my experiences dealing with them, coping, loving them, loving myself, and living my life knowing that they are both dying. I hope you find inspiration and courage from my writings to help you get through whatever is going on in your life.