The Bond of Survival

Fighting cancer is a community. The severity of the outcome and the extreme process in fighting this disease develops a bond that creates a close knit community. I have only seen this from the outside but have seen it a number of times. Just recently I have become aware of two family members and a very close family friend with breast cancer. Now that I think about it, this fight creates several communities.
There’s the core group, these are the actual victims of the disease itself. This group can be further defined into those fighting the disease and those who have fought it and survived. This core group reminds me of the community of soldiers that have faced death in battle and have developed a bond that only being in that situation can create.
The next community is the support group. This is where I fit in. The people in this group do whatever they can to support those who are fighting the battle. Everything from fund raisers, to making meals, to words of support. Nothing is too small and yet it’s never enough either.
The randomness of this disease and the severity of the outcome have a way of bringing people together no matter what their differences. And in this case all three assumptions about communities are true; they create a sense of stability, serve our needs and accept us for who we are.