I just saw on Instagram a post that my friend Richard’s cancer is back and has metastasized and so he is now in Stage 4. It’s a scary thing to think about because of how young Richard is: we grew up together in the same school system in Fremont, California. I don’t really know what to make of this. I feel a bit weird about all of this as Richard and I haven’t really been very close since high school and college.
Above all, it’s frightening to think that I’m going to start losing people in my life. Richard is the first immediate person in my circle to be diagnosed with something this deadly. As an almost physician, I don’t really know how to make of all of this. I suppose that I should be thankful that I am currently in good health and that, moving toward veganism, am headed in a positive direction in regard to prevention of malignancies.
Nevertheless, I will say a prayer for Richard because I know that he is Christian and doesn’t deserve what is happening to him: no one deserves cancer. In a way analogous to my bipolar I diagnosis, I can sort of understand Richard. Fortunate for me, my ailment has never crossed into the sphere of life-and-death considerations. I haven’t seen Richard since his wedding to his wife almost five years ago, I hope he knows that I love him like a brother and wish him all the strength in this upcoming battle.
The Ivory Tower 
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