Next

"Is he here today?" someone would ask.
Not surprised, it's happened in the past.
My bubbly, smiling, happy Mandarin teacher,
has stage four stomach cancer.

She complained about pain near her stomach
her entire life, but no one would hear it.
She found blood on the toilet
and decided no more could she handle it.
A couple of tests and a trip to the doctor later,
she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
She tried her best to hold in her tears.
After that, my aunt would only live for half a year.

Six months later, my mom gets a call.
"Hey, it's about mom. She's not doing well at all."
A couple weeks later, my mom's on a plane to another country.
"It was hidden in her cough, something that we didn't see."
Slowly and painfully, my grandma started to plea.
She couldn't beat this lung cancer. "Please don't help me."
She died six months later, just like my aunt.
Sitting here we worry, who's next in its hunt?

Cancer has personally affected me and many of my loved ones. I hope that this poem will raise more awareness about about cancer and encourage people to be more invested in their health. The American Cancer Society's website, www.cancer.org, is one of many resources that people can visit for more information about cancer.