The colors of cancer

FORT BRAGG, NC, UNITED STATES

10.05.2015

Story by Timothy Hale  

U.S. Army Reserve Command

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - On Aug. 16, 2012, my wife, Natalie, was diagnosed with Stage 3B melanoma – a half-stage away from Stage 4 – the killer melanoma.

A mole located on her right side near her upper ribcage had gone
rogue and developed into cancer.

Thanks to a fantastic oncology staff at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, I am happy to report that she is cancer-free. No chemotherapy, no radiation. However, the surgeons performed two very invasive surgeries three weeks apart to remove 24 lymph nodes under her right arm.

Before her first surgery, we both knew that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month which means a wash of pink appearing everywhere from bumper stickers to retail stores.

But that got us thinking. “Does melanoma or any other cancer have a color?”

A quick online search showed us more colors and cancer awareness months than we could have possibly imagined.

As I was scanning through the colors, Natalie asked, “What color do I have?” Knowing that her favorite color is yellow, I was actually hoping that would be her color.

“Is it yellow?” she asked.

“No. That is for bone cancer and sarcoma,” I replied.

“How about purple or blue?” she insisted.

“Nope. Not those either,” I said.

“Well, what is melanoma’s color?” she finally asked.

I looked up from my computer and said, “Black” knowing that she was looking for something bright and cheerful to help her through this unexpected diagnosis.

“Well, that’s not really a fun color. But then again, no kind of cancer is fun,” she said.

We set out to find every kind of black that we could. Ribbons, rubber bracelets, baseball caps, and I even found her a nice Swarovski crystal bracelet for her to wear.

So as we enter the pink wash of breast cancer awareness month, let us not forget there are plenty of folks out there fighting their own personal cancer battle every day.

Some of them are right here in the U.S. Army Reserve Command headquarters. They may be sitting in a cubicle right across from you – as I found out a few weeks ago.

As a USARC Family, we should support them any way we can in their personal battle, no matter the color of their cancer.

• Date Taken: 10.05.2015
• Date Posted: 10.05.2015 20:51
• Story ID: 178167
• Location: FORT BRAGG, NC, US