Throughout my childhood, I was told that I should never say the word “hate”. I was reminded that it was a harsh and terrible word and that, as a Christian, I should never “hate” anything or anyone. According to dictionary.com, the official definition of hate is “the feeling of extreme dislike and aversion or hostility”. Now, knowing that I don’t take this lightly, I want to say to cancer. . . I HATE you.

I hate that you cause pain and death.

I hate that you bring suffering, not only to your victim, but to everyone in their life.

I hate that you always seem to choose the least deserving people to attack.

I hate that you have the ability to take away loved ones from their friends and families.

I hate that the only way to get rid of you is to go through long, painful treatments.

I hate that you make me hate you.

As a total control freak, I wish that I could do more than just pray for the people that I love who have cancer. I wish that I could take away their pain and despair. I wish that I could promise them that everything would be okay. But I can’t. Anyone who has someone close to them with cancer knows the helplessness that I am describing. All that you can do for them is make food or send flowers, and it never feels like enough. Cancer isn’t fair. It is cruel and unforgiving, and I cannot wait for the day that no one ever has to battle it again.