The Universality of Breast Cancer

Nikolai is Nikolai Hamel Friend/Family I am the son of a Breast Cancer survivor. Right now, I am working on my undergrad at University of Maryland.... Send Message Subscribe: Nikolai

Wednesday, October 29, 2008
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Well it's nearing the end of the month, my story could go on forever but it's probably best I find a place to leave it off. Breast Cancer Awareness Month was a huge success as far as I'm concerned. Many new voices in the community have been popping up over the past year and they've proven to...

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Your mother's gifts
Maria Gifford
Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 11:42 PM

Nik,

Another great post. You indeed have your mother's gifts -- many of them.

Best,

Maria

Mothers and Sons
sue dyer
Monday, December 29, 2008 at 09:48 PM

Nikolai, I've just finished reading your posts and I wanted to say thank you for your generosity in giving time and so much of yourself. Forgive the teacher in me when I say that your writing is fantastic and I was much moved by what you had to say. It seems to me that both you AND your mum have grown through her time as a BC fighter.

What you said has also resonated with me as I, too, have sons. My younger son, who is 22, had some difficulty when I told him the news of my diagnosis in October and barely spoke to me for a week. When he finally did speak, it was to ask me for a lift to work! However, in the car, we did manage to have a heart-to-heart and came closer to understanding how each of us could help the other. Your shareposts have given me a glimpse of what might be going on in his head and heart.

I do think you should consider putting your writings together into a book and seeking a publisher. What you have written should be read by an even wider audience than those who use this community. Many people still struggle with the emotional side of cancer and if you have a gift for reflecting on this - and I think you do - then how wonderful to share that and reach out to others.

Thank you again and have a Happy New Year.

Sue

re: Mothers and Sons
Nikolai
Monday, December 29, 2008 at 10:17 PM

Thankyou. Its funny really; I'm just graduating college this comming spring and am an aspiring writer. However, I really dont have a good idea of what to write about, but from the generally positive resonse to my posts, I was thinking a good starting place would be the blogs I've done for healthcentral. I'm glad to hear you were able to corner your son in the car, the first few words are always the toughest!

Best wishes.

Nikolai

re: re: Mothers and Sons
sue dyer
Monday, December 29, 2008 at 11:56 PM

All encouragement to you Nikolai. The posts would be an excellent start and they really illustrate the truth of the belief that you should write about what you know. My advice would be to think about who the book is intended to reach and what, overall, would you like to say to them. My feeling is that it would specifically interest anyone going through the cancer battle and those around them. But I also think it would have value for others. A good story, well told, will always do that. It will also have the "novelty" of being written by a man. Women write this kind of thing all the time. Keep it honest, don't overwrite it and don't overtell your story.

I'm doing a touch of writing myself about my breast cancer experience, putting down my thoughts about what is happening as it happens. It's proving to be great therapy and a way of occupying my time while I'm on extended sick leave. I'm trying to focus on the things that appeal to my weird sense of humour and plan on calling it "If Life were a Cartoon".

I was discussing this with my son the other day and he actually said that if you can start with a blog it's a good thing to show a literary agent when you're trying to get published.

Anyway - good luck and if you want to set up some mutual criticism outside this forum, let me know. apart from fighting cancer, I don't have a lot on my agenda during the next few months!

Best wishes

Sue