The Long Middle - Does the idea of “the long middle” reflect your experience?
Check out this article and let's discuss.
The author describes living with stage 4 cancer as being in “the long middle”, a space where there is not a cure, but death isn’t necessarily imminent either. It highlights the complexity of living with uncertainty, ongoing treatment, and how others perceive or respond to that reality.
Does the idea of “the long middle” reflect your experience?
Comments
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I found this an excellent piece and yes, it did speak to me, especially in the sense that my priorities have changed. I no longer think I have endless time for personal accomplishments, but rather put my energy into love and wisdom.
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The article really resonated with me. This part, especially, hit home for me:
"This absence of a final whistle necessitates a new, tempered kind of stamina. Here, strength is rarely about the “fight”. Military metaphors such as “battling” and “warrior” are a leaden weight for those of us who cannot “win” in the traditional sense."
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I really appreciated the way the author articulated this - the “long middle” is the concept that I have found most challenging to wrap my head around in this first year + of my metastatic diagnosis. It is nice to hear the experience of someone farther in and also that she highlighted not only her perspective but some of the others within her community.
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It's a really interesting article.
My husband is dealing with a medical issue. The doctor said to him at your age, I recommend this treatment, having some small talk with the doctor, he told us has to be careful, saying " at your age, because he had come to realise that many are not accepting of aging and believe they have all the time in the world to sort out issues, start new careers, among other things, or are annoyed that age could be a consideration for treatmetm.
The other thing I have come across is people who seem to be embarrassed that they have cancer and dont want people to know.
I really like how open and articulate she is about her condition.
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