Tilting at Windmills

This is a letter the the editor-in-chief of the Raleigh News & Observer that I sent today. They had an offensive calendar celebrating Martha Stewart's get out of jail free card--what she could do under house arrest--haha. I see nothing funny in this and I told them so. I sent a letter a couple of weeks ago which was posted here about a dozen pages back dated 2/11. We are a chatty bunch. This is all part of my media crusade to advocate on our behalf; to call attention to this disease and call them on tasteless jokes such as this.
I am disheartened to see your continuing coverage of Martha Stewart's release from jail. You ran a piece on Friday satirizing the month ahead filled with facetious appointments to fill her time including sending doilies to fellow inmates
I was not amused. March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month. The Martha calendar--reminiscent of your monthly garden feature--is insensitive in the extreme. Have you forgotten why Ms. Stewart was convicted to (merely) five months in prison? I am a survivor of this disease and wrote a letter to the editor two weeks ago on this very subject. I sent another one today submitting my own version of a calendar--that of a patient (yours truly) undergoing chemotherapy. Not to make light of the situation but I did manage to have a few laughs while I was ill. I had to clean up my daily routine for the letter, as the brutal facts of this treatment are not fit to publish in a family paper.
As much as I like to see my name in print, I do not really expect you to use everything that is sent to you. I would, however, like to see some mention of the fact that this is a month set aside to bring information to the public about prevention including colonoscopies starting at age fifty. This would have saved me a lot of trouble as I put off the very test, which detects trouble at an early stage.
I am a faithful reader of this paper. Did I miss an article about cancer awareness? So far I have noticed nothing except the sort of thing that trivializes the pain and suffering of those afflicted with this deadly disease. Perhaps you could assign Bridgette A. Lacy to the task of redeeming your reputation as an organization based on balanced journalism.
I subscribe to an online support group run by the National Cancer Society. We compare notes and cheer one another on through the long and grueling protocols needed to fight this dragon. Foolish optimism impelled me plant hundreds of bulbs last fall to give us something to look forward to this spring. The snowdrops are flowering and the crocuses around the big oak tree are not far behind. Some members of the group did not live to see this. I can only hope that they are somehow able to enjoy this affirmation of life. My story is their story.
I made my own calendar; a satyrical counterpoint. Domestic Diva vs Chemo Diva.
Now posted on Phizz: http://semicola.blogspot.com/