The Role of Information for the Semi;Colon Nation

I’ve mulled this situation over for the past several days. Decided I wanted to speak – then changed my mind and decided to stay quiet. But it just keeps eating away at me and I just have to talk about it to clear my head and my spirit.

Much has been bandied back and forth recently on the role of information on this forum. What to say? What not to say? Whose feelings are we hurting?

After much reflection on this topic of discussion, I’ve come to the following conclusions.

First, let’s start from the Basics. What and Who Are We?

We are a COLORECTAL board. First and foremost our mission is to share and support our community against the many aspects and conditions of such a deadly disease. It’s not easy being a Semi;Colon here, but nobody ever said it was.

It is however, a badge of pride that we all wear and are proud to be a part of. It is an honor to be called this and one that I treasure highly.

We deal and Life and Death every day up here. We see it everyday through our own eyes, and that of others. The very nature of our cancer has dictated this for us.

So as a way to combat this disease and help each other along the way, there is this Great Forum – technology being used for constructive purposes. It’s been given to us a “gift” by the American Cancer Society and the Cancer Survivors Network.

And through that pipeline, we are able to converge as many from around the world to touch down on this special landing field and share our lives, our experiences, our hopes, our dreams, our fears, and our tears.

What a wonderful privilege to be able to have a place like this, that we can call home and come and be with others, who have also been afflicted and are walking down the roads we are travelling – or have travelled.

I’ll take this opportunity to thank again the American Cancer Society and the Cancer Survivor Network - for without YOU, there could never be any of US.

In regards to the posting of any type of information. This is a slippery slope. I think there s a big distinction to recognize with this, however.

First, there is posting responses to someone else’s post. If you see somebody new, then you can exercise some caution and not club them over the skull right from the get-go. You just have to sort of feel out the poster on where they are coming from. Are they scared out of their skull? Or does it look like they can handle some deep information at the start. We have to use our best judgment there and sort of know our audience.

Second, there is opening “your own post.” This is quite different. This is a time when YOU should be able to express yourself and write about things that you are interested in discussing or receiving support on. People can then either choose to read you or back out of the post.

But if we are censored or afraid to open a post and discuss a topic because “one” person, that we might never know is on or off the forum and just “might be reading” that day, then we’ll never open a post and the forum loses valuable insight from a valued community member and the board would then, in effect, be of no good to us, since nobody would be posting, or afraid to post. The posts would then be “hollow and empty” because outside of information give and take, there would be little correspondence.

And that would be a shame. Because, I like all the various posts – both the technical and emotional. It takes all kind to make our world spin on its axis here. It’s always been the multiple personalities and the divest experiences that brings on that certain flavor that no other board on the planet has.

We are the sum product of each and everyone of us – all mixed together and commonly united to our common cause. We are only as our strong with all of our membership here and participating. Let’s not “Kill the Goose That Laid the Golden Egg.”

Last subject – “Burying Our Heads in the Sand.”

We’re all intelligent adults on this forum and we have an enormous capacity to absorb just about anything that life has to throw at us. I’ve never felt that running or hiding from our cancer or the information that comes with it, is any kind of an option. There’s simply nothing to be gained from it.

I’ve read about members wanting to bury their head in the sand. Well, if I happen to come up on you and find you in that position, then I’m going to “gently” nudge you in your backside and tell you to “Pull Your Head Out.” LOL:)

We must stand up to Cancer at all times – nose to nose – eyeball to eyeball – toe to toe. In this way, we become EMPOWERED and take some type of control by fighting Cancer on Its own terms and not being afraid – and never backing down.

And by being able to accomplish this lets you know that you’ve gone up against the best there is – and by not running you know that there won’t be anything that you cannot handle going forward in your life.

Regardless of whether we win or lose our fights, we did not tuck tail and run. We stood and fought and we’ll fight till our last breath has run out. And the satisfaction that one gets from not running away from a fight is the best feeling that there is. Because you DID what you thought you were unable to do - and that's where "growth and enlightment" spring forth from.

I know people’s feelings do get hurt here sometimes. But, it is an open, public forum and so we must be prepared to not like everything that we read – or everything that we hear. Put it out there – you just never know who’s reading it or who can be helped by your post.

I’ve personally learned quite a bit about everyone – and I think we all grow when we read and learn of different perspectives sometimes, rather than our own all the time. Variety is the spice of life – at least that’s what I was taught in school.

Buzz said it in one of his posts recently, “Some of us have only this place.” And that’s certainly the case with me. I’ve only got you in my life – all others have forsaken me and tossed me to the curb like a sack of trash. So, this place is important to me – my friends are here – and I fight dearly for my friends. I want this place to continue long after we’re all not here.

We are merely instruments in this great big posting machine that is Semi;Colon Nation, but known affectionately as “The Board”….I’ve never been prouder to be a part of anything in my life.

I guess that’s really all that I had to say today. You know I love you guys. I would not write the things I do or talk about the topics I’ve talked about, unless I cared specifically about you and our community as a whole.

I’ll close this post with this last thought on what I’ve learned about Cancer in my ongoing journey, 7-years and counting…..

“Cancer is a bad thing – it tries to take away all that we are – and all that we’re ever going to be.”

But, let’s not let that happen with this forum. Let's Fight Cancer - Not Each Other.

Yours Truly,

-Craig