The start of our Summer Camp

Walking into the Covenant Cancer Treatment Center was surreal. It wasn't the first time I had been there. Nearly two decades before, I walked into that center to be with my Grandma as she got chemo for Lung Cancer.

After checking in, we sat in the waiting room. Looking around, I could tell we weren't in Cancer's main demographic. Everyone else in the room was much older. Many were in wheel chairs, had canes and oxygen. It felt as though we didn't belong. But sitting there I started to feel grateful.

You see, it was easy to see that health did not come easy to many of the people in the waiting room. Yet they hadn't given up. They continued to get their treatments week after week, no matter how much it took out of them. They had faith that the treatment they endured would help them live a longer, and hopefully healthier life.

At last Jason's name was called and we went to the patient area, where we waited in a private room. Dr. Masri came in and looked at the CT scan. He described the cancer as he moved through slices of Jason's body. Looking at the cancer, he said it looked like the cancer was contained, but a PETscan and Bone Marrow Biopsy would be required to determine the Stage of the cancer.

Masri described that treatement would most likely be eight chemo treatments spread over four months, followed by radiation. At that moment I realized that this cancer treatment center would be our Summer Camp. For in this Summer, our lives would be changed. We would meet our "camp counselor's" and have our required activities. The goal of this camp: to get cured.