A reader writes:
The Batman logo on the chemo container seems cute and well-intentioned, but the fact is that chemo is such a horrible experience that can linger for years. Many people report feeling nauseous just from driving by the hospital where they got their treatment. So is the Brazilian hospital dooming these kids to feel queasy every time they see Batman’s logo for years to come? Can’t help but wonder.
Another:
Your post on a Brazilian hospital’s attempt to disguise chemotherapy as “superformula” awoke a strong resistance in me that I’m having difficulty fully understanding. I had Leukemia when I was 9-11 years old, so I know a thing or two about chemotherapy, and would say I hate it as much as anyone else. Suffering from cancer as a small child is unlike anything you could ever experience, and I understand the urge from adults to turn these children’s weakness into strength, their internal pain into power. But to do so underestimates the resiliency and stoicism I’ve seen in every childhood cancer sufferer I’ve ever met.
Those who survive deserve to know that they are fighting the greatest enemy they’ll ever face, and that their only ally will hurt them before it helps. They, like me, will leave understanding what true strength feels like and can wake every morning knowing they’ve already faced the worst day of their lives. Those who die – and sadly there are far too many – already know deep down that they are not like the other kids; there is a reason they don’t go home after a treatment cycle.
There is no need to be blunt about their future, but lying to them adds nothing to their quality of life. The three strongest people I’ve ever known never made it to 12 years old; every evening we would say goodbye for the last time, but then every morning we would play like … well, like kids.
I don’t mean to belittle kind-hearted efforts to improve the lives of kids who are facing such a tragedy. It is important to cheer up “cancer kids” (those Pittsburgh window washers you linked to would make anyone’s day). It is important to make them feel like they’re not alone. But pretending that chemotherapy isn’t the worst thing they’ll ever experience? Not only is that a lie that could make it harder for kids to understand what’s happening to them, but it’s a lie that assumes that they can’t handle the truth. They can.
The Dish 