Every so often, in the midst of all the not-so-happy news emanating from newspapers, radio, TV, and the Internet, there is a hopeful, beaming ray of light that breaks through and shines on the tenacity of the human spirit’s ability to prevail over a potentially fatal disease.
Cancer is probably the ugliest six-letter word in the English language. No one who has not contracted it can understand the dread that it can cause. And no one who has not contracted it can understand the day-to-day courage of cancer patients who squarely face this disease with hope, prayer and good medical assistance.
The Red Sox have an example of that reach-down-deep strength in John Lester, the 24-year old left-handed pitcher who, on Monday, threw 130 pitches over nine innings to clinch a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals.
During his treatment, Lester had been away from major league ball, and it was unclear whether he would return to the roster. But he did. And how! Last year, Colorado Rockies fans remember him well as the man who sealed their defeat in the fourth and final game of the 2007 World Series – a mere 14 months after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Somerset County, N.J. is Yankees & Mets baseball country. Yet, any good baseball fan can easily offer a tip of the hat to Lester’s kind of grit: A sports enthusiast doesn’t have to love the Red Sox to love Jon Lester. He is hope for every patient struggling with the life-altering challenges brought on by this disease, and a beacon to the rest of us who can only stand in awe of such purpose and strength of mind.
Kind of puts life in perspective, doesn’t it?
Note: Since this post was drafted, Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with malignant glioblastoma; and, yesterday, Hamilton Jordan, former chief of staff to former President Carter, passed away from other forms of cancer.
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