See you on the moon Talk About Cancer

Jason spoke lovingly about his memories of his mom - who battled three types of cancer for over a decade - and the ways in which he continues to remember and honor her legacy since she died in 2019. He also shared some interesting stories about kilts and prostate cancer awareness.

What a storyteller Jason was. There was literally a story to illustrate every point he made in our conversation! It was really interesting to hear how Jason’s experience as an officer for more than 20 years has influenced his perspectives about life and death.

One part that stuck with me was how Jason didn’t make it in time to see his mom before she died, which was so crushing but I could see that Jason was able to move forward from that because he had an important job to do - which was to MC the celebration of life she planned. I mean, what a gift she had given to Jason so that he knew exactly what he needed to do to honor her life and get closure. And then there were the actual gifts for the family as well! What an amazing way to let her family continue to experience her love beyond her death. 

I had a mini epiphany from our conversation. If you recall, at one point I was talking to Jason about not letting what happened during the last few months of my dad’s life consume my memories of him, because it was a small part and shouldn’t define his life and who he was as a person. When I thought about that more after our conversation, I realized that only when I was able to move on from those imageries of suffering in my head did the unexpected moments of breakdown start to happen less. Maybe it just took time for those imageries to become more blurry and be less painful in my mind. I do often wonder at what point will the unexpected moments of intense emotions stop occurring. Is it 5 years? 10 year? Or maybe never? I don't know yet. 
You can find Jason at: 
What’s Your Emergency podcast: http://wyeradio.com/Kilted to Kick Cancer: https://www.kiltedtokickcancer.org/A couple of books Jason recommended for people who want to better understand the experience of someone who is facing their own mortality. 
Chasing Daylight by Paul KalanithiWhen Breath Becomes Air by Eugene O’KellyPlease subscribe to the podcast if you would like to hear more stories from cancer survivors, caregivers, and family members. You can let me know which topics you would like to hear more about or share any feedback about the show by going to my Instagram page or email me at talkaboutcancerpodcast@gmail.com. 
Thank you for listening!