Corinne is tough. She has no time for self-pitiers. And she doesn't cry often about this situation. But, sometimes, the pain and the weakness and the sense of powerlessness over the disease are overwhelming.

Corinne is especially distressed at what this experience has done to her body. The weakness has severely curtailed her active life, and she does love to eat. Combine these factors with the well-known side effect of the steroid, Prednisone (part of the chemotherapy), to cause weight gain. And Corinne cries at the loss of her trim figure. Never in her life has she weighed so much or been so out of condition.

The situation is sometimes overwhelming for the Caregiver as well. Having gone through this twice, it is clear to me that the health professionals who are surrounded each day by lots of people fighting their own cancer battles, must emotionally detach themselves just to stay sane. The essential difference in orientation between the professionals we rely on in this battle and the primary Caregiver is that the Caregiver just can't become detached. Sometimes I cry.