The Cancer

One minute happy, another sad,

So quickly things change from good to bad.

The hurt, the pain, the feeling inside,

No one could ever know my want to die.

All others are strangers to the truth,

As I wonder, why Lord are you taking away my youth?

The money for treatment I lack,

As family, friends and even God turn their backs.

All alone, the disease from within makes me scream out loud,

Every night, every day I feel as if I were under a rain cloud.

The darkest of times are here to stay,

Nothing ever changes as the cancer makes its way.

Poverty, it looks like has fuelled the disease's rage,

As screening and blood testing could not be afforded on my small wage.

Survival for me has become the ultimate test,

Comprising of endurance versus my economic best.

Death had laid its icy hands upon me,

As I compete with lack of health insurance, reduced employment and short - term disability.

In this disease's triumph lies my defeat,

As I am forced to deal with discrimination, pain, chemotherapy and fatigue.

This cancer has made me a statistic in my socio-economic situation,

With all the delay in diagnosis, prescription drug costs and increased deprivation.