Anybody pull their cancer card?

[Jyoung20]

I have been reading a book called "Crazy Sexy Cancer" and after reading Patti's post I thought I would ask you survivors if you ever pull your cancer card out?

I know I have....Especially during treatment.

I must confess that I parked in the pregnant mother's parking spot at the grocery store numerous times during treatment. Never questioned about it but I definately had a good excuse..

XOXO,

Jamie

[Muriel]

I just bought that book a couple weeks ago. Great book. I don't use the cancer card as much as I used to. I do, however, use my out-of-state handicap parking tag whenever I can't park close to a building.

Muriel

[Connie B]

That is an AWESOME BOOK! She is without a doubt one SMART POSTIVIE DETERMINED CANCER SURVIVOR!! Rock me Babu. Rock me sweetie rock me all night long. she's my hero. The trump card was always the card to call, now I am going to start calling the Cancer Card, or in my case, the heart card to!!!!!

We have a lot to learn girls!!

[Patti B]

After reading Jamie's post on my subject last night and now the talk about this book, I DEF will order it this week!!

I DID use the cancer card once and I have to tell you, I felt really bad - but only for a short while.

Last year for X-mas, my son wanted an I-Pod, but he wanted one of the older style, larger ones. Can't find them in the stores so I ordered it on-line. After it comes, of course, my son decides he does after all want one of the minis!! AAGGH!! So I contact the company on-line for return info and they send me a return voucher. Didn't realize it was only good for 2 weeks so I put the I-Pod in the closet until after X-mas. Thats when I realized the return voucher was no longer valid. I called the company for a new one and this guy was chiding me and treating me like I was a child "why would you wait so long, don't you look at dates, etc, etc". So thats when I did it. I told him "I'm sorry, but I have been undergoing chemo for my Stage IV cancer". He never missed a beat and told me "I would be pleased to give you a new return voucher". At first I felt really guilty until I realized that apparently he was authorized all along to give out a new voucher and was just being a creep!!

Haven't used the card since but you never know......

Prayers and Hugs to All-

Patti B

[cat127]

this has become a bit of a joke with my sister and i. the first time it happened we both laughed, i looked at her and said, excuse me but are you playing the cancer card on me? we both cracked up as she said, why yes i think i am. but now, i encourage it. and i tell people all the time that my plans are dependent on what she wants to do because i let her play the card and i'll do whatever and go wherever she wants. it makes us both chuckle, so far, no guilt at all over it i would say.

[JB]

My favorite one is the one Col uses all the time. Anyone in traffic in Philly knows that if you want to merge or change lanes, you just do it, take your chances, signal only if you want and just go. Well, now, anytime I'm trying to squeeze in somewhere, Colleen says hold on, I'll take my hat off and lean out and point. That's probably the only thing I've ever seen work down here.

We received a gift card to stay in Hershey and we were hoping to use it for a night at the hotel breakfast with Santa, and Christmas Candy Land, but were told they were all out of that package. Called a friend who works there to help us out and said, don't be afraid to use the cancer card. If she doesn't make any progress, I'll ask Col to call again and play it. She just flat out forgot the first time.

I personally think you should all play it all the time. Get what you can from this stupid cancer.

[Geri]

When I was first dx I was having problems with appetite etc, anyway I got frustrated and just said screw it, I've got cancer and I don't have to eat this if I don't want to! I found some chocolate and used it again, I've got cancer and I can eat this if I want to.

This became a standing joke with a friend for a very long time......everytime I didn't want to do something I'd use my standard phrase, she'd roll her eyes and we'd laugh.

As I was about to say it one day she smiled and told me I didn't have cancer anymore so get on with it!!!!!

My cancer card had been recalled.

Geri

[kamataca]

Mom used to do it all the time. It would have been embarrassing, if it wasn't so "her."

When she was being harrassed by phone salespeople (Do Not Call list, my fanny) she would finally yell, "I HAVE STAGE 4 LUNG CANCER--I WON'T BE ABLE TO USE YOUR PRODUCT!" I always felt a little bad for the kid on the other end of the line...

It makes me laugh to think about it.

Kelly

[Debi]

The one time I can remember where I used the cancer card was with the IRS. The year I was waiting for my surgery, I didn't file my taxes for the first time ever- I owed money, I was going to be on LOA for a couple months. I needed every penny I could get to pay my rent during the time I was out of work, and besides, I thought for sure, no I KNEW, that by the time they caught up with me I wouldn't be around. The same goes for the following year, I was still sure that the cancer was lurking somewhere in my body, I was recovering from my financial losses when I had to miss work, figured they could take it out of my life insurance when the time came, which of course, in my mind was any day now.

Well, the IRS sent me some really official documents and when I stopped sleeping because I thought the government was going to put me in jail any moment, I finally called them in 2005. I had this extremely official woman on the other side of the phone, identified only by her 6 or 8 digit number. She was cold, crisp, professional and very impersonal. At one point, she asked me why I didn't pay my taxes for 2 years. I took a deep breath, told her that I was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2003 and thought I was going to die but go figure, I lived and now I owe the IRS. There was a silence, and then she just started laughing. She became very friendly and helped me work out the best arrangement for me.

Whew!!!