Where cancer gets the nerve

OK, we’ll drop “patient” and call ourselves “fighters.” Who’d you rather face, tiger — a brilliant criminal mastermind or a bloodthirsty madman?

I’d suggest the mastermind. He’s way more interesting to watch.

You know by now that all we have to work with is our point of view. If you imagine you’ve been jumped in an alley, it’s just one damn blow after another. Me, I want the lights on and sound up. Cancer’s brilliant. I want the playbook. I want to get inside its mind. That won’t change the outcome, but now and then I’ll get to catch my breath and think, “Typical cancer move.”