The Battle

All told,
In the six years
She battled cancer,
Cecilia was admitted
To the hospital
No fewer than
Seventy-five times.
She fought valiantly,
With every sinew
And muscle she had
To stay alive,
And endured years
Of alternating regimens
Of radiation
And chemotherapy
Until all hope vanished.
Maybe sometime
In the not-to-distant-future,
Such torturous
Medical procedures
Will become
A thing of the past,
But until then,
Surgery, radiation
And chemotherapy
Are the most effective
Weapons we have
In the war against cancer.
Sometimes,
As in Cecilia’s case,
The cancer wins
No matter how potent,
Or extensive
The countermeasures taken.