Submissions are welcome from oncologists, oncology nurses, and other cancer caregivers. E-mail only, please, to: mailto:[email protected], and include affiliation/title, address, and phone number, along with a photo, if available.

Prisoner

Within there lives a prisoner,

Not needed, not wanted, not welcome.

This. ... this thing lies way deep

In the dark, cruelly secret.

Eager to cavort... freely, wildly.

"Cavort"? More like "go berserk."

Some intruders break in to violate, steal.

This monster wants to break out,

Frenzied, gobbling up his cell.

Not satisfied with freedom,

Escape isn't the goal,

But to devastate his "jailer."

This evil seed, this poison, deserves

No parole, no last-minute reprieve.

Some prisoners must be eliminated.

Go ahead, doctor-you're that executioner.

Joe Schrader, a caregiver in Hillsboro, Oregon, writes: "My wife recently had her second surgery for breast cancer after believing she had this problem licked a dozen years ago. I penned this poem on the eve of her surgery, and share it with other survivors and caregivers."