5k
Run for Prostate Cancer
I stared at
the front of Caitlyn’s t-shirt for several seconds before the shirt’s message
registered.
Did Caitlyn run a 5k for prostate
cancer? Is her dad sick? Does she know what prostate cancer is? Do any
of the 6th graders know what it is?
“Hi Caitlyn. Cool t-shirt.
Are you a runner?”
“No. My older brother Jack gave it to me. It’s too small for him. He’s in high school.”
“Oh.” I casually nodded my head wondering whether I
wanted to go any farther. “So Jack’s a
runner?”
“No. His friend David gave it to him, but Jack
said he won’t wear it. It’s too
small.”
Jack’s not as nice an older brother as you
think.
I continued
my slow, nonchalant nodding. “Uh, that’s a cute color. It goes with your red pants really nice. Did your mom help you put that together?”
“Nope. She’s out of town. I did it myself.”
“So, is
David’s dad sick?”
Caitlyn
smoothed the front of her t-shirt, obviously proud of it and feeling pretty wearing it.
“No. David’s dad isn’t sick. But I think his uncle makes these shirts for the posture cancer runs.”
“Posture
cancer?”
Caitlyn
touched her finger to the lettering on the front of her t-shirt. “Yes.
Posture cancer. That’s why they
had the race. For posture cancer.”
“Caitlyn,
your t-shirt says ‘Prostate Cancer,’ not ‘Posture Cancer.’ P, r, o, s, t, a, t, e. Prostate.”
Caitlyn
tucked her head down and tried to read the writing on her shirt upside down and
backward.
“P, r, o, .
. .” She looked up at me grinning. “It’s hard to read.”
“Yeah, it
is. But it says ‘Prostate Cancer,’ not
‘Posture Cancer.’”
“What kind
of cancer is that?”
“It’s a
kind of cancer that men can get.”
“Oh.”
The bell
rang, and Caitlyn walked happily off to PE.
That
afternoon I noticed she was now wearing her PE t-shirt.
I wonder what Caitlyn’s mom says to
Jack when she gets home.
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