NAW writers at large: Larrie Wanberg launches cancer blog

Photo: thelanguageofcancer.tumblr.com
Larrie meditates during his chemo treatment.

Emily C. Skaftun
Norwegian American Weekly

Earler this year longtime NAW contributor Larrie Wanberg told us he’d been diagnosed with cancer.

Most people would take a break from working under such circumstances, but not our Larrie. He’s still writing stories for the paper, he offered to make a short video documentary as a fundraising enticement (which no one selected, to my great disappointment—there’s still time if you change your mind!), and he’s even started his own blog, thelanguageofcancer.tumblr.com, to document and share his journey.

Larrie’s journey, he tells us, is not a “battle.” As a retired military man, he writes, “this thought puts the ‘enemy’ out there on a battlefield and something externalized from me. I don’t have the weaponry that is commonly associated with this example. In the perspective of this metaphor, I’m a commander without an army.”

I could print all of Larrie’s observations about the “Big C,” (and you may see a few such pieces here), but instead I encourage you to follow Larrie’s blog and cheer him on. He tells me that writing is good medicine for him, so let’s all help him fill that prescription.

Here’s to you, Larrie! All of us at NAW are wishing you the very best.

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This article originally appeared in the May 29, 2015, issue of the Norwegian American Weekly. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.