I know a thing or two about Gleason scores and prostate cancer. My husband has been recently diagnosed with the disease. I learned that the Gleason score indicates just how advanced the cancer is. Fortunately the prognosis for my Mike is encouraging. His scores indicate that his cancer is in a midrange and should respond quite well to the radiation therapy that he will endure for much of the coming summer. 

Getting to the point of a clear diagnosis and suggested treatment has been nerve wracking for him, and by association for me. We have spent hours in doctors’ offices and outpatient testing sites. He has been checked with bloodwork, MRIs, PET scans and biopsies. Each step of the way produces anxieties and uncertainties in spite of insistence by the doctors that there is very little about which Mike should worry. After such reassurances the possible side affects have to be considered and they can often sound rather scary. All in all dealing with the big C is a journey into a kind of void that raises so many concerns for anyone dealing with such a thing. Nonetheless Mike and I are convinced that ultimately he will be just fine even as the eight weeks of thirty nine radiation treatments sound challenging at the very least. 

It was with a sense of understanding that we learned of former President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis. As soon as we heard that his Gleason score was a nine we understood that his cancer is at an advanced stage. Knowing that it has metastasized to his bones made his situation all the more dire. I can only imagine how difficult things must feel to him and to his family. I have cried at the very thought of what they are now enduring, even as journalists are earning attention and monetary gain by tearing him down. Somehow it all seems so very unfair. 

I will always maintain that President Biden saved us in a time when it felt as though the floor beneath us had been pulled away. Covid was raging and the whole world was coping with the loss and the concerns. Everything skewed out of whack. Nothing seemed normal and somehow President Biden was able to steer us through the storm with as little permanent damage as possible. His steady hand and never ending compassion kept our economy from imploding. For the most part life went on even as we all lost friends or family members to the terrible effects of Covid 19. 

It angered me again and again that so many Americans were not grateful to President Biden for what he had done for our nation. While his decisions were not always perfect, they were at all times presented with loving intentions. I will always be so thankful to this man who ignored the poisonous vitriol that was so unfairly hurled at him and soldiered on with his duties and devotion to the people of our nation. 

President Joe Biden has known sorrow more than many of us. I suppose that I identify with his life story in a small way. I too have felt the immeasurable pain of losing a beloved family member in a car accident. Having to endure the loss of both a wife and a child had to be almost unbearable, but somehow Joe Biden found his way of moving forward without losing his optimism and kindness. Later watching his precious son, Bo, die from cancer was so heartbreaking that it might have been the end for most of us. Instead Joe kept his faith in God and his fellow humans. He understood the kind of trials that we must face and never forgot to think of the needs of others. 

Even as President Biden worked hard to keep our nation from collapsing under the pressures of the pandemic he also had to face the derogatory campaign hurled at his youngest son, Hunter. Like a loving father he stood by Hunter with understanding and compassion. His love for his son was palatable to those who watched his determination to show us what Christian love is all about. 

Now President Biden will face yet another challenge in his life. Given his age and the nature of his advanced cancer it will be incredibly difficult but Joe is a fighter and a true believer in God. I hope that the people of our nation will finally be willing to extend kindness and love to this man who has so unselfishly done so much for us. We owe him a debt of gratitude that has yet to be paid in full. Perhaps now is the time to set our differences aside and unite in compassion to support President Biden in the frightening journey that lies ahead for him and his family. 

When I accompany my Mike to all of the appointments that will fill our summer I will thinking of President Biden and including him in my prayers. I will always believe that he was a great president during a moment of uncertainty. I believe with all of my heart that history will treat him well. For now we should all do the same as he faces a new battle. May God be with him and protect him. He has been a good and faithful servant to us all.