Power of Music

We know about the healing power of music. I have surely listened in sad times, hard times, confusing times. I have not infrequently been moved to tears, sometimes surprised, by music. I haven't relied on it, however, to help with difficult decisions.

Susan Gubar has, and here is a marvelous essay about her experience:

While Facing a Cancer Choice, Beethoven to the Rescue

Is you is or is you ain’t my cancer? I was in a funk about what to do about a possible cancer diagnosis until Beethoven came to the rescue.

I recently learned I had ductal carcinoma in situ, or D.C.I.S., a hotly contested condition that some doctors consider an early breast cancer and others say is not really cancer at all. The condition means that abnormal cells have been found in the milk ducts of the breast.

Debate continues to swirl around what to do about D.C.I.S. Some specialists, labeling it “Stage 0 cancer,” counsel quick intervention, saying the abnormal cells might turn into cancer. Others argue that aggressive treatment does not extend survival, so why undergo surgery or radiation?

Read more:https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/well/live/while-facing-a-cancer-choice-beethoven-to-the-rescue.html