An Incredibly Touching Comic About Looking Ahead in Time Seven Years After Being Treated for Cancer

In November 2010, Megan, then fiancée (now wife) of Randall Munroe, the illustrator behind the brilliant webcomic xkcd, received the devastating diagnosis of stage III breast cancer. Throughout her eight months of treatment, xkcd posted several comics about the diagnosis, treatment options, T-Cells, gaining perspective, getting tattooed for radiation, and fear of looking too far into the future. Now, seven years since the end of Megan’s treatment, the couple has gotten married, embarked on different adventures and started to look ahead to the future, while still staying humorously guarded about the past.

Full disclosure: I was diagnosed with Stage IIb breast cancer in March 2011 and treated for roughly the same amount of time. This is only relevant in that I find myself doing the same things as Megan – being careful about the past, hyper-aware about the present and hopeful for the future. And like those two, Scott and I are planning to go see the next eclipse in seven years too.