Fountain Pens And Cancer

[Bklyn]

I was not sure as to where to go with this topic so I thought I might go to this group as it seems to be so many peoples first stop on all things fountain pen.

 

I was wondering if anyone takes comfort in using a fountain pen as a soothing element in their lives.

 

For me it is helpful. My wife has cancer; stage 4 and in operable. It is so terribly sad and she is so afraid. I am so afraid as well. Truth be told, I am terrified of her not being with me anymore.

 

I sit and use my pens after a day of work and then my time at the hospital. I do a bit of writing and a bit of drawing. The ink flowing onto the paper is calming. It is almost Zen in a sense and helps me to relax and hope for better things tomorrow.

 

I wish you all well, love to hear if you find your pens soothing and hope you will say a prayer for my wife.

Edited June 2, 2016 by Bklyn

[Bluey]

Hi Bklyn

Sorry to hear .about your wife.

Many people take comfort in journalling as it can often help you to organise your thoughts to come to terms with difficult stages in ones life. When life becomes a little stressful just writing about it can feel like it's talking to an understanding friend.

I wish you and your wife well.

[Runnin_Ute]

Well said, Bluey.

[Mr5x5]

I was not sure as to where to go with this topic so I thought I might go to this group as it seems to be so many peoples first stop on all things fountain pen.

 

I was wondering if anyone takes comfort in using a fountain pen as a soothing element in their lives.

 

For me it is helpful. My wife has cancer; stage 4 and in operable. It is so terribly sad and she is so afraid. I am so afraid as well. Truth be told, I am terrified of her not being with me anymore.

 

I sit and use my pens after a day of work and then my time at the hospital. I do a bit of writing and a bit of drawing. The ink flowing onto the paper is calming. It is almost Zen in a sense and helps me to relax and hope for better things tomorrow.

 

I wish you all well, love to hear if you find your pens soothing and hope you will say a prayer for my wife.

 

I do find them soothing. It takes more effort to put pen to paper than to type and hit enter. It slows me down and allows me time to think about who I am writing to and about what. I think about what stationary is appropriate, what ink, what pen.

 

Prayers for you both as you make this journey and for her medical team as they endeavor to provide compassionate care during this time.

[mr2txaggie]

 

 

I've done a lot of volunteer work with " special " needs cases. When I get home from being with my special friends I do find writing with my pens a marvelous way to calm my thoughts. Other wise I'd be concentrating on the patients late into the night.

 

That and prayer, which I send you & your wife, is what does it for me.

[Maine Vintner]

Hi Bklyn,

 

Tears fill my eyes as I type this; not with pity but with a deep sense of connection on a number of levels. Fountain pens - collecting, writing, day dreaming have gotten me through many a difficult time. My wife had breast cancer and (thankfully) survived. My partner in a winery had stage 4 breast cancer and also (thankfully) survived. Both of these women mean the world to me so I empathize with your situation.

 

Like you, I live in Boston. I collect fountain pens. I have had women who matter survive cancer. I will pray for you and your wife.

 

Best,

John

[linearM]

My wife just completed her chemotherapy sessions last week. I found myself also sitting there and sketching. We would go to the Cancer Center at 9:30 in the morning and leave about 4:30 in the afternoon. I also found that sitting and doing some pen drawings relaxing and more during those long hours.

[mana]

I do find that fountain pens and writing are a good way to focus oneself... there are many levels and facets to them, from appreciation of the aesthetic side of pens, how they look and feel to the tactile and visual act of writing, nib meeting paper, the feel of it, smooth or rough, gliding or draggy, ink flowing to the paper, the color, line variation, shading... be it "mindless" doodles or a more concentrated effort to chronicle or create something, it all makes you focus and concentrate so that you can escape the situation for a bit of emotional relief. I know what the pain and fear of the ones loved and most close can make one feel, the feelings of hopelessness, frustration and uselessness as the result of it. But you steady yourself and stay strong for them. Anything that helps with that is valuable.

[ink-syringe]

I am so sorry to hear about your wife. Cancer is an awful business.

 

I just finished a few years of treatment & did so always with a pen at hand for writing and doodling except when I was radioactive.

 

I also noticed both my endo doc and nuclear med. doc favored Waterman Exception Night and Day pens. heh.

 

Take comfort in all that you can. Accept every bit of help and kindness offered to you.

[J_MM]

Bklyn,

 

You and your wife will be in my prayers today. John

[Wolverine1]

I am a survivor of Stage 4 brain cancer, and the after effects still plague me today. From being a hotshot Big 10 college athlete and All American to a guy who is more or less a cripple is the state I find myself in today. Throughout, my pens have been my constant companion, along with on of my manual typewriters!!!!!:)

 

Please PM me your contact info, and I will write you and we will exchange ideas and thoughts and sorrows.

 

Best of luck, Brooklyn.

[BillZ]

My late wife suffered with ovarian cancer from 2009-2014 when the Demon finally got her. We were lucky to live only a 2 hour drive from M.D. Anderson

Cancer Center in Houston. To pass some time I started another journal strictly for our time in waiting rooms and treatment area. I used the Starwalker FP for this as she gave it to me for my b'day in 2007. It did help feeling and seeing the ink flow out to the paper effortlessly as I wrote.

Also I discovered that Dromgoole's Stationery and Fine Writing Instruments was only a 10 minute drive from the treatment center and I would go and hang out with the family while waiting for my wife's chemotherapy to be completed. Sometimes this would be 6 hours! I still try to visit the store once/month. When my wife passed away in 2014 the first sympathy card I got was from the Dromgooles. There is nothing really say to make your situation better as I'ver been there

and still suffer the loss two years later. But I still write with my pens as therapy.

[Invictus Maneo]

Bklyn,

My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your beloved wife. I too am a cancer survivor, 20 years now, and I have had some other major medical problems that I have had to overcome.

I am pretty new to fountain pens and their cathartic effect in one's daily life. I know that future challenges will be easier because of my pens and the effect they have on my life. It is a way for me to take some "me time" even though I may be writing to someone else. I find journaling to be very therapeutic and rewarding.

I hope you and your wife are able to find some peace and solace during this scary time. Being fearful is a very natural emotion. Please don't feel as though you need to be "strong" either. When I was very sick I could see through that in people who visited me and I found it annoying and patronizing. I would rather one share what their feeling even if I found it upsetting. At least it was honest and I could deal with that.

Please PM me if you care to correspond further, either in letters of here on FPN.

Ken

[senzen]

I was not sure as to where to go with this topic so I thought I might go to this group as it seems to be so many peoples first stop on all things fountain pen.

 

I was wondering if anyone takes comfort in using a fountain pen as a soothing element in their lives.

 

For me it is helpful. My wife has cancer; stage 4 and in operable. It is so terribly sad and she is so afraid. I am so afraid as well. Truth be told, I am terrified of her not being with me anymore.

 

I sit and use my pens after a day of work and then my time at the hospital. I do a bit of writing and a bit of drawing. The ink flowing onto the paper is calming. It is almost Zen in a sense and helps me to relax and hope for better things tomorrow.

 

I wish you all well, love to hear if you find your pens soothing and hope you will say a prayer for my wife.

 

I'm so sorry to hear about your wife, I wish the best to you both, I just went through something similar. I can only suggest to celebrate every day with her.

 

Writing with a well behaved pen can definitely have a soothing effect, I cannot say zen like for myself but at least I went from a sort of frenzy to a sort of calm; exactly today I was hoping someday to be able reach a state of zen like calm instead of battling with my handwriting.

[Dr. Saleem Ali]

Dear Bklyn, first of all I would not feel sorry about you ! You are in a very difficult phase of life I can understand and appreciate fully .This is definitely a situation which demands a lot of composure and emotioal strngth but I hope you will handle this part of your life in a well-planned manner.I sincerely pray to GOD (ALLAH ) for your wife to return to good health with speedy recovery and a happy life .This is an opportunity to show your love ,your care to your wife and prove her that she is your most most treasured possesion ,and by Grace of GOD you will win .If you find fountainpens as a source of calming your thoughts and help compose or express yuor innerself so continue to write something that you and your wife would love after. I am myself a surgeon and my wife got that tumour in her breast and after long tretment ,, she is surviving now .And during those days of her intensive treatment I was doing all my duties and surgeries believing that this might help me in the future .Its atleast a way to make ourselves able to appreciate other peoples,sufferings . In those days I used to think that someone at some place would be with his beloved one with same fears and anxieties.

Once again wish you best of everything for you and your wife .

Edited June 2, 2016 by Dr. Saleem Ali

[PAKMAN]

Praying for her and for you. I'm just a little over a year now as a widower, having lost my wife to liver cancer last March. I was so scared and she was so strong. Our faith got us through the horrible time of her illness and has helped me not only survive but to thrive afterward.

[RMN]

Bklyn, I wish your wife and you much strength.

 

 

Yes, there are many members here who have "something" to worry about, be it the unfair battle of a loved one, one's own health, or more pedestrian problems like a lost job. And for many of them fountainpens offer a solace. Tinkering with the pen, cleaning and filling it, ordening the collection, looking up facts, it takes the mind away from the sorrow for a moment. But also writing a journal, the pen helps regulating the flow of thoughts.

 

For me personally, I have some problems, that are not worth talking about in the light of your sorrow, but for me the above processes, but also being able to help here looking after the forum is a great relief.

 

I hope you too can find those moments of quiet, of just pushing the sorrow away for just a little while.

 

D.ick

[lyonlover]

Bklyn, I am very sorry to hear about your wife. When my uncle was struggling with lung cancer back in 2012, I found my solace in nature photography. I'm glad you have a hobby in fountain pens. I find them very therapeutic myself.

 

I wish you and your wife the best of luck, and both of you will be in my prayers. Hang in there, my friend, and remember that your faith will help you get through this.

[Bklyn]

Hi Bklyn

Sorry to hear .about your wife.

Many people take comfort in journalling as it can often help you to organise your thoughts to come to terms with difficult stages in ones life. When life becomes a little stressful just writing about it can feel like it's talking to an understanding friend.

I wish you and your wife well.

 

I thank you so much for your kind words. This is such a miserable time in life.

[Bklyn]

 

I do find them soothing. It takes more effort to put pen to paper than to type and hit enter. It slows me down and allows me time to think about who I am writing to and about what. I think about what stationary is appropriate, what ink, what pen.

 

Prayers for you both as you make this journey and for her medical team as they endeavor to provide compassionate care during this time.

I thank you and it is a wonderful medical team!