Why the hermeneutic wager

Abstract

While progressing through my ongoing cancer treatments, in particular the reflection or re-reflections guided by Richard Kearney’s hermeneutic wager. I prefer a wager over the traditional cancer metaphors because it replaces the blatant harshness of a battle in a war. I am not saying in any way of form to be a passive observer during one’s cancer treatment journey, but to replace the winner-looser paradigm with carnage associated with war, shrapnel dismembered bodies unrecognizable to themselves and others. This does not mean that I am not standing up to and confronting cancer with vigor and intensity. The wager offers dignity during participation where all the “cards” are delt from both the cancer and the treatments with the integrity of the whole person who is living with cancer with their healthcare team and family play together as a community to successfully support the wager’s cause. The wager is respectful and addresses the risks involved and is fully c  onscientious of outcomes as an unpredictable event. This wager is comprised of five reflections and/or conversations to engage in that I have adapted to learn about living with cancer and its treatments. The hermeneutic wager has five points of reflection: imagination, humility, commitment, discernment, and hospitality. These will be used to provide examples of how to offer insight into one’s experiences. Through these kinds of reflections on cancer, uncertainty can help us develop wings for the journey into the unknown uncertainty that often a diagnosis of cancer requires.