Man with Snake on His Head 1991

Both my husband's and my parents are in their mid 80's. One parent is doing pretty well, and  the others are experiencing different degrees of physical difficulty in their lives.  Each time the phone rings, we expect a medical emergency of some kind--or worse.  What I wasn't expecting was a call from a good friend a few weeks ago to tell  me he had cancer.  He'd had surgery, and was getting ready to start chemo and radiation-the full Monty.  He is a few years older than I am, never smoked, not a drinker, and has lived a  healthy lifestyle.  His cancer is in his throat, so the radiation will make it hard for him to swallow over the six weeks of his treatment, making eating and drinking extremely difficult.

"Man with Snake on His Head" shows the snake being both part of the man, but then not, and it's not clear if the snake is going to be swallowed by the man, or if the man is resisting, ready to bite the snake's tounge and head if he comes any closer.  It's important that the man not let the snake back in. He has to keep the snake at bay, no matter what it takes, even if it means biting the snake's head off.