CANCER A DISPICBLE DISEASE

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A DESPICABLE DISEASE: CANCER

Cancer is a word that grips our very soul. We all know or have known someone who has battled cancer. We know how their lives were changed in the very instant they were diagnosed. All of us know someone who heroically fought the cancer with everything within them and still lost the battle. We have seen the destruction and devastation hurling through families with panic in their faces and fear enveloping every part of their lives.

We’ve seen family members walking on eggshells not knowing what to say to the cancer patient. The patient isn’t the only person full of so much anger that they don’t know what to do or what to say. Your thoughts are scrambled bits and pieces and don’t even make sense to you at first. It takes time to sort it all out. Parents and spouses swore to protect their children and here they are unable to do much of anything. Everything is in the hands of people you don’t even know but have to trust with your loved ones life. You find yourself at a loss. You can’t fight the battle for them. You can’t change what is happening to them. And no matter how much you don’t want them to have to walk this road alone, you have no choice. You can be there to try and comfort them or to hold them in your arms. You can tell them how much you love them, but they have to walk through the worst time of their life…alone…and hopefully with God.

Cancer has run through both sides of my family. As a child I remember all the calls from relatives informing us another relative had been diagnosed with cancer. Later the call would come to inform us of the death. Each time there would be a moment of silence with a depth of fear on my parent’s faces that the worst has happened. Then shrill screams followed by broken-hearted crying filled our house. In those days there was a very low chance of beating the cancer and survival.

I learned a long time ago love, trust in God, and openness were the only thing that could make a difference. Silence is excruciating for both the patient and all those who love them. You can’t change anything by not talking about it or wishing it will go away. This is the time when you need to just plain be there for the person with cancer in what ever capacity you can be. There will be times when no one feels like talking but you can still just sit there with them. Your presence means so much. But acting abnormal around them can be harder on them than no one there at all. Coddling them isn’t the answer. They need your strength to fight a battle like they most likely have never had to fight before. One of the biggest mistakes people make is to say, “it will be ok.” You don’t know that and the person with cancer doesn’t know that either. But you can let them know you will be there for them through every step of the way. And most importantly let them know how very much you love them.

Today such remarkable miracles take place every day in the fight against all types of cancer. DNA tests alone is giving us more insight into cancer, treatments, inoculations for young pre-teen girls to prevent breast and ovarian cancer, and for family members to be tested to see if they have genes that make them susceptible to cancer. So many lives can be saved today. One thing for sure, it is your body and you need to be as knowledgeable as possible about cancer and every avenue you have available to you. It is up to you to demand to be tested, become intelligent about choices, and make sure your Dr. is the one to help you win the battle over cancer. If you don’t have 100 per cent trust in your Dr., find another one. Talk to others who have had cancer and who their Dr. was. Talk to hospital employees for their opinion on who is best suited to help you. And never take just one person’s advice. Make this the most important job you’ve ever had. Put everything you have into it so you can make the right decisions. After all this is the biggest gamble of your life and you need to make sure you go into battle with the very best on your side. This is your body and your future you are fighting for.