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Fadi

...
I sat by myself contemplating and reflecting; why is it that everytime the word cancer is made mention of, it’s made with the utmost negativity and hostility. I ask you to give this matter a thought, a few minutes of your time, and see why is it that people always seem to be waging war on this word cancer. If a person you know acquires it, the seemingly correct and most appropriate way in dealing with it would be to: “kill it, obliterate it, annihilate it, fight it, wipe it off, and eradicate it”, just to mention a sample of what one would usually hear (or say) whenever cancer is mentioned.

Please do not misunderstand my intention here. I’m not setting out to pass judgement on the way you feel or deal with this word, I’m simply saying surely, surely there must be another side to this coin (as there most certainly is with everything in life, big or small). Would you agree with me on that?

To me, this goes beyond simply attitude; negative or positive attitude, a pessimistic or optimistic attitude one might have. Usually one may be able to find one’s attitude towards things by asking the most famous of “attitude” related questions: is the glass half full or half empty?

So, attitude aside, I think we have all been brainwashed in one way or another to think of cancer as one giant ugly and most dangerous boogieman, where in actual fact, it may be the only thing that would ultimately save your life!

Let us for a moment shine the light on the title of this small reflective message of mine if you don’t mind: friend or foe? Well, how do you define a friend and distinguish him/her from a foe? To me, a friend is one who does not sugar coat his or her words with you just to make you feel good. A true friend is one who tells it like it is, warts and all. If I see you lifting in a way that I know would sooner or later lead you into injury, I would not be a friend (or a caring stranger) if I keep to myself and let you go on with your bad form of lifting. A foe would in fact encourage you and praise you for lifting with bad form, all along making it sound as if he’s really looking out for you.

Now that I’ve explained briefly the way I understand a friend to be, and the distinction made between him and a foe, I ask you, would it be fair to always consider cancer to be a foe, or might it not in fact be the best and truest friend that you may ever hear about in your life?

We’ve all heard of “a wakeup call”. So and so needed a wakeup call to lose weight etc. Had the doctor not told him of the predictable dire straits awaiting him if he does not lose the weight, a heart attack or a stroke would surely be imminent.

To me cancer is the mother of all “wake up” calls. It’s a huge warning sign; the biggest, the boldest, and the most shocking of them all! It makes you reflect on the life-path you have chosen for yourself. A path involving whatever you ingest, inject, breath, or stress over. It sets some of us on an alternative route. A route where we see ourselves taking drastic measures to, (not so much beat the hell out of it), but measures to ask why! Take measures to go deep within and reflect on how your life has been progressing so far. So from that end, I’d like to think of cancer as the friend who is the most honest of them all. Just think for a moment, hypertension is called “the silent killer” for a reason. Its symptoms would (mostly) go unnoticed until one suffers the first and last heart attack or stroke!

Next time you hear the word cancer, please listen out to what verbs come after it, and what adjectives are used to describe it…., then reflect, as I have done.

Wishing you all the very best of health, and always remember that old, yet forever young saying: ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’.


Fadi.
 
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curable cancer can be a wakeup call...
otherwise it is a death sentence, and often a short one.

I'm not sure I could be friends with my short death sentence. maybe that is glass half-empty だけど。
 
curable cancer can be a wakeup call...
otherwise it is a death sentence, and often a short one.

I'm not sure I could be friends with my short death sentence. maybe that is glass half-empty だけど。

I hear you. Most often you hear (and at time see) people who are seemingly healthy, get told that they have cancer, and that they need to go on a course of chemotherapy. They do, and they’re dead within two or three months. I’ve seen this happen. What killed them, cancer or chemo?


Fadi.
 
that's a very good question. sometimes one, sometimes the other :) depends how late their cancer was detected..

sometimes better to leave someone to die in some pain but kinda enjoy their last months, rather undergo chemo and have a really painful end :(
chemo is a hard slog, but sometimes works (but i'm not appropriately qualified to comment)
 
that's a very good question. sometimes one, sometimes the other :) depends how late their cancer was detected..

sometimes better to leave someone to die in some pain but kinda enjoy their last months, rather undergo chemo and have a really painful end :(
chemo is a hard slog, but sometimes works (but i'm not appropriately qualified to comment)

Great comment, thank you. Like you, I am not a medically qualified doctor or a naturopath etc. However based on my original message, wouldn't you agree that if one decided to take the second approach, and look at his or her cancer as a wakeup call, that one may begin a journey on a totally different path from the path he or she has been on up to that point in time? By that I mean the following: a person who gets told that they have cancer, would have a choice to make, either take a course of chemo and remain on the path he's always been on, or alternatively, not take chemo but make drastic changes in his life, or both! In other words, if one views cancer as one big death sentence from which there is no way out except what is on offer by the medical community, would one be short changing himself (by not exploring the other side of the coin), or should one accept the news of having cancer as the death sentence for which there is but only one way out, and that is to have chemo and radiation and whatever else is on offer by the medical community.

By expressing the above, I'm simply saying we do have a choice, a choice in the way we look at cancer and what it ultimately means to our life. Many cancer patients quickly get motivated into deep research into a way out of their situation, whilst many others simply accept what is on offer by our medical doctors.

So it seems that to some, cancer was that wake up call, whilst to others, it was just another thing that they had to beat the hell out of with whatever drug was available. Yes, most of us would get very desperate when our life is on the line. It's not easy, life is precious.


Fadi.
 
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Fadi what a ridiculous post, you must have some terrible friends.

You are assuming all cancers come about because the person hasn't made the right choices to what they eat drink and put into their body which is wrong, most don't. If cancer is a friend he may be honest in some cases (smoking) but then most of the time just kill you for no other reason than he feels like it.

Then your assuming that the person disregard current medicine and do their own research. Hahah. Yes because our own research we googled on the net will be so much better than what the specialists in the field have been able to come up with over decades of research.

You also seem to be suggesting our current methods of treading cancer don't work and are actually killing the person. Cancer survival rates have doubled over the last 30 years. The 20 year survival rates for breast cancer are now better than the 5 year survival rates from 30 years ago. You can take your chances with your own research but I wouldn't be.

I can't believe you actually posted that.
 
My dad had long thick black hair his whole life, was practically a saint, he had a sun cancer start on the top of his head, he went from the strongest person I know down to a 40kg skeleton who had no idea which way was up and had to have a nurse changing his nappy, chemo gave him prob an extra 2 years but in the end the cancer are him up from the inside, without a doubt the most horrible thing I have witnessed,
Chemo/radiant takes a lot out of you but you do bounce back, I've seen so many people beat cancer and are still alive because of treatment,
Stupid uneducated post IMO


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Fadi I can see where your coming from here but just can not agree with you. I have recently watched a relatively young bloke be ravaged by cancer who was fit, strong and healthy and the cancer had no known cause, it just happened, and this happens all too often, some types can be prevented, however a lot just appear out of nowhere. Its just the cards you are dealt and you have to play them as best you can. As you stated its not just the cancer but the host of chemicals that they use to treat it which wreaks havoc on your system, rotting your teeth, stuffing your skin, ruining your immune system, just to name a few.
I can't agree with you as it being a wake up call as I have seen young and innocent children who have cancer, so I can't agree that they have already done wrong in their lives and need a wakeup call. Fair enough if we are talking about the fat, unhealthy desk jockey whose only exercise is walking to the fridge but I assume the harsh treatment would be too much for their system anyway.
 
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Mate my brother in law is currently battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Its a harrowing strain that in his case chemo cannot kill. He has had to get stem cell treatment which is successful only on rare occassions. If he does get to remission point, it has a huge recurrence rate. Unfortunately more often than not this type of leukemia is terminal. This disease has totally wasted away a previously healthy, non drinking, non smoking 42 year old man inside of 6 months.

You try being friendly with it.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
 
Hmmm. This is interesting.

two time cancer survivor checking in.

Nearly well and truly killed me the second time...but I eill always beleive it was my shear will to win the battle that kept me going. I was a fit 80kg kid the second time round (18yo). Within two months I weighed 52kg(got back to 85kg and looked good with a healthy dose of prescription steroids in a few months but thats another story heh). And looked like I was done. That was the chemo. Appetite was lost. Hair was lost. Self confidence? Forget it. Dignity? That was gone too. Isolated for three weeks while they killed my immune system, then the cancer, the luckily was able to re-instate my immune system with an autologous bone marrow transplant.

But I wouldnt have survived without it let's be honest.

I was given a 50/50 chance of survival, but was told a few years later by my professor that is was more like 10%.

Attitude it is said, is what won the battle. That was 12 years ago.

So if anyone has questions...I think im qualified to answer them. :)

Getting back to Fadi's OP...
Was it a helpful thing? In some ways yes. I grew up fast, and began to look at life very differently, but my life was hell for a long time. Makes you realise what is important and what is pointless in life.

Tim.
 
Hmmm. This is interesting.

two time cancer survivor checking in.

Nearly well and truly killed me the second time...but I eill always beleive it was my shear will to win the battle that kept me going. I was a fit 80kg kid the second time round (18yo). Within two months I weighed 52kg(got back to 85kg and looked good with a healthy dose of prescription steroids in a few months but thats another story heh). And looked like I was done. That was the chemo. Appetite was lost. Hair was lost. Self confidence? Forget it. Dignity? That was gone too. Isolated for three weeks while they killed my immune system, then the cancer, the luckily was able to re-instate my immune system with an autologous bone marrow transplant.

But I wouldnt have survived without it let's be honest.

I was given a 50/50 chance of survival, but was told a few years later by my professor that is was more like 10%.

Attitude it is said, is what won the battle. That was 12 years ago.

So if anyone has questions...I think im qualified to answer them. :)

Getting back to Fadi's OP...
Was it a helpful thing? In some ways yes. I grew up fast, and began to look at life very differently, but my life was hell for a long time. Makes you realise what is important and what is pointless in life.

Tim.

Great story. Good on you for fighting it hard.

So do you consider cancer your honest friend?
 
Hmmm. This is interesting.

two time cancer survivor checking in.

Nearly well and truly killed me the second time...but I eill always beleive it was my shear will to win the battle that kept me going. I was a fit 80kg kid the second time round (18yo). Within two months I weighed 52kg(got back to 85kg and looked good with a healthy dose of prescription steroids in a few months but thats another story heh). And looked like I was done. That was the chemo. Appetite was lost. Hair was lost. Self confidence? Forget it. Dignity? That was gone too. Isolated for three weeks while they killed my immune system, then the cancer, the luckily was able to re-instate my immune system with an autologous bone marrow transplant.

But I wouldnt have survived without it let's be honest.

I was given a 50/50 chance of survival, but was told a few years later by my professor that is was more like 10%.

Attitude it is said, is what won the battle. That was 12 years ago.

So if anyone has questions...I think im qualified to answer them. :)

Getting back to Fadi's OP...
Was it a helpful thing? In some ways yes. I grew up fast, and began to look at life very differently, but my life was hell for a long time. Makes you realise what is important and what is pointless in life.

Tim.

Well done mate. You truly are an inspiration.

Love hearing these stories!

Cheers

James
(Camo)

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Born June 22 Cancer cusp checking in ...



But seriously... Hats off to Timbo. Well done mate.

IMO (tbh didn't read the whole article, am just commenting on the thread title mostly) - Cancer is a son-of-a-maggot-infested-whore.

Took my father from me way... way... too early.
 
Sorry Fadi, you have made a large number of incorrect assumptions, cancer is NEVER a friend, and always a foe.

"So, attitude aside, I think we have all been brainwashed in one way or another to think of cancer as one giant ugly and most dangerous boogieman, where in actual fact, it may be the only thing that would ultimately save your life!"

Take out skin cancer and a few others with a high survival rate if caught early, and the average survival rate past 5 years is roughly 2%. Even less in highly aggressive tumors. You're also assuming that all cancers are lifestyle based, when in actual fact that is very incorrect, cancers arise from genetic abnormalities, which can be caused by sunlight, carcinogens, but also be completely random.

In regards to being a wake up call, unless you catch a metastatic tumor VERY early, you have next to no chance.

"I hear you. Most often you hear (and at time see) people who are seemingly healthy, get told that they have cancer, and that they need to go on a course of chemotherapy. They do, and they’re dead within two or three months. I’ve seen this happen. What killed them, cancer or chemo?"

Define "healthy", in the same time it took for someone to take a course of chemo, the cancer would probably put them in a similar state. Sure, chemo and radiation are pretty crude methods (but very specialised at the same time), but take them out of the equation and the survival rate is almost zero percent. Chemotherapy doesn't kill, it may very well do so in a short space of time, but if someone dies whilst on chemo, it's usually because it hasn't worked and the tumor has continued spreading.

I apologise if you feel i have just attacked you personally, but i believe you made some incorrect assumptions, and being highly educated on the matter i thought it best to give my opinion of them.
 
[MENTION=7738]Timeah[/MENTION]; good onya bro, didn't know that.


Spent my childhood and teenage years watching my Mother (a Reg. Nurse with strong Christain altruistic values) slowly get eaten to the bone and then dying at 48 years of age. Now my Father has Prostate cancer and recently suffered a heart attack and fluid on the lungs due to the medication used to treat the Cancer. He'll die of the Cancer or with the Cancer as he isn't going back on the Cancer medication.

Cancer a wake up call, perhaps, but certainly the negatives out way the positives.




(and yet some scum of the earth live to ripe old ages)
 
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