So Patrick Swayze passes away, aged 57, after two years of combating pancreatic cancer.One of the Aussie TV channels here showed a clip from his last interview (by Barbara Walters, ABC) where the interviewer asks his wife Lisa, "Have you thought of life without him?" Lisa tried to answer but choked up.
That question disturbed me a little. Scared me. Has any of us thought of life without the ones we love? There are those who lose people to sudden death. Then there are those like Lisa, who know someone they love is dying. Is it easier when you know?
Australia is big on talking about cancer. I never heard the word as often in India as I hear it here. It gives the feeling cancer is all around. It's scary. But I'm not sure of what scares me more: Being diagnosed with the disease or being the one who has to think of a life after someone I love is gone...
Till I came to Melbourne, I hadn't known anyone who had cancer, ie. not known them personally. Now I know at least one person who has survived testicular cancer.
How many of you know a cancer patient or a survivor?
PS: For all who cook, please check out LiveSTRONG With A Taste Of Yellow and contribute your recipe. It's a cancer survivor's way of spreading awareness... For those who don't cook, pass on the link to someone who does and spread the word.
10 comments:
My sister..
She was diagnosed with breast cancer 4 years ago had a masectomy, her left breast.. I was 20 and I only remember being numb and acting like it was not a big deal.. Anyway , she is now 4.5 years into remission..
But now, I know how serious it was and it still gives me nightmares.. I don think my parents will ever be the same..
@ Dee: Thank-you for sharing that. And good luck to your sister. (hugs)
I have a cousin who was diagnosed with intestinal cancer (only 6 months after his marriage). Initially, the doctors declared it was stage III and couldn't be treated. On a second or third opinion they found a doctor who agreed to treat him. His words of advice: never ask how long the patient can live, or whether the treatment will be effective; no one can answer that accurately.
So they first performed a surgery and then he went through 4 rounds of chemo. I can neither imagine the pain he went through, nor the anxiety of his wife and family members until the treatment was deemed successful (1 whole year). It's been 3 years now, with no recurrence (thank God! and I hope it continues).
There are quite a few others I know of, among family and friends, who have cancer, but I've never had any personal contact with them.
I have known lots of people with Cancer. As a child I knew a family friend who passed away, I had even visited her in the hospital.Then there was an amazing colleague,who was adored by the entire organisation for her cheerful disposition,but unfortunately she lost the battle. Then there was a neighbour, who fought it hard, and won, and is leading an absolutely normal life now. But the closest was a friend, who is a doctor herself, and was diagnosed with a very rare form of intestinal cancer. She battled, won, and even had a baby soon enough after that. So yes, I have known quite a few.
@Pallu @ Goofy...
So many, many stories... have I been deaf or have I been..I don't know what. It just seems so prevalent. We manage so many feats as humans and yet... cancer is something we just haven't been able to cure. We control one, another develops. hmm.
Thankyou for sharing.
The sole reason for not finding a cancer, methinks, is that we don't know what causes any type of cancer yet. We know symptoms and we know "probable" causes, but no one can pinpoint one fundamental cause.
A "cure for cancer," I meant. Duh!
Thamma.....pancreatic cancer...hope you havent forgotten D.....
TC...Love you..
@ Abhi.... i didn't even know. And I don't even know why not. Shocked.
This isnt about cancer.I want to write about Celiac Disease and rheumatoid arthritis.He used to be crazy about sports.Always active.Now pain kills him if he didnt do the right exercises each day.Morning and evening.He has to be careful about what he eats.He cant even lift his son nowadays.Cannot type with his right hand and uses the left which is less painful.And just today I was told the pain has started affecting his vocal chord.Above all, he is depressed.I dont even know if the name of the condition ive written above is what this is.But all the symptoms lead to that.
I'm just writing.I dont know if there is a cure.
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