Willpower and the Fight Against Cancer
I've had a lot of experience with people fighting cancer.
I worked in a nursing home as a teenager, and many of the patients had the disease.
Some I knew fairly well, others not so well.
I noticed that two things made a difference.
The first is faith in God.
That's frequently a taboo topic, people are uncomfortable talking about it to strangers.
Some people have no such faith and are offended when the subject is brought up.
I could site studies (there have been some) or otherwise press the issue, but this isn't a sermon, and you should feel free to agree or disagree with that statement.
The second thing is willpower.
This means a conscious decision to fight the cancer with everything you've got.
The patients I've known that did that seemed to recover better and faster.
It wasn't always easy for them.
Cancer treatments are painful physically and the fear the word causes can be mind numbing.
Sometimes the statistics for surviving a particular type of cancer are so dire that you can't imagine victory.
Giving in to that fear will make those statistics accurate.
Instead, write a promise to yourself that you will keep a positive attitude and you will do everything in your power to get well.
I don't think you can do it alone easily.
There may be some who can, but if you are like me, and like many of the people I know who have cancer, then you will need support.
Don't be afraid to ask for it.
If you have a family, lean on them.
If you have a church or other house of worship, ask them to help.
Ask your doctor to refer you to a support group for your type of cancer.
These people can help you in those inevitable times when you wonder if it is all worth the effort.
They can offer companionship and encouragement.
In practical matters, they may also offer to bring you a meal or help you with errands.
It's good to have a network around you.
One last tip; don't trust everything you read on the internet, neither the good nor the bad.
If your doctor has told you something and a web site says something different, go with your doctor.
That doesn't mean don't use the web, just use it with the same caution you would when researching anything else.
If a site seems to differ with the doctor and you think it important, ask the doctor about it.
I worked in a nursing home as a teenager, and many of the patients had the disease.
Some I knew fairly well, others not so well.
I noticed that two things made a difference.
The first is faith in God.
That's frequently a taboo topic, people are uncomfortable talking about it to strangers.
Some people have no such faith and are offended when the subject is brought up.
I could site studies (there have been some) or otherwise press the issue, but this isn't a sermon, and you should feel free to agree or disagree with that statement.
The second thing is willpower.
This means a conscious decision to fight the cancer with everything you've got.
The patients I've known that did that seemed to recover better and faster.
It wasn't always easy for them.
Cancer treatments are painful physically and the fear the word causes can be mind numbing.
Sometimes the statistics for surviving a particular type of cancer are so dire that you can't imagine victory.
Giving in to that fear will make those statistics accurate.
Instead, write a promise to yourself that you will keep a positive attitude and you will do everything in your power to get well.
I don't think you can do it alone easily.
There may be some who can, but if you are like me, and like many of the people I know who have cancer, then you will need support.
Don't be afraid to ask for it.
If you have a family, lean on them.
If you have a church or other house of worship, ask them to help.
Ask your doctor to refer you to a support group for your type of cancer.
These people can help you in those inevitable times when you wonder if it is all worth the effort.
They can offer companionship and encouragement.
In practical matters, they may also offer to bring you a meal or help you with errands.
It's good to have a network around you.
One last tip; don't trust everything you read on the internet, neither the good nor the bad.
If your doctor has told you something and a web site says something different, go with your doctor.
That doesn't mean don't use the web, just use it with the same caution you would when researching anything else.
If a site seems to differ with the doctor and you think it important, ask the doctor about it.
