Through My Eyes

No one gets spared in this bloody mlée. People who live with it suffer first the psychological trauma of "Why me?" and then it is just one big blur of hospital visits, clinic appointments, scans, probes and more tests.

And then when all hope is exhausted, the invasive therapies and debilitating drug treatments begin. Nobody tells you how messed up you are going to be before the treatment begins.

Nobody warns you that no matter how strong your resolution, and your general resilience was before the treatment, at some point you are going to be broken. So broken that most of the time you start wondering, "What is the point of all this?"

Did you know that half of us will hear the words "you have cancer" at some point in our lives. That's a scary figure. And it's a reminder, if ever one were needed, of the challenge we face in beating this disease.

This isn't to say we're not making progress: more people are beating cancer today than ever before. Survival has doubled in the last 40 years. And half of the people diagnosed will survive their cancer for more than 10 years, an all-time high. There are so many new alternative treatments coming to light, so much hope out there.

Latest estimates, which use the most accurate calculation method to date, now put our chances of developing the disease at 1 in 2 and this makes me very angry! Where does this cursed malady come from?

According to a recent study all cancers are caused by a combination of bad luck, the environment and genetic heredity. Cancer-free longevity in people exposed to cancer-causing agents, such as tobacco, is often attributed to their 'good genes,' but the truth is that most of them also simply had good luck.

We all try to do everything right: we exercise every day, include lots of fruits and vegetables in our diet; we try to minimize the stress and take medication to keep our cholesterol and blood pressure under control. And then we still get the dreaded C. What is going on?!

Interestingly the mechanisms of cancer are not known. It is NOT possible to conclusively attribute a cause to effects whose mechanisms are not fully understood.

We can't do anything about random events, but we can do something in reducing risk. They say a positive attitude is the first step to beating the cancer blues and then we have to find a way to stay positive when our body is convulsing with debilitating pain.

Death, the most mysterious, unknowable, and terrifying event in human experience, philosophers believe society is shaped by the fear of death. So what actually happens when you die? Is there anything to look forward to thereafter?

I would like to take this opportunity to collectively say a little prayer for all cancer sufferers and survivors. "May you find the strength to beat the living daylights out of this disease and may you be victorious!"