The “C” Word

Last week I had to drop my husband at the Westcoast Express Train Station.  I am not a morning person so I wasn’t very chatty as I was still sleepy.  We listened to Mike & Mike – ESPN commentators.  Normally, they talk about sports, but on this day, the topic was about the “C” word – Cancer.  They were fundraising for The Jimmy V Cancer Foundation.

Different people were invited to the studio to share their cancer stories.  One gentleman shared how his daughter at twelve was diagnosed of brain cancer.  She went through intense surgeries, radiation and chemo and managed to leave a normal life.  At 28, she had another complication that put her in the hospital for a month.  She is still recovering today.  He went on to share that his son-in-law who was their daughter’s support system and was by her side every minute was diagnosed of colon cancer himself.  What touched me the most was when the Dad said he would sit at the Treatment center and watch all the cars driving by on the highway and say to himself, “I hope all these people appreciate their lives and their families because being in this cancer center is tough for me, my daughter, my son-in-law and the rest of my family”.   After fighting for a short while, the son-in-law’s colon cancer quickly spread and he passed away.

I got home from the train station and decided to park the car in my driveway and continue to listen.  Mike & Mike decided to play a taped speech by James Thomas Anthony Valvano, aka Jimmy V, a basketball coach who also died from Cancer.  In his speech, Jimmy said we all should do three things every day:  LAUGH, THINK AND EXPRESS OUR EMOTIONS.  He mentioned that in his family hugs and laughs are a daily routine and he encouraged everyone to incorporate hugs and laughs in their lives and to be supportive to those around them battling cancer.  At the end Jimmy said “Cancer can take away my physical abilities, but it cannot touch my heart, my spirit nor my soul.” By this time, tears were just rolling down my cheeks.

Jimmy’s speech was funny, especially when he shared how he messed up the introduction at his very first speech to the players at Rutgers University.  I laughed so hard.  When the speech was done, I turned off the radio and went into my thinking mode.

My lovely sister who is three years older than me is battling colon cancer that has now spread to the liver.  While in Zimbabwe in May, I spent time with her at the Harare Cancer Center while she underwent her chemo treatment.  She sat in the chair from 9am to 4pm with constant IV’s of different chemo drugs.  Just before returning to Canada, we went for her halfway scan.  The lesions had shrunk by almost 50%.  The chemotherapy was working.  We were all delighted to hear this.

Since June, my sister has not been able to have the remaining chemotherapy treatments because of the financial turmoil in Zimbabwe.  Changes in import laws have negatively affected flow of goods (medicine included) into Zimbabwe.

Can you imagine battling cancer, going through chemotherapy, knowing its working and halfway through having to stop because of shortage of drugs?  It’s difficult enough knowing you are living with cancer.  Wondering when your next treatment is going to be multiplies the burden a million fold.

To further complicate the situation, when she completes chemotherapy, she is supposed to go to India for radio frequency abrasion.  The whole country of Zimbabwe does not have the radio frequency generator needed to do this treatment.  Neighboring South Africa has the treatment but the cost is outrageous, more expensive that trip fees plus treatment in India.  I have approached Rotary Clubs to see if any hospitals in British Columbia have a used Radio Frequency Generator that is sitting in a basement somewhere.  If you are reading my blog and you know someone that can help and save lives, please contact me.

^“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. (Jeremiah 29:11). Many a time, that hope and future is made possible by strangers or by someone whose purpose is to bring laughter, thinking and emotion into someone else’s life.

Take some time to LAUGH, THINK, CRY and HUG your loved ones.

Thank you for reading my blog.