All or Nothing
AFTER A SEVERAL-YEAR HIATUS, my friend’s cancer has come raging back into his life. What has worked to control it in the past no longer seems effective. The doctor who has treated him for years, and who my friend trusts and respects, suggests a more aggressive form of the same treatment.
MY FRIEND, weakened by the disease, and profoundly unhappy with his situation, hears the words, “This will be rough.”
HE LOOKS NEITHER TO THE RIGHT nor to the left. He seems to accept the plan with the same courage that got him through the early battles of Viet Nam. “When can we begin?” he asks, and makes the appointment.
I WANT TO SHAKE HIM. The government estimates more than one hundred American cancer patients die each day needlessly—-simply because they failed to receive state-of-the-art treatment. And the treatment can easily be researched at http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov/ or by calling 800-4-CANCER.
WHEN I WAS STRUGGLING to make the changes in my life that I believe have since led to greater health, I hit a wall of self-pity one rainy winter day in New Orleans. Crossing Loyola Avenue near Poydras Street, my eye was drawn to the Cancer Survivors Plaza. Annette and R. A. “Dick” Block (he was co-founder of H&R Block) have erected these in most large cities across the U. S., and that day I found out these monuments are worth a close inspection.
ONE OF THE PLAQUES said, “You must, on your own, make the commitment that you will do everything in your power to fight your disease. No exceptions. Nothing halfway. Nothing for the sake of ease or convenience. Everything! Nothing short of it.”
THE NEXT ONE SAID, “To give up requires no commitment. You can stay in the comfort of your own lifestyle. Fighting means a complete change of lifestyle, absolutely leaving your comfort zone . . . You must decide that the end is worth the means . . . No one else can do it for you. There is no half way . . . Go for it with no second thoughts or regrets.”
ONE OF THE LAST PLAQUES said, “Fighting cancer is not a simple matter of thinking positively, wishing it away and saying, ‘Hey, doc, cure me.’ It is a matter of knowledge. It is a matter of educating yourself about every detail and mustering all your resources. Use every drop of energy in an organized fashion to constructively concentrate on getting rid of cancer . . . if you don’t do everything in your power, often there is no second chance. This is why no cancer patient can afford the luxury of looking back and saying, ‘I wish I would have . . .’ Never look back. Concentrate on this movement forward and do everything in your power.”
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVES HAS CANCER, read Dick Bloch’s letter at www.blochcancer.org. I wish my friend would.
You’re blessed. Be a blessing!
MY FRIEND, weakened by the disease, and profoundly unhappy with his situation, hears the words, “This will be rough.”
HE LOOKS NEITHER TO THE RIGHT nor to the left. He seems to accept the plan with the same courage that got him through the early battles of Viet Nam. “When can we begin?” he asks, and makes the appointment.
I WANT TO SHAKE HIM. The government estimates more than one hundred American cancer patients die each day needlessly—-simply because they failed to receive state-of-the-art treatment. And the treatment can easily be researched at http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov/ or by calling 800-4-CANCER.
WHEN I WAS STRUGGLING to make the changes in my life that I believe have since led to greater health, I hit a wall of self-pity one rainy winter day in New Orleans. Crossing Loyola Avenue near Poydras Street, my eye was drawn to the Cancer Survivors Plaza. Annette and R. A. “Dick” Block (he was co-founder of H&R Block) have erected these in most large cities across the U. S., and that day I found out these monuments are worth a close inspection.
ONE OF THE PLAQUES said, “You must, on your own, make the commitment that you will do everything in your power to fight your disease. No exceptions. Nothing halfway. Nothing for the sake of ease or convenience. Everything! Nothing short of it.”
THE NEXT ONE SAID, “To give up requires no commitment. You can stay in the comfort of your own lifestyle. Fighting means a complete change of lifestyle, absolutely leaving your comfort zone . . . You must decide that the end is worth the means . . . No one else can do it for you. There is no half way . . . Go for it with no second thoughts or regrets.”
ONE OF THE LAST PLAQUES said, “Fighting cancer is not a simple matter of thinking positively, wishing it away and saying, ‘Hey, doc, cure me.’ It is a matter of knowledge. It is a matter of educating yourself about every detail and mustering all your resources. Use every drop of energy in an organized fashion to constructively concentrate on getting rid of cancer . . . if you don’t do everything in your power, often there is no second chance. This is why no cancer patient can afford the luxury of looking back and saying, ‘I wish I would have . . .’ Never look back. Concentrate on this movement forward and do everything in your power.”
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVES HAS CANCER, read Dick Bloch’s letter at www.blochcancer.org. I wish my friend would.
You’re blessed. Be a blessing!
posted by Chronic Hope at 6:00 PM
1 Comments:
Saturday I knelt beside the bed of a 19 yr. old I've know since he was about six. He has no medical options to speak of at this point, but he is fully determined that through prayer he will be healed.
I was honored to be in the presence of such an amazing man of God who was not afraid to call upon God to perform a miracle. I do believe in healing through prayer and the laying on of hands, but I don't think I've ever been called to believe with such profound urgency or determination. I guess I learned that faith isn't just about resigning to "God's will", it is also about calling out to our God that can and does perform miracles each and every day.
Post a Comment
<< Home