Not a Battle

We humans are not invincible, but I'd like to believe that we are strong. I myself, as a person, would like to believe that after all of the obstacles and challenges I faced in life, I was able to overcome them all. Even if I fell, I stood up and showed that I can be strong. But despite this, I know that I'm not as strong as people with cancer. It's something different. Something that I think I can never imagine how to put myself in their shoes. I can feel sorry for them, and say "Everything will be okay." But no. I know that those words are never enough to comfort them. I can feel awed, and say "I know you're strong and you can do it." But no. I know those words aren't enough to encourage them. I can try and think that yes, it's really hard to be in that situation. But I can never feel what they are really feeling.

The "Rhetoric of Cancer" though, made me realize a lot of things. It's a whole new perspective of having cancer. I never even thought about those things before, not until I listened to the documentary. What really tapped me was the message saying that "If I battle my cancer, I’m putting myself in conflict against myself." (Andrew Graystone) I've always heard lines in movies and stories saying "We're gonna fight cancer." But this is the first time someone actually said something against fighting cancer. And thinking about it, it does make sense. Why would you fight something that is part of you? Not that you want the cancer and die. But maybe the point is, before you can survive cancer, you have to learn how to accept it as a part of you. And it's never right to say that someone who died of cancer lost his battle. Because no, they didn't lose. We should learn how to look at cancer in a different way, and not as a "battle" between the cancer and the patient. The body is not a war zone. It is a gift from God. I'd like to believe that there is a reason why things happen to people. And I think that God wouldn't want us to think that He made the body a war zone for other people. It doesn't really help when patients visualize cancer as an "enemy". As a Psychology major, I know that the negative can never heal the negative. It's not always "two negatives equal positive" like multiplication. No. Positivity is something that can help. And who thinks that "war", "enemy", "battle", and other fighting-related terms would be of help to someone who already feels negative feelings? Depression is always a part of having cancer, I guess. But I think that it will only worsen if we approach the sickness as a battle.

Chrystine L. Cobarrubias

2013 - 59986