The Force of Aggression
Watching my aunt struggle though cancer and losing my grandfather to cancer has changed my perspective on the fight against cancer. This does not come so much from the side of the doctors but the side of the actual fighters. My aunt was diagnosed eleven years ago with cancer and was told last year that she would not live past Christmas of 2008 and yet she is still here fighting the fight. I have learned that attitude is everything. Anything from being positive to finding alternative or additional ways to help keep cancer at bay can help determine how long a person survives the war in their body.
Rhio O’Connor was one of the people who decided they were going to fight. In October of 2001, O’Connor was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma which was caused by asbestos exposure when he was younger. Because his tumor was located near his spine, surgery was not possible and chemotherapy would not help him live any long. The doctor announced that he had less than a year to live and recommended taking his wife on a cruise and then joining hospice after their return. O’Connor refused. Using every resource possible, he lived another seven and a half years. Through means of research, professional clinicians, changing his diet and practicing mind-over body medicine, O’Connor became a testimony that predicted end is not always the end. On July 11, 2009, Rhio O’Connor passed away at age 69 (www.survivingmesothelioma.com). His determination and fierce grip that he was going to live provided him with more time than anyone else thought was available to him.
People who do not currently have cancer have the ability to say that they would do one thing or another but actually having it is another story. For me, being diagnosed with terminal cancer would change my life giving me even more drive to achieve goals that I had set long before. There are two ways of looking at cancer; as an opportunity or as the end. Being optimistic I would like to see it as an opportunity. This was not one that was expected nor one that anyone looks forward to, but one to makes a person realize exactly how lucky they are to have everything they have and to cherish the memories they keep close to their heart.
There are so many different options out there to fight cancer. I believe the number one tool lies within your own body. The ability to stay positive and to keep saying that the cancer will not prevail, not today, helps not just the moral of one but the ability to stay strong spiritually and mentally. O’Connor was positive though out the whole thing. He, like my aunt, did not fear cancer but embraced it as a part of his self and made it a part of his daily routine to control it.
Chemotherapy is a harsh way of treating cancer. It not only weakens the immune system but can make it difficult for the patients to have a healthy appetite. This can make the conditions of a persons’ life harder and may not help in lengthening their time on this earth. There are alternative treatments that are now being used in a few hospitals in the United States. These treatments are used to help with pain and to make the body stronger which in turns helps the body fight the cancer. One way to do this is to help reduce stress by means of acupuncture which has been used for over 5,000 years and education of not only the cancer but of the treatments that are being administered. Then there are things such as dental care, exercise and diet that can help. Some other treatments are used in making the body stronger and providing it with what it needs to fight back. Things such as including supplements, systemic enzyme therapy, herbal therapy, Ozone therapy and ultraviolet blood irradiation therapy are also other ways of building the body up and helping to fight the cancer.
Rio O’Connor has done more than show that one can survive cancer longer than expected, he has made strength so much more viable by showing that hard work and determination are never in vain. He has also worked to prove that cancer can be managed by more than just chemotherapy or surgery. There are alternatives out there that are not as harsh as the effects of chemotherapy that can work just as well. You just have to have the determination to find it.
