dan, helen and everybody: thank you all for sharing so much. i can't really say much to the experiences, emotions and thoughts brought up by the last few posts because i only experience cancer vicariously through my sister rather than personally. but i'd like to say that i'm humbled by what has been discussed, and by dan's attitude and helen's openness.
i'm addressing earlier postings in the thread also because i want to continue thinking and talking about them.
- i totally understand gary's desire to not be labled. nevertheless, lables are out there and work as markers of where you stand in relationship to the medical governing mechanisms as well as to the larger society. i started this thread in the activism forum because i wanted to talk about changing the mind-set and the system. the terminology signifies the mind-set that runs the system. it seems necessary to look for alternative terms that can emblematize differing attitudes. perhaps there are things that we can learn from other activist campaigns such as AIDS. but i also don't want the debate about terminology to take over. the underlying issues are more important.
- i agree with AzTarHeel's earlier posting in this thread that the underlying causes of cancers are not addressed by treatments. in fact, they're rarely addressed by the medical system except to lable people as "high risk" based on their life-style, so we all know that if you're a smoker and you drink heavily your risk of getting cancer is higher. well, my sister's not a smoker and she doesn't drink alcohol, and prior to being diagnosed, she'd always been health-conscious in terms of food and physical activity. so she can't be labled as "high-risk." then why does she have this form of cancer? most history forms you fill out when you step through the door of a medical facility ask you about smoking and alcohol, but not other potential risk factors. in the case of my sister, for example, we are pretty sure that cancer has to do with her occupation in the fashion industry and cosmetics which exposed her for many hours every day over many years to all the harmful chemicals that go into cosmetics products. nobody is interested in knowing this and talking about it so that it seems like "smoking and alcohol" have become smoke screens for other possible causes. even in cases where the relation of occupational and environmental factors and various forms of cancer have been scientifically established, very little is being done to change the conditions. for example, nobody goes around telling people that working in the manufacturing side of the high-tech industry in silicon valley puts you at high risk for cancer.
- if cancer was a virus, the world health organization would declare a global pandemic as they did recently in the case of the much less wide-spread SARS. given the astronomical number of people afflicted with the illnesses known as cancer, it is quite amazing that so little is being done to change the conditions that increase the likelihood of their appearance. again, environmental, occupational and nutritional factors all need to be addressed if we were to deal with the underlying causes rather than the tumor alone.
- finally, the last few postings seem to me to illustrate the issue that many people have raised in this thread: that is the medical system is ignorant about the psychological and spiritual dimensions of cancer and leaves people hanging here. most of us who've found our way to these boards are privileged and resourceful people otherwise we wouldn't be here. i shudder to think of the majority of people who go through these stages without the benefit of a support network. and i've met many of them.
you are all in my good thoughts for healing and peace. much love to you.
gita
