Do you keep hearing this word and still not really know what it is? Well, cancer is a common disease that begins in our cells. Normally, our genes (inside cells) tell our cells to do things like to run, grow and more! But, sometimes the orders get jumbled up and the cells may form lumps (tumours), or spread to other parts of the body. Tumours are either non-cancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Benign cells stay in one place and are usually not life threatening, while in malignant cells can spread to other parts of the body and can invade close by tissues (Canadian cancer society website: http://www.cancer.ca). Cancer cells that spread are called metastases. People with cancer have symptoms. Some include: discomfort, fever, aches, pains, weakness, swelling and more. A person with cancer may need to go to the hospital every month or more for a checkup.
There are many types of cancers. All body parts qualify. There are a lot of types and I probably haven’t heard of. Some of the ones I have heard of are: colon, breast, lung, bowel, skin, appendix, eye, liver, brain, and kidney cancer. Cancer is a worldwide disease that all ages can get, even at very young. Those are the hard facts about cancer, but there is a medicine for this disease. It is called chemotherapy. It used very often in cancer. Chemo is a medicine or treatment that uses powerful chemicals to kill fast growing cells in the body. It can be given through the mouth, through a shot or within a vein. Chemo can be taken every month, few weeks, every week or even every day. Although chemo takes out the bad cells, it also wipes out the good cells in the body. This is why it is good to have a long recovery. After chemo there may be side effects (mostly mild but sometimes serious). Some side effects are; tiredness and weakness, nausea, vomiting, pain, and even hair- loss.
My first experience knowing someone with cancer was within my school. There is a 9 year old girl with cancer. She had cancer since she was about 18 months old. She is supposed to be in Grade 4, but due to cancer she took a whole year of school. A lot of the times she goes to hospitals. For chemo, every so often she has to go all the way to New York to do treatment. She sometimes stays there for a long time. She has a brother in my class and a little sister in Grade one. It is hard on her siblings for their sister and parents to be gone a lot. They eventually adapted to the schedule. Luckily, their grandparents live close by. She had a lot of ups and downs but she has a positive attitude. My sister and I have become pretty good friends with her. She deserves a standing ovation.
Recently both my grandparents have been diagnosed with cancer. My Grandpa was diagnosed last year. He had small intestine cancer last year. He had to do surgery and chemotherapy for months. We were very worried but prayed every night. Now he is completely cancer-free and healthy. He is so cheerful and knows to puts all his faith in God. This year, my Grandma was diagnosed with colon cancer. This is very recent and she has only done one round chemotherapy and a surgery. She will be doing it for a long time. We learned from the past that we need to pray every day. We prayed a special prayer called the Novena for 9 days during her surgery. I think it helped because Grandma is doing better and there have been no surprises.
Some people think a person with cancer will always be sick, but that is not true. If they do treatment on time they can recover and can live a good life. They need patience with the doctors, medicines, and their bodies. A happy life lies within your spirit. For example my Grandma is very positive even though she is sick. Many people complain they do not have the latest toy or clothing without realizing they have more than enough, like being healthy.
There are tons more people with cancer stories. These are just three. I think this topic was good because my family has been affected by cancer and I learned a lot about it. I hope you learned something. I hope you learned a lot. Do you know someone with cancer?
Maxine Mutasingwa