Skip to main content

Fight Cancer, Celebrate Life

Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear.

Uttered by President Snow of the Hunger Games series, these words reverberate a remarkable sound of triumph over an encompassing adversity.

It's undeniable that life narrates of unending battles that humans ought to face and overcome.

Include cancer on the list. This has been known as a deadly disease that the mere mention of the word is feared and stings into the mind, creating undesirable thoughts of struggle, of loss, of mourning, or simply of death.

After a review in January 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO), through their webpage www.who.int, listed cancer as the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 7.6 million deaths in 2008 and projected to continue rising up to an estimated 12.1 million deaths in 2030.

These figures, however, should not be seen as a hopeless picture of loss, but rather as a motivation to take steps towards significantly reducing these estimates through positive measures.

Yet admittedly, when one is diagnosed with cancer, one flees from instead of fights the illness. Flight is a way of embracing the disease with grief and surrendering to it while counting the days left as life takes its final bow. Fighting, on the other hand, is clinging to the hope that surpasses the fear of death, accepting the illness, and making sure to live the unfolding days with no regrets.

This is why the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.-Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center (RAFI-EJACC) provides cancer assistance for early detection (such as mammogram, biopsy, and other tumor markers), surgical assistance for early stages of cancer, and patient follow-up for post operative patients.

The battle against cancer should not be a struggle for death but should be a struggle for life. Although the disease cripples one physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and even financially, not fighting it with a dose of hope is raising the white flag.

Fighting cancer with positivity may be easier said than done, but those who know that there are people who battle with them can be victors. One can always trust and lean on family and friends during these startling times.

WHO states that a significant proportion of cancers can be cured by surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy, especially if they are detected early.

One’s part is to stay optimistic despite the adversity, for this too, shall pass.

It’s about time to dare to claim healing, to dare to choose to be joyful, to dare to celebrate life.

                                          


I wrote this article while having my internship at Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Filipino Stores and Restaurants in Tokyo

For somebody who craves for Filipino food and snacks from time to time, here are the stores I frequent to. I can only share a limited perspective but solely based on my experiences. Read on! Filipino Stores 1. Asia Yaosho (Kabukicho, Shinjuku)  While they mostly have Filipino products, they also sell Thai goods. I think their prices are a little lower than the other Filipino stores I've tried. However, they have limited stocks and they often run out of items that I usually need, like Bearbrand. 😁 Credits: This photo is from this website .  2.  Ameyoko Center Underground Marekt (Ueno)   This market is heaven for Southeast Asians. They have a lot of varieties, dry goods, frozen meat, and even fresh seafood. There are also two Filipino stores in the area. They sell more items than Asia Yaosho but they are a bit pricey.  Credits: Photo is from this website. The market is underground. The entrance is on the side of this building at the center of this photo.  3....
Post a Comment
Read more

Summer: Warm Encounters

This year's summer break has been the best I've had in Japan or at least ever since I got to spend for my trips on my own. But while scanning through a thousand travel photos on my phone and camera, I realized that travel is made even more special with people you are with and those you encounter. Izumo, Shimane Other than its quiet and laidback atmosphere, the beauty of Izumo lies on its people. Our going there wasn't as carefully planned as it should have been. It's much farther from Tokyo and would honestly cost us more. But my oneechan convinced me that it will be worthwhile. I also happen to have a friend living in Izumo and I thought it will be a good opportunity for a catch up.  This Izumo friend drove us around and went out of her way for us to be able to spend a memorable day around the area. She as usual welcomed us with warmth and excitement sharing the history and stories of her hometown here and there. She is also naturally funny. Her quirks still make me gi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Seven

Favor! As I was preparing to apply for this job, I felt that certain peace and assurance that this would go well. True enough, I got shortlisted for an interview. But it wasn't only an interview, there was also a written exam and a teaching demo. All happened in one day. Then the waiting starts. Two months to be exact. This position isn't always available. It's uncertain how many teachers the city would accept in a year. And a lot of us would want to get in. The perks and benefits that come along this direct employment are something foreign workers are longing to have. Then they called me and told me I was first on the waitlist. We were all put on the waitlist. I heard there were over a hundred applicants. Less than half got called for an interview. Then about twenty were considered for the position. But it was still uncertain how many of the twenty will successfully sign a contract. Another week passed when I finally received a mail. It was the contract package. Then they ...
Post a Comment
Read more