With the recent premiere of Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies on PBS, I knew I had to write about it. While I have not had the chance to watch the episodes yet, I have seen several of the trailers and available clips.
My favorite statement within them all was made by Ken Burns, the executive producer of the series. He said:
My favorite statement within them all was made by Ken Burns, the executive producer of the series. He said:
“As much as you want to move away from it, you have to move towards it.”
The world needs to hear that and understand it, because it is only by "moving towards cancer" - talking about it, learning about it, studying it, living through it, and helping all those affected by it - that we can ever have a chance of moving beyond it. And as Mr. Burns says, we are most often inclined to move away from it because it is associated with so much that scares us.
But, I think the best part of his statement is that it also applies to the importance of helping all those affected by cancer to cope with the impact of the disease.
To cope with cancer, the first step is to accept it, and that requires you to move towards it and recognize its impact one your life. The next crucial thing is to find others who have been through it or who are going through it, with whom you can talk and find support. However, such a support system can only be made available to new patients if survivors and current patients are willing to move towards their own disease, instead of taking every possible chance to get away from it.
As a fantastic example of "moving towards cancer," I came across a really funny article by a comedian who went through cancer treatment. It talks about how he shared his cancer journey on social media, but the most impressive part of it is that he does it all with an incredible sense of humor. I also found a satirical take on being a cancer patient, written as a poem published in a HuffPost Blog, which again invokes a great sense of humor towards cancer.
I personally found humor a great way to "move toward cancer” and find a way to accept it. That is 100% thanks to my dad. It takes some courage and creativity to make cancer jokes, since making such jokes requires one to look beyond the fear-inducing consequences that cancer can have. But, I’d say my dad was quite a pro and helped make my experience a lot less serious, giving me many more reasons to laugh than I would have had otherwise.
Coming together in support of patients and survivors, talking about cancer openly (beginning by talking about it without a “terminal” connotation), and invoking some humor along the way are just a couple of examples of how it is possible to "move towards cancer." In doing so, I think we may soon be able to conquer the emotional impact of cancer too.
But, I think the best part of his statement is that it also applies to the importance of helping all those affected by cancer to cope with the impact of the disease.
To cope with cancer, the first step is to accept it, and that requires you to move towards it and recognize its impact one your life. The next crucial thing is to find others who have been through it or who are going through it, with whom you can talk and find support. However, such a support system can only be made available to new patients if survivors and current patients are willing to move towards their own disease, instead of taking every possible chance to get away from it.
As a fantastic example of "moving towards cancer," I came across a really funny article by a comedian who went through cancer treatment. It talks about how he shared his cancer journey on social media, but the most impressive part of it is that he does it all with an incredible sense of humor. I also found a satirical take on being a cancer patient, written as a poem published in a HuffPost Blog, which again invokes a great sense of humor towards cancer.
I personally found humor a great way to "move toward cancer” and find a way to accept it. That is 100% thanks to my dad. It takes some courage and creativity to make cancer jokes, since making such jokes requires one to look beyond the fear-inducing consequences that cancer can have. But, I’d say my dad was quite a pro and helped make my experience a lot less serious, giving me many more reasons to laugh than I would have had otherwise.
Coming together in support of patients and survivors, talking about cancer openly (beginning by talking about it without a “terminal” connotation), and invoking some humor along the way are just a couple of examples of how it is possible to "move towards cancer." In doing so, I think we may soon be able to conquer the emotional impact of cancer too.
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