If I were given a dire cancer prognosis, initially I would inform my family and friends. It is important to have a support system around you, one that believes in your judgment. I would talk to the pastor at my church and ask for prayer from the church body. I am a believer in God and believe that prayer in a form of healing. Improving my lifestyle would be another change. I have always had a fast metabolism and could eat whatever I want. My health would be more important to me now so eating healthier would be wise.
I would talk to my doctors and learn all the information I can on my condition. I would research my cancer on the internet and spend a great deal of time at the library looking at all different kinds of books on how best to deal with this situation. I would talk with my Grandma who had breast cancer and beat it using chemo. My little cousin has cancer in her eye and her parents chose to use chemo instead of removing the eye. Talking with them about their decision would be another step I would take in my research.
Chemotherapy would not be the only treatment I would consider. After the research I conducted, I would choose the best form of treatment for my form of cancer. If the cancer could be taking out with surgery I would defiantly choose that as I am no stranger to invasive surgery. However, if the main forms of cancer treatment were not useful to me I would look towards other forms of treatment. I would not give up and would continue to search for a cure. I would not sit around and let the cancer win just because there might not be a popular cure. This is my life and I would intend to live it to the best of my abilities and fight.
To make an informed decision I would talk with people who have the same situation. Reading has always been my strong point and I would spend many hours going through all the information I could find. The internet would be another form of research I would dive into. If there was a group that was related to the condition I was fighting, I would get involved.
I can relate to Mr. O’Connor’s situation because in the sixth grade I had a major surgery. The doctors had to remove the back of my scull and shift my brain. If I had not had this surgery I would be dead today. They doctors told us about this malformation and upcoming surgery at the same time. They also said I might never walk, or dance again. The surgery was in April and in May I did dance much to the doctor’s disbelief. I have always had medical problems and spent four years in a thoracic back brace for my Scoliosis. I have major nerve damage on the right side of my body, am legally blind in one eye and am extremely nearsighted in the other. I have mild Spina Bifida, Asthma, and Pulmonary Stenosis. However I still dance, help my brother train for his marathons and many other activities that the doctors told me were impossible. I did not give up or succumb to my difficulties. I work through the pain and live my life the way I want to.
By: Dantzman, Rebecca
