Rhio’s story is one of those where a man truly loved life and wasn’t about to let some type of cancer called mesothelioma take him down without a fight. I admire the fact that Rhio went out and did his own research to help himself and it got him several more years of life. People need to help themselves and not blame others for their misfortunes or look to others to bail them out. When people take responsibility for their own actions and themselves, then they can take charge and do something about it like Rhio did. For those that don’t know Rhio’s story, he was diagnosed with a deadly cancer and given one year to live. Rhio learned about therapies, researched the cancer at the library, spoke to patients and doctors and developed his own protocol that extended his life another six years.
I believe it’s up to an individual to decide what he or she is going to do with themselves when delivered bad news such as Rhio. Rhio could have gone home and felt sorry for himself and waited for his death but he put up a fight to cling onto his life as long as he could.
If I was told I had cancer and wasn’t going to live much longer, I would have a different approach than Rhio. I would at least research my options for treatment through the internet and see what people who have the same condition as me, may have to say. What types of treatments have they tried? What about medications? What helped and what didn’t? People that have the same disease and symptoms that you have can relate to the sickness much better and know exactly how you feel. I would then decide if there were any options that I would like to try.
My whole outlook though is that I would do nothing for treatment. I would not choose chemo or radiation because it’s too hard on the body. I’m old enough where I can say I’ve done what I wanted to do in life and have no regrets so it’s time for me to leave this world. I would tend to look at it as no more working, no more bills, no more stress or sadness, no more feeling sick, no more paying taxes, no school debt to pay off, and no more bad news. I believe in heaven and if you’re saved and believe in Jesus Christ, He has a much better home for me than here in this world and I would look forward to the paved streets of gold. We all die eventually and each of us will face death in different ways. Maybe in this way, I would at least know somewhat how I would die. Currently, I don’t have cancer and I don’t know how I will die. I’m not afraid to die, but how I die is a bit frightening to me. If I had about a year left of life, I would travel. For instance, there are many states I haven’t seen yet nor have I been to Italy or Greece or seen the beautiful mountains in Switzerland. I would do something with the year I had left of my life and enjoy it but I wouldn’t choose to prolong my life in any way. This would be based on my own decision and not my friends or family.
My cousin had cancer that took over her whole body and she had a small basket to hold all her medications she had to take. Some would make her feel tired, some would make her feel euphoric, and some would make her feel sick. I can’t imagine taking all those medications, but she had two kids to live for and did what she could to prolong her life. I believe too if you have money, that helps you tremendously when looking for treatments. My cousin didn’t have insurance nor did she have the money, but she did the best she could with what she had.
Like I’ve mentioned before, I wouldn’t really do anything to keep my body going. I volunteered for Make-A-Wish and I would have to say it’s a different story for them because they are much younger and they still have their whole life ahead of them. But for me, I can say I’ve had a blessed life and if cancer were to take my body over, I would think I could just live with the news and do my best. You never really truly know till it really happens to you.
By: Hamilton, Robin M
