Cancer is a deadly disease suffered by millions but there are some that seem to survive and go beyond what doctors expect of them. Rhio O’Conner was one of those people. Rhio was a gentleman who was diagnosed with mesothelioma and given the prognosis of one year to live. Because of his tenacity and refusal to succumb to his disease he was able to extend his life another five years beyond that. The website Surviving Mesothelioma https://survivingmesothelioma.com/ describes mesothelioma as “a rare form of cancer in which cancerous cells are found in the mesothelium, a protective sac that covers most of the body’s internal organs. There are two main types of mesothelioma – pleural which involves the sac that covers the pleural cavity around the lungs and peritoneal which involves the tissue that covers the abdominal area”. Please visit this website to learn more about mesothelioma and it’s treatments.
My mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1996 and because she hadn’t done regular check ups with the doctor it spread quite a bit. She ended up losing her bowel, bladder, colon and uterus. She had to have reconstructive surgery to be able to survive. She did survive though and did quite well for about a year or so when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had to lose one breast but she survived. My mom didn’t tend to follow doctors orders well. Two years after her breast cancer she got ill and kept putting off going to the doctor. She was living in another state or I would have taken her there myself. She ended up getting gangrene in her feet. The doctors said she wouldn’t survive and told us to make funeral arrangements. Yet, somehow my mother did survive she pulled through but they took both of her legs. She survived another two years after losing her legs then she had a stroke and passed away.
I believe had my mother done the same research as Rhio and followed her doctor’s orders she may have been able to extend her life. I had an aunt with breast cancer who chose not to have any medical treatment. She chose to deal with it holistically. She lived for two years before succumbing to cancer. I had another friend who at the age of 24 had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Her situation was dire and she was in the final stages but she refused to let the cancer take her. She, like Rhio, did tremendous amounts of research and tried several different things to rid her body of cancer. Somehow, miraculously, she was able to get rid of her cancer and is now in her late 30’s and cancer free. If I were diagnosed with cancer I would be running to her door and doing everything that she did to recover.
The only differences between my mother, my aunt and my friend had to do with medical treatment. My mother didn’t follow doctor’s orders, my aunt refused medical treatment but my friend who survived had medical treatment as well as alternative therapies. My choice and what I would urge my friends and family to do would be to look at every alternative and talk to as many doctors, therapists, patients and anyone with information as possible.
By: Reber, Katherine
