A man named James Rhio O’Connor was diagnosed with mesothelioma (www.survivingmesothelioma.com), which is a rare cancer that comes from a secured lining that covers many of the body’s inside organs. It’s mostly found on the outer lining of the lungs and inside chest wall. Most people who get this rare disease come in contact with asbestos which is some type of mineral that is very dangerous. O’Connor was diagnosed with it in 2001 but that didn’t stop him from doing anything. He believed that everything was going to be okay. He have done many researches and even informed a lot of people about this disease. The doctors told him that he wasn’t going to live that long but he actually lived way longer than they had expected. He was very optimistic about everything, seemed like he didn’t have any stress at all. He looked at things from a different perspective.
If I was diagnosed with a horrible cancer diagnosis and was only given one year to live, I have to admit that I would probably panic and feel depressed. Then I would realize that this cancer is not going to vanish if I just sit around and feel worse about my life. I will do everything that I can to save myself. Plus, I will have the support of my friends and family. My faith would come in and let me realize that everything is going to be just fine.
When it comes to choosing a treatment that I know would help make the cancerous cells disappear, I would do major research in what doctor I am choosing and how the treatment would help. I would definitely have a lot of questions to ask and I want to hear the answers from the best doctors in the country. I would go to the best cancer center that I feel is right for me. After I’m done with all of this researching, I would have a lot of decisions to make. I would try to pick a treatment that would give me little pain as possible but still have the same effect or better as the other treatments. I wouldn’t look beyond the treatment, surgery, and radiation if it wasn’t going to help because that’s like giving up on me. If it’s not going to work the first time that doesn’t mean it’s not going to work the second time. “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again” and I truly in my heart believe in that quote. The resources I would use would be my family, other patients, and researchers. I would use my family because I feel that they care the most about me and they want what’s best for me so their opinion is important. As for the patients, they know what I’m going through; they have been in my shoes, so of course they know a lot of information about different treatments that they have tried. Although everybody’s body is different so there are different reactions for others but at least I would have their best instinct on what medications are better and who are better doctors. Researchers would give me a lot of information, there are experts so they know a lot about different treatments and what’s the side effects, etc.
I would not let this cancer get the best of me. I would believe in myself and trust in God that I’m going to be alright. God doesn’t put anything on me that I can’t handle and I will be able to handle something like this. I might not be able to handle it all by myself and I won’t have to. I will let everyone know about this cancer and try to make it where there is a walk for that cancer like there is for breast cancer. People who have cancer and don’t have faith are the ones that don’t really survive, sad to say but it’s the truth. They stop getting treatments because they feel like their life is over. You have to believe in God all the way. I wouldn’t look at this as the end of the world, I would look at this as another difficult puzzle piece to solve.
By: Williams, Taylor
