Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Will too much reading cause worry !

My answer is " YES "
Most of us will start doing our reseach thro' reading and net browsing when diagnose
with cancer .
I start with the following site recommended by oncologist :-
http://www.cancer.gov/
http://www.cancer.net/
It give me a very good overview about cancer with general information like ;-
What is cancer ; Treatment ; Coping with cancer ; Prevention, Genetics, Causes ;
Screening and testing.
It also give me overview of all type of common cancer , for Lung cancer, the site
provide very details informations as follows :-
The Lungs - an overview of lungs ; Cancer cells - How's cancer begins in cells ;
Risk factors ; Screening ; Symptoms ; Diagnosis ; Staging ; Treatment ; Second opinion ;
Comfort care ; Nutrition and so on .
Thereafter, I start browsing to look for sites in Malaysia and I manage to find the following
> National Cancer Society of Malaysia ( http://www.cancer.org.my/ )
> Cancerlink Foundation ( http://www.cancerlinkfoundation.org/ )
> Makna <> ( http://www.makna.org.my/ )
> Malaysian Oncological Society ( http://www.malaysiaoncology.org/ )
And other sites that I used to get update informations as follows :-
> Nasional Cancer Centre Singapore ( http://www.nccs.com.sg/ )
> American Cancer Society USA ( http://cencer.org/ )
As for information of Chemo drug and the side effect , I log in to :-
http://www.2ndcanceropinionusa.com/drugdb.htm

Those are all the official site for cancer treatment or cancer care and it give us good information
about standard treatment or approved treatment by government and also all the approved or recommended
complimentary treatment .

After I start with Chemo Therapy and have so much of time at home resting and to cope with side effect,
I start do more reseach by reading books ; articles ; web sites , about story of cancer survivor ; about alternative treatment ;
about why we should not accept the standard treatment like surgery , radiation therapy, chemo therapy ; about there is no
cure for cancer, all treatment is just to prolong life for couple of months or the target of 5 years ; about changing our diet and
mindset to improve our immune system to regain our health and we will be fully recover ; about how to live with cancer in a peaceful
way and so on ...

Be frank, as a layman in medical field, I am getting confuse and wondering what is the right decision .

How to overcome it ?

When I am confuse, I pray to Lord and ask for wisdom ; knowledge and to guide me for the right tretament decision.

With wisdom from Lord and his guide, I find Cancer Compass ( http://www.cancercompass.com/ ) , it give me a better view
after reading all the posting from patient and care taker in cancer compass community and the sharing ; support from the community
is a great assistance to me and clear most of my doubts .

My opinion to share after reading all the informations about cancer treatment as follows :-
> Tell our self that Cancer is not a disease, it is our cell and it can be repaired if we give ourself a chance to do so.
> Tell ourself that cancer is not the end of our life, it is an alarm to inform us there is abnormal cell in our body system
( Cancer begins in cells, the building blocks that make up tissues. Tissues make up the organs of the body.
Normal, healthy cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them.
When normal cells grow old or become damaged, they die, and new cells take their place.
Sometimes, this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does not need them,
and old or damaged cells do not die as they should. The build-up of extra cells often forms a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor. )
( Cancer is defined as the uncontrolled or unregulated growth of cells. )
> Be it standard treatment or alternative tretament, the most important and immediate action should take is to improve and rebuild immune system.
Cancer patient can not afford to have more sickness during treatment, so, we have to stay as healthy as possible.
> Do away all fear and worry and set a positive mind-set to face the treatment
> Have proper and healthy diet
> Listen to our body and rest when we are tire
> Exercise to keep our body healthy ( simple brisk walking is good and do not need to force ourself with excessive exercise )
> Have faith with our Lord and pray for wisdom and healing.

Meantime, we should accept the fact that be it standard treatment or alternative treatment, non of the treatment is suitable for all,
as each patient react differently to the drug ; herb or cancer diet, because of our body system condition ; our race and background ; weather ; living and working environment .
Therefore, the correct way to deal with it is to listen carefully to our body and discuss with doctor and choose something that suit us .

God Bless

SK