Since the day that relatives and friends are aware of my relationship with lung cancer, a lot of information were flogged in. Anything from life styles changes, diets and food choices, treatments and alternative approaches, extra-ordinary skills and people, supernatural powers and senior masters who are still living legendary on this planet Earth, to very expensive/luxurious treatment institutes geographically locating at northern India to Kansas City (USA), in additional to web-links, books, forums and support groups, etc. etc. "Overwhelmed" is the right word to be used here. (*Keep in mind they are all provided with the best intention.) Everyone was eager to help, one way or another. Some were hear says and most of them were "forwarded messages" from the internet. At the beginning, I read every single piece of the information very carefully, as I don't want to miss any chance, not even the slightest chance, of an important information that may help my situation. Meantime, as you can imagine, this can also be a very stressful process to swim through this ocean of information, especially (actually quite a few of them) are controversial, i.e. one say good and one say bad! Then, what do you do? ... Hahahah! You are now back to Square One!
Among other cancer patients, I considered myself very lucky because I worked in the pharmaceutical field my entire professional life (>25 years). I call myself a semi-professional as I am not a stranger to those medical and pharmaceutical terms, actually in certain occasions, I am at an advantage over the clinical staff as they don't have the indepth knowledge of a specific issues, e.g. how long-acting sustained release capsule works, or when will a drug reaches it's maximum blood concentration level, etc. For same background reason, I was able to communicate with the professionals and discuss with them at length my treatment plan, especially the pros and cons, before a final decision is taken. More important, all these knowledge help me to better prepare and appreciate what is going to happen, e.g. drugs' side effects, body reactions, etc. In certain issues, we can actually take pro-active measures to reduce the impact. Knowledge indeed is power!
It's obvious that I am still unable to control the outcome (though I would argue that I shall be in better position than those that do not have the same knowledge level, at least psychologically)!
Another source of information which I find extremely useful are from other cancer survivors. They are usually practical and almost work instantly. Keep in mind that we may not have the same type of cancer, neither are each human body reacting the same way. From simple suggestion of how to park the car at BC Cancer Agency, to how to make your salad more tasty and with variety, to how to manage vomiting and constipation (and other undesirable side effects), to how to exercise and rest in the day! Most important of all, using their exprience and spirit, they are charging you up with super energy, they are a walking model for you to follow and say "If you think you can, you can ... and this is what we have gone through and ... look at us today!" Simply be with them is already a charging up process, it gives you the power of almost like immediate recovery!
Knowledge is power! Cancer Survivors is super power! I cannot control the outcome, but if I am able to walk through all these and "survive" (and yes I will), I am going to be an active Cancer Survivor and I am going to provide everything I can to make other cancer fellows to live and enjoy everyday of their life!
