And To Think, I Was Worried for a Second!

Well, according to the Independent, and several other esteemed publications featuring those life style pages, I am going to live to 110 years old! The article I read recently mentioned a variety of aspects impacting the health and longevity of people in the affluent West, from diet (little red meat, plenty of fish, fruit and vegetables, while drinking plenty of water), consuming some alcohol (red wine especially because of the anti-oxidants), having a positive outlook, having a spiritual belief, excercising regularly - all that kind of stuff we have been battered over the head with in recent years as the obesity of our nation catches up with that of the lardy Americans. And, as I say, it turns out that I am going to live for another 50 years! Maybe even 60!!

Now I mention this merely to contrast it with another position, and one which is quite insidious in my opinion, and could in fact be harmful to people in my situation and their families. Not too long ago, Emma was in a class where they were discussing the topic of cancer, and I am certain that Emma, in that group of children, was by no means the only one who has been impacted by the disease, as so many people get it in some shape or form. To cut a long story short, the conclusion of the lesson (or "the Key Learning Point", to use the educational argot) was this: eat healthily, drink wisely, exercise, and you will not get cancer. It only takes a second to flip that on its head, doesn't it? The way that's stated, it logically follows, whoever has cancer did not do that. Whoever has cancer was a bad person who did not eat sensibly, or do what they should have known was best for them, and, therefore, they only get what they deserved!

Fortunately, Emma is a smart person, and she did not jump to that conclusion, partly because she has seen me over the years with my sensible diet (Sarah and I eat a lot of vegetarian meals, and have red meat only rarely), and although I have had the occasional tipple too many, I have not been a person you'd confuse with a Keith Richards - even in my more hedonistic moments!
If Emma's teacher had thought about it, she may have realised what she was saying, but the fact she didn't makes me bloody annoyed, because then, if I go up to a person who has been taught by someone like her, then I am going to be classified as a fool. I will have become someone who was irresponsible and incapable of self control, of self discipline, and therefore only got what he deserves. It's almost a criminalisation of people with cancer!

So, please, if you come across people who think so simplistically, tell them it is possible for even quite healthy people to get cancer, people who have not done all the "bad things" in their life we are told by our nannying "betters" not to do.

It could just be bloody bad luck! Before people get carried away with pointing the doubting digit of defamation, remind them it could just be the Fickle Finger of Fate at work!

It is all too easy to go down the path of guilt, even for someone like me, who is actually completely certain there were no aspects of my lifestyle that led me to this point. For others, whose tendency for guilt borders on that of a person raised by a sect of especially strict Catholic nuns running a correction centre, to hear such definitive statements about the origins of cancer only fuels their negativity.

Sarah, as ever the wise one, has always called cancer "the Wild Card": after her mother was diagnosed with bowel cancer (which had already spread to her liver by the time of diagnosis), we both knew there was no reason for her to have it. No one could have lived a more faultless or austere life, as poor as she was. There are times when these things just happen, and all you can do is make the most of life in those circumstances, and not waste precious time guiltily seeking answers to the question so many cancer sufferers ask themselves; "Why me?"