Beyond practice: Surviving cancer

The current widespread knowledge of cancer is admirable. At least, it has shifted from the general assumption that cancer is not necessarily a death sentence, but rather, and that for many conditions, one can get cured completely and be well, for life. Be it blood, breast, head and neck, and elsewhere, advancing research and technology is permitting patients to survive longer, if known as early as possible, leaving relatively few or more treatment-related complications from one condition to another. However, life being the most important, surviving with a complication might look better than giving up on life. The stories, besides figures spoken out by practicing specialists of how possible survival is, are being shared by the survivors themselves. Be it on a larger national scale through campaigns, the praiseworthy work of producing books of life before, during and after cancer is being carried out. Emotionally-charged, they are good resources cutting through how cancer is lived with, the shock and the burden of getting to know the diagnosis and the changes that happen during the treatment. But most importantly, they bring in the element of hope. And slowly, people get to know that the fight is possible, and that winning is not always on the side of the disaster. Under other heavens, societies of survivors exist, for a great number of disease. They exist to help new patients to go through their conditions, and work hand in hand with practicing doctors to design learning resources to the patients, families and general public about the disease. Is there anything that kills faster than ignorance? Sadly, countries on the long journey to development face a great problem of not being able to track smaller issues as burden of diseases and general disabilities because many still die at home, without knowing what killed who. Plus, growing efforts to tackle disparities in diagnosis facilities are at times sluggish to keep up with yet too many pouring facilities and knowledge on a single disease diagnosis and treatment. Unfortunate. But possibilities exist. Possibilities exist in the fact that at least many cancers are diagnosed and can be treated locally in the country. There are many success stories. However, a vacuum is created when out of excitation one is cured and goes home without telling a hundred of others behind. Books are good, stories are great. But longstanding initiatives, proper to conditions are yet to be. For the sake of many others behind, the relationships between a patient and a practicing cancer health practitioner should not end in letting him/her know of his condition and make the new patient go through treatment and just go home. Such diseases affecting one’s psyche go beyond the likes of infectious diseases treated with over-the-counter medications, because at the end of the day, we fight both the disease and hopelessness. When one fading candle is lit, another should take a flame too. Connecting former patients and the current ones is key. The work of the Breast Cancer Initiative East Africa gathering breast cancer survivors is to be noted. A larger work in education and awareness in yet many other conditions is needed. Cancer is not hopeless. Look around, be informed, great stories exist. A little more knowledge about a dead relative, that long disease of an aunt that seems to not end would save your life. It could be time, now to have a lot more initiatives coming up and tracking survivors of one condition and gather them together and get a platform to educate yet a larger number of those who know little about the disease, and the new patients too. Real life examples and experiences would educate more than one and bring a hope to many others behind. Dr Achille Manirakiza is a Clinical Oncology Resident, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania