Editorial contribution by Judy Fortin, National Director, American Cancer Society Media Relations
Cape Town, South Africa -- Working for the American Cancer Society, I’ve often heard my colleagues say that cancer knows no boundaries. I didn’t know the true meaning of the phrase until I traveled half way around the world to South Africa and had the chance to work with cancer survivors.
I’m participating the week of May 9 in the 'Voice of Cancer Survivor Forum' in Cape Town. My role was to help prepare two dozen cancer survivors to speak to the media and make their voices heard about key issues that need to be addressed in South Africa.
Cancer is rapidly becoming a global pandemic. South Africa, a country hit hard by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, is now grappling with staggering statistics that have created not only a cancer burden, but significant levels of stigma.
It takes a lot of courage for any cancer survivor to tell his or her story, but just imagine what it would be like to share intimate details of your health history in a part of the world where some people believe that cancer is contagious.
It was remarkable to hear a young breast cancer survivor tell me what it was like to be diagnosed at the age of 24 and to be dealing with a recurrence of the disease now nine years later. A man named David said a persistent cough led him to make an appointment at a medical clinic only to find out that he had cancer of the larynx. When his doctor originally tried to treat him for bronchitis, he insisted on further testing. Another man told me what it was like when a doctor told him he had five years to live following a lung cancer diagnosis.
The stories are chilling and poignant, yet they could be told ten times over in countries around the world. Cancer survivors share more than the name of a disease they share the pain and heartache of knowing that their lives will never be the same following diagnosis.
Cancer doesn’t care if the patient is rich or poor, black or white, educated or illiterate. It is crossing borders and boundaries at an alarming rate, but with survivors willing to come forward to be advocates for cancer care in places like South Africa, future generations might not have to suffer from this dreaded disease.
The American Cancer Society has a history of aacttking those with cures that appear to be working according to the book OPTIONS by Richard Walters, which chronicles how BIG CANCER (American Cancer Society) had those doctors scientists with promising cures maligned defrocked as quacks. Walters shows that those cures on the American Cancer Societies top 20 list for promising cures, all were attacked by The American Cancer Society. CURE=No American Cancer Society Read OPTIONS By Walters!
Posted by: Lizita | 19 October 2012 at 07:38 AM
Net sommer om dinkae te se vir die bloedsweet met die 4 woelwaters,om hulle so oulik te kon laat perform voor die kamera lens. Dit was n heerlike ervaring. Net jammer die pappa was nie daar nie!! Toe maar volgende keer!!!!
Posted by: Sarah | 19 April 2012 at 09:52 PM
Cancer this is a big tragedy of our society...No matter what age you are...No matter in what country you live (U.S or Zimbabwe). Words about cancer as global pandemic illness have huge scene...think about it!
Posted by: writing jobs | 06 December 2011 at 05:02 AM