Too often in life, we are so preoccupied with the destination that we forget to simply admire the journey. When I first read the story of James Rhio O’Connor, I was truly inspired. I personally was completely in awe that a person can be told that they only have a year to live, then they can turn around and prove all of the doctors and scientists wrong and outlive his prognosis by more than six years. He showed with large amounts of determination, you can prove that you're strong enough to survive anything. When I first heard of James Rhio O’Connor’s story, a quote came to my mind. “Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.” When I compare James Rhio O’Connor to this quote, I find that some people could be like the caterpillar and think the world is over due to a dire cancer prognosis, but James waited it out and found that he could form into something so much more, thus becoming the butterfly.
If in my life I was placed into a situation where I was given a dire cancer prognosis, I would more than likely have a difficult time accepting it at first....
“There are all these books that say we create our own destiny and what we believe is what we manifest. You're supposed to walk around with this perpetual bubble over your head thinking happy thoughts and then everything is going to be sunshine and roses. Nope, sorry, don't think so. You can be as happy as you've ever been in your life, and stuff is still going to happen. But it doesn't just happen.
When it comes to a bad diagnosis it is often difficult for doctors to tell their patients this devastating news. The doctor will likely hold back from telling the patient the whole truth about their health because they believe the patient will become depressed. However, Schwartz argues that telling the patient the whole truth about their illness will cause depression and anxiety, but rather telling the patient the whole truth will empower and motivate the patient to make the most of their days. Many doctors will often also prescribe or offer treatment that will likely not help their health, but the doctors do so to make patients feel as though their may be a solution to the problem as they are unaware to the limited number of days they may have left. In comparison, people who are aware there is no cure to their diagnosis and many choose to live their last days not in the hospital or pain free from medications without a treatment holding them back. They can choose to live their last days with their family and will have more time and awareness to handle a will. Schwartz argues the importance of telling patients the truth about their diagnosis and communicating the person’s likely amount of time left as it will affect how the patient chooses to live their limited
In Craig Lesley’s novel The Sky Fisherman, he illustrates the full desire of direction and the constant flow of life. A boy experiences a chain of life changing series of events that cause him to mature faster than a boy should. Death is an obstacle that can break down any man, a crucial role in the circle of life. It’s something that builds up your past and no direction for your future. No matter how hard life got, Culver fought through the pain and came out as a different person. Physical pain gives experience, emotional pain makes men.
Not just the consumption of purchasing goods, but the role one’s mind plays in absorbing the basic ideals of life. As an adolescent, one develops basic instincts from their environment to survive each day. Once the person grows mentally, they acquire these new perspectives on the way life works around them. Lamar constantly reminded the listener of the growth from the caterpillar into the butterfly. He rapped about experiencing survivors guilt when returning to his home and then dealing with depression from not being there for his loved ones. Lamar noticed that the fame started to consume him which began to take control of his basic way of life. He was making progress as person due to his successes, but the fame started to control him leading to the lost connection with his loved ones. Lamar had figure out where his heart truly resides due to his fame attempting to control his basic mindset in
Life is hard. No one can deny that. People can wish and hope and pray for their troubles to go away, but all anyone can really do is get through them. Everyone in the world is on their own life’s journey, growing and learning from mistakes, loving and hoping, and striving for success unique to each individual. Louis Zamperini is one man who remained resilient throughout all the hardships he had to face, but it wasn’t always easy for him. It is through his triumphs over his tough times that he became an admirable role model for anyone experiencing difficulties. He displayed the honorable traits that all humans are inherently capable of if they dig deep enough within themselves.
Wilson also demonstrates that not all individuals follow one path in life. That when one comes to the end of one road, a rebirth may be necessary to continue down another road, such as Martha Pentecost and Herald Loomis had to discover. Wilson also shows the reader that acceptance of the death of an old life can lead to illumination, rebirth, and the possibility of love in ones new life.
In Anatole Broyard's Intoxicated by My Illness, instead of confronting the reality of his illness, he tries to rise above it. From the moment he found out he had been diagnosed with cancer of the prostate, Broyard was composed about it. "He felt something like relief" he says. He figures you have two choices when your life is threatened, "you can turn towards it or away from it" He turned toward it and let the illness make him even more appreciative for being alive. Although he had realized for the first time that he didn't have forever he knows that life itself has a deadline, his might just come a little sooner than other peoples'. His friends found him courageous for thinking this way.
If a situation came about where I was terminally ill and the doctors told me that I had just six months to live, I wouldn 't opt to end my life. This is probably because I’m young and I could desperately use those six months to see and do as much as I’d miss for the rest of my life. I’d ask that the doctor give me some medication for pain mediation, and then I’d scrape together whatever energy I had and I’d go travel and live what was left of my life. Even if I didn 't want to travel or I was bedridden, I’d still opt to live the time that I had left for the reasons that it would allow people who are close to me to spend time
Almost all of us have heard of a scenario such as this one: A woman battling cancer has lost almost all hope of recovery. She has not been able to turn to her family for support for fear of their reactions to her illness. One morning she finally breaks down and tells her husband about the cancer. Instead of being devastated and turning his back on his wife, the husband supports the wife, every step of the way, and she gradually seems to improve.
Gonzales, Laurence. Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why: True Stories of Miraculous Endurance and Sudden Death. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2003. Print.
The implications of becoming aware that you have been afflicted with this disease may extend far beyond just a physical condition. Learning that you have cancer can significantly affect a person’s mental, emotional, and physical health. This could cause tension in social relationships, finances, or other lifestyle choices. Becoming more anxious or depressed can considerably hinder a person’s ability to make rational decisions when it concerns their well-being. For these reasons, it is crucial for one to seek professional help for all aspects of their lives when they become aware of any serious changes.
When you are diagnosed with a terminal illness there are many stages that you go through until you accept what is happenin...
...e the cancer and look for the positives in the prognosis and treatment find encouragement for the future. There are various models and theories such as health belief model that are used to explain ones belief on risks and associated risks of a chronic illness and then there are theories such as Crisis theory when dealing with shock when diagnosed with a chronic illness and gate control theory when looking at pain and the psychological issues around dealing with pain. However even with various theories and models trying to explain crisis, pain and compliance to treatment the outcome and understanding and ultimately the way an individual deals with a chronic illness such a breast cancer falls very much down to self-efficacy and the belief the individual holds towards the illness itself the attitude and perception in the outcome of the illness, treatment and beyond.
First, let’s consider the reasoning behind the patients choosing to forego extraordinary treatment for their cancer. They have decided, as Beauchamp would put it, that refusing to prolong their lives in the face of pain and suffering “neither harms nor wrongs [them] and may provide a benefit” (Beauchamp, 76). They “intend to quit life because of its bleak possibilities” (Beauchamp, 77). The doctor readily complies with their wishes out of moral, legal, and professional obligation. A choice has been made to let both patients die, as a response to their “competent and authoritative refusal of treatment” (Beauchamp 74).
...s that one must accept the possibility of one's own death before he can truly appreciate what he has on earth, as the sobering awareness that one day, it will all be out of reach, prompts the urge to appreciate and value what one can have only for a limited period of time, and to use every moment of that time doing something that one will not regret when the bird sings its last note.