I was not intending to blog today but after seeing my cousin who had been fighting cancer I thought I should share this. My cousin was 28 years last year when she was diagnosed with a form of cancer called lymphoma.
Lymphomas are cancers of the lymphatic system, which forms part of the body’s immune system. There are many different types of lymphoma, although they are broadly categorised as Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The cause of lymphoma is unknown.
It can occur at any age but is most common in people under 30 and over 55. The incidence of lymphoma is increasing year on year but it is not known why this is happening.
The most common symptom of lymphoma is a painless lump or swelling, often in the neck, armpit or groin. Other common symptoms include excessive sweating (especially at night), fevers, unexplained loss of weight, loss of appetite, unusual tiredness, a cough or breathlessness and persistent itching.
I had sleepless nights over this. ''Why her? Life is not fair'', I kept thinking over and over. She did not deserve this and it was sad for friends and family. Her husband was also a rock in this.Many a time I have seen women go through hell on their own,even abandoned by husbands that claimed to have loved them once but,yes my cousin had all the support from the man in her life.
It is difficult to have such an illness when one is faraway from home and loved ones. People back in Zimbabwe were worried and so were we in the UK. All over the world cancer has been known to kill and I think most of us were fearing the worst.
Whenever I visited her I would really be upset and tried so hard not to cry and it was hard. She had to stop work,she started putting on weight because of the steroids she was given before starting chemotherapy. She lost her hair and looked really different as the illness progressed. While her body was changing,my cousin 's demeanor didn't change. She stayed the same,positive,happy and cheerful.
I have heard many times my mother saying fighting an illness is both a physical and psychological battle and one has to win both. People have been known to take placebos and just because they believed felt healed. So the battle of the mind played a role in my cousin's fight. She believed and never gve up My cousin was positive all the time and she even made plans for the future as if life was normal.I realised she was going to win the battle. There was never a time she was down. I was surprised at how calmly she took everything. When she lost her hair she was still smiling,when her nails were breaking she was still smiling. I honestly think I might not have taken it so calmly like she did. She could not have a normal sleep and felt breathless and never sid she complain.
Emotional effects
A diagnosis of cancer often means people experience a whole range of emotions. These may include shock, anxiety , sadness , relief, uncertainty and for some people, depression.
I did learn a lot from my cousin, being positive all the time makes many situations manageable.Many times we are so embroiled with worry we think negative and then bad things really happens. Whatever I go through I feel encouraged by my cousin.How could she have managed to take things so calmly when she potentially could die?
I did learn a lot from my cousin, being positive all the time makes many situations manageable.Many times we are so embroiled with worry we think negative and then bad things really happens. Whatever I go through I feel encouraged by my cousin.How could she have managed to take things so calmly when she potentially could die?
In April this year she was given the all clear by her doctor and now we have to see but it was nice seeing her hair growing,nails polished in pink-her favourite nail polish colour. I was so proud of her today and to make it even more inspiring,she is to running in the RACE FOR LIFE for Macmillan cancer to raise money for cancer patient . I am really happy she has come this far and I really believe part of her winning was her positivitiness. Such a brave woman. I am proud to have her as a cousin and friend.You got to be inspired by people like this surely.
My message for people in any situation like this is to stay positive and all will be well. Worry will only make things worse. My cousin is to me very inspirational and to see another inspirational story please follow the link for another extraordinary story, ''Married to a Devil''
Married to a Devil is now available on Amazon (Kindle Edition). Please follow the link below, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Married-To-A-Devil-ebook/dp/B0087PTP4M
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