Why am I here?

Thank you, Tina

Tina Radcliffe is a wonderful blogger and she has built up a great community of readers on this site. I will do my best to carry on where Tina left off in running this blog on cancer to your satisfaction. And I hope you will give me all the support to make this site a success for everybody. To Tina, we wish you all the best in your ventures and adventures.

The monster cancer is everywhere

There are many reasons why I took on this daunting task, and some of them I discuss here.

Tell me of anybody whose life hasn’t been touched by cancer, directly or indirectly. Just one. Everyone has a close kin, a relative, a friend, a friend of a friend, a casual acquaintance who has battled or is battling cancer.

My eldest brother died of throat cancer. He was 52 years old. My best friend since high school lost her husband to pancreatic cancer, leaving her to care alone for 4 underaged children. Another friend was diagnosed with breast cancer, just months after her husband underwent surgery for colorectal cancer. They have a 4-year old boy. Right and left, people of all ages are suffering from this disease.

Facing my own monster

I personally had a close brush with cancer. I was diagnosed with Graves’ disease in 2001 and had total thyroidectomy. Standard biopsy after surgery detected carcinoma in the removed thyroid organ. Not big. Between stage 0 and stage I. But it was there and nobody knew it was there. It was too small to have been detectable. The good news was that the doctors believed they have removed all of it even though it was not the purpose of the operation. However, I’ve been under close monitoring since then. I never miss my regular check ups and tests. I try to to lead a healthy life. I eat healthy food and I do lots of exercise. Because I know that the monster that was cancer was in my body once. It could still be there. It could come back.¨

My plans for this site

• Research updates. This site will bring you the latest news from oncology research, be it on stem cell research, new drugs and treatments, alternative and complementary medicine.
• News round up. Like Tina, I’ll be bringing you a round up of cancer news from around the world every Friday.
• Information. This site will also inform and increase awareness about cancer and cancer-related activities. Do you know of any pro-cancer activities in your area? Would you like your favorite cancer support group to be featured here? Are you lobbying for a pro-cancer legislation? Drop me a line!
• Resources. I will provide cancer resources for you, be it in the form of reviews or features of sites, books, films, and TV shows that might be of interest to cancer patients and their families.
• Interviews. Whenever I can, I will interview people from all walks of life – patients, family members, healthcare providers, cancer support groups and businesses on topics related to cancer.
• Stories. I will also try to feature stories of hope for you and there are plenty out there.

If you have any other suggestions for this site, just shout. I’ll be listening. And while you are at it, visit me at battlingforhealth.com/.

Photo credit:

GinnyLynni at stock.xchng