Daily Cascade

On Health Choices

Prompt:
February is National Cancer Prevention Month.
"It is possible to take control and tackle head-on any health issue. You can seek advice, learn about the options, and make choices that are right for you. Knowledge is power.”
Angelina Jolie.
Do you agree or disagree that anyone can tackle head on health issues? What do you think are the best approaches for making good choices?

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I guess any health problem, chronic or not, can be tackled head-on, but the question in my mind is: When is it worth the trouble?

If the health issue is cancer or any other difficult illness and tackling it involves serious pain and trouble for the patient, I believe it would be worthwhile to do everything within the power of the healthcare profession, especially if the patient is young enough.

Symptoms, side effects, fears, and goals have to be considered here. Learning about the condition allows the patient to ask good questions and recognize the seriousness of the situation. One difficult question to answer could be, is this treatment worth the effort? This is because perspective matters. How much the treatment is going to hurt or leave some parts of the body not working come to my mind as a concern. Especially for people who are under, say, 60 years of age, an extensive treatment may be worth it, if the patient agrees to go through with it and can cooperate.

On the other hand, to push an old eighty-year old through such an ordeal should not be forced on the patient, unless the patient is willing enough to face and go through such a serious treatment. That is why when my old primary care physician retired and I ended up with a very young doctor, I told her right up front that if I got cancer or any other serious illness, I didn't want any far-out intervention.

Yet, paying attention to one's body is an act of courage, not weakness. Any discomfort can be a message worth listening to. Finding out what's wrong--if something has gone wrong--can be difficult, but it can move a person from uncertainty toward understanding. As such, clarity means relief to me, so I can make a sane decision about my health options.

This is because any serious condition may shape my life, but it does not define my spirit. I'm still here, and what happens to me and to my body should be no one else's but my choice.


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