Resilience

After last week's hiccup, I was back at the doctors this morning for another blood test. The white blood count wasn't the best but good enough for me to progress with the chemo so we went ahead with cycle 3. During the wait, I met a friend who was also there for chemo. I bumped into him several weeks back but we didn't have much time to talk then.

He talked me through his journey since March when he discovered the condition. He felt a relatively small lump around the throat but his scans later revealed a massive tumour. It was diagnosed as an aggressive form of cancer. He had to be scheduled for an immediate operation followed by daily doses of radiotherapy for close to a month. The radiotherapy was combined with some chemo sessions. Needless to say it was a harrowing time for him and his family.

The operation and treatment were effective in clearing the tumour but given the type of cancer he had his oncologist recommended between 4 to 6 months of additional chemo using different drugs. His treatment involves monthly cycles, each consisting 3 weekly sessions, followed by rest on week 4. The drugs in the first session is very strong; it messed him up pretty good the first time he had it. 

What amazed me was his resilience. He talked about his experience calmly, and laughed in disbelieve that he managed to get through some of those ugly days. He spoke about having to give up his current role to take up a smaller one when he is well enough to return to work. He was in good spirit despite having to still feed himself liquid food through a tube that goes into his nose. He told me that he was so thankful to have many friends in church praying alongside him.

In his suffering, my friend's experience testifies to the human spirit. It testifies to the hope that we have in God. It sets the record straight - that there can be better days even when it feels like it is asking too much to believe it. It reminds me that God can turn your ugly situation into a story of hope for someone else.

I thank God for the conversation with him, as with everyone who has reached out to me with their personal stories. This conversation was well worth the couple of days delay in my treatment.

"... but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us" ~ Romans 5:3‭-‬5