To all my readers, today’s post may be off the
regular topic but it does have to do with food, in a way. I am applying for a
scholarship in order to attain my Master’s degree in Marriage and Family
Therapy. I do hope you enjoy.
My essay is in response to the following subject: Please
write an essay about how James Rhio’s story inspires you and what you would do
if you faced the same challenges that he faced. What steps would you take if
you were given a dire cancer prognosis? How would you conduct your research and
make an informed decision when choosing a treatment? Would you look beyond
chemo, radiation and surgery if they had little to offer? What resources would
you use to make an informed decision – friends, teachers, clinicians,
researchers, other patients, libraries, etc?
To
begin, I will state that Mr. Rhio’s story is very impacting because I have
experienced the loss of family members and a friend from cancer. In each case,
the family member or friend had very aggressive cancer and each fought hard and
chose either Chemotherapy or surgery but they eventually or even suddenly died.
I also have two family members who have survived cancer. My heart is encouraged
to hear that Rhio lived for 6 years after choosing to change his diet. A few
years ago, my brother changed his diet to be healthier after reading books on
how much diet affects the body. He is now a Pescatarian. When he taught me
about his lifestyle diet I also changed my diet because I felt it was wise to
listen to my body more. I had noticed that eating unhealthy foods was affecting
my body more and more as I grew older. I am not a Pescatarian but I do try to
stay away from pork and beef for the most part as well as fried foods and
nutrient deficient foods. I have heard about ways to detox your body with
juices and how good it is for the body. I strongly believe that diet can change
your chances of getting diseases. I also believe that a change in diet can bring
healing to the body. There is plenty of research on how proper diet can drastically
improve your condition regardless of the disease you are facing whether it be
cancer, diabetes, or some other disease. I have friends who have children with
either Asperger’s or Austism and a diet change has helped their children
greatly improve. I do wish that more people would be willing to change their
diet and take on other remedies besides chemotherapy. It is evident that these
days North Americans eat unhealthy, fatty, depleted and processed foods that
affect the body in a very negative way.
I hope that my
diet now will prevent any need for having to face cancer in the future, but I
believe that if I faced cancer, I would try a natural method before surgery or chemotherapy.
I would contact either a Nurse Practioner, a Naturopathic doctor, or similar healthcare professional as I have
in the past when my health was subpar. I would seek out friends and family
members who may know about more drastic diet changes and vitamins that I would
need to implement. I would also personally read books and find all the
information I could through the Internet about natural remedies. I have also
heard of places where they guide you through detoxification from cancer and
that would definitely be a method I would look into. These are the methods I
would choose to help my body heal. Along with every physical step to healing I
would also pray and seek God as well for my healing. I believe that with every
ailment that is faced, we cannot only look at the body alone because we are
connected as a whole- mind, body and spirit. I also believe God created us and
knows our bodies better than we do. I’ve heard seeing a counselor or pastor is
helpful as well because dealing with a disease can be stressful and we will
need proper support emotionally as well. Stress is known for causing health
problems so I would want to make sure to lean on God, church friends, my family
and possibly a pastor or counselor for support.
So
in conclusion, I believe my methods would actually be similar to Rhio’s. He was
definitely one who took the more uncharted path. I’m not sure if he got
criticism for his decision but I would not be surprised if he had. Although
Rhio’s choice is not as easy, or commonly accepted method of treatment for
cancer, I feel it should be the one of the top methods for curing cancer. I
believe with a healthy lifestyle we can avoid a lot of sicknesses. Yet our
health has to become priority and we have to be disciplined enough to change
our diet. Some may have to make sacrifices in order to afford healthier foods.
Hopefully, since information is traded and shared more rapidly these days, in
the future we will see more people turning to alternative methods as Rhio did.
Hopefully lives will be changed, bodies will be restored, and more people will
live healthy, long lives with out deadly diseases like cancer.
No comments:
Post a Comment