Cancer: Do we know we all have these cells?

I recently finished reading a book called Anticancer: A New Way of Life by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber. I discovered about this book during my holiday trip last year from the homestay that my family had. It is an interesting book to read on and had remind me of my family’s experience with cancer.

I learned about what cancer is all about when my father was diagnosed with colon cancer. When I heard the news from my mum or my dad back then, I felt shocked and sadden with the news. I started to ask around my friends and lecturers to get advices as I was still studying at university back then. At that time my friend told me to seek second opinion to get further confirmation on the diagnosis made from the 1st doctor. I then arranged with the recommended doctor from my friend to seek for second opinion at Subang Jaya Medical Hospital and it was confirmed for my father on the diagnosis. Back then, my father was an ex-civil servant and due to higher fees for private hospital to have surgery done and follow-up treatment, the doctor had nicely suggested us to have surgery back at the government hospital where we had 1st diagnosis done. He also assured us that we are in good hands as the doctor there is one of his student or so and he wrote the referral letter for us.

Back then, almost 17 years ago, I had asked the question to the doctor at hospital what is the percentage for cancer patient survival rate for stage 2 on this particular disease and how long will my father live? The doctor unable to answer me on this and only mentioned depending on each individual where some maybe up to 5 years and some maybe up to 10 years or more if no relapsed. With such answer, I was not satisfied and was thinking how come doctor studied so much and yet do not have definite answer on this matter. Or was it not enough research being done on this particular disease? Where part on the bell curve that my father fit into when the doctor shown the bell curve for the cancer patient to me. I left his room unsatisfied with the answer given back then. Then the doctor had arranged for surgery with my father.

After had surgery been conducted to remove part of the colon, my father had a colostomy bag attached at one side of his stomach area. After 1 month, my father wanted the bag to be removed and have the colon connected back to the rectum part to have like other normal way to pass motion. The doctor stapled it back and requested my father to do chemotherapy and then later radiotherapy. After having chemo and radiotherapy back then, as it was very near the end part of the colon, he had trouble to keep the stool longer in body and always need to go toilet every now and then. We also started to learn that food is very important in our health and have restricted from eating those ‘poisonous’ food as what Chinese believed.

Then we learned many things about food that give us antioxidant, multivitamins and those that can prevent cancer from relapsed. We also learn to eat more healthier way by reduce frying stuff and change to more steam or less oil. Besides food, of course, our emotion and lifestyle is very important to keep the cancer cells from developing in our body. Unfortunately, he had lived for around 16 years and had passed away in 2016 peacefully at home. From this book, it taught me to understand further on what cancer is all about and refreshed back my memory on my biology class. I hope you can also get a chance to read on this book as it said: “All of us have cancer cells in our bodies. But not all of us will develop cancer.”