When I get older I want to be an Oncologist (cancer specialist). I'm hoping that I can put my blessings to good use and save lives that would otherwise be cut short. My family has not directly been a victim of cancer, but I have attended a 30th Birthday party of a man who no more than 3 years before was a healthy man... but was merely months away from his last breath. I was 14.
Despite being Non-Christian then, I could still see the security and comfort provided by God, with whom the family of this man had unsurmountable faith through hardships which I cannot even begin to comprehend.
Perhaps the hardest part of choosing to be an oncologist is that I know that I won't always succeed, that people under my care will inevitably. I can only hope that in the final years, months or minutes of someone's life, even through failure, I can show them the love of a Saviour who has already saved their life.
One of my friends has cancer - brain cancer. After his last MRI, the oncologist told him that the chemo. is no longer effective. 6 years of painful treatment and for what? He is not expected to live to see Christmas.
His wife and he now are meeting palliative care staff and making funeral arrangements. He has 2 kids - 8 and 10. They cry every time he talks to them about how daddy's cancer is winning. Must be tough to be so young and have to grapple with questions of mortality and loss.
There is a musician called Warren Zevon who was also diagnosed with cancer. On his last appearance on the Letterman show, Letterman asked him how the diagnosis had changed him. He said, "Well, you learn to enjoy every sandwich." I've always loved that line. Taking the gift of life for granted may be our biggest road-block to fully appreciating and enjoying every moment.
May we all have the grace to "enjoy every sandwich" as long as God gives us breath.
Santosh
