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John Roberts: Cancer: 100 Ways to Fight: No. 63: QUALITY OF LIFE

A Selection from: Cancer: 100 Ways to Fight

A Positive Guide for Patients, Survivors, Caregivers and Loved Ones

See more at: www.CanFighter.com

VII/63. Quality of Life

Quality is not measured against the past, but the future.

The value and happiness that we take from our life with cancer is increased by the sense of loss of time. We will make the best of what is given us. We will capture from each darkening day or year a fresh recognition of the joy of life, and we will seek it without waiting for it to drift by. The best of this must be fought for with positive determination. It does not flow into life like a river. It is a great ocean at our feet, available, but challenging, and rewarding only for those with hope and courage. This is our final testament, the last chapter in the book of our life.
––John Roberts

The soul of man is immortal and imperishable.
––Plato (428-348 B.C.), Republic

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
The sun shine warm upon your face
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.
––Irish Blessing

I was surprised by what happened when I accepted that I might die. Acknowledging death didn’t become a morbid undertaking, as I had expected. Instead, it became an opportunity to discover a renewed sense of purpose in my life, get closer to my family and friends, and deepen my spirituality. For the first time, I actually set out to create balance in my life. My priorities clearly fell into place, and allocating my time became easy. I found myself becoming happier and more relaxed and began living a healthier life that, I believed, could very well extend my life expectancy. I actually attained a sense of my own well-being….My experience has been that acknowledging and preparing for one’s death can give clarity of purpose. Living with the end in mind is not a gloomy thought, but rather a life-affirming opportunity to find peace and happiness.
––Erin Tierney Kramp & Douglas H. Kramp,
Living with the End in Mind, 1998

Unless we are totally cured of cancer, which does not have a lifetime guarantee, or live long enough to die of something unrelated, we know that sooner or later our life may be shortened by new or resurgent cancer. We therefore have a fresh motivation to improve the quality of our remaining life to compensate for its endangered length. This, if we are diligent or lucky, may compensate us for years taken away.

Finally, when we are certain to die of cancer and treatment is abandoned, every effort is made to improve or maintain the quality of life so that precious days are not lost to suffering. This is known as palliative care, and it is given by the most loving and compassionate people we can imagine. There are many variables and degrees in this situation that have much to do with how comfortable we are in that time. But, the satisfaction of that difficult time depends on the control we have over our own thinking and peace.

Under palliative care, there are both physical and emotional issues. It is imperative that we and our team work early and hard to remove these threats to our final happiness, not only because of the direct effect but because their removal can actually extend our survival. Pain and suffering can usually be relieved, but this sometimes enervates us and prevents us from enjoying our last days. Emotional sadness or depression may be difficult to treat, and it may be up to the patient to solve this by making the necessary mental preparations and development of the qualities that I outline in this book. These uncertain days are improved if we have laid the proper groundwork in reaching a state of acceptance and inner contentment.

Quality of time is not just a matter of tolerance of the inevitable and the absence of pain or problems. It is the proactive experience of unique activity or thought, in which one is injected with a profound sense of well-being, accomplishment, or reward. While some quality is achieved by the successful medical or self treatment of physical and emotional problems, we are wise to understand that creating genuine quality of experience, involving great sense of reward or deep emotional satisfaction, is the greatest treatment of all. It is the journey that gives us more than the destination.