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A few days ago, I sat quietly thinking about how 70% of young people in Nigeria are now battling cancer
Ranging from breast cancer, throat cancer, lung cancer, and many other forms of cancer
The painful part of this, is that some of these people are in their twenties and thirties.
They look healthy, have dreams, families, careers, and plans for the future.
Then suddenly, the word "cancer" enters their lives to begin its operation and many people around them begin to act as though the story is already over
But it isn't
A cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence, you heard me right
Yes, cancer is a serious illness no doubt, but many people survive it, especially when it is detected early and treated appropriately.
That is why a medical practitioner will recommend regular checkups, you paying attention to unusual changes in our bodies, and seeking medical care when you feel something unusual.
The above are so important.
What breaks my heart is not only the disease itself, but the stigma that follows it. Some people withdraw from cancer patients because they don't know what to say, while ohers speak to them with pity instead of hope.
What they need most is love and care in every form
They need people who will visit them, encourage them, pray with them if they want that, mostly especially supporting them through treatment, and remind them that they are more than their diagnosis.
If someone around you is battling cancer, don't write them off. Don't treat them as though they've reached the end of the road.
Stand by them with encouragement, help them seek proper medical care.
Sometimes, hope is as powerful as medicine because it gives people the strength to keep fighting.
Death is not the first chapter of cancer, and it doesn't have to be the last, let's stop spreading fear, let's start spreading awareness, compassion, and hope.
Someone out there is fighting a battle we cannot see. Let them know they are not fighting it alone.
#CancerAwareness
#Hope
#EarlyDetection
#SupportCancerPatients
#Nigeria
