Lessons learned: The positive side of cancer
By Kaylee O’Donnell
Reflecting the sun, sitting tall and unique on the edge of Euclid Avenue is University Hospital’s Seidman Cancer Center. This architecturally distinctive building seems beautiful from the outside, but pain and sadness lie within. Entering the building, one encounters a smiling receptionist, welcoming anyone and everyone. In the background phones are constantly ringing, children are crying and laughing, and a lot of people are talking. Doctors and nurses are shuffling their papers and are speed-walking through the hallways. In far sight, families are praying and using words of hope. Families are laughing because maybe someone just told a funny joke, or perhaps they are laughing because there is nothing else to do. Families are crying because they possibly just heard bad news from the busy doctors, or maybe they are crying of happiness because their loved one finally beat the monster. A rush of coffee scent flows through the room. It is the kind of coffee that needs to be strong because many of these people have been up for many hours. Maybe the coffee is not even hot anymore, but just the comfort of drinking it makes the patients, families, nurses and doctors feel better. The smell of food fills the air: a mixture of old cafeteria food and bagels. Worst is that horrid hospital smell that can’t be described, but makes people scrunch their shoulders because it is associated with what makes hospitals so depressing. Despite all of this, the hospital has a feeling of hope and happiness. Hope that one day this monster, cancer, will be conquered and will be long gone.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world. Cancer is a disease in which a group of cells in the body start dividing out of control and spreading into surrounding tissue, according to Dr. Li Yong, who is a professional researcher at The Department of Cancer Biology, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute. Cancer is very common; the American Cancer Society estimates that half of men and one-third of all women in the United States will develop cancer during their lifetime. Cancer is found in all age groups.
Many people in today’s world live in fear of cancer, especially if someone in their family was diagnosed with or died from the disease. But although cancer has some very negative effects, there are actually some positive situations that can arise when someone has cancer. Some believe that it is about what kind of person you are and your outlook on life.
Lori Kamm — a sister, wife and mother of three — is a breast cancer survivor and has a unique outlook on her experience with the monster. When asked about her previous struggles with the disease, she responded proudly, “Communicate your fears and never be afraid to ask questions. Communicate with others that have gone through the process, because if you don’t have the answers, odds are someone else does, so allow them to help you.”
When asked how cancer has changed her life, Kamm’s response was heartwarming. “The answer is quite simple. Cancer gave me the strength to never be afraid. I think I am a kinder person on this side of the battle.
“It taught me to always have empathy because you never know what someone is going through in their own lives, and being kind to others gives my own life so much more value,” Kamm continued. “We all want value in our own lives, and to be valued. And removing my breasts and physically looking different than what society referred to as normal pushed me to realize what I needed to do was value the heart more.”
When asked if she had any advice to other families going through this experience, Kamm was more than willing to answer.
“I think one of the best things I did was include my children in the process. They saw my scars and it was important to me that they were comfortable with who I was becoming, so I suppose my advice to others would be sharing your experience and allow those who love you to walk the road with you.”
As Kamm’s experience shows, there are learning experiences and even some positive sides of cancer.
Vanessa Kreiss — who is a student, sister and daughter — is in the process of testing to determine if she has stomach cancer. Throughout Kreiss’s life, she has called herself “the girl who is always sick.”
Kreiss says, “Today, I am diagnosed with 12 different chronic illnesses and stomach cancer may be a potential diagnoses.”
When asked how these illnesses and potential cancer diagnosis has and will affect her outlook on life, Kreiss responded confidently, “I love humanity, and this magnificent world, finding it to be my responsibility in life to ensure that everyone’s human rights and needs are met.
“The fact that I haven’t died yet from common illnesses does create a large motivation for me to push forward every day and try my hardest,” Kreiss continued. “Day by day, I do a little bit better because of the people around me who love and care for me.”
Kreiss’s experiences show that a lot of negative things may happen in life, but with the support and love of family and friends, a positive outlook can be more manageable to accomplish.
Some common questions and concerns for cancer patients and their families are what research is happening and why is cancer so difficult to cure? Even though it has proven a very difficult disease to cure, there are many treatments and many people working to help reduce the degree of cancer.
Yong, for example, performs research specifically aiming to elucidate the role of noncoding ribonucleic acids, or RNAs, at the very beginning of cancer, including cancer susceptibility, as well as later in the process. Yong further identifies the noncoding RNAs as indicators of the presence of cancer and investigates mechanisms of resistance to certain cancer treatments.
“The most significant progress in cancer research during the past 10 years is cancer immunotherapy, which is the use of our own immune system to fight cancer,” Yong said.
When asked why cancer was so difficult to cure, Yong responded with three answers. First, cancer is largely part of the aging process. Second, a therapy has to eliminate cancerous cells and do no harm to normal cells. And third, drug resistance often develops.
Another doctor, Michael K. Gibson, is also actively studying certain types of cancer. Gibson is a medical oncologist who manages patients and gives chemotherapy to those with cancer. Gibson works at University Hospital’s Seidman Cancer Center and his specialties are esophageal, head and neck cancers. He also is an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Gibson’s research involves looking at new treatments with patients with cancer in the esophagus, stomach, head and neck areas. Gibson stated that his clinical trials are well designed and ethnically appropriate studies that look at new treatments for patients with these types of cancers, with the aim of improving survival rates and length of life in patients with the cancers he studies.
Yong noted that every year, new techniques for cancer detection and diagnosis are developed and new therapies are established. According to Gibson, about 50 percent of his cancer patients are in remission, which is an outstanding and uplifting rate. Gibson further explained that for the patients he is unable to cure completely, there are still treatments that can extend lives and manage symptoms of cancer, such as the pain and tiredness. Also, there is active research that there is hope for something new and better.
According to a 2016 article by Rebecca Siegel and colleagues in the journal CA: The Cancer Journal for Clinicians, the survival rate after being diagnosed with certain types of cancer is on the rise. In children and adolescents, cancer survival rates have increased from 58 percent in 1977 to 83 percent in 2011.
Additionally, according to a 2016 article by Catherine McGrath and colleagues entitled “A Narrative Account of the Impact of Positive Thinking on Discussion about Death and Dying,” medical research has shown that positive thinking increases the likelihood of a good outcome, and social research suggests that it enables people to cope better and their experience of the illness and its treatment.
With the willingness to keep fighting and stay positive, it is important to keep in mind that although cancer is a monster, Kamm advises, “Attitude wins the battle.”
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