Health Care

I like quotes about all kinds of things. I love the way that some people can express what the rest of us are thinking in just a few well-chosen words. The subject of cancer and cancer treatments are no exception. Some of the best advice and the best observations about this dreaded disease are found in quotes.

For one thing, cancer is held up as the ultimate disease - the standard by which all really bad things in life is measured. Maya Angelou was an American poet who said, "Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host," and Edward Abbey was an American writer and environmentalist who said, "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell." No matter what "it" is, the worst is always compared to cancer.

Then there are those famous people who say things that echo in our minds forever. Olivia Newton-John said, "My cancer scare changed my life. I'm grateful for every new, healthy day I have. It has helped me prioritize my life." Lance Armstrong, the famous cyclist, is quoted as having said, "If children have the ability to ignore all odds and percentages, then maybe we can all learn from them. When you think about it, what other choice is there but to hope? We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or fight like hell."

Melissa Bank, an author, wrote, "During chemo, you're more tired than you've ever been. It's like a cloud passing over the sun, and suddenly you're out. You don't know how you'll answer the door when your groceries are delivered. But you also find that you're stronger than you've ever been. You're clear. Your mortality is at optimal distance, not up so close that it obscures everything else, but close enough to give you depth perception. Previously, it has taken you weeks, months, or years to discover the meaning of an experience. Now it's instantaneous."

But maybe the most succinct quote of all is the anonymous quote: "Cancer cures smoking!"