On cancer and personal loss
My father died last week. Cancer. Same as his father, my grandfather. Cancer is an individual illness caused by social or systemic factors which can affect us all. There are societies that have more cancer sufferers than others, and in this sense, cancer is socially and environmentally determined.
I remember seeing a football stadium filled with people that had been affected by cancer, all holding the names of their deceased loved ones. My brother in law died from it at 52, seven years ago. My aunt died from it at 64. My uncle died of it at 37. My co worker died from it at 42; other colleagues were diagnosed with it. You get the point. Cancer Statistics Canada says that one in two men and one in three women will suffer from cancer in their lifetimes.
It is hitting us all, practically. It is a social issue. And, as sociologist C. Wright Mills used to say, you cannot apply individual solutions to social problems.
If we want to battle cancer, sure we should give donations to hospitals and to cancer foundations, etcetera, but surely we should do more, given what we know. I don’t think the focus should be on finding a cure, but on preventing cancer in the first place. Today, most progressive medical models put emphasis on prevention. It is better for the patient since it would involve less suffering and for the taxpayer by way of lower healthcare costs. The only ones who benefit from the individual cure model are pharmaceutical companies and the private health industry.
Science knows now that most cancers are caused by the environment. It’s the commercial cleaning products we use; the smell of a clean car, a new carpet, shampoos, baby powder, disinfectants, processed foods, gasoline, and the list goes on and on. However, it’s not just the products, but our way of life; our stresses at work, the many roles we have to play, unemployment, and how increasingly difficult it is for most of us to make a living. We are all worrying ourselves to death. Literally. We know there is a positive relationship between high stress levels and cancer.
In order to control cancer we are going to have to control all of these environmental factors; both the material and social factors.
We know there are countries that have less rates of cancer than we do. We also know that, when people move to Canada from other countries, they are healthier than us. This phenomenon even has a name and is well known in the medical community; it is called the “healthy immigrant effect.” It lasts for a while until the newcomers adopt our diet and way of life, then they exhibit the same rates of illnesses as the locals.
Our environment and way of life are killing us. Cancer is a systemic illness that manifests itself in each of our individual bodies. I think we all know that and if we don’t know it, we pretty much have a sense that this is so.
In order to cure cancer we are going to have to cure our environment and society, because they have a highly influential role in the maintenance of our organic bodies. If we don’t breathe and eat, we die. And, the way things are, we are dying because of what we breathe and eat.
What can we do? Maybe lobby government to pass legislation about the food we eat, perhaps introduce further nutritional labelling modelled after what is in effect in other countries. More education at the elementary level. Maybe monitor companies more and enforce waste disposal regulations more. Maybe educate people about relationship between alcohol and cancer? Not just tobacco and cancer. Maybe make it easier for people to make a living? Maybe start class action suits against companies? These are all things that could be done.
My father told me on his deathbed to take care of myself, given our family’s history.
I will take care of myself; I will exercise and I will donate to the Cancer society, as always.
But somehow, I know, this is not enough. I truly hope that governments and the powers that be take responsibility for us all and address the social problem of cancer seriously and at a more systemic level, as it should be addressed.