As powerful as we may be, whether we be rich or poor, and no matter our ethnicity, death is inevitable. We are constantly reminded of our vulnerabilities. Cancer is one such reminder. It is silent but echoes throughout all corners of the Earth and adds to the devastation and anguish that taunt and haunt us, often stripping away our pride.
Still cancer compels us to think about our human condition. Why our choices? Why the cruelty? Why the evil? Why do some of us embrace the power within us, but unbalance the scale by choosing more of the darkness to hurt others? Why do we worry so much instead of taking time to laugh, to be kind, to be generous, to love, to live? Some of us allow greed to transform us into monsters despite the fact that in just a matter of sometimes only weeks we can be no more.
The image of a neighbour lying on the corner of the road years ago just after dusk comes to mind – she was too weak to stand, to sit, to move as she was dying of breast cancer. It is a disease that is not of complete hopelessness for the faces of the survivors are evidence of that.