a six-letter-word with a BIG C..

• why is it that people are startled when they hear the big C? Everybody fears it; everybody equates cancer with death.

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• i attended a talk with the cancer warriors foundation this afternoon. i was kinda hesitant at first but i did not make a mistake in coming even if we had no class this afternoon because of the heavy rain. they had many heart warming stories from cancer witnesses as well as cancer victims. this includes doc ticao and doc leonida among the speakers.

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• most of the them were driven into tears while they talk about their experiences. some even remember the exact date and day of the diagnosis; the revelation that they had the big C. it was as if yesterday’s the day.

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• i guess it was really hard to be stricken with cancer yet some victims are still able to cherish every breath and continue to live life. going through expensive and painful therapies are tough. the foundation helps some of the victims through it. they bike around the regions to talk about cancer awareness. they are truly real life heroes.

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• i am glad that i was able to hear them. along the way, i was distracting myself not to listen too much because i was already getting teary eyed by their testimonies. i was holding tears back. it was very touching to hear them talk. but most of all, their words are nothing but mere inspiration and proof that they are ordinary persons with an extraordinary spirit to push them through the battle of life and death.

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• their testimonies inspired me not just to exist but to LIVE. i guess, if they did well, we can do better! it’s just sad that most of them die not because the treatment is inaccessible but they die because they are poor…what can’t money do nowadays? tsk,tsk..

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• i’m really glad that these people have a heart to spread cancer awareness. they inspire a lot of people.though the disease is very disheartening, it really depends on your will to live.

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• today, i learned a lot. i learned that cancer was never easy, it will never be. i learned that the battle against the big C is easier if many hands and hearts are offered and extended. i was again reminded that we should live a life of meaning and cherish each breath of life that we have to make the most out of the moment.

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life is not the number of breaths you take but the moments that take your breath away. - hitch

sept. 20, 2007