Looking Upwards First

CEBU, Philippines - In reaching down to breast cancer, you have to look upwards first.

Many breast cancer patients are able to survive because they can heal and manage their disease with their minds and outlook as components of the treatment protocol. Certainly looking upwards to God as the first line of treatment before proceeding with the next protocol can turn out to be more effective and practical. Dr. Crisostomo Dy of Chong Hua Hospital’s surgery department said that meditation and prayer have increased chances of survival for cancer patients. Looking upwards first can save a breast, can save one from going through surgery, save from needless treatment and even save a life.

At 65, Teresa Ceballos died in my arms on September 13, 2009. Diagnosed with breast cancer since 2002, she did not survive the disease like other breast cancer survivors. More than 50 years ago, Teresa joined our family as our househelp since she was 14. But it took quite a while for Auntie Sing to complain to us about the lump and pain in her breast. When we finally had it checked in 2002, the cancer cells were such that she needed to have radical mastectomy.

My eyes welled up in tears during the breast cancer forum at Chong Hua Hospital on Oct.1 when Dr. Sixto Siguan said that breast cancer is curable especially when detected early. But then early detection is not a commandment that must be obeyed with compulsion. Early detection comes with conviction and a woman must go through it herself with breast self examination.

A lump can change a life.

Me-Ann Alcordo-Solomon who survived breast cancer is now into an advocacy called “cancering.” In a forum she said, “I had to look at cancer not as a noun but as a verb – cancering – an action word. Cancering means I have to take care of myself. I have to empower myself not because I want to live for myself but because I want to live for my loved ones.”

Apparently, the woman who survived breast cancer and is now cancering for early detection by promoting breast self-examination discovered the lump in her breast by accident. “I was stretching and scratching my right armpit as I woke up on the morning of Sept. 2, 2004 when I felt a lump in my right breast,” she recalls of how her life changed with a “lump.” Me-Ann was diagnosed with Stage 2A breast cancer which means the lump was about 2 to 5 cms — yes 5 cms. of lump can mean a difference between making a life or just letting go.

A “frozen procedure” was done and the lymphnodes were removed. In the succeeding biopsy, it was found that her lymphnodes were negative of cancer. Still, Me-Ann had to go through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

“I am a living proof that because of early detection, I am with you now. I am now cancer free. I am in remission. I am alive. I had to live with breast cancer to understand what cancering is all about,” said Me-Ann of how she conquered the disease. Me-Ann fought and won the battle with cancer in her own turf.

Cancering with cancer.

No one knows exactly what causes breast cancer. There are two obvious and down-to-earth reasons: one is being a woman and the other is growing old. Cancer is a disease that only God understands and is capable of afflicting. This is precisely why when one is diagnosed with cancer, the first line of protocol is simply to look upwards, seek God for the “prayer of the faith shall save the sick” as the apostle James wrote in chapter 5. The power of the mind over cancer cells has been found to be clinically effective.

With breast cancer, the looking upwards therapy applies, too. Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from cells of the breast. These breast cancer cells may grow or invade surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. The disease occurs almost entirely in women, but men can get it. What makes breast cancer particularly life threatening is because the lymphatic system of the human body is connected to the breasts. The lymph system is one of the ways in which breast cancer cells can spread.

The lymphatic system of the body is composed of lymph nodes. These nodes are small, bean-shaped collections of immune system cells or cells that are important in fighting infections that are connected by lymphatic vessels. These vessels are like small veins that carry a clear fluid called lymph which contains tissue fluid and waste products, as well as immune system cells.

But even if these lymph nodes are supposed to fight infections, when breast cancer cells enter lymphatic vessels, the lymph are unable to fight it. Instead the cancer cells begin to grow in lymph nodes. If the cancer cells have spread to lymph nodes, there is a high chance that the cells could have gotten into the bloodstream and spread or metastasized to other sites in the body. It’s a pretty difficult and mysterious phenomenon to understand. But God allows these things to happen just the same so we can look to Him as the first protocol for cure.

There are at least three treatment modalities for breast cancer that includes surgery such as radical mastectomy, chemotherapy and hormonal manipulation and radiation. In any case, there are more and more doctors who believe that the best healer is the patient. Dr. Dy said that patients who are realistic in dealing with the disease have higher chances of healing.

Also it used to be that doctors had this patriarchal towards patients. But surgeons at Chong Hua Hospital encourage teamwork in healing. This team includes the patient, the attending physician, the oncologist, the surgeon, the radiologist, the psychologist and even a psychiatrist.

In any case, when a person is diagnosed with cancer, the tendency is always to look sidewards as the person seeks help and comfort from friends or family or to look downwards to see if there is enough to pay the bills. If God allows lymph nodes which are supposed to fight infections be the same vessels that will spread cancer cells from the breast to other parts of the body, He has something to say to the patient. Breast cancer is curable when detected early. To know the cure, the first step in the protocol is to look upwards to God first.