There's nothing like being sure of yourself. It makes you feel good. Try it. Easier said than done? But do be careful, lest one gets caught off-guard for being labeled as arrogant. No, it's really about being
confident.
You see, when one is inflicted with a life-threatening disease like cancer, being sure and confident of oneself
is so important. In my experience, it may even help save your life!
When I was first told I had cancer, as many people would in that situation, I refused to believe it. You then go through a whole host of 'mood' or 'character' phases... disbelieve - denial - anger - sad - depression - acceptance, etc. Then, you're surrounded with so many 'experts'. Well, first, there's the doctors. And herein lies your
dilemma. These guys... what they say is gospel, man - no question. Or so I thought...
Then,
there's people whom you love - your family, your wife, your children, your siblings. And your friends. I was fortunate also to have 'surrounding' me cancer survivors. Their opinions have to be taken seriously... I mean, they're survivors, right? What they did, what they went through ... I'd taken my hat off to these chaps. There was this guy, Raphael, who had brain tumour 13 years ago. He was given no chance by his doctors to live.. but this guy now plays squash at the age of 65 and beats guys half his age! He must have done something right to prove his doctors wrong.
So you can see that having a mind that can absorb all the advice thrown at you - by people who are 'experts' at what you are going through and how to go about it - and to be able to say to yourself '..right, I've heard from all of you.. now leave me alone, let me think about this.. and now this is the way for me.'
And I'll tell you something
else that I'd
strongly recommend - have a soul mate.
I mean, a real
soul mate. She has to be a reflection of your very being! My wife,
Hafidzah... Only God knows how much I love her. She has been a huge tower of strength for me. She is a reflection of my very being. This is one of the biggest reasons for my current condition.
Then, there's nothing like getting up at nights and praying to The
Al Mighty. One of my prayers is
Ishtikorah. This is a prayer asking God to give me conviction. To give me strength in making decisions. This is where I would say I had gained self assurance, '
yakin' as we Malays say it, without sounding arrogant or boastful. This inner confidence is so important to cancer patients, as one will be going through so many decision making cross-roads, some that may eventually lead to whether you live or whether you die.
I'd read a New Sunday Times (
click here for full story) article about my battling cancer that was publish in the Focus Section this morning. It feels so good to be able to 'give' and share - in a wide sense - the experience that I had gone through, to the masses of people out there who may learn and gain some insight on how to manage cancer - their own, their loved ones or their friends.
And I must acknowledge the good work done by
Hafidzah in getting the article published. Only Allah knows the rewards that are due for her in the hereafter,
insyaAllah.
Thank you,
sayang.
Nazlan.
car to Dr Chris Teo's clinic in Penang. Prof. Dr.Chris KHTeo, Dip Agric (M), BSc Agric (Hons) (M), MS, PhD, is a botanist researcher at USM and author of several books on the wonders of our local herbs in curing cancer. One of his more relevant discoveries have unearthed the fact that only around 50 out of about 500 species of herbs found in our country have been used for treatment of cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
