Cancer is not just an ugly word...

... cancer is an ugly reality for many people. Rob's dad's wife Hania was diagnosed with stomach cancer a few weeks ago, underwent surgery two weeks ago and had about 70% of her stomach removed. We found out yesterday that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and the doctors have advised that strong chemotherapy treatment would be necessary for six months beginning as early as six weeks time. Poor Hania was still in hospital since her surgery so we decided to pay her another visit yesterday and take Dad out for lunch to cheer them up a bit. The doctor said that Hania could leave the hospital for a few hours so she joined us for lunch (she couldn't fit much food in her tiny stomach though). She said that it was good being away from the hospital for the first time in two weeks. And it was amazing - she actually enjoyed the Malaysian food we ordered (she's usually quite a fussy eater) but that's probably because she is sick of hospital food, and also probably because we took them to Malaysian Gourmet at Broadway shopping centre in Nedlands near UWA (Rob loves their hofun and charkueyteow!) and my friend's parents who owns the business are pretty damn good cooks..

I cannot imagine what Dad and Hania are going through right now. I mean, to be faced with doctors telling you that your only chance of survival is to have chemotherapy, which is basically poisoning your body anyway. Obviously, chemotherapy is not the route that Hania wants to take. Her problem is not losing to cancer - it's the suffering. She feels that chemotherapy treatment would only give her a few extra years, and that they would be years of suffering from the after-effects of chemotherapy. They hope to look for alternative routes, and the first thing would be to change their diet to eat healthy organic food. I suppose it cannot hurt to eat healthy (after all, a good diet is the basis of good health), but we feel that it's more of a preventative route rather than a treatment.

Rob has done a bit of research into alternative and experimental cancer treatment and has passed on the information to them. I pray and hope that God will give them the wisdom to choose the right option for themselves.