The Pink Ribbon

This week , I kept reducing into tears every time I switched on the TV. I am not homesick or blue but October is the National Breast Cancer awareness, and frankly the stories of loss ,courage , hope and a will to fight keeps moving me to tears. It started with the movie that I started watching in the weekend, when there wasn’t any thing else on the idiot box. “Two against time” was about a mother daughter team are diagnosed with cancer and their struggle against it. It was a true story, and it kept haunting me.

Back in India cancer and its consequences is potrayed as a disease that carries a definite death sentence . My uncle passed away due to stomach cancer. All it took was 6 months , and the voice which enthralled music halls with its carnatic melody was no more. It was a shock, because there were no genetic reasons, if only his check up was a few months earlier he could have been saved. It is with surprise and thankfulness that I see with the advertisements in US asking woman to go in for their examinations. It would never occur to an any person back home in India , to voluntarily go in for a health check before the age of 50. With the rush of jobs due to the tech sector, the stress has gotten to every employee and people now are most concerned about are their BP alone, but the threat of cancer is far more serious with the polution and virus prevalent. But to the masses cancer is still an ominous force whose occurrence is death , (which unfortunately is portrayed again and again by our movies) and which is not talked about.This fact needs to be changed.The cures and preventions need to be broadcast loudly so that common men don’t treat cancer as a sure sign of death.

As per this Hindu article, breast cancer is the second most common cancer in Indian women. With over 80,000 woman affected in 2002 , there is still insufficient data as to the total spread of this disease in India. I do hear that there are some breast cancer campaigns happening in India, but I think the effort must be intensified.So the common myth in India about cancer being genetic related was destroyed when I also heard on TV that 95% of all cancer is not due to genetics and worse of all , can affect woman as young as 20's.

Though I love my homeland,I do think health is pretty low on everybody’s priority. I love the womans movement against Breast cancer here. I also appreciate the constant motivation and support to those who have to bear this cross.As I write this, there is an add on TV flashing about cancer caused by a virus and I made a mental note to tell my pals about it.
This month is just about information and support, so please pass and read websites / articles which help .If you cant actively involve yourself , atleast ensure the lovely ladies around you take care and schedule an appointment with their doctors. Watching “Warriors in Pink” hosted by ABC’s The View,I saw these survivors who are people next door – mothers ,daughters ,sisters and their daily struggle with chemotherapy, kids and handling their wigs I realized something, courage is something that your born with , but it grows stronger with the challenges you face.

I will sit down this week to watch Geralyn Lucas account of her fight against cancer with humor and confidence.It may not be running for thefight against cancer or wearing a Ribbon, but atleast this week I will talk to my family into a doctors appointment for a general checkup. That is a start ….

N' For the smile to all of us who are getting older... though the wiser part i'm not sure
This one was sent by my mom and my aunt…!!

God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

Now that I'm 'older' (but refuse to grow up) here's what I've discovered:

I. I started out with nothing, and I still have most of it.

2. My wild oats have turned into prunes and All Bran.

3. I finally got my head together; now my body is falling apart.

4. Funny, I don't remember being absent minded...

5. Funny, I don't remember being absent minded.

6. All reports are in; life is now officially unfair.

7. If all is not lost, where is it?

8. It is easier to get older than it is to get wiser.

9. Some days you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant.

10. I wish the buck stopped here; I sure could use a few...

11. Kids in the back seat cause accidents.

12. Accidents in the back seat cause kids.

13. It's hard to make a comeback when you haven't been anywhere.

14. The only time the world beats a path to your door is when you're in the bathroom.

15. If God wanted me to touch my toes, he would have put them on my knees.

16. When I'm finally holding all the cards, why does everyone decide to play chess?

17. It's not hard to meet expenses ... they're everywhere.

18. The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.

19. These days, I spend a lot of time thinking about the hereafter .
I go somewhere to get something and then wonder what I'm here after.

20. I AM UNABLE TO REMEMBER IF I HAVE MAILED THIS TO YOU OR NOT!

keep smilin
Anu