From Our Students: Essays and Observations
By Ashley Ellis
Rhio O’Connor was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that affects the mesothelium, which is the protective sac surrounding the body’s internal organs. Rhio was told by his doctors that he had less than a year to live. He made the conscious decision to fight his cancer and he lived with his cancer for 7 ½ years. Rhio chose to create his own treatment plan consisting of supplements, a new healthy diet, mind over body medicine, and discipline. Rhio took his disease into his own hands and extended his life. To learn more about mesothelioma or Rhio O’Connor and other survivors go to this site www.survivingmesothelioma.com.
I have never been in a situation like the one Rhio O’Connor encountered in his life, but I would like to hope that if I ever am that I would react in a manner like him. I consider myself to be a fighter, but being given such a dire cancer prognosis would be very devastating and difficult to process. After the initial shock of the diagnosis I know that I would choose to fight my cancer until I could no longer fight anymore. Much like Rhio, I would not be satisfied with someone telling me that I only have a certain amount of time to live. I have always been the kind of person who wants to be in control of my own life and make decisions for myself. I would want to fight for my life and my ability to live it the way that I want to. I would discuss thoroughly with my doctors about my disease, its process, and my treatment options. I would want to know everything that there is to know about my disease. I am currently a nursing student specializing in oncology, so I would conduct my research using my resources such as textbooks, instructors, library resources, online resources, and different nurses and physicians that I have encountered. I would want to be informed about my treatment options and have enough knowledge to make an informed decision for myself. I would want to know how each of my treatment options will affect my mind and body, how my quality of life will be affected, and what benefit the treatment will have for me.
There are three goals of cancer treatment: cure, control, and palliation. If curing the cancer is not an option, controlling the cancer is effective by keeping the tumor from growing anymore, spreading to a point where it kills the patient, and achieving prolongation of optimal quality of life. If the cancer comes to a point where it can no longer be controlled with medication, the goal becomes palliation. Palliation involves the preservation of quality of life at the highest possible level for the longest period of time. If surgery is a treatment option I would want to weigh the risks versus the benefits with my physician, and make a decision from there. Sometimes surgery is not successful or is not an option due to the location of the tumor or the patient is not in well enough to tolerate surgery. When most people think about cancer they immediately think of chemotherapy and radiation. These two therapies alone and combined have been very successful and saved many lives. Radiation destroys cancer cells by distributing energy to the localized area of the tumor. Chemotherapeutic agents cannot distinguish between normal cells and cancer cells. Not only does the chemotherapy kill the cancer cells, it also kills the normal cells. Radiation and chemotherapy have serious side effects and can cause the patients to become violently ill. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, hair loss, anemia, damaged skin, anorexia, loss of taste, hepatotoxicity (liver toxicity), leukopenia (decrease in the number of white blood cells in the blood), and thrombocytopenia, a decrease in the number of platelets in the blood. There are many treatment options other than chemotherapy and radiation, and I would look into any alternative therapies available. I know that I would need to greatly change my lifestyle, starting with eating a healthy, balanced diet, high in vitamins and minerals. Changing my lifestyle would also include exercising regularly, receiving adequate rest, and learning to cope with stress and stressors in my life.
Before I committed to any medications, treatment or combination of treatments I would research the mechanism of actions, side effects, complications, and therapeutic affects that each treatment presented. I would want to choose a treatment that would extend my life without seriously debilitating me and greatly decreasing my quality of life. I would not want my loved ones to see me in a seriously debilitated state. Choosing a treatment when there are so many options available would be a great challenge and a very difficult choice. I would choose the treatment that would cure my cancer and save my life. If curing my cancer was not an option I would choose the treatment that would give me the highest quality of life for the longest period of time possible. This is a grave decision that I hope I will never have to make for myself, and I have the deepest respect for those people who have to make these decisions for themselves, their families, and the health care professionals who help them with their decisions.