Theres nothing worse then trying to exercise, eat right, watch your fat intake and control your blood pressure, only to be diagnosed with cancer. Cancer always seems to invade our lives suddenly, from out of the blue. In some peoples family there is a history of cancer. They partially expect it, but it is still a shock. For others, there is no history. There is no marker or rhyme or reason for them to be struck down with such an illness. How does one handle it when it happens?

Of course the first step is to wonder. What does this mean? Why is this happening to me? One begins to wonder about God and the universe, or if stress or negativity has caused it to happen. One begins to look at alternative medicine cures, while at the same time one is fighting off loving relatives who dont actually respect ones point of view and wants him to do anything, even get his head cut off, if necessary, to get rid of the cancer.

This is devastating. When I got diagnosed with prostate cancer, a form of cancer that was understood as something they had a lot of success getting rid of, all of these things happened to me. I dont know if I rationalized it all, but I began to see my prostate cancer as something that broke me out of my complacency and the illusion that my life would last forever, and reminded me that I could go at any time.

It helped me see that my life was miserable at the time. My job was miserable. I was being pressed and oppressed on all sides in a situation that I felt that I couldnt let go. I found that many people that I thought trusted me argued with me constantly, not honoring my right to make decisions on the type of treatment I was going to have. I found support from places where I never thought I would find it, and lack of support and callousness from other places.

From the whole experience I realized that life will not last forever. Life is very unpredictable. We can work to take care of ourselves as much as we like, but sometimes it is just the role of the dice. We like to think that we are in control and we are to a certain extent, but the truth is that we can go at any time.

Have you or a loved one been diagnosed with cancer? What does it mean to you? Can you find some hope in this time of darkness. Can you find a pearl, or make a pearl, out of this major irritant? What is important to you in your life? These are questions that you can address now, and you find answers. The most important thing, I think, is to do just that. This can be done as one gets out of oneself and begins to notice, if one can, that the world is going on around him or her as if nothing is going on.

The trees and flowers are growing. The night skies are beautiful. Children are being born and people are dying. The whole world is going on all around you as if it doesnt care that you may be dying. Upon observing this would it be difficult to deduce that you might go on just like the world after your body dies? The essence of you, that part of you that makes you who you are, perhaps, will go on after. Think on these things. All of the spiritual practices in the world tell us this.

If you believe that there is nothing and that you will just go into oblivion, that isnt too bad either, because you wont be around to experience anything. No matter what happens, therefor, everything will work out.

If you are cured things will work out. If you are not cured things will work out. It is therefor intelligent in the midst of this darkness, pain and suffering, to be happy. It is important not to mourn these days, but to enjoy them, because they may be the last days that you will partake of this life as the person you are, with the friends that you have. Celebrate the day, because whether you are dying now or cancer, or you are dying more slowly from natural causes, we are all in the state of physically dying as soon as the body stops regenerating itself sometimes around the age of forty.