Cancer is the leading cause of death around the world. Up to 84 million people will die of it between 2005 and 2015 without intervention, according to the World Health Organization, sponsors of World Cancer Day on February 4. Their Web site states that more than 70 percent of the 7.6 million cancer deaths in 2005 occurred in low and middle income countries.
Reading these statistics once again made me feel grateful for the standard of care I received during my own cancer experience. I have often reflected on how fortunate I am not just to live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but in the city that the most people say they want to live (according to a recent poll) and one that has top-notch medical treatment facilities. Even people who live in rural areas of this country have a more difficult time obtaining cutting-edge treatment.
As Americans, most of us rarely stop to reflect on just how good we have it. Most of us don’t have to worry on a daily basis about clean water, a comfortable and spacious place to live, or access to food, energy, and health-care. I had the luxury during my cancer treatment of access to reiki, retreats, and programs targeted to cancer survivors and, more recently, services for people in my specific age group. Many people in developing countries might be lucky to receive a diagnosis in time to do something about it, and even then, getting treatment can be a real hardship.
Some incidents in the past few weeks have given me cause to ponder the many modern conveniences we take for granted in this country. They both make our lives easier and also make us reliant upon them. The electricity in my condo went out for forty-five minutes one night last week and I realized how little of what I normally do was possible or convenient without it. I had just arrived home from a trip and was anxious to do laundry, make something to eat, and watch a little television. Couldn’t do any of those things without electricity. It was nice to be forced to sit with a flashlight and a magazine and relax for a little while. My experience, by any standard, was a very minor inconvenience.
