What if I told you that nearly every medicine that I am prescribed actually causes other illnesses and side effects, which in turns requires more drugs. A lot of the medicine I receive, in fact, can lead to more cancers down the road.
Well isn't that a contradiction? Right in the definition of medicine you see "prevention," which is ironic since most drugs that I get actually "cause," the exact opposite of prevention. Let us take a look at some of my medications... 1. The biggest "medicine" that I receive is the chemotherapy. I am exposed to an enormous amount of radiation from the chemotherapy, which is known to possibly cause more cancer down the line. Not only do I receive radiation from the chemotherapy, the routine tests that I receive (x-rays, PET scans, CAT scans) all also emit radiation, which accumulates in my body. So we are treating an illness with something that could likely just increase the same illness's chance of coming back. Along with radiation from chemotherapy comes the side effects: nausea, fatigue, muscle soreness, low and low white blood cell counts, just to name a few. To counteract the nausea, I take a medication called Zophran. To counteract the low blood counts, I take daily shots called "Neupogen shots." However, these shots cause extreme bone pain, which I then have to take Claritan or Zyrtec. It's a never ending drug cluster fuck. 2. The next big medication I must take is prednisone. This is a steroid that I take while I am receiving treatment. This causes the worst side effects, which must be treated with more drugs. Side effects include anxiety, acid reflux, emotional mood swings, weight gain, insomnia, acne, dry skin, and nausea. I have MORE drugs to treat this whole slew of side effects. See where I am going? This makes me wonder.. what is the true intentions of the drug companies? Just like anything, it is a business. But if it is a business, it would only make sense that they need to keep us sick. They need to give us drugs that will cause more issues so we need more drugs. Are they on our side? Are they the good guys or the bad guys? Food for thought.
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Many college students, unless you are "the lucky ones," have experienced the stress and burden of student loans. Thousands of dollars of student loans, often times. It can feel impossible to become motivated, and if you think about it too much, you find yourself so overwhelmed that you can seriously drive yourself crazy.
I have felt the same way through my journey with cancer. Overwhelmed is an understatement when trying to describe how I felt when I found out. There is so much of the unknown just lingering out there--truths that I would soon come to know. All I could do is hope and keep moving forward. For us college students, there is also a world filled with the unknown that awaits us upon graduation. There is no guarantee of success. Instead of being afraid or unsure, think about how strong this makes us. Think about how brave we are to face this reality. In both cases, it is important to reflect on why you are in this unideal place. You don't have debt or an illness because you have failed. No one gets cancer because they have failed. In the case of student loans, you have debt because you decided to make something of yourself. You decided to educate yourself and open your eyes to new perspectives that you couldn't even dream about. And the same thing has happened for me--I didn't get to choose my situation, but I have grown so much nonetheless. As I have said before, sometimes I don't even recognize myself now compared to who I was before. You may say the same thing when looking at who you were as a high school senior. These transformations are simply amazing. Just like when you are successful one day in your career, when I have my health back, we will never take this "normalcy" for granted. When you actually go through shit to get you to where you are, things aren't just "normal." They are a privilege that is often taken for granted because they are mistaken as normal. I truly believe that these hard times lead you to live a happier life. There are so many situations that can be applied. Maybe you're friends have betrayed you and you are feeling alone. Maybe nothing you do at work is being recognized or appreciated. From any difficult time, you learn something about yourself, you change into a better person, and you will appreciate your life so much better when you get through it. What I can tell you is that even when you are in an ocean of doubt, just breathe. Easier said than done, right? But try. Believe in yourself, and stand by the choices you have made thus far. In what ever career you end up with, you will be so thankful that you put yourself through college. One day those loans will be paid off, and you will look back with pride knowing that you got through it. You got yourself through it. |