For all who are, or have been, afflicted with this terrible disease, and in memory of those of our loved ones already lost because of it, I can't think of a more appropriate song than this one. Here the song was sung in 2016, on America's Got Talent by a 16 year old cancer survivor, Calysta Bevier.
Fight Song, written, and recorded earlier, by Rachel Platten.
There's more about Calysta Bevier here:
Calysta Bevier – Biography, Wiki, Quick Facts, Where Is She Now?
Fight Song
by Rachel Platten
Like a small boat
On the ocean
Sending big waves
Into motion
Like how a single word
Can make a heart open
I might only have one match
But I can make an explosion
And all those things I didn't say
Wrecking balls inside my brain
I will scream them loud tonight
Can you hear my voice this time?
This is my fight song
Take back my life song
Prove I'm alright song
My power's turned on
Starting right now I'll be strong
I'll play my fight song
And I don't really care if nobody else believes
'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me
Losing friends and I'm chasing sleep
Everybody's worried about me
In too deep
Say I'm in too deep (in too deep)
And it's been two years I miss my home
But there's a fire burning in my bones
Still believe
Yeah, I still believe
And all those things I didn't say
Wrecking balls inside my brain
I will scream them loud tonight
Can you hear my voice this time?
This is my fight song
Take back my life song
Prove I'm alright song
My power's turned on
Starting right now I'll be strong
I'll play my fight song........................
Cancer is such a tough one. I imagine there are many ways of handling it if one is so afflicted (and I know you were). Fighting it is one. Whatever that means, if one succumbs does that mean one didn't fight it enough"
ReplyDeleteI see "battled" on obits. It's exhausting even thinking of it. My friend D was rageful, thumbed her nose at it, yelled at it, took notes on it and succumbed after 5 weeks since diagnosis. My mother fought like a tiger, insisted on multiple amputations as my sister was only 7 and my youngest brother 10. Lived in excruciating pain for 6 years, "beat the odds" but not death itself.
Some turn their faces to the wall. I knew one such. Refused visitors, refused to be seen. Went silent.
I do not judge the reactions, we all do what we can do in the face of such horror.
You got me philosophizing today.
XO
WWW
Wisewebwoman ~ Well...yes, but the fighting is always in tandem with medical specialists and, beyond them, the researchers still seeking a real cure...It really is time for this now - rather than pouring more $$$$$$$$$$s into more powerful weapons.
ReplyDeleteI agree that everyone will face it differently according to circumstance, age, severity of the disease. In all cases, a positive frame of mind is said to help - somehow. My mother, and her mother both died of the disease in their 80s - it was severe, spreading, and too far gone for much fighting to be done, in both cases.
The song featured was the first to come to mind, and I decided that it was more positive than the melancholy "When You Walk Through a Storm" or "Lord, You Gave Me a Mountain" kind of songs. My favourite, in this circumstance has been "One Day at a Time"though it's religious ("Sweet Jeebus"), and I'm not, but I do like the concept of keeping putting one foot in front of t'other. :)
In my own case, my struggle has been with the medications suggested to prevent recurrence. I had to ditch the first one, and now the replacement, all due to side effects. Looks as though I'll have to risk the rest of the journey with just non-prescription aids, and a positive frame of mind.
I have to agree with WiseWebWoman and I think her philosophy is spot on. Personally, I disapprove of the media explosion (Dear God, when do we ever get away from them!) surrounding the phrase "battling cancer". The only ones battling the disease are the doctors and researchers desperately trying to find better medicines and, hopefully, cures. Patients just live with it and hope. Yes, of course a positive attitude helps one cope, anything's better than sitting in a corner crying, but let's save the 'battling' for situations where physical actions can do some good - like climate change, or voting worthwhile political leaders into power.
ReplyDeleteOn a personal note, do keep on at your doctors to try different medicines. I know a number of people who thought they could beat it on their own and discovered too late that they couldn't.