Illness as Fate

There is an impression that Indians are prone to explain away almost everything in their lives as the handiwork of fate.

There is an impression that Indians are prone to explain away almost everything in their lives as the handiwork of fate. It was, therefore, a pleasant surprise to know that a recent study in the UK has revealed that almost a quarter of the people interviewed believed that there was not much point in taking steps to prevent an illness such as cancer as it was ordained by fate.

In 1978, in a very interesting book Illness as Metaphor, the noted American sociologist Susan Sontag had argued that mythologies tend to build around diseases for which there is no known cure. They, in time, enter the common vocabulary and become a metaphor for all that is wrong with the age. This was true of tuberculosis before proper treatment for it was finally developed with the discovery of streptomycin in 1944 and the introduction of isoniazid in 1952. No one talks any more about tuberculosis being a sign of a romantic temperament. Unfortunately, cancer has not yet met the same fate.

Despite the advances made in cancer treatment in the last century, we are still far from discovering the magic bullet that will cure the disease. Consequently, we continue to be haunted by the image of cancer as a deadly enemy that strikes by stealth and kills its victims for no good reason. One of the first questions that someone diagnosed with cancer asks is, 8220;Why me?8221; Among other things, this has fostered the belief in a cancer-prone personality, one that is unable to express rage or emotion, and has added to the burden of the sufferer. It is, therefore, no surprise that people all over the world tend to hide a diagnosis of cancer. Not only is shame attached to proclaiming it, but also a sense of guilt. The situation, unfortunately, has not been helped by the thousand of self-proclaimed therapists who promise to cure cancer through will power and positive thinking, nor by the myriad references to all that is despicable in society as 8216;a cancer8217;.

In fact, people who should know better have started referring to cancer as the 8216;plague8217; of the modern world, choosing not to acknowledge that cancer is an old disease that was described in late antiquity and is to be found in Egyptian mummies. Environmental pollution, the use of pesticides, stress and wrong lifestyles, along with mismanaged emotions, are all being held responsible for causing cancer today.

What no one talks about are the people who are also exposed to all this and do not get cancer. Small wonder then that so many people around the globe believe cancer is fate.

It is time for governments, private research institutions and philanthropists to work on a war footing to find a cure for cancer. Only then can we hope to undo its current hold over our imaginations and our lives.

The writer is president, CanSupport