Hope

HOPE:
A Powerful Weapon in the Human Arsenal
by Gerald W. White, P.E.

Hope – such a little word to describe so powerful a force that has been active in human affairs since the dawn of the human race. It has been a light giving candle burning sometimes dimly, but burning on nevertheless, throughout the darkest moments of human history both at the personal as well as the national level. Much has been written to describe the nature of hope and to quantify it for purposes of definition. Some of the world’s greatest writers have written words of encouragement crafted to instill hope at times when all around seems hopeless.

Hope may be viewed as a faithful and ever present companion and comforter in times of great distress. It may be abandoned but it cannot be taken by force of arms or persuasion unless the individual gives in to circumstances and gives it up voluntarily. If one wishes to see a contemporary place where distress is magnified in the human situation, then the cancer wards are a good place to go. There are the sad, expressionless faces turned yellowish by hellish concoctions. All of the senses may be attacked from the sometimes foul medicinal odors, to the pain and cries of anguish in an array of troubles that could daunt the patience of a saint. If you think that this is putting it a bit harshly, then go see for yourself, but in the course of such visit, don’t fail to notice the glimmering of hope
that still shines in the face of some courageous individuals even in this most unpleasant of circumstances. Prepare to be amazed at the way some people find to keep hope alive in a venue where it might otherwise seem to have vanished. Once hope happens, then the patient is afforded the tools by which he/she can pursue the task of due diligence and information gathering until they push beyond hope to full expectation of a good outcome.

In my ongoing relationship with cancer patients over the last 18 years since my own affliction, I have seen stories of what hope can do that simply defy all logic. I am persuaded that hope is the glue that holds the human spirit together throughout times of suffering and is the essence of that wonderful, still unexplained, miracle that we call “remission”, where life finds a way of reasserting itself against all odds.

Hope is bigger and greater than cancer. So much good has been written about hope that a thinking person might wonder why it is so seldom heard in the sterile halls of medicine. There are new frontiers to be discovered and wonderful healing processes that will evolve and all will see hope emerge, not as just
some warm, fuzzy feeling, but as a dynamic, useful force in the lives of cancer patients everywhere. And one of the best things about it is that nobody will ever send you a bill for it.

It IS possible! You CAN defeat cancer!! Don’t ever let ANYONE take your hope away!!!