Thursday, March 13, 2008
Keeping the Faith: Turning to Religion When Diagnosed with Lymphoma
Being diagnosed with a potentially life threatening medical condition, such as lymphoma, can often cause a person to revaluate their life and many find religion in the process. While some return to a lapsed religion, others find faith for the first time and, more often than not, just believing that there is something or someone in charge of their destiny can help them to come to terms with their predicament.
The very act of going to a place of worship, be it a church, synagogue, mosque etc. and interacting with others who have faith can give a lymphoma sufferer the positivism and strength to fight their condition. This is especially true when the sufferer lives alone or has no close family because the congregation pulls together and acts as a ‘super-family’ in times of need. They often make meals, help with the grocery shopping or just sit and listen so that the patient never feels alone and this solidarity can severely help during rigorous treatment regimes and during recovery.
Finding faith can also help a lymphoma patient to make amends with their God should the worst happen. It may be that they followed a religion in their younger years however because of other commitments they let their faith lapse. Finding themselves in a life or death situation may make them think about what they gave up and bring them back to the fold and under the protection of their God once more.
Even when a person has never shown any interest in religion before their diagnosis, they often find themselves suddenly believing in an all powerful, all forgiving entity simply because they don’t know what else to do. Many people who are faced with an uncertain future find that they need something solid to cling on to that will remain in their life for as long as they need it and religion fills this requirement. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you look like or even what you have done in your past, most religions are all encompassing and nobody is ever turned away. You don’t have to smile everyday and make jokes with other people; religion will be there on the good days and the bad days when you can’t find a civil word, unlike humans who tend to get upset when a cancer sufferer goes through a bad or depressing patch.
In addition to religion, other lymphoma sufferers may find faith in other places. Many find faith in their families and vow to live for them alone whereas others may believe in Mother Nature and so pray to her for a long and fruitful life. Faith can be found pretty much anywhere you look for it and different people find it in very different places. Lymphoma patients should believe in whatever they want to believe in to get them through their tough times, whether it is conventional or not. Who is to say that praying to the cancer fairies is any less useful than praying to a religious icon – whatever gives a person faith also gives them hope.
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