In Continuum.

Plan F for Fail

It's nice to have a contingency plan wherever you are, whenever you are. It's nice to know that when you are on free fall, a parachute is going to open up wide behind you. It's kind of like putting your arms to your sides and then falling backwards onto your bed. It's just comforting to know that there's something below you to break your fall. It could be a mattress, a pile of pillows, or the hands of a loved one, whatever. Everybody has Plan Bs, I don't think any of us should be arrogant enough to think that our Plan As are going to work every single time, in any given situation. You don't go out there into the battlefield without a backup plan, because the chances of a plan going according to plan is like the odds of you landing on your two feet after a fall from a cliff with a plate of jello in your hands. So we make plans, and we make even more plans. We make plans for plans, and then we make more plans for those plans, so on and so forth. I think humans like to be careful, because we all know what it tastes like to have Plan A crumbling before our eyes. We know because it is a mistake that we are all very prone to commit, it's one of those things you have to learn while growing up I guess. It's like giving your test paper a second check and a third check after you are done, just in case - it's the same thing. 

As some of you may already know, my beloved uncle was recently diagnosed with cancer. Well, to be exact, a malignant cancer cell has been found, and it has yet to spread to the rest of the body thus far, knock on wood. The doctors are giving rather strange advices as to what they should do with the tumor growth along the jaw line. Instead of surgically removing it, the doctor is suggesting chemotherapy, which is unnecessary since slicing it off would eliminate a whole lot of other problems. But of course, like my mother said, none of us were there to hear what the doctor had to say, which is why we might think that it is a ridiculous advice. Still, it's not like I am getting any explanations that are acceptable to me, and even more so when I heard about what my uncle intends to do with the current health issue. I'd say that my family, including my relatives, are rather conservative people in nature, and very traditional. That is the case for the older generation of Taiwanese anyway, they are rather resistant to change for the most part. Even when it comes to medical treatments, they like to stick with the older methods rather than the tested and proven ones. They prefer treatment to be slow with less side effects, rather than a fast treatment with more side effects. But still, when you are dealing with something as deadly as cancer, isn't it common sense to deal with it as soon as possible? 

My uncle has devised a few ways to battle this cancer thing, and they all sound pretty damn ridiculous to me. He intends to do Tai Chi in the mean time, while controlling his diet - how smart. I swear, the moment I heard what his contingency plan is, I flew into a rage and started debating with my mother just how stupid the decision is. I have nothing against Tai Chi or a good diet of course, I just have a problem with them being in Plan B for your war against cancer. It wouldn't be that big an issue if they placed it on Plan E or something, because there are a lot of other more credible options in between, right? I can think of a whole bunch of other plans before you come to the conclusion that Tai Chi is the best alternative to chemotherapy. Let's see, insisting on cutting the tumor off sounds like a good and clean idea to me. It makes sense, and it probably wouldn't take more than a week for the scars to heal. If you don't like the opinion of this doctor on chemotherapy, go to another doctor and see what he has to say in regards to the same issue. Even doctors ask other doctors for second opinions, and they call it "consultations". I know, because I watch House, and even House asks Dr. Wilson on his opinions. If you are going to skip all of those and jump to Tai Chi, you have your priorities upside down. That's like giving up sex for World of Warcraft - what's wrong with you? 

Having a good diet sounds like a good idea, in fact it sounds like a  great idea. However, it is only a great idea if you have no health issues to begin with, not when you have already been diagnosed with some sort of disease. That's when it becomes a little too late. That's like stacking sandbags at the front door when it is already flooded in the kitchen - what's the point? The dumbest part about this plan is probably where he is basing his "good diet" on. My uncle and aunt used to work for Amway, an American multi-level marketing company that sells product ranging from home care products, personal care products, jewelry, electronics, dietary supplements, water and air purifiers, insurance, and cosmetics. They have a very detailed and well-thought out dietary plan for the customers, but at the same time you can't help but wonder the validity of these so-called "dietary plans". I mean, this is still a business-orientated company after all, they are still out to make money. I'm not sure if ensuring the health of the customers is exactly at the top of their priority list. Even if it is, I am sure the dietary plan is purely for prevention purposes, and does not have some sort of miracle healing power. Besides, I don't feel safe trusting a company with my health, especially when they also sell toothpastes, toothbrushes, nail polishes and shampoos. They are a multi-level marketing company after all, and we all know how annoying those pyramid schemes are. 

Then there's Tai Chi, a concept I am not exactly sure of. My knowledge of Tai Chi goes as far as seeing old people doing it in the morning under HDB blocks and in public parks. I am not sure about the health benefits, but I am sure it isn't exactly extensive enough to cover cancer. It is cancer after all, and people fear it for good reasons - it is a terminal disease. If I am in the same shoes as he is, I am not sure if I want to spend my last days doing martial arts with other fellow old people in a park at six o'clock in the morning. I'd want something substantial, something that has been scientifically proven a dozen times over in laboratories, and have the statistics to back them up. I think chemotherapy would probably be my choice, especially right now when the disease is very much localized and still contained. You throw yourself into the slow process of having a dietary plan and doing Tai Chi in the morning, and it isn't going to help very much when you are actually trying to race against time. You want something that works right here, right now. Not something that is going to take a while to take effect, if it is going to take effect at all. Rationally thinking, anybody would go for something that has been proven to work in the early stages of any medically related disease, not something that you are unsure of. "Oh, I'd take my chances, because I want to remain true to my traditions" - that's stupid. 

There was a case earlier this year, I believe, about a couple in America who were charged of manslaughter after keeping their daughter at home despite the fact that she was ill. They didn't trust the hospitals or the doctors, but instead looked to the Lord for their medical needs. They kept their daughter at home and prayed for a miracle, and her daughter got sicker and sicker as the days passed. Finally, their daughter succumbed to the disease and died at home, and a divine intervention never occurred in that household, whatsoever. The couple is trying to appeal, saying that it is against the laws to restrain their freedom in religion. Cases like this make me lose faith in humanity, and you can't help but think about why some people would be dumb enough to look to the skies for a miracle medicine, when miracle medicines are aplenty in the hospitals. Worse than my uncle, prayers were their first choice and not the second, but I suppose that doesn't make my uncle any less ignorant. I am sure hundreds and thousands of people die every year just because they believe in an alternative to a recommended medicine, they believe that they can buy something from the pharmacy and make themselves well again. If the Lord is really so powerful, we won't need doctors anymore. Why don't we just pray by the side of our beds whenever we are sick? 

Sure, chemotherapy is not known to be an easy treatment. You are pumping chemicals into your blood, and the sound of that makes me cringe already. That's like drinking detergent down my throat or something, I could almost taste it already. Side effects include hair loss, memory loss, and malnutrition amongst the rest, but these are just steps in which you take in order to get better, right? I am pretty sure at this stage, chemotherapy actually works. You don't doubt chemicals and science, because they are backed up by numbers. Number don't lie, and I strongly believe in that fact, you just cannot work your way around it. You may have to wear a cap after having chemotherapy, or look like an alien without your eyebrows for a while. But if it works, it works. Sure it will make you feel weak for a long time, but that is probably when the "dietary plan" should come in. I say, if you are so insistent on those dietary plans and Tai Chi, do it together or after the chemotherapy, don't disregard a scientifically proven treatment method and then go for the other absurd option. It doesn't make any sense that way, seriously. 

I hope my mother is going to talk some sense into those people, because that just doesn't sit well in my books. I love my relatives, but I hate it when they are making dumb decisions in regards to their health. Nobody wants to be sick, but when your treatment is as stupid as just sitting at home and praying, then you might as well stay sick. Nobody plans to fail, but a lot of people fail to plan. When you are planning badly, that's a plan failed already. If it is not going to be my mother, it is going to be me flying all the way back to Taiwan to drill some sense into them. I say Tai Chi, diet, and chemotherapy altogether if possible, because that is a win-win situation, right? Stop following the traditions just because people have been doing it for a long time. It's like saying we should all burn people at the stake just because people have been doing it since the ancient times. Wait, actually that does sound like a good idea in a twisted way.