Monday, October 22, 2007

Cancer Good for Health

I ran the Great Eastern Women’s 10K this morning. I finished before they took down the street barricades, which is a good sign. I had 40 years to get into shape and it took cancer to get me off my lazy butt and do a run.

I’m more fit than I’ve ever been in my life. (Except for the cancer.) Oh, the irony of it. Since the diagnosis, I’ve started running, I’ve given up drinking (Impossible! But yes!), and I’m as healthy as a rabbit, most likely because I’ve been eating rabbit food. Cancer has been very good for my health.

And cancer has been good for my friends’ health. Some of them have started exercising, many are eating healthier food and cutting down on alcohol, and one woman I hardly know has quit smoking because of me.

I guess cancer is your body’s way of saying, “Hey! I’m not invincible! I might give out on you some day, so take better care of me!”

It’s heartening how many people run marathons, climb mountains, do cross-country cycling trips to show support for someone they know who has cancer or some other disease.

So, funny as it sounds, cancer can be good for our health.

Click here to see a funny faux-news video clip from The Onion, a news satire Web site, about just this.

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