‘Cancer turns you upside down. In body, in mind, in spirit. You have to get used to retaining food in your stomach again before you go about expending energy. It would take me six weeks to get my system functioning well.” – Yuvraj Singh (The Test of Life)
No one likes to be diagnosed with cancer.For those who missed the first part of the book review, here's where you can read it Book Review: The Test of My Life by Yuvraj Singh.
Cancer in India: Pre-conceptions and Social Stigma
In his book, Yuvraj Singh takes on some pre-conceptions about cancer:
· Is cancer infectious?
· Can cancer spread?
· Can you go into a house that has a cancer patient and catch it?
· If a parent has cancer, does it mean all his children will have it?
· Should we allow our children to marry into a family that has cancer?
There is also a paragraph in the book where Yuvraj asks his doctor whether he will be able to have children after undergoing chemotherapy. It takes guts to write and open yourself to the world like this.
Develop an Inner Circle of Love Warriors
Many whom you considered dear to you may not want to have anything to do with you once they know you have cancer. Let them go, don't have regrets. Surround yourself with people who value you for the person you are. They are your Love Warriors and they are there for a purpose – their own awakening too.
Don’t Resist Chemo, Find a Way to Accept it
Chemo is a lot more painful and worse than it sounds but Yuvraj says you have to believe that you can come back to your life after a period of time.
Positive Thoughts
For a fitness conscious cricketer like Yuvraj Singh, you can imagine what cancer could have done if he hadn't stayed positive in his thoughts. He fought depression even when he needed his mother’s help to put on his socks, to carry him when he collapsed after vomiting, and for everything, he needed some one’s support.
Gratitude is a great form of positive strength and energy. He thanks every friend, every nurse and every doctor who helped him through this phase.
What he had to fight within himself – that cannot be helped because no one, however close, can help you through it. And there, most significantly, Yuvraj thanks his mother, God and his Guru for helping and healing him.
Concentrate on Health, Focus on Recovery
“The world was moving along fast but my life had come to a standstill. I was an island. I was an island of silence, no longer a part of the team I had once belonged to. Indian cricket had moved on and I had been left behind." - Yuvraj Singh (The Test of My Life)
It is when we lose the hope and the will to live that the Universe shows us a way forward, usually in the guise of a friend.
Out of the blue, Anil Kumble visited him and gave him a pep talk that changed Yuvraj’s feeling of suffering and being left out.
Anil’s advice went like this, “Stop watching YouTube videos of your matches. Cricket will come back one day, concentrate on your health, focus on your recovery.”
Simplify it further:
1. Stop thinking of what you would have been doing with your life if you hadn't been diagnosed with cancer at this point.
2. Whatever you love to do, whatever you are passionate about, it will come back to you at the right time. BELIEVE this.
3. Concentrate on your health.
4. Focus on recovery.
The end of Yuvraj’s book is perfect. It says, “If Yuvi can, You can.” Buy Yuvi's book 'The Test of My Life', don't miss reading it.
♥♥ I thank you with all my heart for reading my post. I dedicate this post with love and gratitude to all cancer care givers across the world including doctors, nurses, para medical staff and others who help in healing and making the lives of cancer patients bearable and happier through very painful phases. REQUEST: Please SHARE this article on your favorite social networks. Every share, like or tweet makes me reach out to more people who are in various phases of suffering and self-healing in a positive and affirmative way. I am grateful and I appreciate you for doing so. ♥♥
Comments