Having
access to the Internet, I have brought some peace of mind to myself and
perhaps to others. I can report that I have learned about several
different illnesses, diseases and afflictions from a moment in Cyberspace.
Sharing
this information with loved ones, friends and even acquaintances not only
makes me feel as if I am doing my part in a tiny segment of the universe,
but it provides power to those who are fighting an unfamiliar enemy.
Perhaps
the ailment is something they have heard about but possess little knowledge
of. Now the malady is squarely facing them. They are afraid.
Half
the fear comes from lack of information
Information,
once again, is power.
Months
ago, my parents told me of my father’s gallstone. Asking them
questions was fruitless—they knew no more than I did about the cause, the
seriousness and the treatment. So I searched the Net for gallstones.
I
found pages and pages of information. I printed them out on my printer.
I
went to the library and checked out a video that Dr. C. Everett Koop had
made on the subject. I sent my parents the results of my search.
Of
course my father thanked me profusely and my research had left me sighing
with relief. Not a bad payoff, really.
Then
there was the movie, “For Hope” I saw a few weeks ago. About a woman
with a severe case of Scleroderma, the movie shook me up a bit. I
watched it because a good friend of mine told me she had the disease.
I
was so concerned about my friend’s condition that I and my husband discovered
scores of information on the topic when we searched via the search engine
Yahoo! Now I know Scleroderma is much more than a skin rash, to say
the least.
Someone
I work with through the Women’s Survival Center told me that her 30-year-old
sister was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
I
knew so little about this particular cancer, yet I knew it affected a woman’s
ability to give birth. She told me that her sister had three children
and that she nor her sister knew much about ovarian cancer.
I
felt helpless.
I
told my coworker that I would find out more about this cancer.
Not
surprisingly, I found so much information on the Internet about ovarian
cancer, and other cancers which affect women, I could not even begin to
list the Web addresses in this column.
Of
course the statistics were shocking. I knew the information could
either relieve or worry my coworker and her sister depending on whether
the cancer had spread to a new area. (The chances of survival plummet
from 90% to 20% depending on whether it has spread from the ovaries).
Nonetheless,
I gave my friend the information and she was very appreciative.
A
small part we all play in this world can be simply sharing pertinent information
with others.
Serenity.
(September)