Do not take anything for granted and
TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER
Every third person in Sweden will receive a cancer diagnosis during their lifetime. This means that the vast majority of us somehow will suffer from cancer. Some will fall ill themselves, while others will be related to someone with the disease. One thing that most of us will have in common during our lifetime is that we will be unwilling victims of this disease, and that is why there is a lot to say about cancer.
Humans are good at taking things for granted, such as having food and a roof over your head, but it can also be other people. The average life expectancy in Sweden 2020 was 84.3 years for women and 80.6 years for men, but even if we would not be aware of the figures in detail, we know that people in Sweden generally live relatively long. This makes it natural that we do not go around worrying about a long-term illness, nor for a sudden death. Until we actually get hit.
A cancer diagnosis brings a lot of grief, worry and despair, and also a lot of learning. Nothing in life is guaranteed – not even our time on this planet. Everything you have taken for granted can be taken away, suddenly.
I had just turned 22 when I lost my father, only 56 years old. His illness and death gave me a completely new perspective on life. Things that had been important suddenly meant
nothing, and the time we had together became the most important thing.
It is said that hope is the last thing that leaves us humans. Even though every third person in Sweden will suffer from cancer, two out of three who fall ill survive today, so do not lose hope.
There is a lot to say about cancer. Do not take anything for granted and take care of each other.