The War Against Cancer

Cancer is a journey, but you walk the road alone.  There are many places to stop along the way and get nourishment – you just have to be willing to take it.  ~Emily Hollenberg

I have never been scared all my life. Forget aliens people, we may have more problems on our hands and I am not even talking about poverty, stupidity and stupidity (the latter has to be mentioned twice due to its abundance). Early today as I was busy doing nothing and basically just minding my own business, my eyes stumbled on mcgothic_‘s tweets. For those who may not know much about her, myself included, she is the self proclaimed chairperson of team forever alone. Not only that, her 15 year old niece has been ill but doctors have been doing tests to determine what was wrong. Finally, the results came in. She had a cancerous tumour and her ovary had to be removed. Problem is the cancer has spread to her urethra already.

 

How is that for a first paragraph, and I am not even done yet. Last week, milonare‘s dad passed on. The culprit? Cancer of course. The week before last, Caleb who had been battling leukaemia before losing the fight was laid to rest. And the week before, I had to go visit a former colleague who is battling rectal cancer. Now, tell me how in anything’s name I should not be scared to the bone.

 

According to a policy brief on the situation of cancer in Kenya, over 50 people die of cancer in the country everyday. Add to the fact that both of the Ministers in charge of health matters in the country were both diagnosed with cancer, then the problem is probably bigger than it seems. My view is that the human race is losing the war against cancer. I do not think we have a chance of beating cancer if our efforts are more on curative measures rather than preventive. However, it is not known what causes cancer. Scientists only know of factors that enhances the risk of one being diagnosed with it.

 

The question I have to ask is, is there anything we can do to fight this disease? I think yes. Personally, I will try and understand it as much as I can. The basics that is, or what I need to know. In the process, I will be throwing whatever I learn here in posts to come. That is my first bullet to the menace. Hopefully, I will find myself other fighters out there and we shall take on the disease like it takes our cells once it attacks. 

THE DAY’S

Bonus: The World Cancer Day is commemorated on my birthday. I think that is the only sign I need to sign up for this war.

3 Comments
by The Greatrnk on May 21, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Greatrnk on May 21, 2012

http://alternativefocus.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/the-war-against-cancer/

I SAW HIM

I saw him….playing silly games,
and i was six.
Sometimes he wanted to play father,
when i was mother.
Or hold the rope,
and let me skip.
Other times he sat with others,
and made fun of me.
I cried and hid behind curtains,
and hems of mother’s skirts,
Because my emotions,
too young to comprehend.
Was he friend or fiend?

I saw him again.
And i was thirteen,
Almost a woman.
And it was showing.
When the tiny mounds appeared,
and my chest began to hurt.
He teased me again.
Yet he too had bumps on his face,
and a croak for a voice.

We parted ways four more years.
I was away where they wore matching clothes.
And slept in metal squeaking beds.
And he never appeared there.
I never thought of him.
Only saw him in books.
And read about the things he could do.
Like make babies grow in my tummy,
love me like his only,
yet hurt me like his enemy.

Then one day he held me in his arms.
When the four years were gone.
And i was in another institution.
Gently like the last raw egg, then squeezed harder.
Till i could take it no more.
Left me raw.
And i freed myself from his hold.

Now i am done with institutions.
I wake up in the morning,
jewelled and made up….adorned.
And leave to make money….my own.
He still comes and goes.
Squeezes me a little more till i cringe.
And i fear he might break me.
There are no more tears to shed here.
I am a woman…..grown.
No institutions.
No hem of mother’s skirts.
So before i break gradually,
in his arms. Fiercely.
Before my heart slams shut.
I will let him go along.

©Ado Yiembo.

Copy and pass ”I SAW HIM” around to your hearts content but always post my copyright notice above correctly both as courtesy and as a legal necessity to protect any writer. Thank

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by deestinguished on April 24, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by deestinguished on April 24, 2012

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I MISS HIM

I miss him,

When he wasn’t too exhausted after work,

Remembered that these lips were for him,

Held me as i slept,

and i lay upon his chest,

Because he didn’t smell of sweat,

Having let the day his strength exhaust.

 

I miss him,

Without a single care,

Smiles with none to compare,

When we could talk till dawn,

Fuss and laugh about nothing.

 

I miss him,

No worries, no woes,

no medical bills and electricity receipts,

No landlord at the gates,

No insatiable people called family or  school fees to pay.

 

I miss him,

Noisy Friday evenings,

Crazy Saturday afternoons,

and quiet hungover Sundays.

When we drank all night and forgot to give thanks,

Till our fingers trembled.

and intoxicated bodies rejected nutrition.

I miss him,

Now on his forehead are furrows,

For he constantly worries,

Thinks about work and bills,

His fingers still tremble,

Not after a night of fun or passion,

But because they need,

A burning stick to calm his nerves.

 

Now he is angry,

No longer talks and laughs about nothing,

We fuss,fight about everything,

Now he is no longer ticklish, irritable,

His complements rare as his smile.

 

Now i wonder if he still thinks i am beautiful,

Or my place has been taken by offspring,

I wonder if he still stares when i walk away and sway my hips,

If he still thinks my breasts move in rhythm with my stride,

If my smile still makes him stare

and he tells friend and foe that i am his.

 

Now i wonder if he watches me sleep,

or sees me in his dreams,

I wonder if he looks forward to coming home,

So he can see me,

Feel my moist lips,

Caress my naked breasts,

Bask in the warmth of my thighs,

Or sighs when the clock strikes five,

and only comes home so he can rest.

I miss him.

©Ado Yiembo.

Copy and pass ”I MISS HIM” around to your hearts content but always post my copyright notice above correctly both as courtesy and as a legal necessity to protect any writer. Thank you.

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by deestinguished on April 1, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by deestinguished on April 1, 2012

http://alternativefocus.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/i-miss-him/

Utopia That Does Not Exist?

By littleGiniK

I was once talking a walk with two male colleagues going for lunch. The cafeteria happens to be quite some distance away from the office. I was carrying my handbag, the laptop and heavy books, while my colleagues had their hands in their pockets. At some point I stopped and asked them how they could possibly be walking by my side and not offer any help. One of them was quick to retort, “You are the ones fighting for gender equality, why should I help you?” We got into a long argument about gender equality. Suffice it to say that he did not offer his help, at least the other colleague offered to carry the laptop.

This incident came to my mind last week when there was heated argument on twitter about whether it was right for a woman to support a man, following the infamous story of a woman who was found dead in her apartment and who it is said had been involved with a well known former TV anchor.

This debate had me thinking a lot about gender equality. This expression can be quite misleading. I like to think that gender equality refers to equality of dignity and opportunity between men and women and especially equality to participate fully in public life, political, professional and social sphere. Let’s face it, men and women cannot be equal in their respective sexual nature, they are quite different. They are not equal but complementary. There should therefore be no question as to which of the sexes is superior. One is either a woman or man by birth. In each case that person will be superior who manages to develop the characteristic virtues of his or her own sex overcoming the defects which are considered peculiar to the same sex.

A man has always been expected to provide and protect, a woman to care for others. A man is expected to be strong, brave, sporty, a woman gentle, tender, feminine, modest. A man has more muscle, a woman more heart. There are things a man will do and get away with even though they may not be so good. If the same things were done by a woman, she will come off looking worse. A man is expected to provide and support his family and a woman to care and nurture hers. The constant bickering between the sexes has resulted in them seeing each other as opposition rather than complementarity. This has led as, Cormac Burke in his book “Man and Values” states, to a disruptive feminism or “masculinism” obsessed with a struggle for power which tends to reduce all aspects of men-women relationships to opposition.

It is not uncommon therefore to see men fight with women to get in or out of a bus, or a man being ‘kept’ by a woman. On the other hand, women have become so defensive that any affront from a man is believed by them to be a show of superiority of sex. There is no better demonstration of this than on our roads. It has also led to an uncomfortable situation where men refer to all women as ‘ladies’ because they’re afraid the word “woman’ may offend.

While it is commendable that feminist movements have endeavoured to correct the many abuses of preceding centuries, it must be noted that equality cannot be right down to every aspect that concerns men and women. The differences between the two sexes should complement, create a harmony, and not compete. Which man would appreciate a woman who had a moustache and hairy legs? And which woman would respect a man who does not show a certain strength, the capacity to face difficulties in a positive way, initiative especially of taking full responsibility of his family? A man can constantly find inspiration in what is feminine; a woman in what is masculine.

A world that does not encourage men to be more masculine and women to be more feminine is a poorer place for growing up in, for learning to be human . C. Burke.

* I attribute the title of this post to one of my followers.

7 Comments
by alternativefocus on February 21, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by alternativefocus on February 21, 2012

http://alternativefocus.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/utopia-that-does-not-exist/

Operation Get Maoga A Smile

This post was originally posted by savvykenya here

 

To understand why I am doing this, please read this post: I Need Your Help.

Maoga is a young man from the previous post who had his jaw removed during surgery to remove a lymphatic tumor.

Maoga with his mother before surgery

After the surgery, I visited him at Kenyatta National Hospital.

Maoga at KNH after his surgery

Today I have spoken with his father. He tells me the surgery to replace his jaw will cost Kshs. 150,000. Yesterday night, the informal settlement he is staying at in Nairobi was demolished by the authorities.

Even if I do win the Kshs.50,000 (I’m told votes alone may not be the judging criteria), we’re still short by Kshs.100,000.

It is because of this that I have decided to ask for your help: MPESA. Send to the number 0727 832685, it’s my number. I will give you a full report. If 200 people reading this send Kshs 1000, that’s Kshs.200,000. If 1000 people send 200 bob each, that’s still Kshs.200,000.

P.S. If you are a blogger, please REBLOG and let’s commence operation Give Maoga a Smile.

For other readers: RETWEET, SHARE on your FB walls, send your 2 cents, do something.

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by The Greatrnk on November 2, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by The Greatrnk on November 2, 2011

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Days of a Thief…

In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity – Hunter S. Thompson

My name is The Greatrnk. If you have never heard of me, kindly check yourself in the nearest mental hospital. I know some of you have missed me, well, it is only natural. There are others who did not miss me. Well, as the saying goes, in every market place, there is a mad man, and I am not the one who came up with that saying. I have a one way ticket to hell for you who did not miss me. I am nice, I know. I give gifts to those who do not deserve them. Back to the important people: those who missed me. Guys, kindly help out in preparing for my welcome-back bash, as the pretty girls queue up for hugs  and the more pretty ones for kisses. In the meantime, let me tell you what you all do not want to hear. And can someone please manage that queue of those girls awaiting my hugs and kisses. And get that gay guy away from that queue.

While I had gone to visit my relatives back in Messier 31 (those who are using Google maps to find out where I am from had better stop. That is a planet in another galaxy, Andromeda, which is 2.5 million light years away from the milky way), several things happened. Now, come on, ladies and gentlemen, you did not think I was from this planet, did you? On that note, do Scientists know how stupid they sound when they tell us that light from stars which are 2.5 million years ago started travelling 2.5 million years ago. Really? Anyway, I have seen that blogging has changed a little bit since I went away, and the in-thing nowadays (especially with the up and coming bloggers some of whom will make it big or not) is to start by writing two paragraphs then in the third they start with the words “I digress.”

I digress to tell you this true story.

He bade farewell to his wife, not knowing he would not be seeing her again, unless they meet in hell if she decides to visit him if she made it to heaven. He was going for a teachers’ trip for the weekend. She missed him even before he left. He left all the same.

*

She was waiting for him. It did not matter to her that he was married. “Keep the certificate, I have the man,” she always wished she could tell his wife. She knew the wife loved him, but he loved her and not his wife. She was done preparing his favourite meal for dinner when he knocked on the door. She was going to spend the weekend with the man of her dreams, Kevin.

*

The plans were in place. They needed not go over them over and over again. They had one plan and it had worked the last four times. This time round, they were going to rob a bigger house. They had heard that the local residents had met a few weeks ago and made plans on how to arrest the insecurity menace. This, however, would not deter their mission.

*

Kevin was awoken by the shouts of “mwizi, mwizi!” His manly instincts, to impress a girl by pretending to protect her, sprang him into action. He could not heed to her advice to remain in the house, even though he was telling her the very same thing. He knew that she kept no known weapon, so he left with her kitchen knife.

*

This time, they were determined to get the thieves at whatever cost. The group comprised of middle aged men – heads of families making sure their homes are not next to be robbed – with all sorts of crude weapons. “I can see them,” someone whispered. “Where?” The others asked. No sooner had he answered, than they bumped into a man with a kitchen knife. “Here is one of them!” Kevin did not have time to explain himself. The twenty or so men rained blows and kicks on him. The crude weapons were well utilised. After all, no one in the group knew him, and only one other person in the neighbourhood knew him. How he wished she could defy his orders and come out. Atleast they knew her. She must have been thinking the thieves have been apprehended and Kevin is helping in teaching them a lesson.

*

Someone knocked at her house. They were looking for petrol or kerosene to burn one of the thieves that had been caught. Even though she did not want to open the door, she knew Kevin would not mind. She only had kerosene in a jerry can, so she gave it out. It must be safe to venture out, she thought to herself. In any case, Kevin was not to familiar with the place, and she had to go make sure he gets back home. She put on something warm and carried a jacket for him. She had to see the thief before he was burnt. She left the house in a hurry. She could see smoke in a distance. About a quarter a mile away, the thief of a forbidden fruit, her Kevin, was being cremated!

THE DAY’S QUOTES:

Anyone who told you to be yourself couldn’t have given you any worse advice – Anonymous

Facebook does not ruin relationships, getting caught in your lies does.

10 Comments
by The Greatrnk on October 12, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Life, Short Stories
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Posted by The Greatrnk on October 12, 2011

http://alternativefocus.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/days-of-a-thief/

RIP Fellow Kenyans: Y is Still Part of the Alphabet

By The Constant Little Jimmy

 

This time I just can’t follow,

The rules of poetry; I once learned in linguistic classes.

I have never worn glasses,

Yet today I feel I am in some.

When I try to take the sum,

Of all the lives we lost.

Y is a part of the alphabets,

But normally pronounced as;

Why?

Sometimes we say it,

though we aren’t counting the alphabets.

But then God is there.

 

Our tears,

Our fears,

All our years,

He knows them all.

Even our peers,

Children and women;

Who we all lost,

To the hungry flames.

To the pipeline frames.

We blame Lunga Lunga,

Even the name scares me.

It sound foreign, some funny goddess.

Y is a letter in the alphabet,

Pronounced as Why?

Yet we say it when we are not counting.

But again God was there.

 

Every time I read the sacred book,

I get energy to dance in the rain,

To sing in the storm.

To jump over deep waters,

To dive; risk drowning.

Remembering your promises to Noah,

The father of nations.

But the thought of fire,

It makes me shiver.

Remembering the promises,

During the end.

That fire will come,

And burn the sinners.

Father, I know not only Kenyans are sinners.

The Ngalu Ngalu tragedy,

Were our sins due for punishment?

This is why Y will remain,

A letter in the alphabet,

Yet we are not counting them,

But again God loves Kenya!

 

Yes!

I just said that.

And if you didn’t get it,

God loves Kenya.

Look,

How long is the pipe that busted?

What length busted?

How many people resides in Ngalu ngalu?

(Am scared of saying L***A L***A)

How many died?

How many people are admitted in KNH?

How many have been discharged?

Y is a letter in the alphabet.

And for this reason I won’t use it here.

Since I am not counting.

 

May God,

The comforter,

Creator of heaven and earth,

The author and the finisher,

Of human life,

Comfort us this very moment.

Nourish our souls.

Strengthen our hearts.

Rest their souls,

In eternal peace.

And since we meet them again father,

Help us understand,

That Y is the third last letter on the alphabet.

And we shall never use it,

Except when we are counting.

 

RIP Brothers and Sisters.

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by alternativefocus on September 15, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by alternativefocus on September 15, 2011

http://alternativefocus.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/rip-fellow-kenyans-y-is-still-part-of-the-alphabet/

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