Essay
My Mom's Final Lesson her reasoning seemed valid: doctors are educated in western medicine; therefore, they are the most qualified to take care of people here in the U.S. My sisters often suggested nutritional therapies and other alternative methods of treatment, which were all brushed off by my mom because these doctors were against them. They told us that changing diet or other alternative therapies would counteract the effects of the chemotherapy that they put her on—the only therapy along with radiation and surgery recognized by doctors for cancer. This is the best that they can offer after billions of dollars supposedly put towards research: a treatment that you hope kills the cancer before it kills you. None of us pushed back. Standing up to the queen was rarely done in my family. And to be honest, I trusted the doctors as well. Knowing what I know now after countless hours of intense research, I believe that there was a lot that we could have done for my mom over the course of those two years beginning with just simple changes in diet. I struggle to not start my sentences with what if’s because I know that if we had been better informed of the cancer situation in this country, we would’ve done things differently. Although my Korean dragon mom shunned her homeland and its culture, she still valued education above all else. How fitting that in dealing with my mom’s passing, my coping mechanism has become educating others. My mom’s stubbornness also didn’t skip a generation. I’m voraciously tearing through any information I can get about how to eat healthier and avoid the ubiquitous carcinogenic elements in our environment. It’s become an obsession. As I ravenously continue to sift through the muck of internet articles, conflicting studies and false information put out by money-hungry corporations and politicians, I feel torn between excitement that there are great alternative cancer and general disease therapies out there, and a deep, dark depression that we didn’t try any of them with my mom. The depression grows when I realize that our misfortune is the product of an intricate tapestry of lies and greed. The system—consisting of food corporations, pharmaceutical companies, and our government for starters—is woven together to prevent us from knowing what chemicals are in our food and daily environment that can make us deathly ill, and to keep it under wraps that they are exposing us to these toxins so that they can save a buck, or profit off of our suffering. This has become my journey: connecting the dots and realizing that we need to be our own advocates. I am just beginning, but I know that 40 Reno Tahoe Tonight
it is an essential part of my general health and my healing process. To be able to forgive myself for not being able to save my mom, I need to be able to educate others in hopes that they can save themselves and their loved ones. Everything I learn I want to share with every single person in the world. But I feel overwhelmed that I can’t research fast enough, or make enough people listen to me. The overachiever in me, cultivated by my Korean dragon mom, wants to tear down and change our entire American system. I will try my best to temper this by starting small and suggesting that you begin by incorporating just one thing into your lifestyle—something that is not overwhelming to you that you will stick with. Start by checking the ingredients in your food, and cut out one or as many of these carcinogens and hormone disruptors as possible: high fructose corn syrup and other refined sugars, food dyes (Yellow 5, Red 40, etc.), carrageenan, BHA/BHT (food preservatives), BPA (in canned foods and lots of plastics), rBGH milk and opt for organic whenever possible. Substitute essential oils for OTC drugs. Most importantly, do your research! Make yourself aware of as many carcinogenic elements in your food, “medicine” and environment as possible, and then try to limit them. We don’t live in a bubble; we won’t be able to cut everything out, but we can minimize our risks if we are diligent about it. I know that you all are thinking that this sounds like a lot of work. It is certainly overwhelming at first, but don’t let your shortsightedness get the best of you. It’s so easy to say, ‘It’s not affecting me at this minute, so I don’t have time for it.’ The next thing you know, it will be too late, and you will be reminded daily of the regret you feel for not paying attention sooner. Trust me. Statistics show that 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will get cancer at some point in their lives. Cleaning up your diet is an essential element of not being a part of this statistic. If that isn’t enough of an incentive, consider that a poor diet also contributes to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, ADHD and a whole slew of other diseases. Educate yourself preemptively about our food and healthcare system so that you don’t contribute to these dismal numbers and are not frantically trying to research ineffective cancer treatments while your mom is dying. If you had seen what I’ve seen, the thought of cutting out things we consider to be staples in our daily diet would be a no-brainer. I cared for my mother as she lost her battle with cancer, and then I watched her die. Luckily, many of you haven’t had to experience this, so there’s no way to really make you understand that this is