JAMAICA CANCER SOCIETY

Renewed hope... there is hope and life after cancer

My name is Clive P. Chambers and I am a prostate cancer survivor of fifteen and a half years.

Since being diagnosed in December of 2002 and having gone through surgery, radiation and hormone treatment, I have had a new lease on life and everyday as I open my eyes in the morning, I give God thanks for a new day and new life. Not that I never did so before my experience with cancer, but since that experience, I have come to have a much greater appreciation for life and what a great gift it is to be alive.

Before my encounter with cancer, I was deadly afraid to even hear or read the word, let alone talk about it. As I grew in my much younger years, the word was spoken in whispers and one would hear “shhh….so and so has cancer” and the death knell was thus sounded for that individual.

I therefore developed a fear for the word which became a reality in my life. I must confess that when I was told that the result of my second biopsy was positive…just one sample of thirteen taken, I surprised myself by how calm I was. It was as if I had prepared myself for the worst so that when it arrived I was ready for it. That and my faith and the support of family, friends and church community played a significant part in how I came to accept it.

Post-surgery and with the encouragement of the late Rev. Msgr. Kenneth Mock Yen and my family and friends, I decided to host a forum on Cancer at Sts. Peter and Paul Church Hall in the summer of 2003. With the tremendous assistance and guidance of Dr. William Aiken, I was able to get doctors to do presentations on various forms of cancer. It turned out to be a success as the target of getting maybe a hundred persons attending was easily surpassed.

That was when I met the then Director of the Jamaica Cancer Society, Mrs. Marva Lee, who asked me that same evening if I would be willing to do volunteer work with the Society. My “yes” was unequivocal. The driving force behind the forum was to sensitize people about cancer and that there was hope and life after cancer. So it was quite natural for me to do whatever l was able to do to assist the Jamaica Cancer Society to get the word out.

That is why I am a wholehearted supporter of Relay For Life and (bold here) I encourage as many persons and companies as possible to support it. It was at Relay For Life that I discovered that there were so many of us winning the fight against cancer. I was blown away when I discovered there were survivors of 20, 30 and 40 years….that gave me renewed hope. It was at Relay For Life that I discovered that there were so many people who cared for survivors. That gave me renewed hope. It was at Relay For Life that I discovered that all the cancer survivors that I had seen looked as normal as everyone else and you could not tell us apart from those who were not wearing survivorsʼ T-Shirts. It was wonderful to know that we looked good and healthy.

In all the stagingʼs of Relay for Life, I have only missed one and that was beyond my control. Relay for Life is something I look forward to attending, as it gives me the opportunity to hear the wonderful stories of faith and hope of many fellow survivors and a chance to mix and mingle. So my brothers and sisters, come out on Saturday, June 2nd, 2018, 6:00p.m at the University of Technology

(UTECH) for what promises to be an exciting Relay For Life and enjoy the experience of rubbing shoulders with survivors. See for yourself that life does exist after cancer. But donʼt just come to Relay if you are able to do more. Join or form a team and buy a Luminaria bag to remember loved ones lost and those fighting this dreaded disease. I wish you the great experience of renewed hope.

God bless you.