How do you find strength to keep helping others while fighting cancer?

covid years particularly very difficult to schedule scans can have follow up appointments before the vaccines came along I decided to wear full PPE and do home visits on homebound elderly patients with Covid I also did WhatsApp consultations for patience in India from my state I lost many relatives and my wife’s sister who was a journalist. Luckily my wife’s dementia had an advanced and she did not know her sister passed away. I spoke to her even when she was in ICU in India and she waved me goodbye before she expired. I lost approximately 250 of my geriatric patients whom I have cared for for more than 10 to 20 years. This gave me more resolved to fight as I used to call homebound patients by rotation every day to make sure they were doing well or just give them a emotional support. In 2022 I had three brain metastasis treated with CyberKnife radiation In 2024 had three other side sides in the brain CyberKnife radiation. I had no evidence of any other disease apart from the brain metastasis. So I have stayed on gilotrif ATKI inhibitor immunotherapy one pill day period this is my eight year and five months on first line therapy. I still try and exercise 3 to 4 times a week and I work 16 hours a day and when not working I’m running errands to grocery stores collecting medications for my mother and hunting for whole grain food. I allotted want one hour a week to play the victim card and feel sorry for myself and I spend this time looking at old photographs of my family and my dear wife who was a physician and spent most of her time in a homeless shelters preparing food or filling older patients to chemotherapy and doctors appointments in addition to working in my practice about 10 hours a week. She guides me every day to look beyond myself to be a beacon of hope for so many others who may feel helpless. Unique disease which hates you in the prime of your life because 50s are the time when your immune system is not as strong as it used to be and the regular environmental toxins with your body was able to take care of is now overpowering your immune system to fight it only medications cannot do it your willpower your positive state of mind and pushing yourself even when every muscle in your body aches is the key luckily I have a purpose which is to take care of my mother until she passes away as she has all the mental faculties find was a source of inspiration navigating the last days of my wife illness. all of us has seen ourselves the resolve to live, willingness to fight, give a lending hand to someone in despair. I wish you all the strength and the faith to fight this horrible disease. With love Ramesh