Cancer. That world alone is enough to spark a person’s attention. Many people associate the word Cancer with death, pain and suffering, but that’s not how it is at all. Although the treatment is tough and the risk may be great, cancer can bring about something magical.

Religion is one magical thing that cancer brings either to the person suffering from the disease, their family, or the entire community gathers together to help them. It brings a deeper relationship between some higher being(s) (whomever they might be praying to).

When sickness occurs almost the immediate thing anyone does is ask for healing, or ask for strength. The community comes together as one and holds prayer services or just participates more in mass when they know that someone in the community is sick.

The community comes together as one which is another magical thing. Not only is it the people in the select parish of the ill person, but the entire community as a whole; it is truly an amazing occurance.

The people who know the patient along with their friends and the kid’s friends and it just expands and expands into an overflowing sea of caring that never seems to cease. And this all happens because of some disease that has been put on an unlucky person.

The community may sometimes set up a “food train” which is just a meal plan that various people give the patient’s family food while going under treatment. Almost all the time they will have visitors at their house or different people just showing that they care and just wanting to pop in and see how they were doing.

“I feel more connected to the community, because they are open to help you,” said senior Ryan Ostertag. “The food train is a huge help, people bring us dinner so my mom doesn’t have to cook.”

Family is the most important part of this illness, from personal experience; the best form of healing is laughter and love. When my family first got the news it was unbearable; there were a lot of different emotions, but after it all we grew closer, we help each other out and we never stop being a family.

“Yeah we help each other out more, we have more responsibilities, but we do it for my mom,” said Ostertag. “Some things have been difficult and stink, like doing my own laundry for the past two years, but it’s worth it to help her out.”

This is the most important magical thing that cancer brings upon anyone whether you are the ill one or not. Being able to feel the warmth and security of their loved ones is life changing and sometimes ultimately helps the treatment. Cancer can be a magical thing.