Extra-ordinary women battling cancer
The documentary Farrah’s Story finally made it to Irish TV the other night and I was incredibly moved watching Farrah’s struggle to beat cancer. As I watched Farrah fly back and forth between the US and Germany for pioneering treatment, I couldn’t help but reflect on how different it is for “ordinary” folk who have cancer and cannot afford to pursue expensive treatment in the same way. I am aware that I feature celebrities battling cancer on this blog, but equally or even more so, I feature “ordinary” women who battle not just cancer but face everyday battles with health insurance, childcare, careers, financial worries. I am not saying that cancer is easy for anyone, but having the burden of money worries lifted from your shoulders frees you up to concentrate 100% on your treatment.
I have italicised “ordinary” women because I do not believe these women are “ordinary” in the dictionary sense, which implies they are of “no exceptional ability, degree, or quality; average” (according to my dictionary definition). The majority of women (and men) dealing with cancer are anything but ordinary – they are in fact extra-ordinary. They may not be celebrities on our screen and in our magazines, but they are definitely people of renown and heroism in my book.
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