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| Sen. Defensor Santiago Image owned by Christian Mac Juane on Wikipedia, with CC BY-SA 3.0 License |
Fierce like no other
Sen. Miriam Santiago's admission that she has stage 4 lung cancer came as a shock but her follow-up quip made her shoot up to #1 on my unofficial list of Fearless Women, that declaration, "I am not afraid of cancer. There is nothing I'm afraid of."
This is not so totally unrelated to law. As law students (and future lawyers), I am just trying to underline the harsh reality that we are not demigods immune from the ravages of abuse to the physical body, which unfortunately has no spare. It helps to be aware of the possible health risks associated with the legal profession.
Can you imagine not fearing the 'Big C'?
I am not afraid of Cancer too because I try to live each day of life with no regrets, pretending it to be my last. I try my best to evade serious illnesses by loving my body and making sure I don't subject it to crazy stress and other factors that could lead to some poison-forming process inside it.
But you know what? People say that no matter what big of a health nut you are, the risk of cancer is always there. Sen. Miriam admitted that her doctors are not so sure about the cause of her cancer and attributed it to a genetic mutation. She has lived a healthy lifestyle and does not even smoke!
Cancer has a way of sneaking in and surprising even those who had not smoked, nor drank a drop of alcohol in their life. Even those who live a lifestyle full of exercise can also get cancer. No one is immune to it.
Stress as #1 killer
I know someone who was already a couple of years practicing as an attorney when he was diagnosed with a later stage of colon cancer. Three months after he was diagnosed, he passed away. Stress was one of the constant things he complained of. I believe he was a junior lawyer in a firm that time.
As much as I can, I remove anything or anyone that causes me stress. Indeed, it is ironic that I am pursuing a law course. Perhaps it is not stressing me that much? Dream on.
Stress is part and parcel of a law student's life and much more so when you are about to take the bar. After passing the bar, do you really think law-related stress ends? NO. It is just the start. So as early as now, stress-management should be a skill law students learn. According to studies and based on accounts of lawyer acquaintances, the legal profession is one of the most stressful occupations in the world.
No one is safe from cancer
An entire powerhouse of legal defense team can do nothing to beat cancer once it takes over your body. All the wealth in the world can not do anything to kill it. So the best thing to do is do good things, to others and to your body, be positive always, and keep your fingers crossed.
I hope all of us will be fearless like Sen. Miriam. Do not be afraid of cancer. Learn what makes your body tick and try to give it the nourishment it deserves. Lastly, don't give stress a free reign in your mind, body, and heart.
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