October 28, 2007

We are a team again. Sean Swarner is with us, we have reunited with everyone who arrived early and are nearing the end of our journey. Today, after a leisurely day in town, we had the privilege of going to Bhaktapur Hospital as a team. We were given a tour of the center and saw just how our equipment donations would be utilized. We saw the faces of the patients and felt the warmth of the caregivers. We were ushered into a meeting room where we were greeted by members of the press, doctors and patients. James, Mike and I took center stage for a press conference. Individually, we each took the mic and spoke of our gratitude for the Nepalese people and, most importantly, the team of doctors at Bhaktapur who do everything in their power to give cancer patients a fighting chance. We vowed to help in any way we can to be certain that the people of Nepal have one first class center to turn to for screening, treatment and survival.

It was during the question and answer period that a frail man with a massive heart took the microphone and spoke for many minutes in Nepalese. His passion was immense and we listened, with great intent, to words that we could not decipher. I could see on the faces of our team; was this man angry with us? What was he so passionately announcing to us?

This is the translation….

“My name is Anand, I am a tongue cancer survivor and I took part of my treatment here at Bhaktapur. My wife, Shanta, and I have written you a poem that I would like to read to you now.”

A War Against Cancer

Let the jet streams of the cosmic zone
Carry the message of the noble cause
A fight against cancer
The deadliest of all diseases
Victimizing all men, women,
Children and the adults
Over the surface of this planet earth.

Let everybody know
Cancer is not common to all
It’s an accident of system failure
In an individual way
Not bestowed or borrowed
Not a wrath of nature
But a war of the aliens
Without any chemical or nuclear weapons.

Let there be love, care and affection
Of the helping hands
Without any arguments of cast, creed or colour
With the feeling of human kind
Boosting up the confidence to survive
Like warriors of the past gone by.

Let the time without cancer
Come again
When mother earth was clean and green
Without pollution of any kind
Happy she was with her children
Under the guidance of
Nature, their teacher.

Let the people not be scared of cancer
And die before their deaths
Cancer is curable with combined efforts
You, the medical and yoga sciences
Be aware and alert to detect it earlier
Before you are helpless
To prevent the worst.”