Prevention

"Prevention is better than cure." - Author unknown

We have all heard of this idiom since our school days or from someone we know. It is better to take care of ourselves before something dreadful happens. Almost everyone knows about this universal truth but how many of us practise it in our day to day life? When you were in your teens, do you keep your face clean everyday or wait until acne start breaking out before rushing out to the pharmacy for the latest facial cleanser/toner/moisturiser package? "Oh, it won't happen to me.", is such a common excuse to ignore this.

The reason why I chose this as the first thought of the day is that I had ignored this simple truth myself. At age 38 now, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which is a cancer of the lymph nodes. It came as a shock to me, my family and my close friends. I have been generally healthy my entire life, except for the occasional flu, cough, fever. I am a non-smoker and eat a healthy diet, with moderate intake of fast food, junk food and alcohol. However, I realised that I do not have a regular exercise regime. In fact, I had not have any regular exercise since I left high school. Had I been doing some form of regular exercise, be it brisk walking, swimming, working out at a gym, would my current situation been prevented? Maybe. Even a slight maybe would be a bonus.

Imagine if I had paid a few hundred dollars for a gym membership, took an hour every 2-3 days for a full workout. Compare that to the few thousand dollars that I have to pay for my medical bills now, the frequent hospital visits for chemotherapy, lost of time with family and friends.

Practise this simple universal truth now. Do not wait for mishaps to happen to you.