Saturday, September 14, 2013

CANCER SURVIVOR BUILDS SAND CASTLES AND IS SURE OF BECOMING A CENTENARIAN


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      To support and celebrate World Cancer Day this year, Simon Smith, 54, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1995, demonstrated sand sculpting at High Street Phoenix, Mumbai.
     

   
      The cancer disease runs in his genes. His grandparents died of cancer, his father suffers from leukemia and his mother from breast cancer. Taking a look back, Smith says that cancer is the best thing that happened to him. He says that it changed his life for ever and for the better. After procrastinating for two years, he underwent surgery followed by chemotherapy. Unable to bear the pain of chemotherapy and the sight of people dying around him, he left the hospital and headed towards the beach. He sat down and with a broken lollipop and started carving sand. He realised that he had found his hidden talent. He then and there decided to live life on his own terms. He spent a lot of time in the beach, built sand castles, ate junk food and relaxed. He was influenced by Dr Norman Vincent Peale who authored the book “The Power of Positive Thinking”, whom he met very often as Smith’s mother was Dr Peale’s housekeeper. He realised that the fear of dying of cancer was only in his head. He went back to the hospital, took further chemotherapy treatment and responded well by putting positive thinking into action. Dr Peale used to tell him,”If you take your problems and put them in a box in the night,when you wake up the next morning, you’ll find the box empty.” When his treatment was over, he thanked his doctors and told them that he will never see them again. Today, the ex-salesman is a minimalist. He lives in a van, travels to various places, builds sand castles and has perfected the art of controlling his body through his mind. He says that the power of positive thining has kept him alive. “ I know I’ll live to see a 100 years”.

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