Nila’s Unhealthy Obsession
My father’s very prim, much older sister had
an unhealthy obsession — her fear of cancer.
As her contemporaries dropped like flies from
heart attacks, my aunt Nila was fearless in
the face of heart disease that ran, sometimes
galloped, through our family. But she quaked at
the mention of cancer. She read Reader’s Digest
and Ladies’ Home Journal which kept her abreast
of revolutionary technological wonders that
were suspected to be the latest causes of cancer.
There were so many of them. Everything causes
cancer, she said. From the State of California
to swimming pools, microwave ovens, car
phones, dogs as pets, Mercedes Benz vehicles,
convertibles, especially Cadillacs — according
to my sweet aunt, they were all dangerous
carcinogens.
As small children, my brother and I would
laugh hysterically at the way she said everything,
especially luxury items that my father had just
spent money on (Auntie was very frugal), were
likely to contribute to the rise in cases of cancer.
I do recall when I was eight, at a family dinner
my parents hosted, I joked with her (or tried to)
about how I had read in Reader’s Digest that
homework caused cancer. I also recalled that she
was not at all amused. She actually advised my
father to spank me for my disrespectful attitude.
My father replied that he’d just read in the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram that spanking children
caused cancer.
Maybe because of my verbal sparring sessions
with Aunt Nila, it took a long, long time before I
realized just what a vicious enemy to the human
race cancer is. It’s no friend to the animal world
either.
When my uncle died of lung cancer, I stopped
laughing. I was 10. I instead developed an
odd fear of cancer, hardly an improvement. Of
course, my father noticed and pointed out that
worrying about getting a disease will not make
me live longer — it will only make it seem
longer.
The key to a long life, according to my father,
was to be moderate in your habits and live life
in the best way possible and quit making fun of
Aunt Nila.
He also advised me to take any medical
advice that contains the word “may,” as in “may
cause cancer,” with a grain of salt.
Medical science has come a long way,
particularly in the field of battling cancer.
The days when you needed to travel to
Maryland or Houston are a thing of the past.
Great treatment is to be had right here in Parker
County, which is wonderful. Can you imagine
battling cancer and the traffic in Houston, all at
the same time?
Thanks for reading Parker County Today,
Marsha Brown,
Editor-in-Chief and Publisher