The Cereal Box

 

Hope

In Chapter 10, Armstrong wonders whether his winning the Tour de France after surviving cancer inspires others who face difficulties not to lose hope (p. 259: “Maybe…I am hope.”).

 

Has reading about his struggle been an inspiration to you in any way?

a. He is a real inspiration, and I say real because he showed all his emotions and fears. He just could say the good things that happened to him, and that he beat cancer. However, he explained everything in detail; he told the truth.  The challenge is to overcome the weak times and search for the strength that you need to fight with a problem.  (Flavia, 03/03/07)

 

b. I really admire Armstrong all the more for his spirit and I think he is a very resolute person.  Whenever I feel unhappy, I always think about the words from this book.  It helps me to cheer up. (Jennifer,030407)

 

c. The book shows well what his problem is and how to overcome it. We believe that Armstrong is a real hero. I think so. When I face a big problem which I cannot overcome, I will remember his story. (Dae Gun Kim 05/03/2007)

 

 

d. When I read this book, I have been thinking about his attitude toward an enemy. I asked myself whether if I were he, I could behave like him. I never deny that I am not impressed with this book. (Jinwoo Kim 03/05/07) Jinwoo, do you mean to say that you were not impressed? (Nina, 3/7/07)

 

Fatherhood

Armstrong was very excited about becoming a father.  He wanted to be involved in the delivery of the baby (cutting the cord, bathing and carrying the infant…). (pp. 260-261)

 

 

Does this seem natural or strange to you?  What do you think a father’s role in childbirth should be?

 

a. His attitude is a little exaggerated. That is because he had his own child after had cancer, and that is a miracle.  He wanted to take extra care of his miracle in the way to not lose it. Maybe other father will not sleep with his childbirth because then the baby get a bad habit to needs the father to sleep. However, Armstrong celebrated with each cry because his baby is the evidence that everything is possible if you want and fight for that. (Flavia, 03/03/07)

 

b.  I think this is natural to me.  More and more men are happy to be involved in the delivery of their baby.  It is a very important moment for parents to welcome their child together.  In my opinion, a father’s role in childbirth should be helping his wife to relax during the delivery. (Jennifer,030407)

 

c. Please consider his situation. Everyone wants their own baby, but his doctor had said that it would be impossible for him to have a baby. However, with medical assistance, he did. It is just like a miracle for him. It is natural that he seriously takes care of his baby. His baby is really important for him. (Dae Gun Kim 05/03/2007)

 

 

d. It is very tricky question because I`m still single. I believe that the most important role in childbirth is that fathers should sympathize with each other. (Jinwoo Kim 03/05/07)  Should fathers sympathize with other fathers?  Or should parents sympathize with each other? (Nina, 3/7/07)

 

Courage

“The definition of courage is: the quality of spirit that enables one to encounter danger with firmness and without fear.” (p. 266)

 

From your own experience or from history, give an example of someone who has acted with true courage.

 

a. I can say that I acted with true courage during my second surgery last year. In my first surgery, I had a bad reaction to morphine. For that reason, my doctors changed my pain reliever, but after the first experience I preferred not to use it often. I preferred to bear the pain, pushing the button of the pain reliever only when I had to go to rehabilitation. It was a difficult decision. The nurses saw me crying and encouraged me to use it, but I knew the awful consequence of dependence after that. It was not easy, but I reach my goal and dream.  Like Armstrong, I had moments where I asked myself why I had decided to fight. You want to keep your old life because you are accustomed to that, and it is easy. For that reason, in those moments you find in yourself a new person who could demonstrate that you are stronger than you imagined. (Flavia, 03/03/07)

 

b.  Take my friend’s experience: she lost her job because her company wanted to move to China.  She was very upset while she was unemployed. All of her good friends and her family gave her some suggestions and kept her company.  I think it is true courage for her. (Jennifer,030407)

 

 

 

c. I have a friend whose name is Young Hen. When he was 3 years old, his parents died in a car accident. After that, his aunt brought him up. I remember that he was a bad boy in middle school. However, I saw him before I came here. He is now a priest and takes care of 5 thousand orphans. He said “Now, I really thank my parents and my people.” I think he is also a real hero. (Dae Gun Kim 05/03/2007)

 

 

d. to be continued....(Jinwoo Kim 03/05/07)

 

 

Crises

Armstrong says he learned this: “We are much better than we know.  We have unrealized capacities that sometimes only emerge in crisis.  So if there is a purpose to the suffering that is cancer, I think it must be this: it’s meant to improve us.” (p. 267)

 

Do you think that the crises that we face have a purpose?  Why or why not?  What can we learn from our crises?

a.  Everything in our lives has a purpose. Crises help us to demonstrate that we can do things that we have never imagined. You could meet another person that you will never imagine could be you.   Crises show us that the impossible is only in our minds. We can do everything we want; maybe we won't not get good results, but we can fight and learn. (Flavia, 03/03/07)

 

b. In my opinion, what we can learn from our crises is that we can see the new life again.  In fact, no one ever knows what will happen the next moment.  Therefore, I would say that some crises are positive in our life. (Jennifer,030407)

 

c. I think all people have crises. To overcome our crises, we study and work hard. However, it is limited. We need more knowledge and experience. Throughout our crises, we can gain wisdom of life. With the wisdom, we can improve ourselves. (Dae Gun Kim 05/03/2007)

 

 d. I love this sentence ; "We are much better than we know."  I believe that crises can awake our unrealized abilities. (Jinwoo Kim 03/05/07)

 

Cancer

Cancer is a frightening disease. In many cultures, people do not even want to talk about it.  (For example, Greeks call it “the bad sickness.”)  In contrast, Armstrong believes that cancer is “a part of life.”  He writes honestly and directly about his experience with cancer in this book.

Did reading the book change your ideas about cancer?  If so, how did they change?

a. It doesn’t change my idea about cancer, but it gave me a better knowledge of what the life of a cancer patient is like. (Flavia, 03/03/07)

 

b.  Yes. I think it is better to face the cancer and find out the solution.  The most important thing is that we need to help people to overcome the bad illness when they have it. (Jennifer,030407)

 

c. When I was a high school student, my grandfather and mother died of stomach cancer. Until I read this book, I thought that cancer patients cannot get better. However, Armstrong overcame it. I believe that cancer will be cured by ambitious doctors in the future. (Dae Gun Kim 05/03/2007)

 

 

d. Although he writes directly about his experience with cancer, I have not been able to change my idea because my father`s elder brother died of cancer. (Jinwoo Kim 03/05/07)

 

 

Your questions:

1. What will happen if a patient has a terminal cancer? It should be good for him or her to receive the chemo cycle and fight; or he should wait and try to have a better last days. That question is because we know the effects of chemotherapy. Do you think that it is good for a terminal cancer patient to suffer that effect if he will die? (Flavia, 03/03/07)

I think the answer depends on the patient, and also on whether the cancer is considered to be terminal or not.  If I had cancer and I knew it was terminal, I would not want chemotherapy because it would make my last weeks and months even worse than the cancer.  On the other hand, if I believed I had a chance to beat the cancer, I would probably opt for chemo. (Nina, 3/7/07)