One time, I visited a good friend of mine. He’s a priest who’s on stage 4 prostate cancer. After knocking on the door, I got inside. His brother was there.
I greeted, “Good morning.”
He replied, “Good morning. It’s you, Mike! Come in!”
I responded, “Hi, Fred! It’s good to see you. How are you?”
He replied, “I’m good. It’s good to see you too.”
I asked, “How’s father?”
He answered, “He’s been sleeping for the past hour. We’re waiting for the doctor on what would be our next step.”
I asked, “When did you arrive?”
He replied, “Just yesterday.”
I asked, “So you’re here for good?”
He replied, “I’ll be back in the US after all these things are settled.”
I said, “I see. I knew about the condition of father last year. In fact, I visited him when he had his chemotherapy here in the hospital. And I was hoping after that, he would fully recover.”
He responded, “I was hoping too. But as you know, chemotherapy couldn’t be effective in his case due to his old age. He should have turned to alternative medicine. Possibly he could have been cured but he didn’t follow my advice. But I understand, we’re really not that close.”
I asked, “Can you tell me about alternative medicine a little bit?”
He replied, “Let me put it in this way. Just remember this acronym. N.E.W.S.T.A.R.T.. I learned this from my American friend who’s a pastor in California. N stands for nutrition. Never eat foods that contain sugar because it feeds the cancer cells. Even if the patient has gone through chemotherapy, it doesn’t mean all the destructive cancer cells are exterminated. Somewhere in the body, there still remain some cancer cells hiding. So if sugar continues to enter in the body, cancer cells are being fed which surely results in multiplication.”
I asked, “So what kind of diet are we supposed to have?”
He answered, “Be an organic vegetarian. I suppose you know what it means.”
I asked, What about E?”
He answered, “E stands for exercise. The best exercise is brisk walking. W stands for water. In my brother’s case, he should have been drinking natural alkaline water.”
I responded, “I’ve heard about it. It’s one of the most powerful anti-oxidants. Is it true?”
He answered, “Yes, it is.”
I asked, “What about S?”
He answered, “Sunshine. If possible, be exposed daily to the rays of the sun every morning between 6 to 7. It’s when you get some natural vitamins penetrating to your skin, thus, strengthening your immune system.”
I responded, “But sun exposure after that time frame can be harmful.”
He replied, “Right, especially from 10am to 3pm.”
I continued asking, “The meaning of T?”
He replied, “T stands for temperance which is an attitude we should all practice. It doesn’t only refer to moderate eating or drinking, it encompasses everything we do. For example, work is good, of course, because it’s our source of income but when we work too much, we become stressed out. All doctors agree that stress is one of the major causes why we get sick.”
I responded, “We’re talking about balance here.”
He replied, “Correct.”
I asked, “What about A?”
He replied, “A is for air. It might sound simple because there’s no way we can’t breathe in order for us to live. But air refers to systematic breathing during meditation. I suppose you’re familiar with meditation.”
I responded, “I am. I’ve read something about it. Recent studies show that daily meditation boosts our immune system.”
He replied, “It’s true. When your immune system is strong, there’s no way you fall to any type of cancer.”
I asked, “What bout R?”
He replied, “It stands for rest or relaxation. All of us, whether healthy or sick, needs rest.”
I said, “Fred, I’m working in a call center and you know when you’re into the night shift, you usually don’t have enough sleep like they say 8 hours.”
He said, “Don’t worry about it. You shouldn’t be worried about how many hours you were able to get during sleep. The question you should always ask is, ‘Do I feel relaxed and energized after my sleep?’ And you alone can answer that.”
I responded, “That’s very enlightening.”
He continued saying, “Lastly, T stands for thanksgiving. This one is for our spiritual well-being. I’m sure you know very well, my brother. Right?”
I responded, “I hope he’s not able to hear me saying this.”
He said, “Say it. It’s even better he hears what you have to say.”
I said, “What I’ve observed about father is he usually got negative things to say about the world. Although in some cases, he has a point but it seems he’s not grateful or he seems not to see the positive side.”
He responded, “Exactly, that’s how he is. In other words, he somehow can’t thank of what he has. In most cases, he can’t appreciate the good things in life. So it’s important you have this attitude of thanksgiving because it sets your mind to positivity. When you’re positive, you’re not stressed out. You see the connection?”
I replied, “Yeah, I got it. Thank you very much, Fred, for being so kind to share this with me. Thank you. I appreciate it a lot.”
He said, “Thanks as well for coming here. My brother would be very glad to see you when he’s awake. Mike, can you stay for a while? I’m going to the pharmacy to buy these meds. I won’t be long.”
I responded, “Ok. I’ll stay for a while.”
I was staring at father. I was moved with compassion. In spite of all the bad things I heard about him in the parish, I know there’s goodness in him. There were times he was so kind to me when I needed help. He was there when I came to him.
Then in silence, I prayed for his healing.
After a few minutes, a nurse came in.
Memory brought me back when I experienced fucking a nurse in the bathroom. I was in my early twenties at that time. My sister was hospitalized for almost two weeks. I was the one, most of the time, who watched over her.
It was during that time, I had a quick sexual relationship with a nurse. We did a lot of quickies in the bathroom. Almost every day, I fucked her from behind in a standing position. That nurse was also yummy. She appeared to be demure but all the while she was a naughty girl who craved for sex! What a fucking memory!
The nurse checked on father’s vital signs. She’s young and slender.
I asked her, “Nurse, how’s father?”
She replied, “Sir, his breathing is still not normal. But don’t worry, his doctor will be here anytime from now.”
I asked, “Nurse, can I ask you a question?”
She replied, “What’s that?”
I continued asking, “Is it true that most priests would get prostate cancer because they don’t have a sex life?”
She replied, “I’ve heard about it.”
I asked, “But what do you think?”
She replied, “Men are designed to procreate but they’re not allowed by that.”
I responded, “Right. I’ve read that we’re supposed to release our sperm cells at least 20 times in a month to avoid prostate cancer. The sperm cells which should remain in our body must always be new.”
She replied, “I’ve also read about it, sir.”
I asked, “So what should I do? Even I’m married, can you expect my wife and I have sex 20 times in a month? So it’s almost every day!”
She smiled but she seemed to be embarrassed with what I just said.
I said, “Nurse, I think it’s ok if I just masturbate every day plus we have sex once a week. Surely, I won’t get prostate cancer!”
She laughed conservatively, “Hahaha!” while glancing at my groin.
Mike M. Luster 