Remember your English lessons at school? Remember your parents told you to make an effort as it’s
important to know English? They were right.
I’ve always told to my kids they should be good at English as it enables them to communicate with
people everywhere (almost…), to travel easily, and to work freely. But the importance of knowing English when someone is sick has never occurred to me.
Well, you’ll be surprised to know that cancer has a very large community, with members worldwide. And guess what? You may be in need of this community. Moreover, the information you may need—articles, statistics, trials—everything is in English. Without knowing it, you may find yourself with very limited sources of information, and thus practically ignorant, as most of the information is out there—but in English.
A few examples: Lesley, with whom my husband has worked, connected us with the EXON 20 group, located in the US and directed by Marcia Horn, who is very up-to-date with the latest data on this specific mutation. We got lots of updated information from her, but we couldn’t have communicated without English.
I recall a lady who communicated with me, and to whom I recommended talking to Marcia, but this lady told me she didn’t speak English and that it would be very complicated for her. I really felt sorry for her at the moment, wondering if any of her surroundings could help with the English. Only later I realized that The Exon 20 group can definitely get a translator who can help them go over emails, medical records, etc. No matter what the language.
Also, for those of you who are Facebook fans, there are many worldwide communities related to specific cancer types and even mutations, with people all over the world updating about their experiences with new drugs, side effects, and so on. Without decent English, it is very hard to participate in these groups, which is sometimes crucial.
I recall, once being at the oncologist, he offered to try a new drug that is on a clinical trial, not yet
approved by the FDA. My husband asked him” what are the side effects?” so the doc answered:
”well, this drug is not yet officially released ask your wife, she is more updated via her Facebook
communities”…
So, to summarize, in case you are in a state where you need to convince your kids to learn English,
show them this blog, and try doing so without using Google Translate.