人生不设限·抱持正面态度，连癌症都能击退

我有个朋友叫乔克，40岁，去年发现他二十多岁时击退过两次的癌症又复发了。而这次因为肿瘤深入重要器官，医生没办法替他作放射线治疗，治疗后情况不好——事实上，他的状况很糟。身为丈夫、父亲，有一大堆家人和朋友，乔克有人生目标，也怀抱着希望、信心和对自己的爱，因此他采取这样的态度：他还不打算死。事实上，虽然身体有病，但乔克不认为自己是个病人。他决定保持乐观和积极的态度，专注地在人生中继续走下去。

My friend Chuck, who is forty years old, learned last year that the cancer he'd fought off twice while in his twenties had reappeared. This time the tumor was so wrapped around vital organs that doctors could not go after it with radiation. The prognosis did not look good—in fact, he was in serious trouble. As a husband and father with a huge circle of family and friends, Chuck had purpose. He also had hope, faith, and self-love working for him. So he adopted the attitude that he was not about to die. In fact, he took on the attitude that while there was sickness inside him, he was not a sick person. He was determined to remain upbeat and positive and focused on moving ahead with his life.

在这个节骨眼儿，没有人会认为乔克运气好，对吧?然而，他无法进行放疗这件事却成了好运，因为乔克的医生参与了一项癌症用药的实验，这个疗法不使用放射线，而是以药物针对个别肿瘤细胞攻击，然后杀死它们。既然传统的治疗方式不适合乔克的肿瘤，他有资格接受这个实验性疗法，但真正说服医生让乔克加入的是他的正面态度。他们知道乔克一定会善加利用这样的机会，而他也确实如此。

At this point, no one would have described Chuck as a lucky guy, right? Yet the very fact that radiation was not an option turned out to be good luck. You see, Chuck's doctors in St. Louis were taking part in a testing program for an experimental cancer drug that does not use radiation. Instead, this drug targets individual cancer cells and kills them. Since traditional treatments were not suitable for Chuck's tumor, he was eligible for the experimental treatments, but what convinced doctors that he should be in the program was his positive attitude. They knew he would make the most of this opportunity, and he did.

当这个癌症实验用药通过静脉注射导管注入体内时，乔克并不是平躺着接受治疗，而是一边在跑步机上跑步，一边接受注射，甚至还举重。就因为他的态度如此正面，精力如此旺盛，有些医护人员实在无法相信乔克是癌症病人。“你真的太不像‘正常’病人了。”

While the experimental cancer drug was being injected in his system through an IV tube, Chuck didn't take it lying down. Instead, he ran on a treadmill. He lifted weights. His attitude was so positive and his energy so high, Chuck had trouble convincing some of the hospital staff that he really belonged on the cancer treatment floor. "You just don't look or act like our normal patient," they said.

接受这个实验性疗法的几个星期后，医生告诉乔克发生了奇妙的事。“我找不到任何肿瘤的迹象。”医生说，“全都不见了。”

A few weeks after receiving his experimental treatments, Chuck met with his doctor. The doctor told him that something strange had happened. "I can't find any sign of the tumor," he said. "It's gone."

医生无法确定击溃肿瘤的，是这个实验性药物、乔克的态度，还是奇迹，或者是以上三者的组合。我只能告诉你，乔克离开医院时是没有癌症的，而且壮得像头牛。尽管一切迹象都显示他面临死亡，但乔克选择了正面态度，他并没有把注意力放在生病这件事，而是放在他生命的目的上，并且抱持希望和信心，相信自己可以造福他人。

Doctors couldn't say whether it was the experimental drug, or Chuck's attitude, or a miracle, or a combination of all three that defeated the tumor. All I can tell you is that Chuck walked out of that hospital free of cancer and strong as a bull. Despite all indications that he was facing death, he chose a positive attitude and focused not on being sick but on his purpose, on hope, on faith, and on the conviction that he could be of benefit to others.