Friday, February 21, 2014

Brain Cancer Research & The Work Of David Menasche

By Robin Setser


It is easy to focus on brain cancer research and predict what exactly brought this condition to the surface. While there are various theories to take into consideration, the truth of the matter is that no one really understands what types of causes there are. It's just a matter of moving forward and seeing what can be done in order to live fulfilling lives in spite of this. To me, this is the focus of a recent story that focused on a man by the name of David Menasche.

David Menasche was an English teacher up until the condition in question made it impossible for him to teach any longer. According to TODAY.com, Menasche was someone who enjoyed teaching at Coral Reef Senior High School in Miami but the condition left him paralyzed on his left side and almost blind. To say that this condition left an impact on him would be nothing short of an understatement. However, this did not mean that he would have to totally surrender his love for teaching.

TODAY.com made mention of the "vision quest" that Menasche would be taking part in and it's quite interesting, to put it mildly. Basically, he would travel for a period of 101 days, utilizing different means of transportation in order to get around to 31different cities. With this, he would reach out to 75 separate students, asking them what they believed to be the most powerful words in a collection, "love" and "family" included. This would make teaching these individuals easier and much more effective for Menasche.

I believe that a story like this is one that should earn the attention of organizations like Voices against Brain Cancer. While brain cancer research is always going to have attention brought to it, what about the stories of patients who are driven to make a difference in the lives of many people? Menasche's health may not be great but the ability to reach out to others is one that cannot be overlooked. It's hard to overlook the potential impact that he can have across the board.

The solutions that are seen in the way of brain cancer research are not ones which have been able to help everyone across the board. It's unfortunate but I think that the efforts that are put forth by patients are still worthy of merit. Not only has he helped students but the fact that he raised money in order to facilitate research efforts cannot be ignored. Menasche's story is a great one, as it shows a great sense of integrity as well as kindness in general to everyone willing to learn.




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