Cancer Ward — Reflection & Review
Note: There are many topics to discuss related to the book, which includes the historical context that this book was written. This post does not serve to discuss those points, but if you would like, you may find information about those points online from other, perhaps more qualified authors. I only serve to review this piece of literature and provide personal takeaways that I wish to share with you all that I hope could be considered informational.
This book written by Alexander Solzhenitsyn illustrates how bleak life is in advanced stages of cancer. One may think that such a story discusses the feeling of death, or the psychological preparation for it. After all, there can be much to discuss regarding the impending uncertainty of such.
But after reading this book, which I must say can take some time, I came to a multitude of different conclusions. 1) How people act when they have freedom is different from how they act when they do not have freedom, 2) the author has many quotes that I will share below, and 3) it is vitally important to understand the meaning of your existence.
Quote list:
“A fool loves to teach, but a clever man loves to learn.”
“It takes all sorts to make a world. We’re all in the world together.”
“What do men (people) live by?”
“Everyone is guilty of something or has something to conceal. All one has to do is look hard enough to find out what it is.”
“I was wrong to be too pragmatic, to judge people solely by results; it was more human to judge by intentions.”
“Vadka, if you don’t know how to make use of a minute, you’ll fritter away an hour, then a day, and then your whole life.”
“Nowadays we don’t think much of a man’s love for an animal; we laugh at people who are attached to cats. But if we stop loving animals, aren’t we bound to stop loving humans too?”
“You can’t know everything in the world. Whatever happens you’ll die a fool.” (Sort of a bleak statement yes, but take it to be a humbling one)
“It’s not the duty of science to create ethical values…science creates material values, that’s how it earns its keep.” (Some may argue this is a controversial statement, yet this may be applicable to many scenarios, ie animal testing, gene editing, intensive procedures)
“The meaning of existence was to preserve unspoiled, undisturbed, and undistorted, the image of eternity, with which each person is born. Like a silver moon in a calm, still pond.”
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I hope you enjoy the quote list as much as I did when I first read those lines in the book. After all, you would expect some wisdom to be taken away from someone reading 400+ pages of this story.
The author is masterful in telling the story through the lens of different, believable characters in the book. Not every chapter is written from the perspective of one or a few characters, but seemingly every character that jumps from one mind to another mind present in the conversation. At first, it was hard for me to keep track of which mind we are entering into in the first place, but sticking with this style, after several chapters, becomes easier to do so. The main character, who I thought was Rusanov to begin the story, ends up being Oleg Kostoglotov.
The story starts with Rusanov being introduced into the cancer ward, with her concerned wife that wants his neck tumor to be treated as soon as possible. Patients residing in the cancer ward range from terminal end stages, requiring radiation therapy to destroy the tumors seemingly to extend their lives by only a few more hours or days, or those like Kostoglotov who swears that he does not need to receive the comprehensive protocol of treatments being administered to him against his wishes (even though he undergoes hormone therapy eventually). This sort of setting may help remind healthcare professionals of how there are many patients, who are more inclined to respect the doctor’s prescribed treatment, and others who believe that they feel better or well enough to be able to take care of themselves. Thus, introducing the dilemma of how we as healthcare professionals balance the priority of helping patients to feel better amid their ailment(s) versus how we respect the patient’s sense of autonomy?
This question leads me to the first conclusion about how people may act when they do not have freedom, compared to when they do have freedom. At first, the main character bickers with the nurses and physicians about his treatment protocol. He also questions the reasoning for every single treatment and strategy that is employed to improving his condition, which the physicians who work with him appreciate in explaining to him how they help improve his healthcare. This also references the first quote on the list I provided, “a clever man loves to learn.” Kostoglotov, could be described as the epitome of a clever patient, which may be Solzhenitsyn’s goal here, but not in the typical usage of “clever” as described in our everyday language. The nuance differentiating Kostoglotov here, is that there are not many examples of applying new ideas, devising new thoughts, even though he may be eager to learn (but who isn’t?). But the nature of Kostoglotov taking on the role of being a patient, unable to control his own condition and its progression reflects how constricted and devoid of freedom that his life has for much of the story.
(Spoiler alert incoming:)
The final two chapters of the book discusses Kostoglotov’s renewal of freedom, as well as his progression as a character. It is here where the author transitions from Rusanov, who does not experience the comparable development of character that Kostoglotov does, but stays true to his beliefs and values, while not restricting himself to stand for those beliefs when challenged.
Oleg is allowed by Donstova, the head physician, to leave the cancer ward if he so chooses. He accepts, but also understands that life as he knew it, after all his time at the cancer ward, has groomed him to become different. In fact, it is within these last two chapters that Solzhenitsyn portrays Kostoglotov’s thought process when he looks at himself for the very first time in the mirror in a very long time after he leaves the facility. But, before he leaves, he is faced with two offers from two characters that he has developed distinct relationships with: Vera Gangart, who he considers to be a close friend with potential for a deeper romantic interest, and Zoya, a nurse who he had physical, intimate contact with. The offers are both wholly unexpected, and initially make the reader think as if Oleg really has won the lottery here.
The situation is intractable, seeing that Oleg must weigh three different options: either pay for a ticket back to exile in Ush-Terek (with the impending possibility of amnesty), stay one night with Zoya at her residence, or stay one night with Vera. Ultimately, he chooses the option that leaves him heartbroken, but without much regret. But the context with which he chooses this option is what makes this the most notable factor of this decision. It is unlikely that Oleg would make this decision, if there was no promise of amnesty for him that may come later, nor if there was an imminent threat to his life still from the cancer. The deciding context here is how much freedom Oleg has in his own life, versus how much freedom he had in the cancer ward. It changes the character’s outlook so much, that he arguably does the most honorable thing in not spending the night at either Zoya’s or Vera’s residences. He reasons that writing letters to both of them, explaining his decision to do this, was also guided by how much he cared for them in finding someone else that could support them better. Soon after submitting those letters to the postmaster, Oleg hurries onto the train and takes up the pose that he saw many in the cancer ward exhibit, lying down as if he was on a bed in the cancer ward.
I’ll admit, I was pissed off by the ending. But after further recollection, I can still argue that it was a happy ending.
Lastly, the third conclusion of understanding the meaning of your existence, relates to us all and as well as the characters in the book. All of the personnel who work in the cancer ward, from the orderlies to the nurses to the physicians, were all highly competent in doing their jobs. The patients, also recollected their time in each of their pursuits in life, giving us a look into who they are as people — all tied down by the same limitation of declining health and loss of independence. At times, the book is written as if these are all prisoners in one large cell, but the author never makes the mistake of describing those in the ward as acting like criminals. Each character has a story, each story worthy of attention, and each chapter tied strategically along to uphold an image of a world that many should not only see for themselves, but understand for themselves.
