Reflection by Edgar Cahn
When cancer strikes, we know that treatment is a process, not an event. We hear that the social determinants account for 70% of health. But that doesn’t mean much when you need major medical intervention. Except, it does because recovery means creating an ecosystem that nurtures, renews, and revives. The TimeBank created the ecosystem for recovery that Donna needed when she was too weak to care for herself.
But what does that tell us about cancer? It spreads. It creates its own ecosystem. It turns out that we all carry cancer cells. They multiply because they identify fissures in our wellness systems. Those fissures, those cracks, those disparities provide safe space for social pathologies to multiply.
A malignant tumor is “innately dangerous because its cells can divide uncontrollably and produce virtually immortal daughter cells.” Maybe the real promise of TimeBanking is that it can mimic what cancer does in a benign way. Its cells can “divide uncontrollably and produce virtually immortal daughter cells.” Maybe we need to inject self-multiplying TimeBank cells to counter cancerous social conditions.
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