Ignorance is not always a Bliss

Following article is from the Jakarta Times, marking the World Cancer Day on 4 February 2010.

"The public needs to realize that cancer is often preventable and treatable, including through changes in lifestyle, activists say.

“Many people still believe that when you have cancer you will die, and that’s it,” Melissa Luwia from the Indonesian Cancer Foundation (YKI) said during a rally to mark World Cancer Day, in Jakarta, on Thursday.

The general public also wasn’t fully benefiting from early detection and early treatment of cancer, she said.

“Some types of cancer, such as cervical cancer, if detected early, can be treated effectively,” Melissa said.

She added that many people were unaware that healthy habits, such as giving up smoking, avoiding overexposure to direct sunlight, maintaining a balanced diet and regular physical examinations, could help prevent cancer.

“People should realize that they have, and must make, choices. They can choose to eat food without preservatives, for example,” she said.

According to the International Union Against Cancer, each year more than 12 million people are diagnosed with cancer and 7.6 million die as a result of the disease.

However, 40 percent of cancers are preventable, YKI said. During the rally, YKI members and university students distributed leaflets promoting healthier lifestyles.

They also displayed a banner denouncing smoking, attracting passers-by in the busy area.

“Today we are trying to increase public awareness of the dangers of smoking, because it is one of the known causes of lung cancer,” Melissa said.

Indonesia’s Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI) estimates that last year there were around 60 million smokers in Indonesia, and that 427,000 citizens died from smoking-related diseases."

The title of this article refers to an old English proverb- where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be wise. The phrase is used to mean what you do not know cannot hurt you. It is a quotation from the English poet Thomas Gray born December 26 1716 and died 30 June 1771 taken from the poem:

Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College

"To each his sufferings: all are men,
Condemn'd alike to groan—
The tender for another's pain,
Th' unfeeling for his own.
Yet, ah! why should they know their fate,
Since sorrow never comes too late,
And happiness too swiftly flies?
Thought would destroy their Paradise.
No more;—where ignorance is bliss,
'Tis folly to be wise."