Reflections from North Shore LIJ Cancer Survivor's Day With Darryl Strawberry (Video)

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Islam

*Alhamdulillah= Praise be to Allah

*InshAllah= If Allah wills
*JazakAllah= May Allah reward you

Last week, Muhammad, my brother and I attended North Shore University Hospital’s and LIJ Medical Center’s Fifth Annual Cancer Survivors’ Day. We decided to go, because Alhamdulillah, my brother is a cancer survivor and successfully finished his chemotherapy about a month ago. 

The event was held in a huge tent in the Monter Cancer Center's parking lot. When we entered, there were round tables set up with lots of goodies, like cookies, iced tea and wine bottles (which turned out to be this nonalcoholic apple sparkle drink mmm mmm). The podium was set up in the middle of the tent, right next to the dance floor where a bunch of elderly survivors were having a little too much fun. 

We weren't really sure how the event would go and considered leaving, but decided to stay once the speeches started. Alhamdulillah, we made a good choice to stay. Before the famous baseball legend, Darryl Strawberry came up to speak,
two cancer survivors shared their experience with us. The first was a woman who mentioned how losing her hair was such a challenge, while the other one described his experience as a "midterm from God."

Finally, the keynote speaker, Darryl Strawberry took the mic. Now I know he's had some issues with drugs and etc., but after listening to his speech, those issues seem to be problems in the past of a genuinely good person. He spoke about how he ignored the warning signs of his cancer, how he faced his diagnosis and how his cancer returned after being treated.


After hearing about how much cancer patients suffer and seeing it myself with my brother, it reminded me of how good it is to be Muslim. When we receive something good, we consider it a blessing from Allah and when we go through something difficult, it is also a blessing from Allah. Whenever we endure difficulty with patience, Allah rewards us by forgiving our sins and by increasing our good deeds. So whether we receive good or bad in this life, it is still beneficial for the Muslim. This is just a small example of the mercy of our Creator.

In the comments section, tell us about a hardship you, or someone you know went through. How did you handle it? How did you feel after it?


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Here's the speech by Darryl Strawberry:




The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When Allaah wills good for His slave, He hastens his punishment in this world, and when He wills bad for His slave, He withholds his sins until he comes with them on the Day of Resurrection." Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2396; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.