The world is full of trauma like war or injustice. The news stories only talk about the facts - not how to respond to all the trauma. That’s why Carsten Witte has chosen TEDx as his platform of choice: to talk about a subject, why it matters and how to deal with it in a way that helps people respond.
Because everybody knows somebody diagnosed with cancer. And we, as a society, friend, family member or patient itself have to respond to this challenge in different ways. His talk is about the apparent matter of course of health and how that prevents us from listening to our body language as well as the treasure of facing our fears, especially the fear of (seeing someone) suffering from cancer. His vision of the future: acceptance of our vulnerabilities and uncertainties as a powerful tool to create compassion. Carsten Witte was a career soldier in his first life. His second life began with the diagnosis of cancer in 2011, at the young age of 24. He obtained his high school diploma and pursued studies in health education. As a psycho-oncologist he has been leading psychosocial support at the Center for Radiation Therapy in Freiburg for the past four years.
After successfully treating several lung metastases, he founded the support group "Jung und Krebs" (Young and Cancer) in 2014. Now established as a nonprofit charitable organization, Jung und Krebs provides a platform for exchange among young adults with and after cancer, with a focus on life rather than the illness. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx