talk to me about cancer, DU.

[ulysses]

Poll question: talk to me about cancer, DU.

Consider it a rohrschach test - what's the first thing you think when you hear the word? And please elaborate. The poll isn't really the point. Let's talk.

[Systematic Chaos]

1. I voted for the third option but strongly favor the second.

My views on Western Medicine in general are really taking a swan dive of late. And, why is it hundreds of years ago almost nobody died of cancer whereas now 1/3 of people do? :shrug:

[ulysses]

2. ?

And, why is it hundreds of years ago almost nobody died of cancer

Source?

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. They died of things that they get when they were too young to get cancer....

or there were no cancer tests.

Infections, pneumonia, heart attacks, strokes, even childbirth.

No source here. Just family history.

Why are you asking?

:hi:

[ulysses]

8. fair points.

The "court ordered chemo" thread got me thinking.

:hi:

[greatauntoftriplets]

11. Damn, you had me worried.

My grandparents died of:

mother's mother: uremia following a dead childbirth.
my mother'f fahter: pneumonia
father's father: pneumonia after catching the Spanish Flu while working as an undertaker at an Illinois military base.
father's mother: stroke
my father: heart attack, thanks to end-stage renal failure
my mother: heart attack, very short time.

I really hope that this is just a general question.

[Juche]

5. People didn't live long enough

Or they died of CVD. Now that we understand enough about the cardiovascular system people aren't having as many heart attacks or strokes.

[TZ]

53. Plenty of people died from cancer

But they didn't call it that..They called it stuff like wasting disease.

[sudopod]

57. Because people died of everything else

before they had time to catch cancer.

I mean, if it wasn't science that made the average lifespan in industrialized countries near 80 years or so, what was it?

[LeftishBrit]

58. Most cases of cancer occur after the age of 50

In 1900, less than half of people lived to be 50 (indeed, one in every six died in the first year of life); so that explains why cancer was less common then.

[reformedrethug]

66. Actually I have to differ with you on this a bit

A few years ago I was helping my mom with some geneology research and as I was going through some of the old census, death records, etc... I noticed that alot of people were listed as dying from "consumption", apparently that is what they called cancer back then. Hodgkins disease, Leukemia was not a known disease, etc...Also, people back then did not live nearly as long as we do today, different environmental exposures, different foods, different food preperation, the list can go on forever.

You really cannot compare what caused deaths back then to today because of what I listed above.

[indigo32]

68. consumption = TB

not cancer

[reformedrethug]

69. Ok thanks

that makes sense tho as the sanitation left alot to be desired back then.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

3. Personal experience

It sucks. More than I feel like expressing at the moment. However, you can with luck, vigilance and much personal suffering, survive sometimes.

[ulysses]

4. fair enough.

:)

[Lone_Star_Dem]

7. I hope this is rhetorical

If not my thoughts, and my healing wishes, are with whomever it may be.

[ulysses]

9. not sure I'm parsing your post correctly,

but no, my posts regarding cancer aren't generally rhetorical.

:shrug:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

12. My intention was...if there were a specific person involved

My heartfelt thoughts were with them. If you were asking in a more general aspect then my original answer would suffice.

That's all. No snark or such intended.

I've not been around enough recently to know for sure if it was personal or not. It it were though I did want to offer my support.

[ulysses]

16. no problem.

I've not been around enough recently to know for sure if it was personal or not.

I'm a 28-year survivor of Hodgkins lymphoma. No snark intended in return. :)

[Lone_Star_Dem]

26. Uterine 6 year and ovarian 3 year survivor.

A very heartfelt congratulations to you! :)

[ulysses]

44. and the same to you!

:thumbsup:

[greatauntoftriplets]

14. Damn.

And as a moderator, I am not supposed to say that.

[ulysses]

20. :)

I'm fine. It's just never all that far from my mind. Additionally, I've had a student this year whose older brother has leukemia, and we've spent some time pulling for him.

[JeanGrey]

10. It's a tough fight. Not everyone survives the fight.

Your sense of humor and will to live will help you. I would highly recommend against fly by night cancer treatments. Once you have cancer you realize that everyone has the "cure".

[ulysses]

30. well put.

I remember developing a very dark sense of humor for the first time while I was in treatment. Agreed about everybody having "the cure", as well.

[BlueGirlRedState]

13. My heart says it's the first option

although my intellect knows it's the third option. My best friend was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, stage four, in July 2006. She died on May 20, 2007, almost a year ago. She never had a chance, despite the most positive attitude anyone could ever have. She left behind two daughters, ages 10 and 5. It's a death sentence because part of your heart dies along with them.

[ulysses]

32. I'm sorry.

We've made a lot of gains, but we're not there yet. :(

[Beregond2]

15. Having spent many years

working in hospitals, I tend to side with conventional western medicine. But I do know of a case where a more unconventional approach worked. A friend of mine was diagnosed with a big malignant tumor. He refused all treatment, and instead went on a low-acid diet. The tumor disappeared in a few weeks and has never returned. Apparently, this was standard treatment before all the chemo and radiation was invented. It has sure worked for him; so far.

[devilgrrl]

18. What's a "low-acid diet"?

eom

[dysfunctional press]

31. here are two fairly divergent sources of info.

good luck

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/39146/the_alkaline_acid_diet_recipes_for.html

The alkaline acid diet is a popular diet that is considered by many seeking to live a healthy lifestyle as the proper diet to maintain a proper pH level in our bodies. Mainstream society has not likely heard of the alkaline diet yet, but with the rise and fall of the Atkins diet, and the South Beach diet reaching its apex, we may soon be looking for another diet to latch onto, and the Alkaline Acid Diet could very well be it.

Touted by nutritionists and health advocates for years, the purpose of the Alkaline Acid Diet is to keep the pH balance of our bodies at a proper level by consuming mainly vegetables and less acidic foods such as beans, nuts, and grains, with only a moderate amount of foods with higher amounts of acids, such as meats and dairy products. The diet tends to lean toward the vegetarian ideal, with 75% of your food intake being low-acid items (mainly vegetables and vegetarian foods), and allowing 25% for the remainder (meat and dairy for those of you who simply cannot do without the occasional steak).

When the body has a high amount of acidity in its system, a number of symptoms can occur: fatigue, headaches, muscle pain, acid indigestion, and a weakened immune system, among others. Excess acid can also deplete your body of necessary minerals and nutrients.

A perfect diet for people living stressful lives or tiring of low carb, high-fat diets, the alkaline acid diet is also said to help maintain a perfectly healthy body, helping to lower the risks for cancer and other diseases.

Your local nutritionist or health food store can give you a complete listing of foods that are perfectly suited for the alkaline diet, and which ones to avoid. The Alkaline Acid Diet is not so much a diet as it is a complete change of eating habits for a healthier, well-balanced body and lifestyle. With that in mind, there are several websites where you can find tasty, healthy recipes to help keep you satisfied on the alkaline diet.


http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/coral2.html

You should not believe that it matters whether foods are acidic or alkaline, because no foods change the acidity of anything in your body except your urine. Your stomach is so acidic that no food can change its acidity. Citrus fruits, vinegar, and vitamins such as ascorbic acid or folic acid do not change the acidity of your stomach or your bloodstream. An entire bottle of calcium pills or antacids would not change the acidity of your stomach for more than a few minutes.

All foods that leave your stomach are acidic. Then they enter your intestines where secretions from your pancreas neutralize the stomach acids. So no matter what you eat, the food in stomach is acidic and the food in the intestines is alkaline.

You cannot change the acidity of any part of your body except your urine. Your bloodstream and organs control acidity in a very narrow range. Anything that changed acidity in your body would make you very sick and could even kill you. Promoters of these products claim that cancer cells cannot live in an alkaline environment and that is true, but neither can any of the other cells in your body.

All chemical reactions in your body are started by chemicals called enzymes. For example, if you convert chemical A to chemical B and release energy, enzymes must start these reactions. All enzymes function in a very narrow range of acidity. (The degree of acidity or alkalinity is expressed as "pH."). If your blood changes its acidity or alkalinity for any reason, it is quickly changed back to the normal pH or these enzymes would not function and the necessary chemical reactions would not proceed in your body.

For example, when you hold your breath, carbon dioxide accumulates in your bloodstream very rapidly and your blood turns acidic, and you will become uncomfortable or even pass out. This forces you to start breathing again immediately, and the pH returns to normal. If your kidneys are damaged and cannot regulate the acidity of your bloodstream, chemical reactions stop, poisons accumulate in your bloodstream, and you can die.

Certain foods can leave end-products called ash that can make your urine acid or alkaline, but urine is the only body fluid that can have its acidity changed by food or supplements. ALKALINE-ASH FOODS include fresh fruit and raw vegetables. ACID-ASH FOODS include ALL ANIMAL PRODUCTS, whole grains, beans and other seeds. These foods can change the acidity of your urine, but that's irrelevant since your urine is contained in your bladder and does not affect the pH of any other part of your body.

When you take in more protein than your body needs, your body cannot store it, so the excess amino acids are converted to organic acids that would acidify your blood. But your blood never becomes acidic because as soon as the proteins are converted to organic acids, calcium leaves your bones to neutralize the acid and prevent any change in pH. Because of this, many scientists think that taking in too much protein may weaken bones to cause osteoporosis.

Cranberries have been shown to help prevent recurrent urinary tract infections, but not because of their acidity. They contain chemicals that prevent bacteria from sticking to urinary tract cells.

Taking calcium supplements or drinking alkaline water will not change the pH of your blood. If you hear someone say that your body is too acidic and you should use their product to make it more alkaline, you would be wise not to believe anything else the person tells you.

[devilgrrl]

48. The guy who runs quackwatch is a quack

http://www.canlyme.com/quackwatch.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quackwatch#Critics
http://herballure.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB1&Number=435&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1
http://herballure.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB1&Number=435&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

search google, there's plenty more.

Thank you for the low-acid diet info. :-)

[TZ]

54. low acid diet is complete bullshit,

Your blood maintains a static pH of neutral or you would be dead.
Quackwatch is accurate

[dysfunctional press]

61. coupla things...the guy that runs quackwatch isn't the Dr. who wrote the article

and- the "critics" you cite from wikipedia are the homeopaths and herbalists that have NO business calling other actual medical practitioners and REAL doctors "quacks".

the low-acid diet stuff is crap.

[Beregond2]

74. I'm inclined to agree.

It makes no sense to me. All I know is, my friend's tumor disappeared. Maybe it would have anyway, who knows?

[dysfunctional press]

75. i definitely think that there are things that can be accomplished through diet...

for instance- i have an arthritic/autoimmune condition condition, ankylosing spondylitis, that is greatly aggravated by dietary starch.

but i just don't see the low-acid/alkaline thing as being effective, mostly for the reasons outlined in the quackwatch piece.

[The Straight Story]

17. The first thing?

Ok, to be honest here it is.

I came from Ohio to see my X girlfriend and our daughter. I was happy and excited.

I called Mimi (my X GF) and she was at McD's getting our daughter a happy meal and said she would call me back at the hotel in about 10 minutes when she got home and I could come see her and my little girl.

She called me back. Her mom had just died from breast cancer. She got the call as she was heading home.

Never smoked, ate healthy food all the time, exercised, etc and so on.

A good woman gone to cancer, thankfully she got to know her granddaughter.

It does not matter what you do in life, it can get you. You can live clean as a whistle and do all the 'right' things, and still it can kill you (or at least have an impact on you).

And here I am a smoking and drinking fool. She lived life the 'right' way - did all she could to protect herself and be safe. And she is dead at a young age (early 50's).

The first thing I think of - cancer has no respect for you and how you live your life. It is not something that thinks and acts accordingly, it just IS. And if you think you are immune because your did x/y/z you are wrong. It does not care any more than a person working in a meat packing plant cares what a cow/chicken/fish did with it's life. It just swoops in and does what it does - kill.

You can invite it in all day long by how you live and it may never visit you. While others try hard to keep it away and it comes a calling.

[ulysses]

22. no more true post.

Well said.

[RB TexLa]

19. Death sentence. It gets you, my wife just lost her cousin to it week before last

She was strong, determined and wealthy, she was not without any treatment she had recommended or wanted. She fought it for 5 years but in the end cancer kills. Took my mother in a matter of months, 17 months ago.

[ulysses]

27. I think the idea is to live long enough

to die of something else.

Peace to you and your family for your losses. :hug:

[RB TexLa]

39. Thank you, my mother told me a few days before she died that there wasn't a day she didn't miss her

mother who had died over 25 years before, and I now know from experience she was telling the truth.

[KitchenWitch]

21. I am a 21 year survivor of lymphoma.

:hi:

[ulysses]

23. and I love you for it.

:hug: :hi: :D

[opihimoimoi]

25. My dear wife is a survivor for 14 years now...never give up hope till the sheet comes

[ulysses]

28. never knew that, opihi.

Congrats to her! and much agreed on the sheet. :)

[dysfunctional press]

24. it's a very freaky feeling when the doctor tells you it's cancer...

especially if it isn't expected.

it was kind of like fainting- but without passing out.

[Contrary1]

29. I am a 10+ year survivor of breast cancer...

The treatments are even better now. If anyone out there has been recently diagnosed, and needs a sympathetic ear, just pm me.

You can do this, believe me.

[auntAgonist]

33. ....

congratulations and continued good health to you!!! :hug:

[Contrary1]

36. Thank you!

I am grateful for every single day. Some are much better then others. But, taking a line from The Shawshank Redemption...I am busy living!

:woohoo:

[ulysses]

45. what aA said.

:)

[Webster Green]

34. This year i'm 30 years in remission..

The first words I thought of when diagnosed was "fuck that!"

I turned my body over to the doctors at a research center. Some of us got chemotherapy, some got radiation, some got both. I did nine months of some nasty-ass chemotherapy.

My doctors said I would have to change my life-style and slow down while being treated. I was touring with national rock and roll tours doing stage lighting. I said "fuck that", continued to tour, and flew from the tour back to the hospital to get chemotherapy shots regularly, and then flew back out to meet up with the tour again. I did get too sick to work a couple times, but generally it didn't slow me down, and I refused to give the disease any of my energy. I partied like a typical road dog, but let my doctors know about all the illicit drugs I was doing, in case there would be possible side-effects with their goodies.

My prognosis from the beginning was very good, even though the disease was with me for years before I was diagnosed. (Hodgkins Disease was a very treatable cancer, even thirty years ago. I consider myself very, very lucky!

Lots of ganja helped me to deal with the effects of the chemo. I highly recommend it's use for that purpose. Actually I highly recommend it for recreational use as well. :smoke:

[unapatriciated]

41. Yes the ganja helps for all sorts of ailments

My son has dermatomyositis, and that wonderful plant made it possible for him to endure the pain of his disease. It also enabled him to get through Chemo and long term use of methotriaxte, cyclorsporine and prednisone.

[flvegan]

35. First thing I think: fuel/nutrition

I think of the lack of nutritional training that most of us have in regards to the fuel we put in out bodies.

[shugah]

37. my mother is a survivor

that's the first thing i think of when i hear "cancer."

she hated chemo. she has said if she relapses she'd rather die than have anymore chemo. still, if the doctors (and she had very good ones) said that her chances of continuing to be a survivor were increased by having chemotherapy i would do all i could to convince her to do it.

[Wetzelbill]

38. My book donates all proceeds to cancer research, I don't get a cent.

And neither of the other authors. If you're interested take a look at these links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Acorn_Gathering

http://tagnews.blogspot.com/

[jarab]

40. 19 years ago (lymphoma) .....

The word is scary, however there are so many types of cancer and each might occur in so many degrees. (Lance Armstrong might have had a very treatable type considering his career thereafter.)
I will never know whether the immunotherapy at Duke helped my own cause, but I thought it was well worth the effort at the time (and still do). It's a little eerie to imagine being the recipient of cadaver residue until you really have few options.

My family doctor (at the time), when I meet him now, simply says, "You're not supposed to be walking!" I take it as a compliment.

I do sincerely believe if there's "hope" in a particular instance of cancer, the alleviation of stress "might" be the best therapeutic treatment. And, each would have to formulate that therapy -stress relief - to best suit him or her.

To your question, the first thing I thought of when the diagnosis was announced was ... "options". Only later - though not much later - did I dwell on other very important aspects such as family. At age 39 I probably had some unreal imaginings about beating the prognosis.
I'd likely handle the matter totally differently now, and I'd not know until and unless it happens (again).
That's how variable "cancer" is.

...O...

[JackDragna]

42. It all depends, although people nowadays are doing better.

Cancer is more manageable and treatable now than ever. Granted, it's an expensive diagnosis, but many killer cancers can now be stopped..providing you get treatment early. I cannot stress this enough. I have a father who's had four different cancers now and lived through them all because of frequent screenings and check-ups. Bad types, too, like kidneys and malignant melanomas. Perhaps one day cancer will punch his ticket, but until then, he's a testament to the benefits of early detection.

[madamesilverspurs]

43. Sixteen months ago

I was diagnosed with lung cancer. Fifteen months ago they took out part of a lung. Doctors see me every three months, and so far, so good!

[ulysses]

46. thanks for the thoughts, everyone.

All strength to fellow survivors, and peace to all who have had to deal with cancer.

[juno jones]

47. You need an 'other' category. Or an 'Undecided', or a 'combination'.

My family has a pretty good history of dying of cancer. Both my parents did (although I suspect chemo interfering with nutritional intake did the dirty work) as did a grandma and grandpa. Grandma (who was 93 and healthy as a horse up to that point) bravely chose to let it take its course(8 weeks)rather than fight it and drag her family thru yet another cancer/chemo horror (pretty much her words). My sister has had a mastectomy from breast cancer and she took both herbal preparations and chemo for follow-up treatment and is clear now...

It is up to one's conscience, I think what route you choose and it cannot be imposed by someone else, and other people's opinions don't really matter when it becomes your decision. For the record: I have no health insurance and have no desire to undergo chemo if I ever got ill with cancer. I would probably take my chances with dietary and herbal remedies, some of which have good track records in other countries (such as Canada). If that failed, oh well. I saw my parents so sick from chemo that they could no longer eat or enjoy the things that made their lives worth living like reading books or listening to music. Even those simple activities caused pain and nausea, especially right after a 'session'. I think I would rather die than go thru that.

However, my mind might change if I ever got sick. I don't think anyone could say what they would do until they have to confront it personally.

But I do not think one can quantitatively tell someone else what to do. It's a pretty personal thing, from my experience. You might do certain things for your family, etc, but you're not likely to be persuaded by what others think.

Just my 2 cents.

[SidDithers]

49. Depends on the type of cancer...

My wife is a 5 year survivor of Thyroid cancer, which has a very high cure rate.

My dad is a 1 year survivor of kidney cancer, which still has a pretty good cure rate.

Our closest friend has just completed radiation and 4 of 6 months of chemo for colo-rectal cancer.
Survival rate isn't great. But it's better than it could have been if there had been more spread.

And then I remember Andy, and realize that some cancers, like pancreatic, don't give much of a chance at all.

Sid

[Zhade]

50. What irresponsibility it is to choose the second option!

I swear, even in this day and age...

Here's a hint, people: water doesn't cure. It's not magic.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

51. read this please: www.infusionclinic.com

We're not talking about water.

The M.D. who runs this told me that M.D. Anderson, the largest cancer hospital in the world, knows that his IV therapy WORKS, but they refuse to use it because it's cheap and effective, and their money making empire would come crashing down.

The drug companies & insurance companies are busy counting their money as well as raking it in. Sad.

[TZ]

55. Thats bullshit

You don't think that the MD who told you about this "miracle" has a financial stake. Thats what quacks do..Say that other doctors are covering up the truth so that THEY can scam you out of their money.
Having recently been to Mayo, I can tell you that stuff is absolute baloney!

[cboy4]

52. My mom is currently being treated for breast cancer, and

fortunately, the doctors say her prognosis is good.

I'm so happy, considering I've attended far too many cancer-related funerals.

[TZ]

56. You ought to talk to DU'er Longhorn

Recently dx'd with cancer and doing pretty well with chemotherapy from MD Anderson.
One thing about Cancer, the snake oil merchants love to scream its a scam and a money maker for doctors on one hand will trying to sell their magic water and sugar pills (which are expensive AND useless) on the other.
If you are really looking for info on cancer, considering the extreme ignorance on this board about what cancer is or how it functions or how complex it is, I would go elsewhere, like NCI--National Cancer institute.
Oh also anybody who talks about having A cure for cancer is a scam artist. Too many types of different cancers to ever have A cure all no matter what the naturopathic crowd claims.
Lot of good treatments on the horizon though including vaccines for tumors or preventative vaccines such as the HPV vaccine.

[Norrin Radd]

59. Cancer. Why we need universal, not for profit healthcare.

Cancer took my mother when I was thirteen, and the bills crippled my family for long after.

[Tracer]

60. I choose option 3, but ...

... know that option 1 is a grim reality.

I'm 3 years out from an initial diagnosis of ovarian cancer. I've also had a recurrence of same and between both, I've had 2 rounds of chemotherapy (and it was not so bad, for me).

However, after reading an oncologist's paper online that began "Recurrent ovarian cancer is invariably fatal...", I had a conversation with my doctor.

I quoted the paper and waited for his reply. He paused a few seconds and then said "It is."

But then he said "...but we don't know when. And we do everything that we can to push that day away."

I've just finished my second round of chemo a month ago, and know that if it returns, he will throw something else at it until there is nothing left to throw. His attitude is that some cancers can be thought of as chronic diseases.

(And I am lucky to have him as a doctor. The guy walks on water, as far as I'm concerned).

[DFW]

62. My dad had it twice, the second time, it killed him

My wife had it once, and she has (so far) beaten it.
I see it as a collective umbrella of rather horrible
diseases. My dad beat prostate cancer, was felled by
pancreatic cancer, and even then lasted 10 months after
diagnosis--almost unheard of. My wife had breast cancer,
as have many women in her family. They all beat it, and so
far, so has she. The chemo was brutal, and the radiation
wasn't pleasant, but the five years cancer-free with her
have been a bonus that not everyone gets, so we count
ourselves lucky.

Destructive as it is, chemo has worked with too many people
I know to discard it as a bad choice. Who knows, maybe I'm next?

[Cerridwen]

63. Depends on the kind of cancer - how advanced it is when you're diagnosed -

your genetic makeup and family history - your access to health care and the quality of your health care - your overall health prior to being diagnosed - where in your body it has taken hold - how aggressive the cancer is - and maybe a few more things researchers haven't yet discovered.

I couldn't vote in your poll as the choices are too narrow.

For example; someone who has no health insurance may put off going to a doctor at the first signs of illness. By the time they're so sick they are forced to seek out medical care, they could already be in the late stages of a form of cancer that found in the earlier stages could have been treated and removed. For those people, it's a death sentence.

Someone who has stellar health insurance goes to the doctor at the first signs, is diagnosed, but it's an aggressive form of cancer so they undergo all the treatments their insurance allows. They may live a few more years. Or, it's not an aggressive form of cancer and it's "nipped in the bud" and they live a long and cancer-free life.

Some forms of cancer don't give two shits how much money you have or how much health care you can access or your overall health prior to their appearance; they're just going to kill you.

Then there are all the scenarios in between.

[spanone]

64. it's a huge money maker for the health care industry.....

[nuxvomica]

65. Something Lewis Thomas said about cancer

He was the head of Sloan-Kettering at the time, IIRC. In an essay he had described how you could tell a child you could make his wart disappear by placing his hand on a vibrating machine and the wart would soon disappear. You could not treat an adult the same way because the adult wouldn't believe it. If, he asked, the brain can be duped into shutting off the blood supply to a tiny area on a child's hand, why can't it be directed to cut off the blood supply to a tumor? He concluded that some understanding of this process may be the key to curing cancer in the future.

[slackmaster]

67. Sometimes it is a death sentence and fighting it is a waste of resources, time, suffering

And other times the fight is worthwhile.

Two cases of similar glioblastoma brain cancers from people in my life:

1. A friend was diagnosed with it around age 35. She had surgery to remove it, then fought aggressively with radiation and chemotherapy. She had always been a party animal, and used marijuana to make the radiation and chemo easier to take.

After two years of treatments she was declared to be in full remission. That was about seven years ago and she is still cancer-free. Her thick hair, all lost to the treatments, has come back as healthy-looking as ever. She has a slight cognitive impairment and some behavior changes that I'm sure are more obvious to her husband than to others, but she's alive and enjoying it. She doesn't smoke but does enjoy drinking socially.

2. My uncle had been a health freak since about age 40, way into diet and exercise. Didn't smoke cigarettes, drank minimally, kept his cholesterol numbers good and body mass index low. Ran every day. After some sudden troubling behavior changes, forgetfulness, etc. he was diagnosed about age 65.

Over the next two years more than a half million dollars was spent fighting the cancer. His tumor had involved an optic nerve and gotten into areas from which it could not all be safely extracted. In spite of chemotherapy and radiation, he spiralled downward, doing things like getting lost while walking within a few hundred yards of his home of 50 years. He refused to use marijuana as he had been an outspoken anti-drug crusader.

The unoperable aspect of his cancer had been known since before surgery from imaging. Most of us in the family feel that his quality of life would have been better, albeit shorter, if they had just let him go.

No two cases of cancer are alike. Treatment decisions are personal, and should be based on as much information as can be obtained.

[ismnotwasm]

70. Depending on the cancer

You can beat it. Sometimes you can beat some of the nastiest cancers around. I remember a young patient of mine who had beat Glioblastoma despite a poor prognoses.

I think of the folks who go through a procedure called a Whipple and survive pancreatic cancer. Or women (the ones I know of, men can have this procedure as well) who have had what's called a pelvic exenteration. They want to live, and they do what it takes, whatever it takes.

I work in transplant, and our Hep C liver candidates get several point on their "score" that puts them higher on the list if they develop liver cancer--a very common outcome of Hep C. The rub is, at least at my facility, there is a limit to the size and number of cancerous lesions one can have to be considered for transplant.

On our floor we also take care of special types of breast reconstructions after mastectomy. All these women are survivors.

I've taken care of the dying as well, many times, but that is never the first thing that I think of when I hear the word "cancer" Thank goodness

[Tesha]

71. Some cancers are death sentences, others are insignificant.

Pancreatic cancer: still a death sentence and a
prompt one at that.

Basal cell skin cancer: No big deal. Ten seconds
with the nitrogen freeze-spray and you're good
to go.

Other cancers: Somewhere in the middle.

Tesha

[electron_blue]

72. Several relatives have had cancer and all but one beat it. So I see it as largely beatable.

The one who didn't was my grandmother who had lung cancer and smoked her whole life. Had a great-aunt die before I was born, of brain cancer. She was young and grew up in the era of all organic food with no chemical pollution to speak of. It happened back then, but the diagnosis of cancer wasn't really given much til the 1900's. The other relatives were my grandfather who had cancer in his 40's and went on to live another 50 years, my mother who is in her 25th year of remission, an aunt who is also in 20-25+ years of remission, brother who is 3+ years remission, and I'm currently going through my own scare right now. I just had a biopsy and am waiting to hear the results and thinking *A LOT* about this right now. Bottom line: I think cancer is best beat by "modern medicine/surgery" and not alternative treatments such as homeopathy, biofeedback, whatnot. I think alternative treatments are warranted for some health problems, but not for cancer.

[latebloomer]

73. I'd always thought if I got cancer I'd go the natural way

Chemo is poison, etc.

Then a year ago I was diagnosed with acute leukemia. I would die, and soon, unless I rushed into treatment, which meant intensive inpatient chemo.

A month later I was in remission, and in December I had a stem-cell transplant that- knock wood- seems to be working. No sign of leukemia in my body.

When I get off all my meds I intend to consult a holistic doc and set up a regimen to repair what the drugs and radiation have done to me.

But I can honestly say that Western medicine saved my life.