I guess I tripped over the edge here, but it’s my soap box so I guess I can stand on it for a few minutes.
We lost another family member to cancer in June and learned of 2 more friends that now have cancer.
I get very angry about the current “status quo” with the progress or lack of progress to curing cancer.
Not just the standard 3 big costly hitters you’re told when YOU have cancer.
Behind door number 1 is surgery. Behind door number 2 is chemotherapy and behind door number 3 is radiation.
Or if you are one of the very unlucky you get all 3 or a combination of them.
None of which really cure the base problem.
Here are some numbers that probably tripped me over the edge that I just read;
We loose 500,000 plus friends and family members a year in the United States to Cancer and over 7 million worldwide.
That comes to about 1375 people die a day from cancer in the United States alone!
I remember as a small boy Walter Cronkite reporting the news on the Vietnam War. He would give a total killed for the day and a running total of the wars death toll.
This was in his national news report every night!
The total for that 11 year war and as terrible as it was counted around 50,000. Today it takes only 6 weeks to loose that many children, parents, fathers, mothers, bothers, sisters, to cancer.
The terrible sites of 9/11/2001 are still fresh in my mind and again this event was in the news for a couple of years and the death toll reached 2752 people in one small moment in time.
Today in just the United States we loose that many to cancer in 2 days. And we never make the news?
This is the part that gets me upset and wondering what our focus is on?
Is it that some governor quit her job or the death of a pop star that OD’d on drugs? These make the news for days if not weeks.
In 1 or 2 weeks from now, no one will even remember except those directly affected.
Why do we not have a nightly report on even the local news of the day’s death toll and a running death toll total? Is it, because something might get done at that point?
Is it better we stick our heads in the sand and try not to see the pain this is causing.
If we bring this information to the “front of the line” instead of “in the line” or the “back of the line” would someone hear us?
Please take a moment to contact your local news and your public elected officials and ask the questions WHY we don’t hear daily about these numbers and the efforts being made to CURE cancer.
That’s it; I’m off my soap box.
I truly pray that we find a cure for a disease that is eating away at our country and our planet as a whole.
Until that day we must keep making it to the next day and the next event in the world of You Fighting Cancer.
Have a GREAT DAY!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
The Sound of Fighting Cancer
What you hear and what you think about are so very important in this battle with cancer.
I talked about different books that we have read in my last posting and many were beneficial in a couple of ways.
First for the information and knowledge that others have in the areas of diet, nutrition, cancer care, cancer treatments and technology. Information that helps you feel better and fight cancer.
The second thing I got out of many of these books was a better mind set on my personal internal battle and the things I thought about.
This battle you are fighting is not just won or lost in the operating room or in the chemotherapy chair or in the test facilities. A big part if not the biggest part is won or lost in your thoughts and in YOU!
If I started to read a book or an article that gave me the AVERAGE numbers of survival for a given cancer or the success of an operation or results of a chemo treatment, I simply did not read it. I was NOT going to be AVERAGE.
If your really want to get into a pity party then you read those number and you start believing you only have X number of months to live. I refused to do so.
SO, HOW did I keep such a positive outlook when the numbers stated otherwise?
First was my support team which started with my wife and family. This was and still is the biggest light at the end of my tunnel. It is why I keep on making it to the next day and the next event.
Second is the trust and belief I have in my medical team. Starting with my Family doctor, my amazing surgeon, and finally to the doctor that orchestrates it all, my oncologist. The one thing that I would share with you is to find the very best medical team you can for your cancer.
Travel to a specialist in your cancer may or may not be involved or even possible, but if it is then make the trip. You can often do your chemo treatments in your home town if need be, but find the oncologist that specializes in your cancer type. This may save your life!
The third thing I did to keep my mind and spirit in the “right place” is in what I listened to. I’ve always like music and some types of music were/are a big part of what I listen to, but the spoken word had an impact on me.
I listened to Joel Osteen , “Your Best Life Now” many times. I listened to James Earl Jones narrate the Bible, “The Secret”, and “Healing with Angels” by Doreen Virtue, Anthony Robbins in "Awaken The Giant Within" and more. (See links to the right for these books and audios)
All of these and more, many more offered me a chance to close the outside world out and focus on the inside and what I was thinking about.
I also found that I needed a purpose in life. A reason to get up and get going in the morning. So, I started looking for ways to make some kind of income from home on my computer. I have always been an entrepreneur type person.
It couldn’t be too involved, because the chemo and pain medication often time affect my ability to focus for very long. With 3 operations, I was down and off the radar screen for weeks sometimes. So, it had to be something that I could work on, read, implement and leave for days or even weeks. Something that didn’t cost a fortune to start up and was pretty easy.
Again to the right I have a link to “Build a Business on a Budget”. There are many more things out there on the web, but this one got me to doing something and got me to engage my mind in something other than my illness and how I was feeling that day.
I got to where I looked forward to getting emails from this company and working with the tool set that was included. If nothing else it got me to see another industry and another side to things with the possibility of how it could help me implement some other things down the road.
Till next time – ENJOY THE DAY!
IN THE NEWS:
Cancer: shock breakthrough
I talked about different books that we have read in my last posting and many were beneficial in a couple of ways.
First for the information and knowledge that others have in the areas of diet, nutrition, cancer care, cancer treatments and technology. Information that helps you feel better and fight cancer.
The second thing I got out of many of these books was a better mind set on my personal internal battle and the things I thought about.
This battle you are fighting is not just won or lost in the operating room or in the chemotherapy chair or in the test facilities. A big part if not the biggest part is won or lost in your thoughts and in YOU!
If I started to read a book or an article that gave me the AVERAGE numbers of survival for a given cancer or the success of an operation or results of a chemo treatment, I simply did not read it. I was NOT going to be AVERAGE.
If your really want to get into a pity party then you read those number and you start believing you only have X number of months to live. I refused to do so.
SO, HOW did I keep such a positive outlook when the numbers stated otherwise?
First was my support team which started with my wife and family. This was and still is the biggest light at the end of my tunnel. It is why I keep on making it to the next day and the next event.
Second is the trust and belief I have in my medical team. Starting with my Family doctor, my amazing surgeon, and finally to the doctor that orchestrates it all, my oncologist. The one thing that I would share with you is to find the very best medical team you can for your cancer.
Travel to a specialist in your cancer may or may not be involved or even possible, but if it is then make the trip. You can often do your chemo treatments in your home town if need be, but find the oncologist that specializes in your cancer type. This may save your life!
The third thing I did to keep my mind and spirit in the “right place” is in what I listened to. I’ve always like music and some types of music were/are a big part of what I listen to, but the spoken word had an impact on me.
I listened to Joel Osteen , “Your Best Life Now” many times. I listened to James Earl Jones narrate the Bible, “The Secret”, and “Healing with Angels” by Doreen Virtue, Anthony Robbins in "Awaken The Giant Within" and more. (See links to the right for these books and audios)
All of these and more, many more offered me a chance to close the outside world out and focus on the inside and what I was thinking about.
I also found that I needed a purpose in life. A reason to get up and get going in the morning. So, I started looking for ways to make some kind of income from home on my computer. I have always been an entrepreneur type person.
It couldn’t be too involved, because the chemo and pain medication often time affect my ability to focus for very long. With 3 operations, I was down and off the radar screen for weeks sometimes. So, it had to be something that I could work on, read, implement and leave for days or even weeks. Something that didn’t cost a fortune to start up and was pretty easy.
Again to the right I have a link to “Build a Business on a Budget”. There are many more things out there on the web, but this one got me to doing something and got me to engage my mind in something other than my illness and how I was feeling that day.
I got to where I looked forward to getting emails from this company and working with the tool set that was included. If nothing else it got me to see another industry and another side to things with the possibility of how it could help me implement some other things down the road.
Till next time – ENJOY THE DAY!
IN THE NEWS:
Cancer: shock breakthrough
"Patients with inoperable prostate disease recover after single dose of drug"
This is very exciting news. We are all one step closer to fighting our cancer type with drugs like this. YOU JUST MAKE IT! AND YOU KEEP MAKING IT!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Anticancer: A New Way of Life
Wow time just fly’s by if you’re not watching.
As you go through your treatments and surgery’s your appetite will change. I told people that it didn’t matter to me if I ate the pizza or the box it came in. They both tasted the same. Chemo and radiation will do that to you and much more.
As I mentioned in my last posting your immune system is going to take a beating. You will need to do everything you can to keep your immune system strong and take on as much healthy nutrition as you can.
There are many books on cancer diets, some are pretty good and others I’m not sure I agree with. The use of refined sugars and flours for me anyway are off the chart bad and I try to avoid them at all cost.
One book that every cancer patient and anyone that does not want cancer needs is by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD, Anticancer: A New Way of Life. You will find the link to his book to the right of this posting. Via this link you will also see a great video by Doctor David Servan-Schreiber.
The book is filled with information on diet and supplements to help prevent and fight cancer. Of all the books we purchased over the past 18 months in my journey with cancer this one book stands above the rest.
One other area that affected me during my chemo treatments was a side effect known as neuropathy. Here is a link to Wikipedia for the detailed explanation of neuropathy. Here’s my explanation: The loss of feeling in your fingers and feet. You still have a sense of your fingers and feet that is very uncomfortable to say the least.
I was even put on a clinical trail for a new paste drug for neuropathy. Sorry to say this drug did not work for me. The only thing that I found that helped was an energy drink that has no sugar and large amounts of B vitamins. Still today I drink XS Energy drinks to help me get enough B vitamins.
I would drink one to two cans a day during my treatments and it helped within 15-20 minutes of finishing the can. Today I drink about the same amount, but now it’s to load my immune system with the vitamin B complex’s that help me fight cancer.
Now in THE NEWS: FDA Approves Drug for Dogs' Cancer – This may not seem like a big deal unless you are a pet owner. In the past little or nothing was done for our pets with cancer. Today there is hope for them as well.
As I always do, I hope that this information is useful in some way.
Enjoy the day!
As you go through your treatments and surgery’s your appetite will change. I told people that it didn’t matter to me if I ate the pizza or the box it came in. They both tasted the same. Chemo and radiation will do that to you and much more.
As I mentioned in my last posting your immune system is going to take a beating. You will need to do everything you can to keep your immune system strong and take on as much healthy nutrition as you can.
There are many books on cancer diets, some are pretty good and others I’m not sure I agree with. The use of refined sugars and flours for me anyway are off the chart bad and I try to avoid them at all cost.
One book that every cancer patient and anyone that does not want cancer needs is by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD, Anticancer: A New Way of Life. You will find the link to his book to the right of this posting. Via this link you will also see a great video by Doctor David Servan-Schreiber.
The book is filled with information on diet and supplements to help prevent and fight cancer. Of all the books we purchased over the past 18 months in my journey with cancer this one book stands above the rest.
One other area that affected me during my chemo treatments was a side effect known as neuropathy. Here is a link to Wikipedia for the detailed explanation of neuropathy. Here’s my explanation: The loss of feeling in your fingers and feet. You still have a sense of your fingers and feet that is very uncomfortable to say the least.
I was even put on a clinical trail for a new paste drug for neuropathy. Sorry to say this drug did not work for me. The only thing that I found that helped was an energy drink that has no sugar and large amounts of B vitamins. Still today I drink XS Energy drinks to help me get enough B vitamins.
I would drink one to two cans a day during my treatments and it helped within 15-20 minutes of finishing the can. Today I drink about the same amount, but now it’s to load my immune system with the vitamin B complex’s that help me fight cancer.
Now in THE NEWS: FDA Approves Drug for Dogs' Cancer – This may not seem like a big deal unless you are a pet owner. In the past little or nothing was done for our pets with cancer. Today there is hope for them as well.
As I always do, I hope that this information is useful in some way.
Enjoy the day!
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