The scariest three words a human being can hear..."You have cancer".
I wonder how hard it is to be on the other side of those words? How exactly do you feel having to be the one to tell that to someone? As a health care provider are you torn between feeling something (being human) and feeling detached (since you can not possibly get involved emotionally with every patient you tell this to or you would lose your mind...or at the very least be clinically depressed)?
What is the reaction when you hear this diagnosis? Denial? Anger? Is there a "step" program much like grief? How does the mind react on a deep level? What do you do now??
This post is somewhat a sequel to my O post from last year.
This disease has robbed almost anyone reading this of a relative, a friend, a co-worker, etc. I have experienced the passing of 3 people in the last two years to various forms of cancer. I have one friend who has successfully battled it twice, but the lingering effects of the treatment take their toll periodically. I have two relatives who have sought treatment for the disease.
The devastation of being in the eye of this storm must be incredible. This is where bad decisions are made.
Seldom does a diagnosis of cancer comes just days before death. However, many doctors like to ever so subtly (and some not so much) urge newly diagnosed patients to immediately begin one of the only three forms of prescribed treatment allowed by law. That's right, a licensed doctor can only legally recommend the following forms of treatment:
1. Surgery - inherent risks here are obviously the spread of the cancerous cells during the procedure.
2. Chemotherapy - injecting carcinogenic chemicals into the body. Side effects are well documented.
3. Radiation - ahhh...what? this is the "fight fire with fire" method of treatment. Side effects not good
These are referred to as the "cut and poison" methods.
That's it. Any other type of treatment is ILLEGAL to prescribe.
So, frightened and confused and mostly uneducated (medically) patients offer up, "yes, doctor whatever you recommend". With generally less than good long term results.
Do these procedures work? Of course there are numerous accounts of patients responding well and generally this is from very early on in the disease. I also have seen what a year of these so called "treatments" can do to the person, their family and their friends.
Enough doom and gloom. The above is the foundation for the rest of this post. I apologize in advance for the length.
Education. It is what we go through all our lives from school to work to, well, life itself. Our brain begs for education but it doesn't always let the person in on it. Cognizant awareness is one of the necessities of life...it keeps you from walking out in front of a moving car for example.
The big Pharma companies are playing on this skillset daily. You are bombarded with ads for every medication known... in print, on TV, on billboards and on buses, cabs, etc. Who doesn't know the "Purple Pill"? Who doesn't know Cialis? You get the idea.
With all that information coming at you and invading your subconscious on a regular basis, it is any wonder that when a doctor recommends a treatment or drug, that your mind pulls the ad you've seen and says this must be what I need and you acquiesce. This happens hundreds of thousands of times a day. Oh, and the doctor tops it off with, "you'll need to take this for the rest of your life".
The last doctor that said that to me, got back a quick, "I don't think so". And after the first six months I found an alternative non-drug to take and have never had another episode. Blood level all normal. Good to go. That was thirteen years ago.
If any of you reading this are saying to yourself, "man that was dangerous stopping medication without his doctor okaying it." you have drank the Kool-Aid. What was dangerous was taking a prescription whose first listed side effect was that it could "cause the condition it was prescribed to treat"! What??? Among many others.
On average most people my age take anywhere from 8 to 12 prescription drugs...daily. I humor my cardiologist and take two. And I am working on the goal to eliminate them.
I do however try and eat well and I do take (as my wife says) "enough supplements to choke a horse". The last trip to my cardiologist it was amusing for him to say, "well someone must be looking out for you because with your condition your blood work should not all be normal". I smiled and said, "you are right...I am looking out for me."
To wrap up this long post (and believe me when I say it could have been my theme this year for the Challenge) I want to invite you to educate yourself. To not blindly believe the doctor, the TV ad, the magazine sales pitch...to not let big Pharma win. How do you think they are going to make back the average $850 million it costs to bring a new drug to market? FROM YOU!!
Returning to the subject of this post -cancer- I have two things to help you on your education journey.
The first is the fantastic book Outsmart Your Cancer by Tanya Harter Pierce. After losing someone she loved to cancer she decided to do something. There is the disclaimer that is required by the government (because these are not FDA approved treatments for cancer) that makes many people turn away from alternative options in the first place. All these do is piss me off even more. I read from the book still and I have had it almost two years now I think. Open your mind and read it. Best $18 you will ever spend (on Amazon). I have given this book to friends and family, both pre-emptively and as something to use now for a loved one.
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| Photo provided by Amazon |
The second thing is some information I just received in one of my monthly newsletters from the Health Sciences Institute. In it was the cover article regarding a blood test for cancer that can identify more than 20 distinct cancers...even 10 years before any symptoms. If you are saying, "Bullshit"...remember, you drank the Kool-Aid. The odds of your doctor knowing about this test are almost zero. Even if they are an oncologist.
The test is called ONCOblot. It can only be ordered by a doctor. It does cost $850 but that is a small price to pay to learn of cancer years before it symptoms. The good news is you CAN get it yourself:
Send an email to ONCOblot online physician at their website www.oncoblotlabs.com and they will order the test kit for you. You will get the test kit in the mail that you can take to your local lab to have the blood drawn. The lab will complete the test kit and submit to ONCOblot for processing. You will receive the results to help you better manage your health.
I hope each and every one of you live a long, healthy, and pain-free life. In the event you or someone you know or love (and the odds are for it, sadly) develop any type of cancer, the information you read in the book above will empower you to take control of YOUR life. After all, who possibly cares more about you than YOU??
All the best...see you tomorrow.
15 comments:
I'm blessed not to have been touched directly by this. But I would definitely would sooner listen to someone who's been through it personally than the medical company who are trying to get a return on all the treatment cost. Thoughtful post.
this attacked my father and it's ten years next year... i watched him dissolve as a person, you find that inner strength as he did. always a smile to the end, don't worry so much he said... worrying is for chumps and we ain't chumps.
yes the first time i heard him say chump, it was funny...
Hey kiddo. How's the A-Z going? I can't keep up because it's "that" time of the year for outdoors work, too.
Yes, most people do get frightened at the name cancer. I don't do allopathic medicine so I would never hear the word. Naturopaths don't use the word.... just say the liver is bad and cure that. In fact, my liver is bad. Ha
That is the scariest word ever. I know so many who have or have had cancer. Never an easy thing to deal with.
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
Hi Chuck - cancer is devastating for many .. and I haven't experienced it closely except for the sudden demise of my uncle in his late 80s ..
I'd hate to have chemo .. et al - I read a book a young tv presenter wrote to her daughter re her cancer, her experience of it and her wishes for her daughter .. it was very well written. She lived for longer than was expected .. she was a strong lady - one of the early lady sports tv presenters ... it wasn't morbid ... but was a good read.
I dislike taking pills always have done .. I visited my doctor a while ago .. and he just said to me you don't worry do you - I was relaxed and just do the best I can for me ... thankfully (and touch wood) I have no worries .. other than the years passing ..
Glad you're looking after yourself too .. cheers and goodbye to cancer through care of our bodies and minds ... Hilary
It has been my number one priority to get my health back AND get off the medications. I discovered the hard way that they do as much harm as good. I am now down to three. And I am looking to get off of those as soon as I can. I also take enough vitamin and mineral supplements to "choke a horse." And my diet has undergone a radical change. I am a huge believer that no one is going to care about your health as much as YOU. Thank you for tip about the book. The truth is that everyone knows someone who has had cancer or will get cancer.
Hi, Chuck! This is a fantastic post. I also know people who've died from cancer, and several of my close family members and friends are battling it now. My mom's best friend had breast cancer, and she went to Mexico for treatment. She's been cancer-free for 15 years now. I can't remember exactly what the treatment is, but unfortunately, it's not allowed in the U.S.
Chemo and radiation are so scary. How can you fight poison with poison? I recently read an article in Reader's Digest about how chemo is the cause of cancer patients developing a second type of cancer. So scary.
I'm a big believer in healthy eating and exercise to help combat diseases like cancer. Doctors know this, yet few prescribe it as necessary for recovery. It's terrible how money makes people make such poor decisions on someone's life.
Happy A to Z-ing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines
That's good to know about the test!
I know there are a lot of natural remedies that can fight cancer, but we don't have access to some of it here in the US. And it's a shame more isn't done in the area of preventing cancer. As you said, there are healthier choices for our bodies.
Wow! That's a lot of information. This was an informative post. We have all lost someone to cancer and knowing that we will continue to lose loved ones is a frightening thought. My brother died last year (very, very soon after his diagnosis) of small cell lung cancer. It is one of the cancers that really does not have any hope. I see those commercials on television, all the time, about the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and how they manage to beat or prolong the devastation. It makes me wonder why more people (that I know or have heard of) are not taking advantage of places that offer so much hope. Or have I been fooled by their advertisement. I know what you mean about the average person taking so many prescription medications, these days. My husband is much older and has a bad heart condition and he takes seventeen pills per day. I am in my forties and pretty healthy, but I still require three prescription meds per day. How did people survive before we had a pill for "everything?"
I like your theme and I am all for education ourselves. I enjoyed your thought provoking post.
Yes, sometimes I have thought and it's like a nightmare. I admire people close by your attitude to learn and fight cancer.
To All The Above Commenters: I think this deserves a group answer and I have a lot of A-Z work to do so I am cutting a little corner here.
Much of what I have read in this book I have read about in bits and pieces before this. But I will tell you one stunning fact I keep finding over and over...the medical establishment considers your cancer as basically "cured" if you live at least 5 years or do not die of cancer with in 5 years. Since some of the treatments are so debilitating, many people with massive cancer who die of heart failure, liver failure, etc. while being treated for cancer DO NOT get counted in the "died from cancer" statistic. Unbelievable.
Lastly, I have had two friends who have died of two different types of cancer. I keep a bottle of Protocel (chapter 8 - 10 in the book) that I bought for $80, in my medicine cabinet. I offered to give it away to each of them after I gave them a copy of the book. They had both been through so much medical abuse and yet the doctors had done such a good job of selling their treatments that even though they were not getting any better, neither one was interested and could not believe a product that I ordered through the mail could possibly help them. I was sad for them and their families when I attended their funerals.
To treat my symptoms my doctor prescribed me 3 6oz cups of kool-aid per day. Do I stop taking that?
PTM: Only if it tastes and smells of almonds...otherwise drink, along with the blue pill. Never had any complaints about the blue ones.
Many in my family have had cancer. Both my grandparents on my father's side died of cancer. I try not to worry too much about it because though I know I'll probably get some kind of cancer in my life, it's no use worrying about it. I just live each day to the fullest.
I lost my father to cancer when I was 8 (he was 30).
My sister-in-law fought (and beat) breast cancer.
My grandfather just got a clean bill of health from his 2nd round of treatments. (He's 82).
A friend at work is starting a second round of chemo and radiation because the first round didn't get it all.
Cancer sucks! Great post though, very informative.
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