The Dreaded "C" Word

Cancer: there, I've said it!  A diagnosis of cancer of any type used to be a death sentence.  Great progress has been made in curing many kinds of cancers.  The keys to curing any cancer are: 1) knowing what the common warning signs are, 2) getting evaluated by a competent physician as soon as you suspect 'something' - never ignore warning signs, they won't go away! and 3) following the medical treatment.  Doing this will not assure you of a cure, it will give you a better chance.

Cancer must be present in nearly every family in America.  Some are caused by life-styles.  My brother, Steve, smoked up until the day of his official 'leukemia' (blood cancer) diagnosis.  I later found out he had ignored warning signs for months.  My aunt also ignored a warning sign: she lost a lot of weight without trying.  We told her, "That's not right.  You need to see a doctor."  But she waited till she had severe abdominal pain - and died nine months later.  My friend, Margaret, also ignored the warning sign of a continuous 'period.'  She, also, didn't get it checked out for many months until it was painful.  Her funeral was one of the most painful in my life.  When it was over, I just went to my car and cried for a long time.

It's important that we know the medical history of our blood relatives.  Many different diseases run in families.  If several in the family had the same type of cancer, it should be a 'red flag' for us to get our doctors to pay particular attention in this area for prevention and monitoring.

This is not a medical blog, even though I spent a semester in nursing school on a hospital cancer's unit, that in no way qualifies me to give any sort of medical advice except to repeat: don't ignore warning signs.

Since this blog is concerned with relationships, it is likely that someone you know will have cancer and you will want to help the person cope. It is not easy to help a sick person.  Most cancer patients will need lots of support.  But, isn't that what friends are for?  The patient may not feel like eating or talking, but we can be there for them, we can take them to medical appointments, we can shop for them.

Finding out about cancer in general and also about the particular type of cancer your loved one has will help you both.  It's impossible to estimate how long someone will live after learning they have cancer but they probably will live longer if they have a positive attitude.  At least it will make what time they have, more pleasant.  Steve had the best attitude of anyone I know: "I'm going to beat this.  This is just a small stop on my highway of life."  While Steve didn't want visitors, we sent him comedy movies.  Laughing, it turns out, helps cancer patients.

I pray that we will be able to help those who need help and that when we need help, we will ask for it and accept it graciously.