Feel so much Anger

colleen B
colleen B Member Posts: 25
edited March 2014 in Caregivers #1
Does anyone else feel anger about what is happening with the way cancer is treated?

I am reading some of the posts over at esophageal cancer and it makes me upset and angry.

i have lived in Germany, Australia and Canada ..so i know what so called "socialized " medicine is and how people there get services we do not get. They have universal health care and universal health care was stopped in the US partially by the AMA in the 1950's.


There should be studies looking into why so many people are getting cancer.

My belief is that the food in the US is of a very poor quality and it is causing us to gain weight and to be ill. Even our children are running into health problems. There is too much sugar and too many bad quality fats in our processed foods. The large corporations would lose money if the food was found to create health problems.

Now there is a study that the women who have used cleaning agents are more likely to have developed breast cancer.

This all reminds me of how the tobacco companies denied that smoking caused cancer. My mother died at 50 from cancer and my father died at 54 from a heart attack and they were both smokers...so I feel very personally affected

It is possible that the food causes people ( including children) to gain weight and then they exercise less...so we have more obesity and the diseases associated with obesity..including cancer.

The primary problem is the quality of food imo.

Comments

  • GregStahl
    GregStahl Member Posts: 188
    I think
    there are many factors involved. Diet, environment, pollutions, chemicals, lack of excercise, family history, etc.

    As far as the way cancers are treated, I cannot be angry. My wife is getting good treatments.

    I am angry at the cost of the chemo drugs. Seems that since Obamacare passed, drug costs have increased dramatically due to the cuts pharacutical Co's took and the increase in time before they are required to give the formulas out for generics. I am angry that the way he chose to pay for this was to cut medicare $155 billion over 10 years and on 01/01/2010 $1.4 billion in cuts for cancer treatments took affect and that dollar amount goes higher over the next several years.

    I am angry that another person I love has to go through the pain of surgeries, and the 10 to 14 days of hell that is post chemo treatments....I am angry that my 17 yr old and 7 yr old have to watch their mom go through this.....I am angry that I have to go through this with my wife.....its not fair to her, our kids, our families, friends, loved ones.
  • AnnaLeigh
    AnnaLeigh Member Posts: 187 Member
    Need more support groups/systems
    There needs to be more support groups and systems set up by the oncology centers to guide people who are new to treatment so they know how and where to look for resources.

    Cancer patients and caregivers benefit greatly by being able to talk to other people who have had the experience of dealing with cancer and all of the physical/emotional elements that come as a package. Not everyone is a "computer literate" type who can find boards like these.

    My husband is currently assisting a comrade who is part of his on-line gaming system who didn't even know he could ask his doctor to adjust the dosages of his chemo drugs and was suffering greatly from the toxicity. This information would have been very comforting to him had he known this up front and possibly would not have come so close to hospitalization and thoughts of suicide thinking he was in a no-win situation - can't live with the disease and can't tolerate the treatment either.

    There are so many caregivers out there who are struggling with how to manage all aspects of life now that their partners are incapacitated for the most part. Or they are struggling with end-of-life issues and don't know where to turn. Oncology centers need more advisors and counseling help for their patients.

    So I am angry that patients and their families are left to find all of this information on their own at a time in their lives when they already have too much to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
  • zinniemay
    zinniemay Member Posts: 522
    AnnaLeigh said:

    Need more support groups/systems
    There needs to be more support groups and systems set up by the oncology centers to guide people who are new to treatment so they know how and where to look for resources.

    Cancer patients and caregivers benefit greatly by being able to talk to other people who have had the experience of dealing with cancer and all of the physical/emotional elements that come as a package. Not everyone is a "computer literate" type who can find boards like these.

    My husband is currently assisting a comrade who is part of his on-line gaming system who didn't even know he could ask his doctor to adjust the dosages of his chemo drugs and was suffering greatly from the toxicity. This information would have been very comforting to him had he known this up front and possibly would not have come so close to hospitalization and thoughts of suicide thinking he was in a no-win situation - can't live with the disease and can't tolerate the treatment either.

    There are so many caregivers out there who are struggling with how to manage all aspects of life now that their partners are incapacitated for the most part. Or they are struggling with end-of-life issues and don't know where to turn. Oncology centers need more advisors and counseling help for their patients.

    So I am angry that patients and their families are left to find all of this information on their own at a time in their lives when they already have too much to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

    Thank you
    AnnaLeigh,
    Thank you I as my husband's caregiver, am at struggling with all that is going on. When I ask about support groups they are 30 to 40 miles away. I don't drive much. My family lives over 700 miles away, My husband's family live 200 miles and 800 miles away. We have never been close. My husband called his brother and told him he had cancer , that was over a year ago , he has never called back. My family does call once in a while . But it is so lonely .
    We have two adult children, who call everyday, but they have lives and work too. It is hard to talk to your children about all that is going on when you are not sure either.
    Seams like what friends we did have are no longer in the picture. I know that they have lives too. Some times I wish I had a shoulder to just cry on. That I could say what I need. and know how to ask for help.