Were you too healthy?

imagineit2010
imagineit2010 Member Posts: 152 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I recently read an article about a study linking general illness to cancer. The study showed some minor association between cancer patients and prior illness. The link was not what was expected. It showed people who had a history of non-lethal illness such as seasonal Flu, and minor infections had less occurance of cancers. The theory is that frequent illnesses and fever cause the body to activate the imune response more often perhaps catching and stopping cancer cells at an eary stage. This caused me to reflect on my past (from what I can remember) and my previous health.
1) I can not remember when the last time I had a fever. (maybe 5 years at least)
2) I have never had surgery
3) While not being a healthy eater, my blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol were perfect
4) I've never had a Flu shot but I can't remember the last time I had the Flu
5)I have had a calcium deficiency in the past and I have been anemic before but had no medical problems associated with that.
So, what about anyone else? Can anyone recall their pre-cancer health? Just curious. My mom died of brain cancer at 72 years old and was rarely sick and never hospitalized (unless she left with a baby... six kids LOL)

Comments

  • Patteee
    Patteee Member Posts: 945
    nah
    I am a teacher- I have

    nah
    I am a teacher- I have been sneezed on, barfed on, breathed on, touched by dirty little hands- not to mention door knobs, restroom handles, phones, kids homework, keyboards- not to mention my own 3 kids who gave me oodles of germs. I have had so many colds and the flu that one would think I would finally have had them all. I just started getting flu shots a couple of years ago and actually got a pneumonia shot for the first time last year when I was going through chemo. Not enough fingers or toes to count doctors visits, hospitalizations and surgeries.

    I know where my cancer came from- I was a smoker, overweight, no exercise and a family history of colon cancer and polyps. Too dang bad for me that my medical doctor could not connect the dots for EIGHT years and get me a colonoscopy that would have explained colon issues that he insisted were IBS issues.
  • tootsie1
    tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member
    Not me
    No, I've had lots of illnesses prior to the cancer. So I don't think I fit that profile.

    *hugs*
    Gail
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member
    Not me
    I have an autoimmune disease which has caused my immune system to go haywire.

    Last time I got the flu I almost died. I get shots every year now.

    I don't think I fit the profile either. Good news though...my weight, BP, heart rate, cholesterol are all very good.

    -Pat
  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member
    hogwash
    Just another example of theory that doesn't prove out. I was always extremely healthy and the only time i saw the inside of a hospital was when I gave birth, and didn't stay any longer than absolutely necessary. I rarely had ANY health issues, even growing up. And to think somebody is wasting research dollars on this crap.
    mary
  • RickMurtagh
    RickMurtagh Member Posts: 587 Member
    Paragon of health
    other than a weight issue the last 15 years, I was always a paragon of health, until cancer that is...
  • Kerry S
    Kerry S Member Posts: 606 Member
    I was in great shape
    I am 67. The first time I was ever in a hospital overnight was in 1993 after a heart cauterization test. The real problem was fed/stress hypoglycemia. Had a real stupid doctor. I was even born at home. I did see a doc in 02 for what I thought was a long term cold. It was an allergy. The next doc visit was to ask for a colonoscopy 3/08. So from nothing to stage 4.
  • imagineit2010
    imagineit2010 Member Posts: 152 Member
    Please Read again
    OK,Patee had family history, Pat had an autoimune disease but Mary, Rick and Kerry DO fit the profile just like me and my mother. The study showed a link that previously UNHEALTHY people had FEWER occurrences of cancer. Meaning HEALTHIER people had HIGHER frequency of cancer. Not general health like BP, cholesterol and heart but illness that sent them to the hospital and doctor. It's obviously not going to be 100% of people, nothing is. But interesting none the less.
    On a similar note, I have been curious about my body temp. The last five times I have had my temp. taken it has been kinda low in the mid 97s. There is something called Wilson's Temperature Syndrome that is linked to slow metabalism, stress and general undefined health issues that come from low body temp. Now, everyone knows that fever is the body's way of fighting infection and illness. There is also ongoing research into HYPERTHERIA therapy (or, Thermotherapy) which uses high temperatures to fight cancer. Research shows that high temps. can damage and even kill cancer cells. So, if high temps. are bad for cancer it would seem low body temp. would be beneficial to cancer cells. Right? Perhaps that is why exercise helps fight reoccurrence of cancer. When you exercise you raise your body temp. Too simple?? Maybe. Maybe not...
    Anyone else have a low body temp.? Anyone else try Thermotherapy???
    Just more late night research...
  • lisa42
    lisa42 Member Posts: 3,625 Member
    don't fit profile
    I used to get 4-6 colds a year and always got some kind of flu every year. I was also a teacher. Interestingly, since I got cancer, I've been pretty healthy otherwise. Now that I think about it, it's probably because I'm no longer teaching and aren't exposed to as many germs. My own kids have brought home numerous colds and flus in the past couple of years that I've not caught at all, thank goodness. I do have issues with my blood pressure & that started about a year before my cancer diagnosis.

    In the past 2-1/2 years since my dx I've only had a cold two times and no flu or anything else- my wbc count and rbc count has been pretty good throughout chemo and I've not had any kind of infection. My only hospitalizations other than my liver surgery have been just two in the past 5 weeks for my blood pressure that seems to be going haywire. So, I don't think I fit the bill as having been "too healthy" prior to the cancer diagnosis.

    Lisa
  • dianetavegia
    dianetavegia Member Posts: 1,942 Member
    Nope
    I am extremely heatlhy. When everyone in my family suffered from horrible colds, I wouldn't get them. I had the sniffles last month and wasn't 100% for 3 days but that was my first 'cold' in 8 years. I did have 2 really bad tummy viruses in the last 10 years. I always get a flu shot.
  • Jaylo969
    Jaylo969 Member Posts: 824 Member

    Please Read again
    OK,Patee had family history, Pat had an autoimune disease but Mary, Rick and Kerry DO fit the profile just like me and my mother. The study showed a link that previously UNHEALTHY people had FEWER occurrences of cancer. Meaning HEALTHIER people had HIGHER frequency of cancer. Not general health like BP, cholesterol and heart but illness that sent them to the hospital and doctor. It's obviously not going to be 100% of people, nothing is. But interesting none the less.
    On a similar note, I have been curious about my body temp. The last five times I have had my temp. taken it has been kinda low in the mid 97s. There is something called Wilson's Temperature Syndrome that is linked to slow metabalism, stress and general undefined health issues that come from low body temp. Now, everyone knows that fever is the body's way of fighting infection and illness. There is also ongoing research into HYPERTHERIA therapy (or, Thermotherapy) which uses high temperatures to fight cancer. Research shows that high temps. can damage and even kill cancer cells. So, if high temps. are bad for cancer it would seem low body temp. would be beneficial to cancer cells. Right? Perhaps that is why exercise helps fight reoccurrence of cancer. When you exercise you raise your body temp. Too simple?? Maybe. Maybe not...
    Anyone else have a low body temp.? Anyone else try Thermotherapy???
    Just more late night research...

    Wilson's syndrome
    I have heard of it and know it is controversial. Many mainstream endocrinologists do not recognize it as a 'real' disease but rather dx as hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's.Low body temp is one major symptom of low thyroid function whereas hyperthyroid function causes elevated temps.

    -Pat
  • msccolon
    msccolon Member Posts: 1,917 Member

    Please Read again
    OK,Patee had family history, Pat had an autoimune disease but Mary, Rick and Kerry DO fit the profile just like me and my mother. The study showed a link that previously UNHEALTHY people had FEWER occurrences of cancer. Meaning HEALTHIER people had HIGHER frequency of cancer. Not general health like BP, cholesterol and heart but illness that sent them to the hospital and doctor. It's obviously not going to be 100% of people, nothing is. But interesting none the less.
    On a similar note, I have been curious about my body temp. The last five times I have had my temp. taken it has been kinda low in the mid 97s. There is something called Wilson's Temperature Syndrome that is linked to slow metabalism, stress and general undefined health issues that come from low body temp. Now, everyone knows that fever is the body's way of fighting infection and illness. There is also ongoing research into HYPERTHERIA therapy (or, Thermotherapy) which uses high temperatures to fight cancer. Research shows that high temps. can damage and even kill cancer cells. So, if high temps. are bad for cancer it would seem low body temp. would be beneficial to cancer cells. Right? Perhaps that is why exercise helps fight reoccurrence of cancer. When you exercise you raise your body temp. Too simple?? Maybe. Maybe not...
    Anyone else have a low body temp.? Anyone else try Thermotherapy???
    Just more late night research...

    I see said the blind woman!
    And I have always had a lower body temp! But my thyroid stopped functioning back in 1997 and I've been taking thyroid hormone replacement ever since. Makes sense on somebody else's post about the link with hypothyroidism and body temp!
    mary
  • maryjane
    maryjane Member Posts: 71

    Please Read again
    OK,Patee had family history, Pat had an autoimune disease but Mary, Rick and Kerry DO fit the profile just like me and my mother. The study showed a link that previously UNHEALTHY people had FEWER occurrences of cancer. Meaning HEALTHIER people had HIGHER frequency of cancer. Not general health like BP, cholesterol and heart but illness that sent them to the hospital and doctor. It's obviously not going to be 100% of people, nothing is. But interesting none the less.
    On a similar note, I have been curious about my body temp. The last five times I have had my temp. taken it has been kinda low in the mid 97s. There is something called Wilson's Temperature Syndrome that is linked to slow metabalism, stress and general undefined health issues that come from low body temp. Now, everyone knows that fever is the body's way of fighting infection and illness. There is also ongoing research into HYPERTHERIA therapy (or, Thermotherapy) which uses high temperatures to fight cancer. Research shows that high temps. can damage and even kill cancer cells. So, if high temps. are bad for cancer it would seem low body temp. would be beneficial to cancer cells. Right? Perhaps that is why exercise helps fight reoccurrence of cancer. When you exercise you raise your body temp. Too simple?? Maybe. Maybe not...
    Anyone else have a low body temp.? Anyone else try Thermotherapy???
    Just more late night research...

    I'm in the "Always Been Very Healthy" Group!
    Count me in this Healthy Group with a temp running 97 every time I see a doc! I'm 75 years old and don't take ANY meds! No Blood Pressure, No Heart, No sickness other than colds until my cancer diagnosis. You might be on to something!
    maryjane
  • imagineit2010
    imagineit2010 Member Posts: 152 Member

    Nope
    I am extremely heatlhy. When everyone in my family suffered from horrible colds, I wouldn't get them. I had the sniffles last month and wasn't 100% for 3 days but that was my first 'cold' in 8 years. I did have 2 really bad tummy viruses in the last 10 years. I always get a flu shot.

    Wow, quite a few
    Diane, I think you would be a YEP instead of nope. The question involves being "unusually" healthy PRE-cancer. Your Bio says "never been sick in my life". That is what I'm trying to establish. I've since talked to two more people I personaly know that had cancer and they fit the profile also. The connection I'm looking at is lasting illness and FEVER. I have had colds in the past, but not severe. I've had the flu, maybe ten years ago, but it lasted one day and I didn't get a fever. About ten years ago I even had cellulitis (serious infection) in my foot and had to be hospitalised over night with IV antibiotic but I felt physically fine and didn't get a fever from it. A few years ago I also had a chronic cough that lasted three months but had no accompanying symptoms and the docs could not find a cause or sollution. They said if it were anything serious I would have had a fever with it. Last year I had an absessed tooth with much pain but no fever. At this point I'm not sure I can GET a fever. So, I'm looking into this connection. I'm a research minded person and this is my new project. I've learned more about cancer in the last two months than many people learn throughout their entire lives. Believe me, I'm all about lifestyle change, eating habits, prayer, and alternative therapies. But I'm not stopping there. I want to know WHY...