WHY DO YOU THINK YOU GOT CANCER?

You sound very similar to me.

You sound very similar to me. First of all I lost my mother to Breast Cancer at a very young age for both of us. I always worried the Big C would get me someday but after I turned 50 I thought I was home free!! Boy was I wrong...Cancer seems to prove us wrong alot. I also worked way too much over the years as a single mom and thruout my life. I was the one to always help people and never said no. Over extended over stresssed never made time to execise consistently or to learn more about nutrition or really take time to care for myself in the way that I should. Ate alot of fast food, people pleaser, never slept enough, always in a hurry, workaholic, junk food holic you name it. Only in the last couple of years have I took the time to completely and utterly transform my lifestyle. Everything that used to matter matters no more. I live each day as if it was my last because it just may be one day. Stopped working at my job  began to workout in the gym  eat clean spend time with those I love and go back to college like I always dreamed of doing. I know my lifestyle plus possibly my genetics were the reason Cancer came knocking on my door. Hope this helps you....

The doctor is having my tumor

The doctor is having my tumor tested for a genetic link.  I'm not sure about this as there is very little cancer on either side of my family and no colon or related cancers.

I have eaten a mediterranian diet my entire life so diet is out.

I have had a history of digestive problems since birth so possibly years of irritation????

BUT, there is a very high rate of colon cancer in my rural farming community so possibly chemicals/pesticides?  It's the bread and butter here so not many willing to discuss the possibility.

MaryCarol5 said:

The doctor is having my tumor

The doctor is having my tumor tested for a genetic link.  I'm not sure about this as there is very little cancer on either side of my family and no colon or related cancers.

I have eaten a mediterranian diet my entire life so diet is out.

I have had a history of digestive problems since birth so possibly years of irritation????

BUT, there is a very high rate of colon cancer in my rural farming community so possibly chemicals/pesticides?  It's the bread and butter here so not many willing to discuss the possibility.

Considering that perhaps only ten per cent

of CRC diagnoses is due to hereditary factors(ie:Lynch or FAP)what other causes are there? Perhaps the food supply.......(of course,lack of activity,smoking,drinking,too much burnt red meat,not enough fruit and vegetables might also have an effect as does not having a colonoscopy at suggested age and based on your own and your family's med history).....My opinion:the food supply in the US is getting more and more unhealthy on a daily basis and more and more people will get sick;what;s happening to bees and orther creatures is a mere prelude.......

weird

dup for some reason.

What Does This Tell Us?

Within any subset of individuals in any kind of group - controlled or otherwise...

Some will be...while some won't.

The arithmetic seems pretty simple...

...short of environmental exposure and the genetic tendency to be pre-disposed to certain conditions that can run through a particular bloodline....

All too often, we forget to take into account that much of life is random...

 

 

Nana b said:

Yes. I have 9 brothers and

Yes. I have 9 brothers and sisters who have this allergy and they are all okay. 7 are older then me.   Roulette. 

Nana

I do agree that Stress is a strong contributor....especially prolonged stress.

While I think there is a correlation there, I'm not sure where the tipping point is.....but the constant release of Cortisol into the bloodstream, puts us in a Fight or Flight Syndrome.

And that's a receipe for trouble...

I honestly feel, that the stress I went through for 16-months being my dad's caregiver at all the hospitals....and taking care of his estate....and dealing with his wicked church friends......

Caught up to me....and I alluded to that fact during that phase. 

It broke me around the 13th month...and I feel it was a strong contributor to the situation I'm looking at now.

But, can't prove it one way or the other.....semantics at this point anyway.

PhillieG said:

Why me?

Why not me? I really never got into that game. I saw no purpose in it. I'm thankful that I got it instead of my wife or kids. I've been faced with the flip-side of the coin lately. I know four people who had the same oncologist as I have who have died since Christmas of 2012. Out of those four, I've been living with cancer twice as long as any of them had been.

I'm not doing anything special other than following my oncologists suggestions (which all make sense to me) I've been off chemo since the beginning of April, I had targeted radiation 3 times in one week near the end of April and I'm still off chemo. Whether I stay off it is up in the air. Things look good-ish and I'm fine-ish with that.

Congrats Phil!

So glad you made it to the rest stop.....

My onc told me I was in a very small group of patients in his practice who had seen 9-years as well.

He told me that was more important than the remissive streak.

You will outlive us all - and finally get the last word in:)

Happy for you, man.

tachilders said:

In all honesty, I think it is

In all honesty, I think it is >90% genetic russian roulette and <10% lifestyle.  I know countless people that have had a no more healthy lifestyle than me and that do not have colon cancer, including my own siblings.  We grew up eating the same things, and my lifestyle has been healthier than theirs since adulthood yet I have stage 4 mCRC and they don't have a single polyp.  My parents both led WAAAAAY less healthy of a lifestyle (and diet) than me, and both smoked for years, yet neither one got colon cancer.  Is lifestyle important, YES, but is it the main reason people get cancer, usually NO, in my opinion.  Does smoking increase your chance for lung cancer, YES, but does everyone who smokes get lung Cancer, NO, and people who never smoked can get lung cancer.  There are a few cases, like mesothelomia and asbestos, where there is amost a direct correlation, but in most cancers it is just not possible to say why one person gets cancer and another doesn't...

Tedd 

Tedd, you are so darn
Tedd, you are so darn sensible. Everything you post just makes so much sense. I agree with you, too.

In my husbands case, his cancer was caused by chronic inflammation. He had ulcerative colitis. Went for regular scopes. The cancer set in and took over quite quickly. I kick myself every day that I did not convince him to have his colon removed as a preventative measure.

Chelsea

Do you really know your family history?
This is a really good discussion. I always was surprised that in my immediate family we were not touched by cancer. It seems every family is touched by cancer. My mom, dad (now deceased from diabetes - which caused all kinds of problems), two sisters, brother, some cousins, aunts, all didn't have cancer. I really don't have a huge family - don't really know a lot of them. My grandparents all died before I was 10 except 1. He died when I was 12. So when I gave health history - no cancer. Well, my paternal grandmother and grandfather possibly died from cancer - back then 60s a lot of people didn't have real good health care. Things happened and no one really knew what they died from. My maternal grandmother died supposedly from liver disease - cancer???? Who knows. Is any one else like me - not really know the real history??
Sandy