70,000 people ages 15-39 will be diagnosed with cancer this year. There has been little or no improvement in survival rates for young adults over the past 20 years. What the hell is that about?!! This bill would be established as a standard of care to meet the needs of this underserved population. It needs your support!
Please head on over to Seventyk.org for more info and to sign the petition. Oh yeah, don’t for get to send out an email blast to all your friends so they can do the same!
I was always a big fan of Patrick Swayze. Dirty Dancing was one of my fav movies. I even had a poster of him on the wall of my college dorm room. Can you say “crush”?! Anyway, when the news broke that he was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer I was stunned as I am sure most people were. I have put off writing this post because the news hit home for me and it is something I haven’t really written much about.
Last April my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Even as I write the words they still don’t seem real. This type of cancer is one of the most deadly types mostly because it is found at later stages of the disease. It is difficult to diagnose and there is really no screening test. My dad ended up going to the ER with vomiting and stomach pain. It had been difficult for him to keep any food in his stomach. Tests revealed a blockage at the place where the stomach connects to the intestines. Possibly a tumor. Further tests revealed that it was a tumor attached to his pancreas. He underwent a Whipple Procedure which surgery specific to removing tumors of the pancreas. The surgery was successful however the tumor was cancer and there is lymph node involvement.
I wondered how it could be possible that cancer was hitting my family again only 6 years after my breast cancer diagnosis. But you see cancer does not discriminate. I was only 31 when I heard the words “you have cancer” and my dad is only 59 years old. Still a youngin in my book. Pancreatic cancer affects males more often and in my dad’s age group. My father is a heavy smoker and an alcoholic. I was stunned in my frantic google search after hearing the news to find that both smoking and alcohol abuse are linked to this type of cancer. My dad amazingly hasn’t had a drink in over 20 years but still smokes like a fiend. With the amount that he drank when I was growing up it is amazing he still has a functioning liver but what kind of damage did it reek on his good ‘ol pancreas? Then again, I had breast cancer with no significant family history at a very young age. Go figure! Thats the scary thing with the big “C”…..there doesn’t seem to be a cookbook answer or rather a textbook case that everyone will fall into. I think it is the same with survival. If you have been diagnosed with cancer your first question may have been “Am I going to die?” I know mine was! And depending on the answer to that one you may wonder “When”. All questions the docs don’t really have answers to. My dad posed that question to his doc and was told he has 8-12 months to live if he didn’t do chemo which he opted not to do. Having gone through treatment myself I respect his decision to not do chemo as I know it has to be his decision and nobody else’s. But here we are coming up on the 1 year anniversary of his diagnosis and he is still kickin around! Not well, but still…
Now after struggling most of my life, oh…who am I kidding…. my whole life, in my relationship with my dad, I have a unique understanding of what he is going through more than anyone in my family. I know what it is like to be a cancer patient and I know what it feels like to be scared you will die. I can also see more clearly what he went through with me when I was sick. I don’t like being on the other side of things. But here I am. Trying to figure it all out. An impossible puzzle to solve……
Well guys and gals I have exciting news to share! I have blogged before about Kris Carr author of Crazy, Sexy Cancer Tips which is a kick ass book that came out back in the fall chock full of great info for young cancer survivors. Her documentary that started it all will be out on DVD this week! It is called Crazy, Sexy Cancer.
I frequent her blog and have met some really cool peeps and not just cancer survivors. There are great people there that want to learn how to better their lives in many ways….both spiritually and physically.
Over the weekend Kris stepped it up a notch and unveiled her new forum
My Crazy Sexy Life.com. I am already addicted! It is so great, and fun! All you have to do is hop on over and sign up, you get your own page, can upload photos, and info about yourself, begin a group, or just hang and chat it up with others. There are cancer guys and gals but also people who just want to learn how to make their life better.
So if you want to improve your mind, body and spirit take a peek and see what its all about! I can assure you, once you step into the crazy, sexy life you won’t want to leave!
Oh, and don’t forget to tell a friend!
Stop back here and be sure to tell me what you think about it!
I’ll see ya there!
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