GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT #20…Giving Thanks

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

While the article is about forgiveness, and references Matthew 18 in which a man who was forgiven a HUGE debt went out and when he couldn’t collect on a small debt someone else owed him – he had the man thrown into prison.

I’m sure the end outcome is obvious, but I want to emphasize the lesson implied here. I think it implies that when you are forgiven a debt; when something that you expected to happen doesn’t, you GIVE THANKS.

I forget, now that the initial horror is over four years past, to give thanks. So at this time, I offer up my heartfelt thanks that my wife is healthy and that I have learned.

Thank you.

That is all...

Resource: http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2015/June/The-Deadly-Consequences-of-Unforgiveness/

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ENCORE #24! – GUEST POST: David Haas -- Fight Cancer With Physical Fitness

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…That was four years ago – as time passed, people searching for answers stumbled across my blog and checked out what I had to say. The following entry appeared January of 2012…

When a cancer patient first finds out he or she has any form of cancer, skin cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, or any other type of cancer, one of their first questions is what they can do to help their body fight the disease. Conventional ideology by patients and cancer treatments staff, including doctors, was to rest and take it easy during diagnosis, treatment and remission stages. Yet recent studies have indicated that physical activity no matter what your stage of cancer can have tremendous health benefits.

According to the National Cancer Institute, physical activity is a critical component of something called energy balance, and not only does it increase energy levels, it can also reduce the risk of some cancers, like breast cancer and colon cancer.
Physical activity has the added benefit of improving overall quality of life and reducing fatigue. It is also associated with positive psychological effects that result from the knowledge of taking good care of one's body, the release of feel good chemicals like serotonin, and the hope of not giving-up.
Studies into the benefits of physical activity in those who have cancer have indicated a positive correlation between increased recurrence rates and chances of survival in those who were more active post-diagnosis.
Exercise also strengthens the body and increases its natural defense mechanisms. This helps the body withstand rigorous treatments like chemotherapy by reducing the side effects like nausea and fatigue, fights off any opportunistic infections and empowers the body to mend. It also helps reduce excessive body fats that are a risk factor for chronic diseases like heart disease. Other conditions that are positively affected by physical activity are cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Finally, exercise also promotes good sleeping and this is especially beneficial to cancer patients as they bodies need rest. Therefore, contrary to conventional thoughts on resting which involved keeping sedimentary, good rest along with a host of other health benefits can result from keeping physically active. Therefore whether a patient was just diagnosed, is going through treatment or is in remission, physical activity is an important component of their weekly regimen. Exercise does not need to be intensive, even the smallest changes that keep one active like walking a dog or taking the stairs can make a difference. It is important to check with a doctor first before getting started.

David Haas is a cancer patient advocate and the Community Awareness Director for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance who writes and researches for the betterment of others.

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BREAST CANCER RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #39: Home Pneumatic Compression Device Reduces Cellulitis in Women With Lymphedema!

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…

Every month, I’ll be highlighting breast cancer research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you. Today: http://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/advanced-compression-device-helps-le

First of all, of course, “THE HECK is cellulitis?”

According to Mayo Clinic Online, “Cellulitis (sel-u-LIE-tis) is a common, potentially serious bacterial skin infection. Cellulitis appears as a swollen, red area of skin that feels hot and tender. Left untreated, the spreading infection can rapidly turn life-threatening.”

My wife has never experienced cellulitis, and as it appears most often to occur in the legs, that’s not a big concern. The study listed below however, notes that it decreases the incidence of cellulitis in women who have experienced breast cancer; and one of the aspect of breast cancer treatment is the removal of lymph nodes that precipitate lymphedema, so that loss increases the chance that one of the infective agents of cellulitis (there are several) might take hold. “A small study has found that an advanced pneumatic compression device used at home reduced cellulitis episodes by nearly 80% in people with lymphedema and lowered their healthcare costs related to lymphedema.”

How common is cellulitis in women who have been treated for breast cancer? I can’t say because I couldn’t find any statistics. We know that lymphedema itself is hard to track: “There is no consistency in the data on the incidence and prevalence of lymphedema after breast cancer, probably because of differences in diagnosis, the different characteristics of the patients studied, and inadequate follow-up to capture delayed development of the disorder. The overall incidence of arm lymphedema can range from 8% to 56% at 2 years post-surgery.”

One study I saw notes that cellulitis occurs in one to eight percent of surgical patients, but that’s not a big help regarding breast cancer, lymphedema, and cellulitis.

My question then is, “If this device decreases the incidence of cellulitis, why wouldn’t you use it to reduce lymphedema in ALL cases?”

 Makes you wonder, doesn’t it...

Resources: http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/lymphedema/infection; http://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/advanced-compression-device-helps-le; http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cellulitis/basics/definition/con-20023471; http://www.nhs.uk/ipgmedia/national/Lymphoedema%20Support%20Network/Assets/ManagingcellulitisinlymphoedemaLSN10pages.pdf; http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/side-effects/lymphedema/lymphedema-hp-pdq;

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HTB100spGFXXXXcUaXXXq6xXFXXXr.jpg

ENCORE #23 ! – Man Cancer and the Orchiectomy

From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…That was four years ago – as time passed, people searching for answers stumbled across my blog and checked out what I had to say. The following entry appeared in December 2011.

So this week I got the news that two good friends of mine have cancer. One has colon cancer and will be undergoing a colECTOMY (ecto = Greek for “to cut out”) during the Christmas season.

The other is twenty-some years younger than me. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer and had a radical orchiectomy after which…well, we don’t know because they are in the specific diagnosis part of his New Normal. He said he’d let me know because I pray well for biological specifics – I can see the parts of the body that are affected – cancer, breaks, dislocations, flu. I am a great prayer for healing of body parts as well as for restoring the heart and mind.

At any rate, some time ago, my wife asked “Why do so many people have breast cancer?” I marshaled statistics in this post: http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2011/06/why-do-so-many-women-have-breast-cancer.html

The research led me to the statistics for other kinds of cancer – lung cancer, Liz’s mom died from this; blood cancer (leukemia), the son of close family friends; brain cancer, an old friend of mine died from this at 30; skin cancer, my sister, brother and sister-in-law have this; there are others with other cancers that I don’t care to enumerate at this time.

Testicular cancer has increased by 60% in the past 25 years. Why? Right now no one knows the answer, it just…has.

A student of mine, after we talked about why my wife’s hair all fell out during chemo. I talked about how the chemicals target fast-growing cancer cells – and kill the fast-growing hair cells “accidentally”. She then went on a rave about how we should make drugs that ONLY target cancer cells…and that got me to thinking.

Are all cancer cells created equal? Or are they egalitarian? Is testicular cancer the same as breast cancer? Brain cancer? Lung cancer? Skin cancer?

Questions – and today…no answers. Just more questions that I’m going to try to answer in the future…

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