I was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few years ago. I opted to go with radiation therapy rather than surgery, as I wasn't considered a candidate for some of the other options. But, radiation therapy was not exactly problem free as it seems to be for some people. The cancer was found as a result of regular lab testing. I was asymptomatic until the radiation therapy, but have had several problems since, including trouble sitting down, which is troublesome since that's pretty much what I do for a living. I won't go through all of that now, though. What I wanted to talk about was the lasting fear that probably accompanies any type of cancer, which is that it will reoccur. Every six months, I go in for lab work, and by that time I will have persuaded myself that I have cancer again. Every new pain or sensation that I get is attributed to cancer and, at sixty-three, these things do happen. Of course, my wife tries to reassure me that it isn't and has, thus far, been right, but still it's not an unreasonable fear because most people who get cancer eventually die of cancer, or at least a large percentage of them, which varies depending on the type of cancer. As I am getting older, something is going to kill me eventually, and there's a pretty good chance that it will be cancer. Once I am tested, and learn that my PSA was fine, I am reassured for a couple of weeks, and then I begin worrying again. This is on my mind because today was the day that I went in for my most recent PSA, and it came out fine. Now I'm worried that they'll find something during a colonoscopy that I am scheduled for next month.
That would be a problem, and I can really understand what you are saying because of the problems that I have had with my heart due to the a-fib and the heart failure. Even though I had the operation last summer and it stopped the a-fib, there is still the CHF, so when I have trouble breathing or my legs are swelling bad, the first thing that goes through my mind , is that it is my heart getting worse. The only think that I know to do, and it might help you , too; is to adapt your diet to the most helpful foods. I look for ones that are anti-inflammatory, for my heart; but there are also many foods that are supposed to be anti-cancer. Since there is no side-effects from eating these foods, it just made good sense to me to at least be doing everything that I could to prevent the heart from getting worse. Grapes are supposed to kill cancer cells. Cancer cells live on sugar, so the more foods you eat that are sugar/starch; the more the cancer cells can have to eat. Grapes have an enzyme (something ?) in them that kills the cancer cells, so if you eat grapes after fasting all night, the cancer cells want some food, the grapes are sweet, they gobble it up......and die. Other foods, like broccoli, cabbage, and most of the cruciferus veggies are supposed to be anti-cancer. There are some good websites on line that talk about controling, and even healing , cancer with nutrition. http://www.alternativehealth.co.nz/cancer/grapediet/grape.htm
I do believe that God has set things up so that there are natural cures for everything, and I also believe that most of the things that we need cures for are the result of unnatural things that we have introduced to our bodies and environment. At the same time, not everything that is proposed as a natural cure is real, since there are a lot of crazy things out there, some well meaning, but others that are fraudulent. When facing something as potentially dangerous as cancer, it's hard to know who or what to trust. During my bout with cancer, I had visits with my general physician, of course, but also with a urologist and my radiation doctor, and I was bothered by the fact that I asked each of them what I might be able to do to reduce my chances of getting cancer again, and none of them had any recommendations. Just wait and see what happens.
Hi Ken, I have a different way of dealing with this subject. I had abdominal cancer at 19, had the surgery, and radiation treatments. Then I got it again at 26, had more surgery, and that time I received kemo therapy. I too am 63 now, and still cancer free. When I asked my doctor what I should do in my future, he told me I could sit around worrying until I caused myself to acquire or develop one form or another of cancer, or heart failure. So other than eating fresh foods. and keeping a busy lifestyle, I didn't make it a concern in my life. I have checkups every three month for my heart and arthritis, but that is it. I do understand your concerns, but ask yourself what you might be missing while you give your thought to something you can't do more than you already are doing. I do not mean to sound trivial, I just wish to help you with the issue.
However, there are quite likely things that can be done, largely in the way of diet. I am, by the way, very happy that your treatment was not only successful, but enduring as well.
I just returned from my six-month checkup, and the numbers were good. Next April, it will have been five years since I completed radiation treatment for prostate cancer. As I mentioned in my opening post, once you've been diagnosed with cancer, the fear never goes away. That may not be true of everyone but I trust that it is for most, and it's not an unreasonable one. Since none of my doctors were able to tell me anything that I could do to lessen the chances of a reoccurrence of cancer, whatever caused it before is likely to cause it again at some point. I haven't had my prostate removed so it's still in danger of developing a cancer. That, I think, is the chief failing of our medical system. We spend billions of dollars researching new ways to treat cancer and nothing on exploring ways of preventing it. Oh, there are plenty of suggestions online, and some of them may be worthy of attention, but which ones? When I asked my urologist about what I might be able to do to reduce my chances of getting cancer again, he said that there wasn't anything, really. We just treat it, and hope that it doesn't come back. My radiation doctor said much the same thing. I am not a doctor, nor have I played one on TV, but it seems reasonable to me to assume that cancer is the result of something in the environment, either something that I am absorbing into my body through the air that I breathe, or through my pores, or through the foods that I eat or drink. That should be the focus of cancer research, but it isn't. Yes, fascinating new treatments for certain types of cancers have been developed but the overall deaths from cancer have not gotten better. So every six months, my PSA is tested. After learning that the numbers are good, I feel great for a couple of weeks, and then I spend the next five and a half months worrying that cancer has returned. There has to be a better way.
Ken I am happy to hear you are good from your last check up. My daughter has been operated on for colon cancer and although the doctor say she is good for now I do still wonder what we could be doing to keep it away and stop the worrying, she is 46 with two teenage kids. When we look at how fast technology has developed with cell phones and tv it makes you wonder why have these advance been made so quickly and not so in something as serious as cancer. I agree there has to be a better way.
Understand the feeling. I live with a parent that had been going through ridding herself of cancer. She is due to go for a cat-scan next month to check for any signs of cancer. She is doing okay after they operated on her lung cancer that was small, but the operation was a painful one. She went through a removal of polyp for colon cancer too. One year she is cancer free, but because of her age they are doing this second test to make sure she is cancer free. She had a mild heart attack and has a pace maker and won't let me get a cell or smartphone too, oh well if it makes her happy and feel secure I won't get a cell or smartphone. We live with nutrition changes and eat cancer fighting vegetables I exercise and sometimes remind my Mom to exercise too. Good luck and Christ heal you of everything too, amen. Living to an old age gives us much to be thankful of. Now days modern medicine and technology can cure everything or prevent it! God help us all, in the name of Christ, amen.
It sounds like you're doing a lot of good things to try to prevent further problems. When my Dad was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, a naturopath told us to keep our cellphones switched off whenever possible and NEVER to charge them when they were switched on as it was like bringing a cellphone tower into the house. She also recommended a strict vegan diet. I wish I had the willpower to eat that way, but I'm doing my best to follow her advice about cellphones. I wish I could manage without a cellphone altogether but where I live it's really necessary to carry one for emergency use.
Good news is generally short-lived. During an annual physical a few days ago, my doctor found a lump in the right side of my neck, near the base. Over a year ago, I noticed a very small lump about the size of a pea, but it wasn't palpable unless my neck was in the right position. Briefly, I wondered what that was, since I didn't have one on the other side. Then I forgot about it, and didn't think of it again. Now, I am thinking that what my doctor found might have been the same thing grown larger. Initially, it was difficult to determine just what it was, and an aortic aneurysm wasn't ruled out. My mother died of a stroke caused by an aneurysm when she was in her forties so it struck home, since it's not an easy fix. After a CAT scan, it was determined that it was not an aneurysm but a small mass on the thyroid. Cancer, of course, is a possibility, but not an inevitability. Having had cancer before, I will immediately gravitate toward the worst possible diagnosis, but as yet I don't know. I'll be going in on Monday for more tests, and probably more pictures. I really hate growing old; at the same time, however, I do want to get older.
My prayers are with you Ken, If it is cancer, put it in the Creator's hands, there are no better. And remember constant worry feeds cancer, as much as you can, give it over to your Lord.
I hope your latest tests prove to be negative and all is well Ken, There have been a lot of cancer deaths in my family, including my father my sister and my wife, so I understand the anxiety and devastating effects cancer can have on us.
There's still nothing new. I went in for some blood work this morning, and am scheduled for ultrasound on December 3. After that, maybe a biopsy, unless other tests do not suggest cancer. The mass is on my thyroid, and I am told that if it does turn out to be cancer, it is very treatable, so maybe I won't be dying before January.