I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

crazy4carrots

Breast cancer is as old as civilization.  It's also as individual as each of its victims.  Trying to figure out what caused my own BC is a mere guessing game, and I'm guessing it was an overload of cortisol from a stress-filled (but also exciting and rewarding) job.  But hey! I could be wrong.  Maybe it's because my mother had BC (first in her family - no history going back at least 3 generations).  OR, maybe it's because I didn't have children, started menstrual cycle at age 12, had occasional glasses of wine, was about 5 pounds overweight etc. ad infinitum!

And surviving BC will be another guessing game, just as it virtually is for every BC oncologist.  All my onc has is statistics and intuition.  We live a life of percentages, don't we?

Before BC, I was all in favour of messaging AWARENESS and HOPE.  I thought EARLY DETECTION was good and definitely the next best thing to a CURE.  Now, I just simply want TRUTH to be the message.

IronJawedBCAngel

I make no apologies for being all about awareness, hope and early detection.  It was a screening mammogram that found my very early stage breast cancer.  Because of it, I was able to keep my breasts, avoid chemo, and live a high quality life.  As long as doctors and nurses are patting young women on the head and sending them home because "they are too young to worry their pretty heads about breast cancer", and too many women continue to believe they are not at risk because they have no family history, awareness and education remain a priority for me.  Just my opinion.  We all choose the path that fits us best.

lewing

Dropping by quickly to respond to Athena's roll call -- still here, just not posting much. 

I do think there's value in understanding risk factors, but hope that they're never used (by others or by ourselves in our darker moments) to blame the patient for getting sick. 

(Post-run breakfast report: lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote . . . yum.  In my personal balancing of risks, I decided the exercise and the blueberries counteracted the evil sugar and white flour.)

L

crazy4carrots

Should have rephrased my statement a little:  I want TRUTH to be in the messages of hope and awareness.  And maybe the awareness message should be more accurately directed at medical professionals!

leggo

Bravo lindasa. I always had a problem with that awareness thing. I'm fully aware....the medical field, not so much.

Edited to add: I knew something was wrong at least 2 years before my initial diagnosis but was always told "you're too young, don't worry about it". I knew it was mets too for at least a couple of years but kept being diagnosed with costochondritis. I can't blame my family doc though, he did his job and referred me to specialists who kept dissing me.

crazy4carrots

Gracie -- I'm hoping that the newest crop of docs (well over half of whom are female) will have been taught to actually listen to the patient and face the truth that every new patient with BC is different from the one that came before.

Lewing -- those pancakes sound so yummy -- lots of antioxidants in blueberry compote!!!

208sandy

Iron Jaw - love your post - told it "like it is".

Lewing - your breakfast sounds wonderful - don't think the sugar and white flour are going to do any damage - I don't buy into ANY of that argument.

My wish is for the drug companies to spend more time researching the God awful side effects of chemo (including AIs) and cleaning up their act - also would like to see oncs telling the truth and listening to their patients - and PULEEZE stop blaming us for our disease!

Sandy

1Athena1

{{{Lewing}}} Enviable pancakes!

I won't post much until I get home. I am using a Macbook - and I HATE it. I know it is practically against the law to hate an Apple product, but there you go. The mouse is awful.

Breakfast was coffee...I shouldn't even divulge my eating habits. It's embarrassing. :-}

208sandy

Athena:

You're allowed to "hate" apple products my late dh did - oh did he ever (he was an engineer - in the early days of personal computers engineers wouldn't be caught dead using an apple product).

BTW "eating" habit - coffee isn't "eating"!!!!

Sandy

hrf

Anyone want to talk about Chaelie Sheen? Is he a train wreck starting or is he on drugs or is he just an idiot? Or are the rest of us crazy?

annettek

CHarlie charlie charlie...i loved him in Wall Street, figured he had a few typical hollwood stops along the way now he is certifiably crazy...his dad appears to think the best course at this point is to let him hit bottom-he has tried to save him so many times over the years....i hope the bottom comes sooner rather than later...it is a tragedy unfolding when you consider he has five children who appear to love him like only little kids can...what is as sick as some of his thoughts are the people sucking up to him in the vortex he has created...bottom feeders seeking their 15 minutes of fame...ahh, it is just sad.

konakat

Charlie has managed his wild times and work very well until recently.  I don't pity him in this downward spiral.  He's lived the life he's chosen and seems to have been happy with it.  Good for him.  However, I am angry that his show's been cancelled, for the sake of the other actors.  And his kids -- will they grow up to make Lindsay Lohan seem like an altar girl? 

1Athena1

I barely know anything about Charlie Sheen, but I wonder if anyone has seen The Last Lionsyet? It is a National Geographic documentary chronicling the life of a lioness and her cubs in Botswana's Okavango delta and was briefly mentioned several; pages ago. I still have a lump in my throat from the wonderful story, which is narrated by Jeremy Irons. The filming is too superb for words. Granted, I am in no position to be impartial about this. 

So if everyone would bear with me for a second, here is an excerpt from a review by The Washington Post:

While jaw-dropping footage of the animals of the African bush is a remarkable aspect of "The Last Lions," more impressive still is the strong narrative thread that runs through the nature documentary. The National Geographic film manages to add the punch of a war movie and the emotion of a family drama to this chronicle of a lioness's life. The result is a movie that may be geared to a nature film fan base but will also appeal to admirers of good storytelling.

As the documentary opens, "invaders" from the North descend on the Okavango Delta of Botswana. These newcomers are lions displaced by human encroachment and in search of a new home, which leads to a land war between two groups of lions. When the wayfarers win, the movie's heroine - a lone lioness known as Ma di Tau (mother of lions) with three cubs - is left homeless. She ends up fording a river, something lions rarely do, in order to start a new life that includes dramatic battles against massive buffalo, confrontations with elephants and hyenas and strategic alliances to ensure the safety of her offspring.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/the-last-lions,1176055/critic-review.html

bluedahlia

Did you know that China is trying to steal your water?  Well that's what I read somewhere.   I thought about this for a while and thought maybe they have a transporting device (cloaked, of course) to get it all over there.  What's the scoop?

Alpal

Are they syphoning it out of lakes and streams and running a really long hose across the ocean?

riley702

"What's the scoop?"

Maybe it IS a big scoop! LOL. j/k

bluedahlia

Awwwwwww, you guys are no help!

BarbaraA

The ex-gov., Jesse Ventura has a TV show called Conspiracy Theory and did a show on how the Chinese come into the great lakes with huge tankers and scoop up water. I think one must consider the source.

Enjoyful

I'd be more concerned if there were photos of the Chinese chopping up ice sheets and towing big chunks back home.

Wabbit

Athena ... I'm not much of a TV or movie watcher but I would love to see the Last Lions.  You have to tell me it has a happy ending though. 

crazy4carrots

Enjoyful -- We'd be sending the Mounties on giant snowmobiles after them if they starting hauling away ice sheets!

Enjoyful

Ahhhhh....the Mounties.  Almost makes me want to chop me some ice.

1Athena1

Rabbit - that was a non-negotiable condition of my seeing the film too. Yes, it has a happy ending. There is hardship, to be sure, but also great triumph.

BTW, here is the trailer. Every time you watch it, National Geographic donates 10 cents to the cause until it reaches 1 million views:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ7SvK7w1xA

Bren-2007

How do the Chinese get in the Great Lakes to steal the water?  I am so confused.  I need to check my geography!  Did Jesse say the Chinese are going to invade Michigan too?  I think it would be easier for them to steal water from Alaska.

Bren

lassie11

I just looked out the window and can't see any, not even one, ship stealing ice or water from our bay on Lake Ontario. I think someone would notice. The St Lawrence Seaway is a decent size, but a person without binoculars can see from one side to the other.

208sandy

The Mounties are going to do what???? There was a report over the weekend on CBC that fully 1/4 of the force is obese - yikes!!!!

Sandy

crazy4carrots

Well, chasing after the Chinese hauling our ice will get them back in shape real quick, I'm thinking!

Bren-2007

Do the Mounties have a naval division or do they just ride horses?  It might be hard to chase them down by boat with only horses to ride.

Speaking of naval divisons, in another life, I dated an officer in the Canadian Navy .. he was so cute in his uniform!

Bren

Medigal

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/7520461-china-stealing-us-water-supply

Is this for real??  If so, I would not be buying any more bottled water!  The article states that Bush and other wealthy people are buying up huge tracts of water!  What do they know that they are trying to hide from us?  Personally after reading the article, I would not buy any bottled water especially any that is returned to be sold to us from China.  Just my opinion but I think the world is going haywire!

Note:  Does anyone know how to get a link to come up "blue" so others can open it from a post? Thanks!

Bren-2007

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/7520461-china-stealing-us-water-supply

Medigal .. I copied the link for you.