Susan G Komen

My MIL, a smoker, died from heart disease in her early 60s.  Maybe it wasn't lung cancer but she died from smoking.  There are other examples.  Jerry Garcia, whom everyone was shocked died so young from heart disease, was a smoker.

 Not to mention the other cancers caused by smoking.  Oh yeah, and lung cancer, which has an extremely high mortality rate.

 Smoke if you want.  Its your business.  But you should probably temper your rationalizations. 

And it's these studies about breast cancer and inflammation that gave rise to the use of Celebrex, and other COX 2 inhibitors, to help treat cancer by reducing said inflammation.  I'm using Celebrex right now for that very reason.  There is even a blood test for inflammation so anyone can see how much of it they have ... it's called C Reactive Protein (CRP) and is also an even better indicator for heart attack/stroke risk than is monitoring cholesteral.

xxoo

Melissa

.

Ruth very sensible. I need to talk to my Dr' about the meds I'm on for cholesterol. First I need to see if the Femara is effecting my cholesterol, but then ask him if I really need the stuff just in case which is why I am on the stuff.

As I recall, Farrah had refused conventional treatment (including a colostomy that may have saved her life) in the U.S., and was doing experimental treatments in Germany instead (injecting chemo right into the tumor). At that point it was a last ditch effort and really had little chance of success.

Omega 3 is also in oily fish. Two servings a week should give you what you need. Vitamin D is definitely a big deal!

Yes, I am stage IV and just 3 months ago was almost admitted into hospice.  So I would say that's life-threatening.  I have tried food/supplements, etc. ... see the Budwig thread which I did before the supplements and inflammation/cancer still marching along.  I'm also having to do chemo at this point, but I have my life back and that's more important to me than the "what ifs" as a stage IV gal.  I'll leave all that to you non-mets ladies. 

xxoo

Melissa

Hi Ruth,

That's an interesting point you made about Farrah Fawcett. I was under the impression that her doctors had given her everything available in the U.S.(conventional) and everything had failed and she had to go to Germany for treatments that were not available in the U.S.  I will start researching what happened. I adored Farrah Fawcett!

Elmcity wrote:

from a news article at the time:

Farrah Fawcett has revealed she underwent painful experimental cancer treatment in Germany after declining conventional surgery.
The former Charlie's Angels star said she was assured the gruelling therapy had been a success and that she was 'tumour-free'.
But during filming of a long-awaited documentary about her two-and-a-half-year battle with the disease, doctors told her that despite six trips to private clinics, the cancer had spread to her liver.
Miss Fawcett was originally diagnosed with bowel cancer at a Los Angeles hospital in September 2006. After chemotherapy failed, doctors told her that the only available treatment was major surgery, which would have required her to wear a permanent colostomy bag. Instead, she opted to put herself under the care of two German specialists, Professor Thomas Vogl and Dr Ursula Jacob.
Mrs Stewart said: 'She believed it would be less drastic.'
Professor Vogl, 50, who practises in Frankfurt, offers cancer patients a treatment called chemoembolisation, during which chemicals are injected directly into organs at a cost of £3,500 a session.
She also underwent a surgical procedure called laser ablation, which heats up the tumour to around 38C (100F) to destroy cancer cells.
Professor Vogl later assured Miss Fawcett that all the 'active tumours' had been removed, while Dr Jacob, who uses vitamins to boost the immune system at her Alpenpark Clinic in the Bavarian Alps, claimed it was a 'miracle'.
However, just a few weeks later, Miss Fawcett underwent a scan that showed the original tumour was larger than ever and that the cancer had spread to her liver.

Thanks Ruth,

So she did have chemo which failed her.  I recall her wearing a little beanie cap to cover her balding head from chemo.  So she declined the major surgery part of treatment. So sad.

Thanks.

yes, i think for carcinomas, surgery is very important.   people can skip everything else, but if you wait too long for surgery, your prognosis stinks.

I started the prune thing several months ago.  It's made me noisier , and I'm hoping it's helping strengthen my bones and lower my cholesterol.  Along with a handful of cashews every afternoon, and the occasional corn on the cob and 12-grain bread etc., plus lots of fruit and veg I doubt I'll need a "cleanse" any time soon!

But speaking of Farrah and her wish NOT to have a colostomy:  a very dear friend had the same surgery a couple of years after she married.  It took a LONG time for her to get used to it, and her husband never did -- their lovelife became non-existent.  OTOH, my DH's cousin had a colostomy at the age of 26.  He married the nurse who took care of him while in hospital, and they went on to have 3 children and are still happily married. 

Leia says:

And then, treatments of even Non-cancers, the DCIS.

Dear dear Leia, how do you ever expect to be taken seriously on these boards when you make such inflammatory comments such as these?   I'm assuming you're enjoying posting garbage like that? Just so you can keep your little thread going, I guess it stokes your self-esteem.  

Well, keep on smoking, is all I can say.   

Oh, I also wanted to add that I'm wondering if, as a CPA, you've calculated what your smoking is costing the rest of the individuals around you.  Obviously you're fine doing whatever you want with your own body, but I assume you've quantitatively figured out the health care costs of other people you pollute with cigarette smoke? 

I thought these board were really coming along nicely these days, and then I read more crap. 

@sweetbean: i don't know why someone can do surgery "and skip everything else". from a philosophical point of view, surgery is no less, and possibly more, Western than other modalities. from a medical perspective, "everything else" is to kill stray cencer cells, since, unfortunately, they don't implode independently. I'm sure all of us wish they did, but they don't.

Komen funds 25% to research which isn't a hell of a lot considering the money they rake in. I will look for the breakdown. They sent the breakdown to my golf club when they were asking if our club was going to do the cure campagin.