Susan G Komen

Leia, you are 15 lb overweight and a smoker.  So, I'm not buying the "I feel great" song that you feel the need to keep repeating over and over. (I'm not sure if you are trying to convince us.... or yourself.) Because you don't weight train, that tells me that that extra 15lb your are lugging around every day is mostly FAT. So, your diet can't be all that great either. 

I weigh 112lb and I'm 5'2. I'm just an inch shorter than you. My diet is super healthy. I take in around 2200 calories per day.  And, I workout (cardio, weigh training, yoga) 6 days per week, an hour each session. 

If I were to gain 15lb, my doctor would be seriously concerned. That's a lot weight when you are short. I don't think the self healing stuff is really working for you, sweetie.  But, when you see the ND, he or she will help you out. Then, once you finally get it together, do come back and share.  

Good luck with that!

ETA: You are not the first woman to refuse chemo, BTW.  Just a reminder. You are posting on an Alternative forum. So, your kinda preaching to the choir. At the same time, those here who have undergone chemo are not stupid. They know chemo is not the perfect answer. That's mainly why they frequent the complementary and alternative forums. They are trying to restore their health and get through their treatments. Constantly beating them over the head can not be helpful. It's too much. sweetbean, tried to tell you that. But, you didn't get the hint.   

Someone I know was recently diagnosed with lung cancer.  She has been a breast cancer survivor for many years, and started having a lot of back pain.  When they found cancer in her bones, it was assumed her breast cancer had metastisized.  But I guess a biopsy showed it was lung cancer.  She has a tumor in her lungs and also her brain.  She was a former smoker, but had quit long ago.

So I have read up on lung cancer.  It sounds like 40 percent of those diagnosed are diagnosed with stage 4.  I didn't realize that lung cancer often metastsizes to the bones or brain.  It seems so unfair that she now has a second type of cancer, but I have heard that having one type of cancer puts you at risk for a second kind.  That's really scary.

I would actually rather have breast cancer than lung cancer.  Apparently lung cancer kills more than breast, colon, and prostrate combined.  

I am so sad for her.  And I don't ever want to even go near a casino, or anywhere where people smoke, ever again! 

Here's a look at the 10 cancers that killed the most people in the United States between 2003 and 2007, the most recent data available, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

1. Lung and bronchial cancer: 792,495 lives
Lung and bronchial cancer is the top killer cancer in the United States. Smoking and use of tobacco products are the major causes of it, and it strikes most often between the ages of 55 and 65, according to the NCI. There are two major types: non-small cell lung cancer, which is the most common, and small cell lung cancer, which spreads more quickly. More than 157,000 people are expected to die of lung and bronchial cancer in 2010.

2. Colon and rectal cancer: 268,783 lives
Colon cancer grows in the tissues of the colon, whereas rectal cancer grows in the last few inches of the large intestine near the anus, according to the National Cancer Institute. Most cases begin as clumps of small, benign cells called polyps that over time become cancerous. Screening is recommended to find the polyps before they become cancerous, according to the Mayo Clinic. Colorectal cancer is expected to kill more than 51,000 people in 2010.

3. Breast cancer: 206,983 lives
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women in the United States, after skin cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic. It can also occur in men - there were nearly 2,000 male cases between 2003 and 2008. The cancer usually forms in the ducts that carry milk to the nipple or the glands that produce the milk in women. Nearly 40,000 people are expected to die from breast cancer in 2010, according to the NCI.

4. Pancreatic cancer: 162,878 lives
Pancreatic cancer begins in the tissues of the pancreas, which aids digestion and metabolism regulation. Detection and early intervention are difficult because it often progressives stealthily and rapidly, according to the Mayo Clinic. Pancreatic cancer is expected to claim nearly 37,000 lives in 2010, according to the NCI.

5. Prostate cancer: 144,926 lives
This cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in men, after lung and bronchial cancer, according to the NCI. Prostate cancer usually starts to grow slowly in the prostate gland, which produces the seminal fluid to transport sperm. Some types remain confined to the gland, and are easier to treat, but others are more aggressive and spread quickly, according to the Mayo Clinic. Prostate cancer is expected to kill about 32,000 men in 2010, according to the NCI.

6. Leukemia: 108,740 lives
There are many types of leukemia, but all affect the blood-forming tissues of the body, such as the bone marrow and the lymphatic system, and result in an overproduction of abnormal white blood cells, according to the NCI. Leukemia types are classified by how fast they progress and which cells they affect; a type called acute myelogenous leukemia killed the most people - 41,714 - between 2003 and 2007. Nearly 22,000 people are expected to die from leukemia in 2010.

7. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma: 104,407 lives
This cancer affects the lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, and is characterized by larger lymph nodes, fever and weight loss. There are several types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and they are categorized by whether the cancer is fast- or slow-growing and which type of lymphocytes are affected, according to the NCI. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is deadlier than Hodgkin lymphoma, and is expected to kill more than 20,000 people in 2010.

8. Liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer: 79,773 lives
Liver cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer around the world, but is uncommon in the United States, according to the Mayo Clinic. However, its rates in America are rising. Most liver cancer that occurs in the U.S. begins elsewhere and then spreads to the liver. A closely related cancer is intrahepatic bile duct cancer, which occurs in the duct that carries bile from the liver to the small intestine. Nearly 19,000 Americans are expected to die from liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer in 2010, according to the NCI.

9. Ovarian cancer: 73,638 lives
Ovarian cancer was the No. 4 cause of cancer death in women between 2003 and 2007, according to the NCI. The median age of women diagnosed with it is 63. The cancer is easier to treat but harder to detect in its early stages, but recent research has brought light to early symptoms that may aid in diagnosis, according to the Mayo Clinic. Those symptoms include abdominal discomfort, urgency to urinate and pelvic pain. Nearly 14,000 women are expected to die of ovarian cancer in 2010, according to the NCI.

10. Esophageal cancer: 66,659 lives
This cancer starts in the cells that line the esophagus (the tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach) and usually occurs in the lower part of the esophagus, according to the Mayo Clinic. More men than women died from esophageal cancer between 2003 and 2007, according to the NCI. It is expected to kill 14,500 people in 2010.

Leia,

 Women who get breast cancer under 40 are not a tiny minority.  I am stunned that you said that.   Having been diagnosed at age 37, I can now attest to the fact that there are plenty of us who are diagnosed under 40.  And the misconception that young women don't get breast cancer has resulted in doctors' not listening to us or following us, which results in later stage diagnosis for most of us.  Look at my signature - IIb/IIIa.  Pretty scary stuff.   If you don't want people to do conventional treatment because you didn't, fine.  But don't continue to spread misinformation - that's just not helpful. 

Leia,

You, of all people, should know that those statistics are hardly reliable.  Statistics about cancer in general are pretty unreliable, I've found.  Yes, there are fewer women under 40 diagnosed - I think the official number is somewhere around 8 percent.  However, considering that most women have had their cancer for years by the time they are diagnosed, you could easily make the case that lots more young women would be getting diagnosed earlier if everyone understood that young women can and do get breast cancer. Nobody thinks that we can get breast cancer, so nobody screens us or even warns us. I didn't know I was high-risk until after I got diagnosed.   I was diagnosed at 37, but I bet I could have been diagnosed at 33, at the very least.  I'm guessing I had that cancer in my body for quite some time.

My point remains - we are not a tiny minority.  And it's really rather inflammatory to be so dismissive, which brings me back to the tone of your writing.  I don't know if you mean to do this, but you always come across as pretty condescending and dismissive of everyone else's experience, even while demanding that everyone take yours seriously.  It's a two way street.   

 For what it's worth, I think mammograms suck as a diagnostic tool, too.  And I hate Komen - I think they are useless.   I think if you changed the tone of your writing, you would get a lot more traction around here and find that people would agree with you more.