Cancer Stinks!

I’ve wanted to write a post regarding cancer for some time now. My sister-in-law’s father was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. He is one of the nicest men I know and I just feel so bad and helpless. Cancer is just everywhere and I’m just fed up! My father’s wife Barbara is battling breast cancer for the 3rd time and last year my father had both prostate and colon cancer.

My sister Megan is doing the 3 day Avon Breast Cancer walk. I am so proud of her. See link: http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR/Walk2008/Boston?px=3961322&pg=personal&fr_id=1440 She will have to walk 60 miles in 3 days! She is doing it in my aunt Deirdre’s memory who died at age 37 of this awful disease and for Barbara and many other women! My aunt Maureen is also battling cancer as well as many other people. I just want cancer to go away!!!!!!!!!

Last week I watched this AMAZING documentary on PBS called “The Truth About Cancer.” I balled the entire time but I’m glad I watched it b/c I learned so much and was so inspired by the various individuals that they covered in the film. If any of you happen to see it on your PBS stations I STRONGLY encourage you to watch it but make sure you have a full box of Kleenex with you.

The PBS website also has this really great Disease Risk Index which allows you to gauge your risk of developing five of the most important diseases in the United States and get personalized tips for preventing them.
It was developed over the past ten years by the Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention, Disease Risk Index collects the latest scientific evidence on disease risk factors into one easy-to-use tool.
To try it, go to the follow link: http://www.diseaseriskindex.harvard.edu/

I know that so many of the cancers out there are out of our control but there is still a lot we can do. A few examples are as follows:

1. Don’t smoke
2. Eat well
3. Exercise-since the weather has finally warmed up we’ve gone on a 2 mile walk the past 4 nights. I’m really trying to just get out there and move!!!! Plus, I need to lose some of my winter weight.
4. Don’t microwave or freeze plastic. I know this is somewhat controversial and that it hasn’t necessarily been proven but I really think that we are better off if we don't microwave plastic and instead use glass containers.

I also just read that you can download the documentary for free for your IPOD or MP3 player.
You can read more about it below and you can also watch it online. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/takeonestep/cancer/

THE TRUTH ABOUT CANCER PREMIERES ON PBS APRIL 16, 2008
Emmy Award-Winning Filmmaker Linda Garmon Takes on the Question "How Far Have We Come in the War on Cancer?"
News Journalist and Cancer Survivor Linda EllerbeeHosts Post-Broadcast Panel Discussion
What is the truth about cancer? Is it the same deadly killer it was 30 years ago - or are we making progress? Find out through the poignant stories of patients battling the disease. Written, produced, and directed by award-winning filmmaker Linda Garmon, The Truth About Cancer premieres nationally on PBS Wednesday, April 16, at 9:00pm ET (check local listings). Comprised of a 90-minute documentary followed by a 30-minute panel discussion, the two-hour broadcast event takes a deep look inside the cancer field gauging how far we have come in this decades-old war and asking, "Why does anyone still die of cancer?"
Part science, part personal catharsis, part character-driven storytelling, The Truth About Cancer is narrated by Garmon, who tells the moving story of her husband's battle with cancer. Over the course of the film, Garmon returns to the same Boston-area hospitals at which her husband was treated, and exposes startling truths about survival rates of metastisized cancers, and the limited success of drugs and clinical trials. Interwoven throughout are the stories of three additional cancer patients, and their families and doctors, as they navigate the deeply personal decisions surrounding the disease. The documentary also follows several medical professionals working to promote screening, research the latest developments in cancer treatment, and help patients and their families live with a cancer diagnosis.
"This film makes it clear that it's very much a part of American culture to believe that if you fight hard enough, you can beat cancer. But when it comes to having metastatic cancer, your survival depends on the biology of your cancer cells, and whether they are susceptible to state-of-the-art treatment," says Garmon. "In sharing my husband's story and the stories of other patients, I hope to shed light on this important truth."
The Truth About Cancer is the third installment of PBS's Take One Step—a campaign offering primetime programming and outreach tools to help people take the first step towards better health. Following the 90-minute documentary is a 30-minute panel discussion entitled Take One Step: A Conversation About Cancer with Linda Ellerbee. News journalist and breast cancer survivor Linda Ellerbee moderates the dialogue featuring a panel of doctors, all of whom are cancer survivors themselves. Having sat on both sides of a cancer diagnosis, the panel shares their unique perspectives, offering both personal and professional observations on how to handle a cancer diagnosis, what to say to loved ones, how to advocate for yourself, and how to best live your life, with cancer. Panelists include U.S. News and World Report health editor Dr. Bernadine Healy; breast cancer surgeon and Breast Cancer Research stamp mastermind Dr. Ernie Bodai; neurologist and leading palliative care expert Dr. Richard Payne; and counseling psychologist Dr. Paul Brenner.
The Truth About Cancer is a Carousel Films LLC Production for WGBH Boston. Laurie Donnelly is Executive Producer for WGBH. Funding for The Truth About Cancer is provided by Susan G. Komen For The Cure and the John Wayne Cancer Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers.