There's a brand-new film about cancer, produced by the acclaimed Ken Burns. It is really fascinating; definitely worth your time.
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/cancer-emperor-of-all-maladies/home/
Discussion about palliative care and end-of-life discussions:
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/cancer-emperor-of-all-maladies/educators/
cancer is such a terrible thing. seeing it destroy lives is the worst thing in the world. being forced to watch loved ones deteriorate as their bodies are eaten away by the cancer and its treatments. personally, i have not had any one close to me suffer through cancer, but i had a pretty big scare recently.
ReplyDeleteSeveral weeks ago my girlfriend went to the doctor, and everything checked out fine, However, the next day she received a call from said doctor and told her she had cervical cancerous cells that need to be removed immediately to prevent it from becoming full blown cancer. Several weeks we went through a crazy limbo period of her needing to have the surgery done but at the same time was caught up in insurance trouble. We of course were freaking out that these cells were developing and getting worse all the while the only reason we had to wait for the procedure was for some paper work errors to be sorted out. it was a ridiculous situation and it really makes you think about how messed up the whole medical field really is. and how shaking just a minor scare of cancer can be. she is still recovering from said surgery right now, and im still feeling the tremors from it.
I am sorry to hear about your girlfriend. Just from this post I think that everyone in the class could probably tell a horror story about someone that they know who has cancer. It is a scary thing because basically anything we do can cause cancer. I was happy to watch this film because like anything new, cancer is scary immediately you think of death and a lot of times it does end with death. There are good doctors out there trying their best to save people from this awful thing. Cancer is something that makes everyone feel completely helpless.
DeleteThank you, and Matt. i appreciate it, and all is well now. hopefully for good. it is definitely a good scare and was pretty crazy there for a minute. hopefully a cure is right around the corner and will be found by people who truly care about humanity and not just money.
DeleteCancer is an awful thing that everyone will be touched by at one point in their life. It is such a tremendous scare for anyone to have to go through anything like that. It is amazing on how we are able to detect cancer early and treat it to the best that our doctors can. It is unbelievable to see what kind of treatment patients must go through to fight cancer.
ReplyDeleteMichael I am sorry to hear about your girlfriend and your recent situation. I hope that everything goes well and she comes back strong and you guys don't have to go through it again.
Cancer has become so prevalent these days. I feel that I could walk down a bust street in Cincinnati and if I stopped and talked to every single person on that street, each and every person would be affected by cancer in some way. I often wonder why in the past couple of decades, cancer has become so much more common that it was even ten years ago. It could either be that indeed, for whatever reason, more people are being diagnosed with cancer today than ever before. However, it could also be because we have much better diagnostic techniques that we have previously and this is helping doctors to diagnose more cases of cancer than was possible in the past. People in the beginning of the 20th century could have been dying of cancer, but at that point people may have not known exactly what cancer was or its mechanisms throughout the body. Luckily for us today, so much research and effort is being put into finding a cure for cancer or at least something that can help with the metastasis of these cancer cells. A big part of avoiding cancer today is prevention of it. People over 50 should get regular cancer screenings done and people with a family history of the disease should have these screenings done even earlier. It is important that people are aware of cancer causing agents and to try to avoid the carcinogens if possible.
ReplyDeleteI really like the point you brought up when you said "People in the beginning of the 20th century could have been dying of cancer, but at that point people may have not known exactly what cancer was or its mechanisms throughout the body." I've never thought about cancer and other diseases and illnesses in this way before. I do feel like everyone at one point in their life will deal with some form of cancer. If I asked a class if they themselves had cancer, not many would probably answer. However is I asked how many have known someone in their family who had cancer, the majority of the class would raise their hand. If I extended that question to family and friends, I bet 99% of the class would raise their hands if not all of them. It is crazy to think about how it has become a normal issue in our society today.
DeleteCancer and cancer scares alike are such horrible occurrences that I wish on no one. Recently my sister in law had to have a procedure to remove one of her ovaries because the doctor found some cancerous cells. As the doctor proceeded with the surgery, he ran across even more cancerous cells which had spread not only to her second ovary but her uterus as well. Thankfully, the doctor feels that he caught the cancer in time before it moved to any more vital organs but she will still have to go through routine screenings periodically. It's because of medical procedures like this that people are able to beat cancer and its horrible effects. I thank God every day that we were able to catch my sister in law's cancer before it was too late.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to take a different stance and highlight how far as a society we have advanced and adapted to cancer. Like Mallory said earlier, people 100 years ago were dying of cancer but had no idea what was causing it or how to treat it. Our progress in the medical field has really improved since then, and because of innovation in technology and research we have been able to prolong lives, cure certain kinds of cancer outright, and provide good palliative care for the symptoms of the dying. I have seen both outcomes of cancer, my grandmother passed away in 2007 from a late diagnosed lung cancer but my grandfather has beaten 3 different kinds of cancer in his lifetime and is now 83. Without the current medical treatments we have I'm sure that would not be the case. My cousin is a teenager diagnosed with leukemia and has been getting chemotherapy for a few years now, and while it is a sad and traumatic experience for someone so young the outcome looks very good at this time and the amount of money donated to cancer research in Ian's name speaks volumes.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the palliative care and the doctor who came to speak to us, I thought his discussion was extremely interesting. Even being a nursing major, I had not heard of palliative care before being introduced to it via this class. I think it is a tremendous step forward in the health care system to provide people with options such as this one. I know a lot of people who have suffered with cancer and other chronic illnesses and a lot of them just want an escape, where many of them jumped to the statement that they "just wanted to die". While I've never been in their shoes, it caught me off guard that they would jump to such a dramatic consequence. But like I've said, I haven't been in their shoes nor have I ever felt that pain and hopelessness that they were suffering through. Now that I know about palliative care and how many people it has helped, I am relieved that there is such a thing to help those who are suffering.
ReplyDeletei have been watching this off and on amidst my hectic schedule. I have had many relatives die from cancer, so the fear of being diagnosed is always in my mind. This really opened my eyes not only to the science of combatting cancer, but the toll it takes of not just the patient, but the families and doctors. i heard one doctor say that she over heard a doctor say to another that a patient was on the end of his life but hadn't known yet. she stated that it was not their job to know and discuss amongst themselves the patient's life, but it was their duty to keep the patient and family informed on all topics, no matter how painful. and to help them focus on the best option for the individual. i watched the father of a friend die from pancreatic cancer. the doctors kept everything from him and his family. they wouldn't answer any questions or let him know how bad he was. the family and he felt so lost and helpless. they told his daughter that they withheld information because the "less he knew, the less he had to worry about". some patients might not want to know things. but he did, and they wouldn't work with him. The doctors in the show have made a point to be upfront and honest, and have maintained the caring nature needed to deliver the worst news.
ReplyDelete