Cancer is popping up a lot lately

N

Napoleon

2,500+ Posts
I just found out that a long time casual friend has Leukemia. He'll find out exactly what type in the next 12 hours or so.

A friend of mine is traveling the world and a Facebook friend of his from Arkansas (where he settled) "friended" me because she liked my comments on the traveler's page. Well we've been "friends" about a month or so and now she found out her husband has colon cancer (he's a fireman and supposedly they're finding out it's real common) and just went to MD Anderson.

Another longtime casual friend found out his wife had breast cancer because she went for a mamogram after a friend of hers was diagnosed. Double mastectomy later, things are looking up for her.

This is all withing the last 3 weeks.

Add to that a girl I'm really good friends with (dated her sister and would have liked to have dated her) had breast cancer/chemo in '07->'08 (with the chemo)...

...and I'm not 40 yet.
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Almost, but not yet.

Other non-cancer bad news:

A classmate from elementary school had an aneurysm at Six Flags last summer and died at the park with her little girl there.

And then two weeks ago the younger brother of a high school classmate (the brother was a year below) died of a heart attack about one month before his 20 year high school reunion.

This is when you realize that you are your parents now. Or you're no longer the carefree generation. Yikes. This has been a bad month.
 
I was having the same thoughts yesterday when I was back in my home town visiting my folks. We went to the cementery to clean out relatives grave sites and as I walked around I came across a couple of classmates of mine (I'm 40) that died of a heart attack and aneurism, respectively. I kinda had the same observations that you shared. What a royal bummer.
 
As you move through life, you exponentially increase the number of people in your "circle". From High School to College to Work.......you are continually adding more and bigger circles.

.....and with the advent of social networking websites, such increases are beyond exponential....

I guess a natural result of this is that it is inevitable that you'll come across more of life's hardships.
 
Neighbor down the street was diagnosed with leukemia last year....friends wife was just diagnosed with breast cancer. Got a message about a month ago that a former co-worker died of pancreatic cancer in January. Yeah....its all around us.
 
check this one. i don't know what i would do.

wife's family friend. his mother in law died, i believe it was breast cancer. they live in the houston area and were out of town for the mother in law's funeral. it was kinda a sudden death and not expected, so family was a mess. while he's gone, he got a call. his sister died. brain tumor or something like that. she went to the dr feeling ill, couple tests later they rushed her to hospital and she died 5 hrs after that. (similar thing happened to my parent's neighbor about 10 yrs ago).

life is crazy. enjoy every minute you get.
 
Holy ****... I just said this a few days ago to my wife... It's almost like I hear about someone new with it once a week...
 
the longer you live, the more death/tragedies/cancer/etc. that you will see in others. In my 20s, I saw a small # of friends experience cancer but its picked up now I'm almost done with my 30s.

I imagine that if you're in your 60s and have a normal amount of friends and family, you may hear stories of new cancers every week.

On the flip side, I hear more and more good stories about people as well. Just a result of a larger social circle.
 
Mother of my best friend from college has cancer and is on the way out. It sucks. Reminds you to enjoy every ******* day on this earth and honestly do whatever you want with your life.
 
Really, there is not a statement more true than **** cancer.

Cancer scares me and I'm just in my mid 20s. My mother is going through her second round of cancer, my grandfather passed away a year ago from it, etc. I hate to see anyone go through it whether I know them or not.

I don't think I can describe how much I hate cancer, as I'm sure everyone else can relate.

There is one thing that I've learned and that is mentioned on here is to really enjoy each day. Truly, each day is a blessing, so live it up...with the people who bring out the best in you.
 
I agree **** CANCER.

It took my godmother from us 2 years ago and took my step-sisters 10 year old little boy from her about the same time.
 
I've lost 3 of my best old running buddies in the last month...Gettin' old is not for sissies.
 
Agree **** CANCER!!!
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Cancer is finally starting to kick my *** after many years of fighting it off.
At least my sister and my closest friend from college are in remission.
 
[DBT]It seems like everyone I know is getting cancer every year[/DBT]

My family and friends have had a bad run of it as well. Neuroblastoma, AML/ALL, Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, two cases of prostate cancer.

f cancer.
 
My dad is starting to wind down after being diagnosed with a brain tumor in December. I am stunned at his toughness. He can't communicate all that well, but his strength and sheer will to live are inspiring. He's 86 years old, and he is clearly not going down without a fight.

I sure love the old ******.
 
A few days after my brother's 60th b-day in October, he informed me he had pancreatic cancer.

Fast forward to last Tuesday, when I last saw him. After suffering through chemo and radiation, it has now spread to his liver and lungs. He was 6' 3" 230lbs, now 130lbs.

His doctors give him 2-4 months.
 
JimmyJazz & AustinTejasFan- I'm sorry to hear about that. It's bad when you hear about other people going through this, but it's at another level when it's your family that's been there you entire life.
I just registered and posted on my friend's CaringBridge site. That's an amazing site. I've heard many times that the mental aspect to the fight can make the difference in borderline cases. And when I read all of the notes from all of the family & friends it picked up my spirits, so I can only imagine how much it's helping my friend.

good luck to all

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My big brother left us at nine o'clock this morning.

He was a huge Longhorn t-shirt fan. He loved UT. Grew up here in Austin. Worked at UT with me, summers and after school when we were in high school. Took me to my first Texas game when I was eleven. We got into the knot hole section for fifty cents.

He came home from Nam with a bronze star and a purple heart.

He taught me to gig flounder on the flats at Port O'Connor and catch bull reds in the army hole. I think I'll miss him.
 
Jimmyjazz, lost my dad (60 yrs old) to a brain tumor in Dec. He fought for about a year but just couldn't beat it. Lost my best friend 5 years ago to a leukemia related illness. Cancer seems to be everywhere I turn right now. I ******* hate it!

Austin, sorry about your brother! Watching someone wither away like that just sucks.

Celebrate life!
 
These stories are all sad. I will pray for all of you. I've already told my brain tumor story in detail on another board so I won't rehash, but with all the brain CA's I see on here I'll give a short synopsis:
I was diagnosed at the age of 35 with a low-grade malignant brain tumor and have had 3 operations since(I'm 51 now). I was practicing medicine at the time (anesthesiology) and was able to continue until the 3rd surgery in 2002 when they resected a lot of tumor resulting in me becoming weak on my left side, especially my arm. After lots of rehab, I gained some strength back but had to quit medicine and start consulting from home. I've been pretty stable since until the last few months, when my left leg has been getting weaker. I had to start IV chemo 2 months ago. Unless my leg gets stronger I may have to sell my UT tickets this year and miss the RRS. Look for some good deals on Swap Meet. I've been lucky compared to a lot of those who only live a few months, so I'm not complaining. Peace be with you all.
hookem.gif
 
I've had a good acquaintance whom I've known for years because we swam at the same pool. Last year, he was telling me that he had been short of breath, and nobody he saw had an answer.

Come to find out that he had a cancerous kidney, and the cancer had spread, and that was causing his shortness of breath. He had surgery to remove the kidney, and was fighting it well for several months. But a week or so back, another friend visited him. He's left the hospital, and is in his final days at home. Only 72.
 
My mother was a healthy and active senior who played golf three or four days a week up untill last year. Last year, she went to the doctor to have a hiatal hernia removed. We,re not sure exasctly what the surgeon did exactly, but subsequent visits to other doctors revield that not only did they not remove the hernia, she now had terminal lung cancer. She passed away in Oct of 2008. Greatest loss of my life by far. I'm still blown away by the incredible excelleration of cancer once the patient is informed and operated on.
 
I live in a town of about 3,000 people. In November my sister-in-law was told she had Primary Peritoneal Cancer. It is supposedly a really rare form of cancer that has a 100% mortality rate and only affects one in a million. Well, in the last few months I've heard of 2 more people in our town who have the same cancer. So much for the 1 in a million.
 
GRhino, that is an extremely rare form of cancer. In all my years of med school, residency, & practice, I never saw one single case of primary peritoneal carcinoma. There is something wrong in your town. Perhaps chemical or electro-magnetic. You should alert the CDC in Atlanta. Sorry to hear about your sisister-in-law.
 
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