Today's Special

We took my mother in law out for lunch today to the restaurant that I used to work at.  It was good to see my old boss and a few old coworkers.  I got caught up on some of the news from them and got to see some baby pictures of my ex-bosses new daughter.  I also heard some great news while I was there! 

I had run into the old owner a long time ago and she had told me that she had just been diagnosed with breast cancer.  She hadn't begun the treatment at that time but she was visibly shaken and of course worried.  They had just sold the restaurant so she had been looking forward to lots of traveling in her retirement.  This definitely put quite a kink in her plans and caused her a lot of worry about her future.  I had gotten a few updates on her while she was getting treatment and it was difficult but she was dealing with it.  I just hadn't been in contact with anyone for quite some time and didn't go in to the restaurant since we have moved and it was farther away so today I was anxious to hear how she is doing.  I got the news that she has made a full recovery, is cancer free and is now trying to make up for a year of missed travel!  I'm quite excited for her and her family. 

It seems they have made some good advancements in the treatment of breast cancer and when I looked up statistics they said the fatality rate has been on a decline since the 1980s.  Unfortunately though one in 9 women will contract breast cancer over their lifetime.  Even with numbers this high breast cancer is not the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Ontario.  The most frequent is prostate cancer.  This is not the leading cause of cancer death however.  That spot belongs to lung cancer.  I know not everyone who contracts lung cancer was a smoker but I'm sure a majority were or are smokers.  It's sad to know a big contributing factor of this cancer is caused by something people do intentionally even knowing it leads to a fairly difficult to treat and deadly cancer. 

I find it interesting that the most "popular" one we hear about is breast cancer though.  There is so many campaigns, fund raisers and visibility of the pink ribbons that people can't help but know about breast cancer.  I know this had done a lot of good and is most likely a large reason that the fatality had decreased and the treatments have advanced.  Maybe it's time to spread some of that awareness to other cancers as well.  To assist in lowering the fatalities and raise awareness for prostate cancer can't hurt.  I wonder if it would convince more men to get checked.  Catching things early is a big factor in recovery so encouraging checks might make a difference.  Do men know that one in 7 of them will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime?  That is an Ontario stat too. 

If there is something we can do, if not to prevent contracting a cancer then at least to catch it early, then it's worth checking.  For prostate the recommendation is yearly screening after age 50.  So my husband is safe from my nagging for quite a while still.  It does seem that the fatality rates are on a steady decline for this cancer as well.  Hopefully we will get to a point were all cancer is caught early and eliminated quickly.  Until that day though we will just have to do what we can to prevent it and do our checks for early detection.  Oh, and maybe quit smoking. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Anna Karenina By Leo Tolstoy - A Book Review

How Much Is That A Baby In The Womb

Money, the Root of All Evil?