I had an email yesterday from a friend who said the husband of a mutual friend had died of pancreatic cancer Sunday night. He is a couple of years younger than I am. I think I have survivor's guilt when I hear of people who have died from cancer. Why them?
I came across a longevity calculator. I took the test and found that I should live to be 97. I can increase my longevity by one year by cutting my LDL. There were a couple of other ways I could increase my longevity by six months or a year. At that point, is it worth it? What was interesting, was the test didn't ask about occurence of cancer. It asked if any first or second degree relatives had cancer. I think it asked about heart disease and not just familiar occurence of heart disease. I'm not sure why I take those tests, but they are interesting. And irrelevant.
It seems to me that I will always have the spector of cancer hanging over my head like the dust cloud that hangs over Pigpen. Because it did happen. Because I can't say "it won't ever happen to me." On the other hand, my first check up was clear. I have my second in a little more than two weeks. I'll have my blood checked (not a great marker for ovarian cancer, but the only one there is).
I think I'm going to do Thanksgiving today. My son is here and we eat out a lot because we both love food, really good food. But I think we are both tired of eating out. I may get another veggie. We have spinach and sweet potatoes. I had wanted to do a road trip to New Orleans (because I love food, did I mention that?) but I am too tired for that. So, I made beignettes yesterday. I'm still woozy from the sugar. Lemon tarts are on the menu for Thanksgiving, but those may wait a day or two.
I did walk 1.5 miles yesterday (sounds more impressive than I walked for half an hour). We're going to try for 2 today. I'm going to start with weights next week after I check with the surgeon. He said I could go back to whatever I was doing before after two weeks, but I'm still sore and have difficulty bending. Hope to start jogging again next week too and swimming.
It will be a beautiful day today. Sunny and warm, high 50s. Maybe even up into the 60s.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
It sounds like you're doing a lot!
I never thought of making beignets myself, such a great idea. But I'll get some next month, so perhaps I can wait.
Academy Award Winning Actress Kathy Bates Opens Up to OCNA about her Experience with Ovarian Cancer
A few weeks ago, the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance (OCNA) had the opportunity to sit down with Academy Award winning actress Kathy Bates to listen as she told the tale -- for the first time publicly -- of her personal fight with ovarian cancer. The interview was very personal and in-depth and shares insights about how she was diagnosed with the disease. Additionally, Ms. Bates filmed a 30-second TV Public Service Announcement (PSA) about ovarian cancer and its symptoms, which launched in NYC Taxi Cabs during September, National Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, and is running on TV networks nationwide.
“OCNA recognizes the personal strength it took Kathy to talk publicly about her run-in with cancer,” says Karen Orloff Kaplan, Chief Executive Officer of OCNA. “We appreciate her willingness to share her story and be an advocate for the organization in its mission to educate women across the country about ovarian cancer.”
To view the OCNA Kathy Bates 5-minute interview clip and 30-second TV PSA, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/ovariancancerorg
“As an ovarian cancer survivor, I have decided to join forces with the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance by sharing my story and helping educate women about one of the deadliest cancers affecting women today.” -- Kathy Bates
Raising awareness about ovarian cancer on a national and local level is essential because diagnosing the disease is difficult. The number of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer in its early stages is so small that the survival rates continue to be low. In more than 30 years since the War on Cancer was declared, ovarian cancer mortality rates have not significantly improved. About 22,000 American women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2008 and about 15,000 women will die from the disease.
If interested in learning more about the Kathy Bates interview and PSA or would like copies to share with your community, please contact Faryl Greller, Director of Communications & Marketing, at OCNA by phone at 202.331.1332, ext. 307 or email at fgreller@ovariancancer.org.
Post a Comment