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I am the healthiest person I know, and I got cancer

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Re: I am the healthiest person I know, and I got cancer

#151

Post by Broken_Hippo »

rob74 wrote: post #71
mjbeswick wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Half of cancers in the developed world are due to lifestyle; so how you live has a huge impact in you chances of developing cancer. People often overlook other factors that increase your chances of developing cancer such as obesity, exposure to viruses, immunodeficiency, background radiation etc. Humans are in quite an unlucky position when it comes to developing cancer, due to our relatively small size and long life…

One other major factor people also overlook is genetics - not that you can do anything about it, but if you have cases of cancer in your family, you should probably be extra careful. Plus the obvious things like fair-skinned people needing to be more careful about skin cancer etc.

Pretty much everyone has some cancer in their family. Cancer is really common.

You won't always know there was cancer, though: How often do you hear about Grandpa's prostate or that mole your cousin had removed?

Re: I am the healthiest person I know, and I got cancer

#152

Post by gambiting »

objclxt wrote: post #146
gambiting wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is an interesting difference between the way countries approach this btw. In US, sedation is standard and used in 90%+ of colonoscopies. In UK sedation is rarely used unless specifically requested by the patient, you usually get some gas and air instead. It's not even due to cost, it's just that sedation for colonoscopy is generally unnecessary, it's an uncomfortable but not particularily painful procedure.

> In UK sedation is rarely used unless specifically requested by the patient It varies by hospital trust, there is no uniform guideline. My local NHS hospital sedates for colonoscopy as a matter of course (using fentanyl). But as you say, some don’t, and others ask the patient.

Fair enough, I was told that this is standard practice

Re: I am the healthiest person I know, and I got cancer

#154

Post by martyvis »

xbar wrote: post #39
epistasis wrote: post #8

Individually, a person can reduce their cancer risk with a few things like not smoking, and avoiding sunburns, etc. but that does not eliminate the risk of cancer. It's not a disease that primarily comes from unhealthy living. That said, there is a toooon of cancer that we can prevent as a society though better public health messaging and better environmental laws, such as creating housing and cities that ban cars, s…

My sincere admiration for the author's strength in the face of this terrible hardship. A person can also avoid cancer by choosing a career that is not cancer-inducing. Given the author's cabin crew history: 3.4% of female flight attendants reported having had breast cancer compared with 2.3% of women in the general population group 2.2% of female flight attendants reported having had melanoma skin cancer compared wit…

It was interesting that reading that abstract, that it didn't cite another possible reason - more regular medical examination. I wouldn't be surprised in such a job, flight attendants might be expected to do regular medicals or have other reasons like needing prescription drugs say for sleep tablets. Having more eyes looking may pop up more incidents.

Re: I am the healthiest person I know, and I got cancer

#155

Post by [deleted] »

copperx wrote: post #117
ajuc wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to have colonoscopy every year since I was 18 because of risk factors. I agree it's much less awful than people think (and I especially agree that laxatives and liquid diet prior to it suck much more than the procedure itself). I never take sedation cause it doesn't really hurt and doctors say it's better to have feedback from the patient. I also have to do MRI every year and it's much more frustrating for me…

What is the purpose of the yearly MRI, if I may ask?

[deleted]

Re: I am the healthiest person I know, and I got cancer

#156

Post by tluyben2 »

Findecanor wrote: post #42
epistasis wrote: post #8

Individually, a person can reduce their cancer risk with a few things like not smoking, and avoiding sunburns, etc. but that does not eliminate the risk of cancer. It's not a disease that primarily comes from unhealthy living. That said, there is a toooon of cancer that we can prevent as a society though better public health messaging and better environmental laws, such as creating housing and cities that ban cars, s…

The most common cancer: colon cancer, would be 95% preventable if only people got over silly notions about their butts and got a colonoscopy when they have reached age 45-50. Colon cancer takes a decade to develop from polyp to tumour. The main purpose of a colonoscopy is to find and snip any polyps there could be in the colon. Then you'd be safe from colon cancer for a decade or more. You would normally not feel muc…

> Myself I have an unusual genetic condition, so I unlike normal people, I do a colonoscopy every year. I stay awake and watch the monitor, because I actually want to see what I look like inside. At the end when you reach the small intestine, the cilia on the walls inside there are quite fascinating.

Same here, but I stopped watching the monitors; I just watch a movie on my phone; makes it go (much) quicker for me => I hardly notice anything if the movie (or tv show) is good.

Re: I am the healthiest person I know, and I got cancer

#157

Post by tluyben2 »

adamredwoods wrote: post #84
ajuc wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to have colonoscopy every year since I was 18 because of risk factors. I agree it's much less awful than people think (and I especially agree that laxatives and liquid diet prior to it suck much more than the procedure itself). I never take sedation cause it doesn't really hurt and doctors say it's better to have feedback from the patient. I also have to do MRI every year and it's much more frustrating for me…

In my experience, the entire process takes up about 3 days: 2 for the colon cleansing, 1 for the process and recovery from sedation and possible biopsies.

Mine takes in total 1 evening and 1 morning; the cleansing is 1 evening and they biopsy on the way through which makes it take up a little bit more time but not much. And I never take the sedation as I want to really get out of there asap and I don't feel much anyway.

Re: I am the healthiest person I know, and I got cancer

#159

Post by Findecanor »

heleninboodler wrote: post #57
Findecanor wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most common cancer: colon cancer, would be 95% preventable if only people got over silly notions about their butts and got a colonoscopy when they have reached age 45-50. Colon cancer takes a decade to develop from polyp to tumour. The main purpose of a colonoscopy is to find and snip any polyps there could be in the colon. Then you'd be safe from colon cancer for a decade or more. You would normally not feel muc…

How many have you had? My understanding is the risk of a perforated colon is actually quite high, like 1 in 500. Do you worry about that risk? I got referred to a gastroenterologist before I was 45 and he talked me out of it because he didn't think it was going to show anything (my symptoms that I was referred there for were gone by then) and the risk wasn't worth it. Obviously if you're going to get some life-saving…

I've heard such numbers before and asked my doctor about them, but been told that those are overexaggerated. A higher risk apply to patients with intestinal diseases such as Chron's (not me) or when doctors have conducted minor surgery from inside the gut.

A normal colon is quite flexible, and should not get hurt just from the endoscope being pushed through the gut.

Snipping a "normal" polyp or taking a biopsy would cause a little bleeding, but should heal up quickly. I've been told that I could see blood in my stool after it, but it's been so little that I haven't.

Re: I am the healthiest person I know, and I got cancer

#160

Post by Broken_Hippo »

headsoup wrote: post #63
epistasis wrote: post #8

Individually, a person can reduce their cancer risk with a few things like not smoking, and avoiding sunburns, etc. but that does not eliminate the risk of cancer. It's not a disease that primarily comes from unhealthy living. That said, there is a toooon of cancer that we can prevent as a society though better public health messaging and better environmental laws, such as creating housing and cities that ban cars, s…

How prevalent was colon cancer a) historically and b) since the advent of colonoscopies?

It doesn't take much to realize that no one can answer this. Causes of death get really weird as you go back in time. And it isn't like we can dig up bodies to know since soft tissue isn't usually preserved. We know cancer has been an issue for centuries, though.

We've not been doing colonoscopies nearly as long and we still don't do them to the general population (Even if your country recommends you get them once you reach a certain age: Healthcare is sparse in many areas of the world). This does mean that we really don't know how prevalent it is except in some populations. And even then, we probably don't know since we do not routinely do them to younger folks.

I'm sure there are all sorts of other issues with this, but I'm a layperson and I'm guessing you are too.

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