Surviving Cancer

PearlieMae was afraid of the disease that eventually, through complications, took her life. She knew of neighbors who suffered from breast cancer and rather than call the condition to the attention of her doctors she hid the smell of the disease as it ravaged her body. PearlieMae was of the same generation as that neighbor whose religion prevented her from seeking help that might have prolonged her life. We can't speak of PearlieMae's opinion of the neighbor. We do know that she knew of the woman and knew of her condition and her passing.

Cancer is again much in the news due to actor Michael Douglas' treatment. The son to noted actor and stroke survivor Kirk Douglas is considered "cancer-stricken" and like his father shares his' father's fatherhood regrets when career came before family. Now this is a stretch but we included the Douglas' with the neighbor in our story to highlight how knowing information and actually being able to utilize the information are often very difficult tasks.

Michael who may or may not have had to watch his grandfather suffer and die from smoking must have known that his father (Kirk) wasn't a smoker until:

"Hollywood started me smoking, literally putting a cigarette in my hand. Who knows how many moviegoers have started smoking because of what they have seen on the screen? Too many movies glorify young people smoking. It doesn't have to be this way. I have done at least 50 pictures where I avoided smoking. In one film, ''The Brotherhood,'' I played a Mafia character and chewed on a cigar. In a scene from a film I just did, ''The Illusion,'' when offered a cigarette, I say: ''I don't smoke. I have cancer.'' " - New York Times

That is unless career kept father Kirk Douglas from imparting to his son Michael the suffering his grandfather endured and the strength that fueled his ability to quit. The story of which the elder Douglas wrote of and was published in the New York Times.

"After many years of smoking, my father was told by his doctor that he would die of cancer if he did not stop smoking. So he quit cold turkey. Here's how he did it: he always carried one cigarette in the breast pocket of his shirt. When he felt the urge to smoke, he'd take the cigarette out and look at it fiercely. With a growl, he would say, in his Russian accent, ''Who's stronger? You -- me?'' He would glare at the cigarette: ''I stronger.'' And he'd put the cigarette back in his pocket. He did that for a few years, but it was too late. He died of cancer at age 72." - New York Times (May 2003)

Neglect doesn't lead to cancer and we're not trying to suggest such a connection but we are trying to suggest that neglect can lead to repeating what can be avoided and can have disastrous and long term affects that can be repeated in families broken or otherwise. Sometimes stories should be discussed in polite company if only to learn how individuals feel about detection and treatment. Sometimes its just good to know that people, even those whom we see on screens big and small, suffer and prevail.

Jefferson Thomas a "Little Rock nine" member was much younger than PearlieMae. While Mr. Thomas was only briefly on the small screen his passing from pancreatic cancer caught our eye when we read of the latest report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). While nothing is written in the story on his cancer struggle it got us to thinking about cancer, secrets, treatment and prevention.

That's when the memory of PearlieMae and the neighbor returned to our memory. We can't rewrite what has been written. Like sharks that can only swim forward, life is a forward journey that each of us must make. Though sharks can only swim forward they, like each of us can also move in a circle. (Thanks to PBS we've learned that sharks don't have to "move or die" some varieties can stand still. We keep mentioning sharks because since 1970 sharks and cows cartilage has been considered for the treatment and/or cure for cancer. While none of the research has been considered successful enough to be commercial viable. The hope still remains. With the big "casino" (cancer) for many hope is all there is.)  We should move forward and forward or upward and onward. We should seek to go where we've never been before. Or so we guess.

The JAMA research found that women having elective mastectomies and

"...women with a genetic predisposition to ovarian cancer may consider preemptively removing their fallopian tubes and ovaries. “Early intervention” can also save the lives of people predisposed to certain types of kidney and thyroid cancers." 

There is a drug for the treatment of prostate cancer, in its early stages or think of it as elective surgery. The down side of treatment is possible hair growth for thinning hair, decreased desire or possible pain in the region.

 "In 2003, the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT), involving more than 18,000 patients, found that finasteride cut the incidence of prostate cancer by 25 percent -- the first drug to do so." Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF)

The down side is doctor's don't prescribe the drug because they were poorly informed about the drug. While admitted the physicians in the study were in the Veteran's Administration (VA) it is a stretch to assign ignorance to all physicians in every walk of life. However if you learn or suspect prostate cancer a good place to start is with a question concerning the drug treatment before considering surgery especially if caught early.

Early detection whether or not you'd like to go to the extreme and have elective surgery is the key to survival at the very least. While we doubt such an extreme could extend to elective prostate cancer surgery or elective skin removal surgery we're amazed that so much focus has been placed on elective mastectomies. If there was a family history the women stated they'd consider it. The men have a different point of view altogether.

"Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men." - American Cancer Society (2010) 

Again it just might be this generation or our generation. As for PearlieMae's generation who knew what they considered that makes a woman a woman. Is it because she has her breasts or is she less of a woman if she's had a hysterectomy? As our younger family members deal with their own bouts with the big "C" we'll keep reviewing the research and sharing what we find and what isn't being shared. May the disease never be a part of your family and your life.

The American Cancer Society (ACS)suggests you can prevent cancer by:

1. Eat an abundance of foods from plant-based sources.
2. Limit fat. 
3. Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all.

HPV Hope and Help

What finally beat PearlieMae and many of our relatives was the dreaded "C" word (cancer). It was their generation's AIDS and struck more fear and hopelessness in them than any other condition. For them and their peers it was a sentence of death. It didn't matter how many therapies, protocols or alternative treatments there were. It meant they were going to die. Indeed in spite of the fact that her doctors didn't expect her to respond to treatment PearlieMae did. She could have survived her cancer. It would not have meant she would have been cured but she would not have had to die from the ravages of the disease. PearlieMae surrendered to her illness. She gave up hope and that's what killed her.

While the debate continues concerning the cervical cancer vaccine for teenage girls and young adults some researchers are suggesting is that as hopeful as this treatment is it isn't the be all end all cure that many would believe especially for the teenage future PearlieMaes.

"...excess of 18,000 adverse reactions recorded in the US, including 75 deaths. Adverse reactions have also been recorded in New Zealand, Canada and Australia. A US federal report in 2009 found the vaccine had a 400% higher rate of adverse reactions than another comparable vaccine, the Menactra anti-meningitis shot. The Irish Medicines Board (IMB) said it had received 10 reports of suspected adverse reactions associated with Gardasil." (Irish Examiner)

Hope springs eternal - while we know the cervix isn't a bone and PearlieMae's cancer wasn't cervical it made it into her back and into her bones. The same institution that is developing a more effective vaccine than Gardasil which only works against four (4) types of HPV (human papillomavirus) and Cervarix which only works against five (5) types with a vaccine that works against nine (9) types of the cancer. Extending the effectiveness from eighty (80) percent to ninety (90) percent effectiveness and essentially reducing the possibility of adverse reactions.

"Cancer has a greater economic impact from premature death and disability than all causes of death worldwide, according to a report from the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the LIVESTRONG organization. Using data from the World Health Organization (WHO), it concludes that cancer "has the most devastating economic impact of any cause of death in the world." (Medscape Today)

The Medical College of Georgia (MCG) has also identified a protein that can result in fragile bones. While PearlieMae's cancer cause her bones to be brittle and hindsight is 20/20 we believe that had she not been so depressed by her virus she might have survived to live a longer life and suffered a more prolonged death. Of course we would believe this because we miss her so much and love her so. We loved her enough to concede to her wishes to not prolong her death.

"In late-stage arthritis, the cartilage function may be completely disrupted but early in the disease process, maybe there is a window for stimulating this protein." (MCG)

Family members that haven't told their own parental units are terrified of their condition even though when discovered in the early stages treatment can be very effective. That's not just our opinion it's also the opinion of specialist in the field.

"If cervical cancer is caught very early, surgery alone may effect a cure. If the disease is more extensive, then radiation is added to the treatment mix... ...Patients with cervical cancer and, in some cases, uterine cancer first get external beam radiation under the new large bore linear accelerator at the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center. This first phase of radiation treatment lasts about five to five-and-a-half weeks. - Dr. Chris Sheils (MCG)

Yes, we're big on prevention but actionable prevention like eating dark non-milk chocolate, adding deep colored foods to your diet - the easy stuff. We even support the taking of vaccines to prevent an annual massacre. But you have to compare the upside to down and make the judgment yourself. We just want to make sure that the treatment isn't as bad as the cure.

So sweet relative of ours, please tell your momma - there is hope and you will survive.