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My Take on Strength
By: Ritika P
Tags: Women, Cancer, Strength, Tips, Willpower

ft. My Mothers’ Strategy

If you’ve had a conversation with me, you’re probably going to hear about my mother within the first hour. However, I am pretty private with one detail: I was 12 years old when she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. She was 40.

Several friends have come to me upon hearing of the dismal news of their loved ones being diagnosed with cancer. My mother has voluntarily offered her experience through a phone call, by meeting them in person, or through passing her advice to me.

I’m not sure how many of my readers will have had a loved one diagnosed with cancer. I know a handful of you have.This is for you.

What kept my mom going through 6 rounds of intense chemotherapy and radiation?

Will power: The prospect of death never phased her. She knew she would live, that she had to, for her 2 young children. My brother, Nishaant, was only 6. Faith: My mom would allow a few minutes for prayer, every morning. She mentioned that her faith in God helped comfort her and helped her endure this difficult phase of her life. She said that she had left it to God to decide on her destiny. Nutrition: She was fortunate to have access to fresh, nutritious meals. Beetroot and pomegranate, foods rich in anti-oxidants helped her retain her physical strength which was frequently lost due to her repeated cycles of chemo. Mindset: Besides her young children, she had to be strong for her parents. My mom received her medical care in Mumbai, at her parent’s house. She chose to stay with her parents as optimal care was ensured from her family in India. She told me her parents were devastated. My grandmother and aunt would frequently cry after combing her hair, after seeing clumps fall out. They were not sure if she would make it. Distraction: Reading, writing cards, and conversations with her children & her friends kept her spirits alive. We weren’t with my mom when she was undergoing her treatment since we had to go back to school in the U.S.

Most years, my mother participates in the American Cancer Society’s Survivor Walk. She doesn’t know this, but I cannot help but cry profusely seeing her in the midst of so many other survivors proudly walk through the finish line. And yes, I do hide. No one is going to catch me slipping ;).
How to support someone with cancer in the workplace
By: I-Brokers Marketing Team
Tags: Cancer, Cancer Awareness, Cancer Survivor, Cancer Health, Cancer Care

Credit article: i-Brokers

As a small business employer, when your co-worker or employee is diagnosed with cancer, it is important to know what needs to be done to help the person smoothly get through this tough situation. Here we have put together a hands-on guide on what to act, say and do to make the workplace environment encouraging as well as make someone with cancer in the workplace feel peace of mind as much as possible.

Table of contents

Be mindful of what to say

Allow your co-worker to lead conversations as well as the level of extent the person can expose about their cancer. Some colleagues would like to be left alone whereas others need to speak out their mind. Think of this on behalf of them to remove the pressure off them. For instance, you can make or arrange a meal for them, or do their tasks for them if they feel too overwhelmed and exhausted.

As an employer, you play a lead role to support this staff member for the cancer treatment and you are in a position to make positive impact on the person.

Be consistent with your caring attitude

There will be good days and bad days for someone with cancer in the workplace both physically and mentally. Stay on the course of showing your concern and kindness for them will really help them feel rest assured and smoothly get through this medical challenge. This includes making work-related discussions sound ordinary as much as possible, while making your employee feel they are part of the team and treated the same as people without the disease.

Be open with expectations on both sides

Another important step you can take is to keep having conversations with them by urging your affected employee to share what they need from you, be it the flexibility of working arrangement, return-to-work arrangements or changes to their daily work responsibilities. Simply put, having an open and honest chat about mutual expectations for both of you and what is doable and not achievable at this particular moment will pave a clear path for any new agendas for both sides.

Takeaway

Make sure you share with the affected employee all the cancer support choices your company offers, including their benefits and ways they can be approached through their immediate line manager or Human Resources department. It is also very important to offer your employees with best practice tips and interactive meetings to keep them up-to-date with how to best react with their colleagues and to demystify every important aspect about cancer in the workplace.
Some encouragement when healing and recovering from Cancer.
Tags: Cancer, Miracles, Healing, Hope, Faith

Some encouragement when healing and recovering from Cancer.

If you have ever walked through Cancer or with a loved one going through Cancer you will know it can be a real strain and cause alot of grief and sadness. But there is always hope and here is some encouragement to put your mind at ease.

Sometimes we need to admit we need to change. Whether its unforgiveness or a change in our diet and fitness or our prayer and spiritual life. We need to acknowledge were there is a need for us to change our ways for the better.

Let go of baggage and burdens we carry and walk light and free. Lift our heads and eyes to things above and be enveloped by a higher love. Each day is a fight of survival. So be gentle with yourself and those you care about.

We need to always take things into consideration and know that serenity comes from trusting the outcome as something that cannot be controlled

Miracles do happen so keep believing and have faith for the outcome while taking action towards healing and care. Transform your life with grace and gratitude for each day. Be blessed and be a blessing to those around you.

Regain your strength by fearlessly claiming your complete restoration as you have so much life to live and to live for.

If you find this article inspirational then make sure you follow, applaud and recommend thanks and take care.
How He Made My Mother’s day?
By: Let Me Blog For Myself
Tags: Pets And Animals, Cancer, Anxiety, Acupuncture, Pet Adoption

It is a fresh early morning and I woke up with a smile as my mother recovered from Cancer. She was suffering from breast cancer. Doctors mentioned, she is fine now and we can discharge her in 3 days.

It is 8’O AM in the morning and I am already late to reach the hospital. I woke up took shower and packed lunch for me and mom. I was waiting for the cab to come. Meanwhile, Sam called me from outside. Oh, I forgot to introduce him, he is my boyfriend. We’re in relation for last 5 years and planning to get married in the next winter and are also going to settle in the Dominican Republic, one of the sexiest islands of the Caribbean Archipelago. He owns a restaurant and is planning to open a new branch there.

I along with my boyfriend are planning to give a surprise party in the backyard of my house. All the arrangements were done. I sat in Sam’s car and called my pool assistant to clean the pool. “Everything is done, are we missing out on anything?” I mentioned. He smiled and said no we’re done. I canceled the cab which I booked. We adopted a dog from the adoption center to gift my mom. So that she can fulfill her loneliness. His breed was a retriever. We planned to give her when she comes from the hospital.

Hospital arrived. I got off the car and waved goodbye to Sam. I took lunch to my mom and Sam left with the puppy. We decided to name him Leo.
People with cancer’s experience with Macmillan My Data Store
By: Sam Hill
Tags: Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer, Personal Data Store, Personal Data, Apps

Data are stored in the individual’s PDS, not on their devices. For people with cancer, it gives them a single, personalisable place where a piece of data is only entered once, and used many times without any extra friction, effort, risk, and cost. When people who support those with cancer enter data about somebody, it’s sent to the PDS of the person the data are about. This way, the individual begins to build a rich record of their journey and can use their app to give permission for anyone to use their data, without having to send it themselves. From the individual’s perspective, the process is automatic.

This is especially useful for one of Macmillan’s Improving the Cancer Journey Service’s main innovations: the use of Holistic Needs Assessments (HNAs). HNAs give a cohesive view of people’s needs beyond just their health, and are a key part of the Service. Having their data placed into their PDS for them automatically will unlock a lot of potential to streamline people’s experience with the Service. The HNA is used to refer or signpost people to different services they may benefit from and, at the moment, this leads to a fragmented experience: more friction, effort, risk, and cost than is necessary. In the Macmillan My Data Store app, it’s easier for people to take control and drive their own journeys.

Through the app, they then get a consistent experience where everything they need is in one place. It has various features to help individuals manage their journeys, such as:
Men With Breast Cancer Have A Monthly ‘Virtual Meet Up’ Thanks To Charity Collaboration
By: Will Nelson
Tags: Cancer, Breast Cancer, Mens Health

A transatlantic project between cancer charities has led to a new monthly online meet up which aims to help men with breast cancer.

The peer-led ‘Virtual Meet Up’ is from De Montfort University, Walk the Walk, and American charities AnCan and the Male Breast Cancer Coalition.

Dr Kerry Quincey, 33, lecturer at De Montfort University and a founder of the VMU, helped give men this platform.

She said: “It’s ran for men, by men with a history of breast cancer.”

Dr Quincey knew this would be a challenge, but sees men exhibit a want and need for this group.

Image Courtesy of Walk the Walk

Doug Harper, 58, Walthamstow, is in complete remission of his stage two breast cancer and one of the groups leaders, he talked about the first time he met another man with breast cancer:

“We didn’t particularly talk about our experience of it, it was just identifying somebody else with the same condition.

“It was like we all knew each other, there was nothing forced about it, nothing staged, everyone was just relaxed.”

Walk the Walk collaborated on the ‘Virtual Meet Up’ to ensure that these invaluable connections can be forged, Sally Orr, Communications Director, said:

“Walk the Walk recognises the importance of the men meeting other men, once a year we get them together — many of them have never previously met a man who has had breast cancer.”

The VMU allows men to meet monthly, instead of just once a year.

David and Doug have used the arts to tell men about male breast cancer

Breast cancer patient David McCallion, 56, Greater Manchester, had his treatment fast tracked during the pandemic and sees how valuable the VMU is after you leave the care system.

He said: “When you get past the bit where you’ve had all the major therapies, to a degree then you are no longer part of that emergency network.

“That’s when you feel a little bit out on a limb again.”

Despite only 370 men being diagnosed with breast cancer a year in the UK, one in five of those men will lose their life to the disease.

You can find out more about the VMU here.
Max Devereaux
By: Karen Kaye
Tags: Mylastbreast, Cancer, Boxing, Survivor

Living Out Loud and on Purpose

Max Devereaux

All Photo Copyrights Reserved

Contributed by Nancy Self, Max Devereaux Publicity

Every six minutes a women is diagnosed with breast cancer. In November 2010, Maxine Devereaux became one in six, her number had been called and she was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer, stage C3.

Fueled by life-altering events and the raw emotion experienced with tragedy and loss, author Max Devereaux presents: My Last Breast, her personal journey through what she calls Cancer Land.

Devereaux, has had many family members pass away with various forms of cancer however, she never thought in a million years that the disease would invade her body. But it did in 2010, it came like a thief in the night and invaded her breast like a squatter, refusing to be removed unless the foundation were condemned or torn down.

Now she taps that experience in the first of a planned series of books which demonstrates what happens when cancer is the squatter in your body that you can’t seem to evict. The book is entitled “My Last Breast” and is written from the perspective of Max Devereaux’s personal journey with breast cancer.

My Last Breast will capture the foibles, heartbreaks adventures of having breast cancer and having a double mastectomy. The stories will have their serious side, but will show a lighter side as well.

Max has recently made an appearance on Kirsty TV with host, Kirsty Spraggon, revealing her story to help others. The first of many upcoming national events.

She recently has been lauded as the bravest woman to grace the cover of a publication. On the cover of Enspire Magazine, she fully exposes her physical scars to give courage to others affected by a traumatic event. Drawing strength from any criticism of her decision to do so, it only ignites the fire to Live Out Loud and on Purpose….

Enspire Website: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.enspireusall.com%2F&h=LAQFCzaNp

Max Devereaux is a Short Story Author, Novelist, Screenwriter and a Literary Addict. Her Addictions are: Screenplays Made for TV Movies Short Films Musicals Books Stage Plays Max Devereaux gives literary foreplay that has you yearning for more. When she’s not entertaining strangers with her writing, she’s most likely entertaining her husband Joseph, her family and friends.

You can visit her at www.maxdevereaux.com

and also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Max-Devereaux/731911926822556

Max is available for interviews and appearances. For booking presentations, media appearances, interviews, and/or book-signings contact: Nancy Self at maxdevereauxpr@aol.com

(900) #66 HOLLYWOOD HAPPENINGS Max Devereaux Interview with Karen Kaye — YouTube
Conseils pour reconnaître le cancer
Tags: Cancer, Reconnaitre, Puor, Les, Conseils

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A Brush with Cancer Research: Translating good grades to much more
By: Swati Kanwal
Tags: STEM, Cancer, Research, Artificial Intelligence, Women In Tech

PPS: It is important to mention that at the time of accepting the offer, my hyperactive imagination may have lured me to believe that the research I do at TTCRC as an undergrad researcher could actually save a life and other similar mildly heroic thoughts that I had SO naively entertained before my first day on the job!

The first week of work at TTCRC was humbling because not only did I find myself struggling to keep up with the medical jargon that biologists and doctors so eloquently used to describe their experiments but I also learnt of the incredibly high standards of performance that newly developed experimental “AI” solutions for the medical domain must meet before they are even tested with actual patient samples.

PPS: As a computer engineering undergrad, who did not take biology in high school, referencing and reviewing research literature from medical journals like BLOOD was a painful experience that most definitely bruised my self esteem.

On a more serious note, during the first week at TTCRC, I spent my time learning about ‘Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia’ (ALL), a type of blood cancer that is prevalent in children, in greater detail. I learnt that the pressing need to study drug response for this specific illness is to tackle the problem of unaffordable medication that many ALL patients face in India. This gave me clarity on the “big picture” problem this research aims to address and ultimately played a significant role in keeping me motivated throughout my time as a Research Fellow. I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity of working at the Tata Translational Cancer Research Centre to complete my undergraduate thesis. Most of all I am glad that I got a chance to apply what I learnt in class to solve a problem that truly matters.

Through this article I’d like to share two main takeaways from my time as a fledgling undergrad researcher.

Takeaways:

#1 “Can I explain this to a child?” is a handy learning metric.

During my time as a Research Fellow, there were instances when I had to explain my approach or the limitations I faced, to doctors and biologists who were obviously not familiar with any Machine Learning lingo. I found myself stumped at times, not knowing how to explain technical terms to them. So I devised a question that now serves as a binary learning metric of sorts for me, namely — Can I explain this to a child? Only if the answer to this question is a YES, I assume I’ve actually understood the concept well enough to express it in its simplest form with an example or analogy. For quick self analysis before meetings or presentations, I made it a point to break down technical concepts related to my work to the point where expressing the concept in the simplest way possible with an example wasn’t a challenge. This not only helped me communicate better, it also improved my own understanding of concepts.
Gene Marker PACS a Punch for Cervical Cancer Treatments
By: Tara Fernandez
Tags: Cancer, Cell Biology, Biomarkers Market, Womens Health, Medicine

In cervical cancer, mutations in healthy cells cause cells to grow and multiply uncontrollably, invading surrounding tissues and spreading around the body. Infection by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and lifestyle factors are among the root causes of the disease. In 2020, nearly 14,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer and over 4,000 will die from it.

Chemotherapy and radiation are standard clinical interventions for cervical cancer. However, the problem is that not every patient will respond favorably to these treatments. Until now, there is no way for physicians to distinguish which subset of patients will benefit from standard treatment strategies and which should opt for alternatives.

Now, cancer experts from UCLA have identified a gene called PACS-1, which when expressed at high levels in cervical cancer tissues, points towards possible resistance to chemo treatment. The scientists were able to track the dynamics of the PACS-1 protein in cells derived from primary tumors and made an interesting discovery.

When the PACS-1 protein translocated from the cell’s cytoplasm to the nucleus, this made the cell resistant to killing by cancer therapeutics. This occurred through the PACS-1-mediated suppression of the DNA damage response — an in-built safety mechanism in cells that repairs DNA to prevent the generation of deleterious mutations.

The study, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, suggests that PACS-1 represents a viable diagnostic marker that could contribute to improved therapeutic strategies for patients with chemo-resistant cervical cancer. The authors suggest that treatments that suppress PACS-1 expression in combination with chemotherapeutics or immuno-oncology approaches might be the key to addressing these tumors which until now, have been deemed untreatable.

Source: Journal of Biological Chemistry.
My Father Has Cancer
By: Gaston King
Tags: Dads, Cancer, Medicine, Self Improvement, Running

Photo by Jakub Kriz on Unsplash

Once I allowed the words to sink in, it released an unrecognizable shock.

I suppose each person reacts to the news differently.

I jumped in my shoes, grabbed my phone, plugged in headphones and ran.

I began running in search for some answer to the forever asked question,

“Why?”

Of all of the sinister individuals’ society has created, my father was not one of them.

A kind undeserving soul should not be punished with sickness.

The fear of loss began to spread in my mind like a plague.

Fearing the last hug, the last handshake, or the last chance to receive guidance.

I ran harder and faster inconsiderate of the lack of breaths I took.

Each curve on the sidewalk served as minor obstacles, and if I overcame them, he’d be alright.

I bolted throughout my neighborhood searching for answers, ignoring the tears.

I began sacrificing my own breaths in hopes that he’d have them.

I struggled to accept that the information was real.

Months later I saw him in person with his wife alongside my brother.

Fear had crept into his eyes where tears began to form.

My brother does not let emotions register his nature.

How jealous I was for being unable to control myself.

I took a deep breath at the Cracker Barrel dining table and placed my head down.

I remembered that run. Feeling as though I was a hopeless wanderer searching for clarity.

I’d continued running for hours.

I ran past my old gym, glanced over at my old middle school, and didn’t stop until the bridge.

There was a wooden bridge alongside a creek. It was cryptic and frail.

I began walking with clenched fists, I made it to the middle of the bridge and screamed.

I continued on, moving with meaning in hopes to arrive at the entrance before sun down.

I finally arrived at the Lake Carolina entrance.

The sidewalk faded, I ran through the tall grass to find the ledge to leap on and look out.

The sun began to descend, I lifted my hands and prayed.

I begged my heavenly father to stop this sickness and to stop my blubbering eyes from leaking.
Eight Lifestyle Tips to Drop Breast Cancer Risk
By: Michael Hunter Md
Tags: Health, Women, Cancer, Lifestyle, Breast Cancer

Health

Eight Lifestyle Tips to Drop Breast Cancer Risk

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Many factors can influence your risk of getting breast cancer. Of course, some variables are not changeable, including getting older and your family history. However, there are ways you can help lower your risk of breast cancer.

A risk factor is something that raises your probability of getting a disease, such as breast cancer. But having risk factors does not mean that you are certain to get the disease. Some breast cancer risk factors are related to personal behaviors. Today we explore ways you can empower yourself or individuals about whom you care.

Photo by Wil Stewart on Unsplash

Seven Ways to Help Reduce Your Risk

Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight increases breast cancer risk, particularly after menopause. Here’s one reason why: After menopause, the vast majority of your estrogen comes from fat tissue. Having more fat tissue raises the amount of estrogen your body makes, in turn, lifting your breast cancer risk. Also, being overweight is associated with higher levels of insulin, which also raises risk. Get regular physical activity. Regular exercise can drop your breast cancer risk. The American Cancer Society (ACS) Guidelines for Diet and Physical Activity recommend getting at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity each week. Don’t drink alcohol, or limit it. Women who have one standard drink a day have about a 1.1-times increase in risk compared with non-drinkers, while women who have 2 to 3 drinks a day have about a 1.2-times higher risk than non-drinkers. If you choose to consume alcohol, the ACS recommends that women have no more than one standard drink on any given day. A standard drink is 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor. Don’t smoke cigarettes. Breastfeed your children, if possible. Combination hormones. If you consider hormones (such as hormone replacement therapy or oral contraceptives), ask your healthcare provider about the risks. The combination of estrogen and progesterone increases breast cancer risk. The combination hormone approach can also increase breast density, rendering it more challenging to find breast cancer on a mammogram. If you choose to use hormone replacement therapy, keep the dose as low as possible, and use it for as short a time as possible. Know your risk. Ask a healthcare provider to help you calculate your own risk. This is especially important if you have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer or inherited genetic changes such as BRCA1 or BRCA2. Get screening as indicated.

Staying healthy throughout your life will lower your risk of developing cancer, and improve your chances of surviving cancer if it occurs.

References
Dependable
By: Robert Faron
Tags: Kindness, Cancer, Helping Others, Caretakers, Poetry

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

My trust is so mighty

The reliable love of one

Who is always there,

Always concerned, always caring.

She supports my mind,

My spirit, my body.

Her yoga-like presence is as

A mindful moment, every moment.

Her food enriches my body,

Enriches my taste

Fills my mouth with flavors so rich,

I burst with pleasure at the memory.

She is a refuge for me in every situation

That wears or is difficult to bear,

I can always depend on her.

© 2020 Robert Faron
Molecular Diagnostics Market Worth $18.2 Billion By 2027
By: Gaurav Shah
Tags: Cancer, Thailand, Vietnam, Technology, Singapore

The global molecular diagnostics market size is expected to reach USD 18.2 billion by 2027, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., registering a CAGR of 9.0% over the forecast period. Increasing prevalence of infectious diseases such as influenza and human papillomavirus is projected to be the key factor the growth of the market.

In the underdeveloped regions of Africa, increasing instances of infections such as tuberculosis and HIV have been witnessed in the last few years. This is projected to drive the demand for accurate and early diagnostic techniques to curb the spread of these infections.

Rapid technological advancements-leading to accurate results, portability, and cost-effectiveness-are expected to be a high impact rendering driver for this market. Companies are upgrading their products by implementing new techniques to gain specific and accurate results. Companies such as Sigma Aldrich Corporation and Qiagen are developing a new range of molecular diagnostic techniques, such as Transcription-Mediated Amplification (TMA) and Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP), for the diagnosis of tumors.

Key players in the market are adopting various marketing strategies such as collaborations with technologically advanced companies and diagnostic centers. Furthermore, players are focusing on expanding their geographic presence in order to increase their market share.

Click the link below:

https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/molecular-diagnostics-market

Further key findings from the study suggest:
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By: Aark Pharmaceuticals
Tags: Cancer, Medicine, Oncology, Pharmaceutical

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Your story makes me cry.
By: Victor Nguyen
Tags: Death, Cancer

Your story makes me cry. Yes, you did the right thing. You remained calm & peaceful in her death bed. This is her journey to the other world. Not sth loss to feel a great deal of suffering. I believe that life has a meaning, for everyone, regardless of how short or long a life may last. We just don’t know that. Your story makes me think a lot about life.
A BLESSED LIFE
By: Richard Childs
Tags: Faith, Cancer, Family, Gods Blessings

Yesterday was our anniversary. A celebration of 45 years with my beautiful bride. I have been blessed. The family was there, except one who was sick. We looked back and recounted the faithfulness and many blessings of God through the years. We were overwhelmed with cards with well wishes and encouragement. I’m detouring from Psalm 119 to share a passage that was written on one of the cards.

Hebrews 6:18–20 “ so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

The people who shared this are aware of our{my} cancer battle. This is a great reminder that, no matter the situation, we do have a hope. A hope and a promise, that in death, we will enter the veil-into the presence of God, just as Christ did before us, just as Abraham did according to God’s promise.

Bible footnote: “Christ has gone ahead into heaven, and as our hope/anchor, though out of sight, He holds us secure, especially times in of storm.”

We have been through times of storm. Emergency surgeries, the loss of two infant grandchildren, three encounters with cancer, two behind us, one is alive and well in my body. In all of our storms, we have seen God’s fingerprints and blessings. Our prayers are for healing, a healing that only God can do. But more importantly, we desire God’s will and that through all of this He would strengthen our faith and use us as an encouragement to others.

Thanks for stopping by..
I’ll take the vaccine just as soon as it’s offered.
By: Andy Killoran
Tags: Vaccines, Longevity, Cancer, Death

I’ll take the vaccine just as soon as it’s offered. Vaccines have saved millions of lives and continue to do so. It is a sad fact that, as we solve other fatal illnesses and diseases, more and more of us will develop cancer. But this does not mean there is more cancel, that would be to misread the data. The fact is, most of us would develop a cancer if we lived long enough, and as more of us live longer and longer, it is happening. I think the figures are now that 1 in 2 of us will get a cancer diagnosis in our lifetimes. Remember, life expectancy is up by maybe 20 years in just 100 years. Most of those 80-somethings with cancer would have been dead when still 60-something.
৭ কেজি ওজনের টিউমার ৫০ বছর নারীর পেটে!
By: Tahon Richand
Tags: Cancer, Saudi, Cancer Cells, International, Saudi Arabia

in The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer
The Big C
By: Nik Knight
Tags: Cancer, Bowel Cancer, Ileostomy, Stoma

**Content Warning: cancer, surgery**

This story is based on social media posts I made in July 2020.

Wiggle your big toe.



That was my first lucid thought as I came round from my anaesthesia in ICU. My brain latched on to Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, willing herself back to movement, starting with the smallest step.



I’d been unwell since the end of March, and having been scanned and monitored, it was decided I needed surgery to remove two very, very large and possibly malignant ovarian cysts. I got that surgery at the beginning of July, but it turned out the cysts weren’t the primary problem — the tumour in my bowel was.



My awesome gynae surgeon spotted that something wasn’t right and called on an equally stellar colorectal surgeon, who found the primary cancer. Together they removed the bowel tumour, the ovarian tumours, and pretty much anything else in my abdomen I don’t actively need, so uterus, ovaries, omentum, peritoneum, fallopian tubes, cervix, all gone. And so is all of the visible cancer — a chest scan showed my lungs were clear, and my surgeons couldn’t see any metastases on my liver. I’ve been very fortunate.



The op also left me with a stoma (ileostomy) as a section of my bowel was removed and my body was too depleted to heal from re-joining the ends of the section. My colorectal surgeon says she will be able to reverse it at some point, but before that, I am having a course of chemo to zap any stray microscopic cells left behind. My surgeons are very optimistic about my chances for complete recovery (although my oncologist is a little more cautious — I guess it goes with the territory).



I’ve been getting brilliant care from various NHS teams at New Cross Hospital, Russells Hall Hospital, and Lion Health GP surgery. At the time of writing, I am halfway through 12 cycles of chemotherapy (Folfox), which hasn’t been easy, but is manageable with meds to control side effects and a ton of help and support from my wonderful family and lovely friends. A blood test early on in my treatment revealed that the markers for bowel cancer had dropped from around 15 post-surgery to 5.9 — anything below 5 is considered ‘normal’, so although this is not conclusive evidence that my cancer is gone, it’s a promising start.

It’s been a tough road to recover from surgery and get this far, and there’s more still to come, but I know I’m tougher than it is.



I have much to be grateful for.

Comments
2020 Marks Five Years of Being Cancer-Free
By: Young Yi
Tags: Cancer, Survivor, Leukemia, Life Lessons, 2020

I should also add, who else would have known that five years after being officially cancer-free, I would be writing this as a worldwide pandemic rages on? Oh, and for the friends of mine who have asked if I’m okay during this season in time because I might be immunocompromised — I’m good. Thank you for asking that because it really does make me feel like you care!

Over the five years, I’ve had many thoughts about life, death, origin of life, meaning of life, life-after-death, purpose, health, neighborly love, and the list goes on. You know, the usual shower thoughts. But over time, there were some thoughts about life that always came back. Lessons that I learned while I was sitting on my hospital bed on the P-2 floor at Henry Ford Hospital with IV needles pumping fluids into my body. Lessons that I learned while I grieved, mourned, pouted, bawled, and fumed at the reality that life was no longer the same. Lessons that I learned while I broke down driving in the middle of the highway exactly three years after I was diagnosed because there was some trauma on that day when I was told I had leukemia. Lessons that I learned while I grappled with the daily reminder that tomorrow, I could find myself in the same situation as June 7th, 2013, the day I was diagnosed. There were many lessons learned, reminded, discarded, and refined over the past seven years after being diagnosed with leukemia and over the past five years of being cancer-free.

Honestly, my mind is boggled as to why I am still alive. There are plenty of days where I wonder why in God’s divine plan, He has kept me alive. Did I do anything to deserve this? Is this what divine grace is like? Why not the countless others who have not ended up with a similar fate as mine? So many questions … But alas, on this day which marks five years of officially being deemed “cancer-free”, I am extremely grateful. It’s an ever-potent reminder that tomorrow is never guaranteed. That I am not invincible. That the places in which I put my hope in are fickle, unless it is in Christ Jesus.

Today, I am reminded that I literally beat death. I had a staring contest with the reaper, scythe in hand, and for some reason he blinked first and turned away. And with that, I am reminded today, yet again that I do not wish for anyone to have to stare death in its face. There is nothing noble about it. In fact, it is foolish to flirt with death. Quite honestly, today, I am reminded as to why I’ve been so frustrated this entire year with the naivete of people who tout some strange form of “boldness” in going toe-to-toe with the Coronavirus. Perhaps as a society and as a species, we have forgotten that we are but mere mortals. “All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return (Eccl. 3:20).”
An Essay Of Justice For Cancer
Tags: Health, Cancer, Stats, Opinion, Justice

An Essay Of Justice For Cancer

Cancer stats are like stock market records. When studied carefully, a pattern is revealed. The pattern is closely related to the lifestyle.

As a result, we may state that different lifestyles can create different cancer potential. If we compare the population having a countryside lifestyle to the population having an urban lifestyle, the difference in cancer occurrence can be obvious.

Similarly, the reaction to the market turbulences is like the reaction to the mention of cancer; irrational. The reaction occurs due to the perceived threat to survival.

In the understanding of the majority’s programmed fears and reactions, formulas can be played to take advantage of those. Thus, commonly, organizations can use those formulas to gain benefits, regardless of escalating those fears and reactions or not.

Despite so, nothing can be changed intentionally without any understanding of the origin, which contains the formula for adjustments. As such, the creation of cancer should be thoroughly understood.

As mentioned by prestigious organizations, cancer is an abnormality of cell growth. However, a perfect human body without any sort of abnormality is yet to be discovered. In other words, every human body contains cancer.

Thus, cancer is simply a norm that has been infused with a close relation to deadly threats. Even though cancer does take lives, it only occurs in minority, just as in any other illnesses. Hence, the emphasis upon it may just be additionally cancerous itself.

Nevertheless, health is important and is the accumulation of lifestyle choices. At the same time, the modern lifestyle can be filled with toxicity. Although the human body can develop immunity to toxicities over time, the human can also be taken over by toxicities. And, the most lethal toxins may not be a tangible thing.

In fact, ideas may be the most lethal toxins that can ever exist to humanity. Ideas are double-edged swords. It can be used to build magnificent empires while massacring an insurmountable number of innocents.

Therefore, the duality effects exist in the instilled idea about cancer. It may raise awareness to cultivate improved healthcare while creating fears, which invoke irrationality, that suggest harmful behaviors.

In spite of that, the ideas about cancer being good or bad are base upon conditions. As such, being fixated on the level of threat based on the ideas created from the cancer stats is similar to the attempt to predict the events of ten years later while not being able to predict the events of tomorrow.

However, certainty can be created if a consistent effort is placed into creating it. Hence, the focus upon the good or bad can make the future predictable. In other words, cancer or not, it is all about how humans desire to make it to be.
Grand Slam
By: Cm. Cancel
Tags: Grief And Loss, Cancer, Goodbye, High School, Poetry On Medium

Grand Slam

Big, everything about him was big

– his smile, his laugh, his heart.

He was large for a 14 year old and when

he swung his bat, you could bet on a grand slam.

The cancer diagnosis came quietly. By summer

we’d weigh the same and both thin as rails:

he from the chemo and I from

the binging and eating that ruled my routine.

His father would sneak him out for my

Unsweet 16 and we’d dance the night away.

Long nights spent up talking on the phone

the steady beeping in the background with

fake snores when the nurses poked in. He was

always there to be my shoulder despite his body

destroying itself from the inside out.

We would go to prom together, I promised

quietly. It was a late Tuesday night, rather it was

a very early Wednesday morning.

I’d wear a red gown – his favorite color.

The color of desire and love and blood.

On an August afternoon, not even

6 months later I said goodbye to my best friend

as he lay there in the casket.

I thought we had more time, but his father

would stand in front of the church and say

he knew his son would never grow old or marry

or graduate high school or go to prom.

He told his father how tired he was

and his father said to rest son.

I think of him often, the friend that should be here

but some fights just aren’t meant to be won.

Instead I would start my senior year of high school

so entirely empty in his wake.

I’d wear gold instead of red, the color of his heart.

and as I stood in the warmth of the sun in a mausoleum,

holding a boutonniere he should have been wearing,

I felt his big arms around me

One last time.
For Susan in December
By: Kristie Darling
Tags: Cancer, Sisters, Poetry, Death, Comfort

For Susan in December

Photo by Igor Rand on Unsplash

I cradled you warm and still

at your deathbed.

Kept my eyes on your skin,

my ears on your breath.

We sat it out like sisters do,

keeping up ’til there was no

keeping left.

Your gaze, a lantern,

cancer’s mask, your shield

both one mirror

refracting the naked maple tree

out of focus,

making the quilt lie down.

Carry someone all night

in their going

and your lap grows strong,

your touch prescriptive,

and your palms anoint away

the trembling ’til it stops.
Treatment of bladder cancer
By: Rajneesh Dwivedi
Tags: Cancer, Bladder Cancer, Chemotherapy

Treatment of bladder cancer

Treatment of bladder cancers will depend upon the stage of the disease and the patient’s fitness. The different modalities may be — surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy.

Surgery

TURBT

The most common surgical procedure is transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT). In this procedure, the tumor is removed using a device that cuts the tumor using an electric current. For superficial bladder tumour, this is the treatment of choice.

The tissue removed is sent for pathological examination to get further details. Usually, after the procedure, you will have a tube in your bladder maybe for a few days.

Cystectomy

In this procedure, either part of the bladder ( partial cystectomy) or complete bladder (total cystectomy) is removed. Sometimes other adjacent organs may be removed as well called a radical cystectomy.

Intravesical Therapy

This treatment is also used for early-stage cancers. Your doctor uses a catheter to inject a liquid medication right into your bladder. They will choose between two types of medications: immunotherapy or chemotherapy (“chemo”). cancer cells. Your doctor will inject a germ called Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) into

Immunotherapy. In this therapy BCG is instilled in the bladder through the catheter, BCJ stimulates patients' immune cells and kills the cancer cells.

In this therapy BCG is instilled in the bladder through the catheter, BCJ stimulates patients' immune cells and kills the cancer cells. Intravesical chemotherapy (“chemo”). Chemotherapy drug can be instilled through the catheter in the bladder which kills the tumor cells

Systemic Chemotherapy

The most common chemotherapy agent used is Cisplatin, it is given through IV and it attacks wherever cancer cells are. It may be given before surgery on the bladder so that the risk of cancer coming back is less.

The cisplatin can cause damage to the kidney so in patients with kidney injury other chemotherapy will be used.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation is given focused on the bladder and kills bladder cancer cells. Radiation therapy will be used -

You have early-stage bladder cancer

You have early-stage cancer but can’t have surgery

As a follow-up to TURBT or partial bladder removal surgery

To prevent or treat symptoms of advanced bladder cancer

Treatments After or Instead of Surgery

Chemotherapy can be combined after surgery to decrease the chance of recurrence. Chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery may be combined in the same patient.

Immunotherapy

The FDA has approved several immunotherapy drugs for people who have metastatic bladder cancer that got worse during chemo. These medications are atezolizumab, avelumab, durvaluma, enfortumab vedotin-ejf, nivolumab , and pembrolizumab .
The Fallibility Of Certainty. When I was going through cancer…
By: Alp Beck
Tags: Cancer, Living, Life Lessons, Anecdotes, Chemotherapy

ammentorp©123RF.com

When I was going through cancer treatments and had no hair, a young girl of about 19 approached me in the hallway by the doctor’s office.

She asked me, “how do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Walk around without a wig, without a hat, without a care? You’re so brave.” There was genuine admiration on her face and, I’m ashamed to admit it, I basked in it.

I chuckled. “No. Not brave, just lazy.”

“But you don’t seem to care everyone will know you’re sick. It doesn’t bother you what others think.” She said, shyly. Then continued. “How do you do it? I’d like to be that brave.”

“You simply can’t give a shit what anyone thinks. It’s your life.”

“I want to do that; to not care. But I don’t want my neighbors to look at me differently, to know that I’m sick.”

“You can do it. You’re living in your skin, not theirs.” I said.

I felt proud, and a little smug in my certainty. I had a year left of chemo, every three weeks, a year already behind me. I was arrogant and sure in my knowledge. A pro. Yes, I dispensed brilliant advice. The regulars in the waiting room all knew this. Calm and confident. Yessiree, that was me.

“How often do you get chemo?” I asked.

“Weekly.”

“For how long?”

“For the rest of my life.”

And just like that, I deflated, instantly ashamed of my hollow boast.

This girl had mistaken my laziness for bravery, when she was the brave one. She would get those rotten treatments, weekly, for the rest of her life.

I am grateful to her. She reminded me of something I should not have ever forgotten: whatever your situation or your certainty is, remain humble and don’t make assumptions.

That young woman, her strength and her lesson, are engraved on my soul.

I hope she is well — wherever she is.
Anti-Cancer Medicine Supplier Delhi | Pharma Distributors in South | Pharma Distributors in Delhi | Cancer Medicine in India
By: Aark Pharmaceuticals
Tags: Cancer Medicine, Cancer, Medicine, Pharmaceutical

Anti-Cancer Medicine Supplier Delhi | Pharma Distributors in South | Pharma Distributors in Delhi | Cancer Medicine in India Aark Pharmaceuticals ·Dec 12, 2020

Aark Pharma — India Largest anti cancer medicine supplier Delhi. It is amongst the leading pharma distributors in south Delhi, and pharma distributors in Delhi and highly commendable and diverse range of cancer medicine in India.
5 Ways to Become More Resilient
By: Matthew Royse
Tags: Life, Productivity, Personal Development, Resilience, Self Improvement

5 Ways to Become More Resilient

Photo by Bruno Scramgnon from Pexels

What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. This phrase epitomizes resilient people.

Resilient people are flexible, confident, and successful. They overcome adversities and setbacks in their life and in their career. Resilient people work through hard times, learn from them, and are more capable of overcoming hard times in the future.

Resilient people maintain control of situations, know what they are good at, and give up beliefs that keep them from succeeding. They believe problems can be solved, solutions can be found within themselves, and success is about others, not themselves.

Resilience is a component of mental toughness. It’s the ability to cope with adversity, obstacles, and controlling your thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. It comes from believing in yourself.

Let’s look at ways to build resilience when life or your career isn’t perfect.