just curious . . .

[georgemma]

Hi all -- I find it interesting that no one posted about Elizabeth Edwards' bone mets and/or Tony Snow's abdominal surgery on Monday. Is it because of a lack of interest in the political arena or because they are older than the average cc member? This led me to wondering (I am a confessed insomniac trying not to use sleeping pills except after prolonged bouts of sleeplessness) whether you relate the most to people based on staging, age, or type of cancer. For example, I was in my 20's when my parents died within a year of one another. People in their 50's would say that they knew exactly how I felt, one of their parents had died at age 95. No, they did not know exactly how I felt. So if you have rectal cancer and your sister-in-law's sister has stage 3 lung cancer, do you really identify with her or not? This coming week I will finish with my course of radiation, and I will really miss the two other patients who had the same time slot. We would chat for the few minutes we were together in the waiting room. I never realized that I would have ambivalent feelings about ending this part of the journey . . .

[rthornton]

That's an interesting question. I've watched, with great interest, the news stories surrounding Ms. Edwards. In the wake of her announcement, I noticed a flurry of news stories about new approaches to treating cancer, and living with cancer. So she has breast cancer, but many of the aspects of living with cancer, that she will face (and has faced in the past), still apply to those of us with other types of cancer. She still has the uncertainty about her future health, and treatment decisions to make, etc. Being such a high-profile person, maybe her struggle with cancer can have some impact on future policy and funding for cancer research.

As for relating to people with other types of cancer, other stages, ages, whatever, there are many aspects of facing cancer that are the same for anyone affected. But also, I think there are specific challenges that are similar if you narrow the specifics. I can certainly better relate to a mid-30s stage IV colon cancer patient better than I can relate to a child with leukemia or an elderly person with lung cancer. I think that each case is tragic, but the challenges faced by a 10 year old child are definitely going to be different than those faced by a 70 year old patient.

I know what you mean about the ambivalent feelings at the end of your radiation treatment. It's easy to form attachments to the staff and fellow patients when you are in such a situation. If I'm ever at my hospital for a CT/PET or anything, I like to visit the nurses on the oncology floor. Anyway, congratulations on getting through the radiation treatments!

Rodney

[missjv]

hi,
well i knew about elizabeth edwards but i did not know tony snow had more surgery. as far as elizabeth edwards goes she can hang on for along time with treatments for stage 4 breast cancer a lady i see in chemo room everyother week has stage 4 breast cancer now for 6 years. she is on low dose chemo weekly to maintain and so far so good she says it sucks of course but she is still here and has a good quality of life so thats all that matters. as far as the parent death thing goes i lost my dad when he was 56, i was 36 at the time and it was horrible. 1 year later my husbands father died and he was 91. there is a big difference i told my husband i know it sucks his father died but holy cow he lived 91 years thats a hell of a long time and he was lucky never had any health issues just went to bed and did not wake up, what a way to go. my father had massive heart attack and hung on for a couple of days. i even found myself sort of angry that his father out lived mine it wasn't fair. a week after my dad died my stepmother died and they had 3 kids between the ages of 16 and 19 at the time so that was hard. so i can see what you mean by your post.

missjv

[eitter]

I was saddended to hear about Elizabeth Edwards, I am from the other side but I do like John Edwards and his family......I could actually vote for him.

I had a friend who died several years ago from Breast Cancer, was in remission and it came back, and she found out by a broken rib like Mrs. Edwards did! My friend died.....

I think it is great to say "they want to proceed with a normal life", HOWEVER running for President is not a "normal" life. There is SO MUCH stress that goes with it, beyond what the normal person faces. And it is unrealistic to think that Mrs. Edwards will not have stress with him running for President. So I think it is unrealtisic for them to stay in the race and the risk of worsening her condition.

The fact of the matter is and we all know this facing cancer, "What is Normal?" As much as I want my so called "normal life" back I DO NOT. I did not like the way I lived my life before. I like how I eat now and the stress I am removing from my life. Stress is one of the contributing factors in getting cancer and removing stress is a factor in getting well.

So as her treatment progresses....and reality sinks in the best thing for Mr. Edwards to do would be to drop out and help is wife beat this thing! She has two young kids that a single President of the United States would have a hard time raising.

But this is all my opinion!

[georgemma]

Thank you, Rodney, for your good wishes. Missjv and Liz: I found your responses so moving and touching. Liz, you have been through so much, and it is inspiring to hear that you have made life-altering changes since your diagnosis. One day last week while waiting for my radiation appointment, I looked through MAMM, a magazine for breast cancer patients. Mrs. Edwards was on the cover. In the Q/A text, she spoke about her stage III diagnosis. It made it seem so real to me, as though she could have been almost anyone at the colon club.