Oprah show today

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weisssoccermom
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Oprah show today

Postby weisssoccermom » Mon Oct 29, 2007 6:27 pm

Did anyone see Oprah today? I just turned it on and missed some of it but they did someone's colonoscopy in the very beginning of the show. Caught a little of it afterwards. Dr. Oz said that later in the show they will talk solely about the #2 cancer killer-colon cancer and how to prevent it! Should be interesting!

For those in the Seattle area, it will repeat tonight at 9PM on channel 6. I plan on recording it.

Jaynee

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Postby Magnolia » Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:20 am

Missed it! Damn! I'm glad she did it, though.
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Terry
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Postby Terry » Tue Oct 30, 2007 9:39 pm

Jaynee, I watched the whole thing tonight. Basicly, all he said was that you should get your colon screening at age 50. and if you have a family member to get it 10 yrs younger than they were. He said that colon cancer is the one cancer that if you get your polyps out, you won't get the cancer. I wish they would have gone into more details. He said 10% of people with colorectal cancer are under age 50. It sure seems like a lot more than that.
DX 7/3/07
Chemo, radiation, 20 mo. chemo, IMRT, cyberknife, 6/11 lobectomy.
1/16 resection perm. colostomy intraop. rad.
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Lord I know You'll keep me here until
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Postby Magnolia » Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:01 pm

10% is actually a lot. Think of it this way. 10% of the general population is gay. I know LOTS of gay folks. We see a skewed picture here on the board because the target audience is young.
Dx Stage IIIC CC 3/10/06
Surgery 3/20/06
Folfox 4/06 - 10/06
Avastin 4/06 - 4/07
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cynnycal
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Postby cynnycal » Wed Oct 31, 2007 1:52 am

I was actually invited to see the taping of the show that aired last monday (oct. 22nd) about the Crazy Sexy Cancer chic and the Prof. with pancreatic cancer.
And they were taping that show with the colonoscopy guy before the show i went to, so after they were done taping, since me and some others were in the green room, the guests from that show were brought back to the greenroom we were in and I got to talk to that guy, and the overweight guy.
I thought it was good that they put it on tv.
it was funny b/c the producer brought us into the greenroom and said "oh, while you're waiting maybe i can get a live feed of the show their taping right now" and she figdits with the tv a bit, and wham, up pops up the inside of a colon! I kinda looked around like "alright...what the hell?? do they know I'm here or something. Is this a joke?
(they hadn't as of yet told us WHY we were there, they just invited four cancer-survivors that were members of Gilda's club, which I am. The other people with me had lymphoma. I was the only colon cancer person...of course...)

regardless, i'm glad it got aired. maybe chip away at that nasty stigma that's attached to us still.

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Postby Magnolia » Wed Oct 31, 2007 8:26 am

This is not a bad start, but I want MORE! I want the Katie Kouric thing to start up again. I want March to be the new October. I want blue to be the new pink. I want to see something like I saw in the early '90s when breast cancer activists hit the streets with their signs and mastectomy scars. The Colondar is a great thing, but we have to think bigger. Bigger, BIGGER! We need Safeway stocking 'specially marked products' with blue stars on the labels. (Metamucil?) The blue sky's the limit.
Dx Stage IIIC CC 3/10/06
Surgery 3/20/06
Folfox 4/06 - 10/06
Avastin 4/06 - 4/07
NED!


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Terry
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Postby Terry » Wed Oct 31, 2007 12:56 pm

cynnycal,

I LOVE your blog :lol:
DX 7/3/07
Chemo, radiation, 20 mo. chemo, IMRT, cyberknife, 6/11 lobectomy.
1/16 resection perm. colostomy intraop. rad.
PET 2/12 nose, thyroid, liver, lngs
Folfox 3/12
Lord I know You'll keep me here until
you know I cannot suffer any longer!

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cynnycal
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Postby cynnycal » Wed Oct 31, 2007 4:44 pm

aw gawsh golly... :oops:

Thanks!

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Jeremiah
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Grrr

Postby Jeremiah » Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:15 pm

Yeah, it was ok.

I agree that you should get checked at least by age 50 but come on. I need to see someone pissed off. Mad at our government for not taking action. The medical industry should be covering anyone at ANY age if they meet a high risk scenario. I want to see someone mad at the government and forcing them to take action to provide the health care we pay for and eliminate the laws that require the medical industry to make a profit. I want to see our moronic president stop using his veto pen only for squashing the voice of the american people (both dem and rep.),,,by means of our congress...by overriding the childrens medical plan. Not ONCE but TWICE!

It is time for this to stop. Polio and various other diseases were cured and the time has come...NOW....to cure all forms of cancer. We have an insanely advanced and intelligent society to formulate the plan and we have the richest government in the world to fund it. GET IT DONE!!!! The joking around and playing politics needs to stop. The money spent on smear campaigns needs to stop and be focused to better causes. The world has become more concerned with their pocket book and less about decent f**king humanity. Most of what I see today disgusts me.

Oprah gets on her show and has the wonderful world of OZ spout off nothing but canned responses. Instead of that, how about she take the money she spent on producing that show and donating it to a good cause. Everything that she does is done ONLY if there is something to be gained for her from it. She will even tell you that herself. In fact, she has said that herself.

Anyway, sorry for the rant, but when you are being told you're gonna die and you see SOOOOOOO juch potential in the world for that to change if only people would focus their energy in the right places, it hits a sore spot.
Jeremiah Moore
Stg 4 Colon Cancer: Diag. Apr 18, 06 at Age 32
Personal Website
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a persistant one." -Albert Einstein

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Postby Magnolia » Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:24 pm

Yes, it has to stop, but first people have to KNOW it has to stop. Programs like Oprah's are watched by a lot of people who might otherwise have no clue. I talk to people who've never heard of colonoscopy. Some don't know that women can get colon cancer. (I guess we only get breast cancer.) Any means of educating the public is welcome.

If you want to help rant a but, go to www.CoverYourButt.org
There's action to be taken. Much stuff to be done. We need your help.
Dx Stage IIIC CC 3/10/06
Surgery 3/20/06
Folfox 4/06 - 10/06
Avastin 4/06 - 4/07
NED!


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Healthcare is a right, not a privilege.

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Postby Magnolia » Fri Nov 02, 2007 10:25 pm

I meant "rant a BIT"
Dx Stage IIIC CC 3/10/06
Surgery 3/20/06
Folfox 4/06 - 10/06
Avastin 4/06 - 4/07
NED!


http://www.CoverYourButt.org
Healthcare is a right, not a privilege.

weisssoccermom
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Postby weisssoccermom » Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:27 pm

I am probably going to regret posting this but I did take offense at the very nature of Jeremiah's post. I am NOT in your position, so there is no way that I know how you feel. I can only imagine how angry, frustrated and scared you must feel and I truly am sorry that you have to be going through this. But let's be realistic here. Everyone of us on this forum, everyone with cancer, heck everyone in general would love to find a cure for every kind of cancer. No one wants to go through what we are going through. But the sad fact is, cancer is a killer and a mighty darn good one at that. We are making advances everyday, albeit small ones. Maybe they don't seem good enough or large enough, but look at the big picture. How long has oxaliplatin been around? Not that long. Things are changing everyday, but maybe not fast enough for what we want. When I was diagnosed a little over a year ago, I asked to be given Avastin, but was told no because at the time, it was only approved for Stage IV. Now it is in clinical trials to see the effectiveness and dosage for stage III. I asked for it almost exactly one year ago and even though it still isn't used for earlier stages, we are making progress in that direction. Drugs and new treatment options just don't appear overnight. It does take time and scientists and doctors are all working to find new ways to treat cancer.

As far as Oprah, we DO need people like her and shows like hers to get the message out. I don't mean this disresptfully, but you are too young to really remember the whole breakthrough that breast cancer had. Honestly, I don't know how it all came about, because it evolved so slowly over time, but believe me there was a time when no one talked about breast cancer. Heck you didn't even mention it. A woman went in the hospital for a breast biopsy and came out with a mastectomy. The disease was brought out in the open not just by one person, but by many. Breast cancer runs were organized, media campaigns were formulated, all because someone or a group (I honestly don't know) had the tenacity to stand up and do something. I think a lot of it started when Betty Ford announced to the nation that she had successfully fought breast cancer. This was the first time that the subject really was brought up and it had an impact on many. Organizations like the Susan Komen Foundation have been all about getting the word out and they have done a fabulous job. It took time though. To breast cancer patients and survivors, it probably seemed like it took TOO long. In October, every show talked about breast cancer-from Ellen to Oprah, on the Today show and Good Morning America. Women are no longer embarrassed to stand up and admit that they have fought breast cancer. What colorectal cancer needs is more people like that. People who have fought it and who are willing to stand up and help spread the word. People like Sharon Osbourne would greatly help our cause if she would hit the shows like Oprah and talk about her battle with colon cancer. Her contributions that help the underinsured people afford colonoscopies are fantastic but very few people really know about them. Tony Snow is another person who has done wonders for making people aware of the trials of colon cancer. He, though, has now left the limelight and as the phrase goes, "out of sight, out of mind" Unfortunately no one still wants to talk about colorectal cancer because let's face it, we, as a society tend to shy away from subjects like our bowels, diarrhea, rectal bleeding. We need more people like Dr. Oz who can get up on national television and take away the stigma of our colorectal health. Trust me, there are many many people in his audiences who are soaking up everything he has to say about the size, the shape, the consistency, etc. of your bowels, all because they are too embarassed to go and ask their own docs.

The GI doc who did the colonoscopy on the Oprah show talked about the Katie Couric effect and how after Katie had her colonoscopy on the Today show, the rate of colonscopies being done soared by I believe (don't quote me on this) 20%. We need more exposure (no pun intended) like that. Maybe this firefighter who had his colonoscopy will have another positive effect. Unfortunately, unlike mammograms which are done on a yearly basis, clean colonoscopies are only done every 10 years so too much time elapses in between and again the out of sight out of mind problem comes into play. After all, Katie Couric can't keep getting on air colonoscopies just to keep the subject in the news. We need to get rid of the stigma of the prep and educate people about what a colonoscopy really is all about. Here is a perfect example of what I am talking about. Sometime this summer, I got a phone call from a friend of mine who I hadn't really talked to for about a year. I have know "Jane" for about 10 years, but since our sons graduated high school and their premier soccer days were over, we have lost touch. Out of the blue "Jane" calls and asks me how I am doing. She small talks and then I ask her if she has had her colonoscopy because I know that she is over 50. She tells me "no" because she is concerned about the position that she will have to be put in to have the colonoscopy and she doesn't want that kind of embarrassment or humiliation. The kicker is her hubby is a doctor and this is the misconception that she has!!

If we want to get more people screened, if we want to force the AMA to rethink their screening criteria and lower the age at which to start screening, if we want to take away the stigma of the procedure and everything else about colonoscopies that have a bad rep, then we NEED the media to be on board. If that means shows like Good Morning America, Oprah, Ellen, whatever, who cares! We need real people, not just your own doc, to tell their story. We need to reassure people that you aren't awake, that it doesn't hurt, that yeah, the prep is nasty, but it's only for one day. We need to let people know the bad part about colorectal cancer and that it's not worth putting off a colonoscopy. We, each and every one of us, need to do something. If nothing else, think of the impact each of us can have if we can just get ONE person to get screened and then they get just ONE and so on... Each of us has the power to make a difference in fighting this insideous disease.

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Postby Jeremiah » Mon Nov 05, 2007 2:11 am

First: If you are offended by something I posted, let me know exactly what that was. If you are offended at my entire post, then I feel sorry for you if someone's informed, albiet passionate, opinion offends.

Second: Oprah and the majority of the women she has in her audience cackle every time someone says poop. Then, she says poop 3 different ways to see how many laughs she can get. As for her spreading the word about cancer, if you are going to do it, do it right - do it well - and do it to completion. Cover the deeps stuff too, not just the surface. Start digging into the fact that some states will decline coverage to some patients if their cancer was determined to be genetic (which get's tagged as a pre-existing condition. That is just an example, but my point is...what always gets people talking? When do people speak loud and listen up? Right....when they get mad. People remember something that made them mad. You make my mom mad and she will write letters, call companies, etc. I think most of us have moms like that. You tell someone that you are ok if your poop floats and need to change their diet if it sinks is not something that will get people motivated. And to be honest, there have been a couple of times where Dr. Oz was incorrect and giving out some not-so-sound advice. Neither he, nor Oprah, properly disclaim how one should consider his advise. It is implied that his advise should be taken as law.

Third: Oprah is about as hypocritical as it comes. She has people on, like Bill Cosby, who are trying to promote improvement in particular communities and language was one of the issues. Eliminating "jive" or "street talk" in the black community was fairly specific to what he was trying to eliminate. Oprah acts as if she is so intellectually motivated and supportive of what Bill is doing, yet she turns around and throws out more jive talk than anyone I have every heard.

Fourth: If most of the people in the audience sat and thought "wow, Dr. Oz really makes sense, I will go see my doctor" then I would agree with you but somehow, and this is my opinion (being the realist that I am), I think most of the people are using Dr. Oz like a free in house doctor. About the same for Dr. Phil would be my guess. We are creatures of habit and convenience. We keep doing things that are convenient to us. If they can get medical advice from a tv show, without leaving their house, chances are they are going to keep doing that. Most of your "facts" or "statistics" are coming from Oprah and the Today show. When is the last time someone picked up a book or went to the library? When is the last time someone wrote their congressman/woman?? When is the last time folks actually went out and gathered their own statistics, talked to patients, family members, etc. If I die, I hope someone speaks with my famliy and asks, "what do you feel were the biggest obstacles during your husband's fight?" No offense, but society seems content with just wearing a cancer ribbon and letting Oprah spread the word. About 10 months ago I sent out a letter to everyone that gave support to my family. In it I thanked them and ran through all of the details about my experience. Like on these boards, I don't hold back and I gave all the details. I would guess that they felt glad that their generosity had helped deeply.....and that they were both mad and scared that such a monster could demolish a human being. I say that because of the 43 people that I sent the letter to 15 mentioned they've already done colonoscopies, 10 actually went and got a check done shortly after my letter, 4 had polyps, and 1 was diagnosed with stage 1 colon cancer. Also, I have since taken the initiative to get genetic testing done. I am waiting on the last round of results, but my guess is this is genetic. I am thrilled that my getting cancer may save the live of everyone else in my family. My 3 brothers have gotten checked now and each had polyps. Their ages are 39, 38, and 30. With this testing, we will also now have genetic evidence that will allow my daughters (and their daughters) to be checked at age 20ish. The same goes for my brothers kids. But hey, I guess only people with talk shows telling you to see if your poop floats or not is the best way to spread the word? We don't NEED the media. I get pretty tired of society relying on fox news for literally EVERYTHING. TV has become dictionary, doctor, teacher, baby-sitter, psycho therapy, and more. I hate that we have become that type of society. A little girl decided she was going to raise money. She just built a stand and people around her spread the word. She raised tons of money and then the media reported it. After all, why would the media cover a girl who builds a lemonade stand unless and until it makes alot of money. They, or course, have since then covered the story as the machine she created thrived and is carried on to this day, but you get the point that she did what she set out to do without media, without Oprah, without anything but determination and heart.

Fifth: Isn't the majority of my post directed at finding a cure for this? Getting fired up and more folks involved in awareness and finding a cure? I just don't think Oprah is a very constructive approach. We don't need Oprah to spread the word. We can do that ourselves. We can stop electing idiots to office and start putting folks there who care about the healthcare program. Start putting someone in office who will challenge our society to find a cure and will provide the financial funding necessary to achieve such a goal. Let's stop relying on Oprah to drive cancer awareness. (And while we are at it, let's stop worrying about what the hell Brittney Spears is doing)

Sixth: You said... "We need to reassure people that you aren't awake, that it doesn't hurt, that yeah, the prep is nasty, but it's only for one day". Actually, there are many people who find a good amount of paid/discomfort in doing a colonoscopy. There are also many folks who remain awake during the procedure. My mom and dad for example. They simply "relax" you with medication but do not put you completely out. Dad watched his procedure on the monitor.

Soccermom, my apologies, but I don't know your story and don't know what you have or have not been through. I honestly mean not to offend, but it does sound like the basis of your thinking, and facts are coming from tv shows. The above example about there sometimes being pain and consciousness during colonoscopies stands out. People deserve to be told the truth. The key is for us as a society is to help those people feel comfortable with the facts, know as much as possible about the topic, and that they have the support of those around them no matter what flavor the experience may be for them.
Jeremiah Moore
Stg 4 Colon Cancer: Diag. Apr 18, 06 at Age 32
Personal Website
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a persistant one." -Albert Einstein

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Postby Magnolia » Mon Nov 05, 2007 9:47 am

OK, I think BOTH of you have some valid points. We DO need media on board. Public education is very key in this battle, and the public likes Oprah. They watch her and believe her. I didn't see the show, but it sounds like she could have done a better job. Maybe her goal was simply to tell people what colonoscopy is and that it's needed. The rest of it, the lack of availability, is a topic for another show. I don't know. One topic is health and the other gets more political. I agree, though, that people will remember it more if it makes them mad. I WOULD like to see a talk show take on the lack of availability issue, but the fact that someone even discussed colonoscopy at all was a much needed first step. I'd rather have that than nothing.

As for reassuring people, yes some people are awake, but they're sedated. People have a fear that they're fully aware of a big hose going up their colon. They're scared to death of it. Very few feel that kind of discomfort. People need to hear that efforts will be made to keep them comfortable. As I said before, I've talked to people who don't even know women can get colorectal cancer. Maybe Oprah's discussion was too basic, but some folks need the basics. Maybe she go giggles when she said "poop". Maybe people need to work through their giggles and get over it before they can go to their docs and ask for a scope.

And we also need in depth spitting mad discussions of the underfunding of research and lack of availability of screening and care for this disease. We need well researched debate and lots of it. We need media support for that too. Lance Armstrong is doing a good job with that for cancer in general. Colorectal cancer is still a bit of a step-child, but we can change that. The breast cancer activists did it for their disease. We can do it too.
Dx Stage IIIC CC 3/10/06
Surgery 3/20/06
Folfox 4/06 - 10/06
Avastin 4/06 - 4/07
NED!


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cynnycal
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Postby cynnycal » Mon Nov 05, 2007 12:00 pm

"Fifth: Isn't the majority of my post directed at finding a cure for this? Getting fired up and more folks involved in awareness and finding a cure? I just don't think Oprah is a very constructive approach. We don't need Oprah to spread the word. We can do that ourselves. We can stop electing idiots to office and start putting folks there who care about the healthcare program. Start putting someone in office who will challenge our society to find a cure and will provide the financial funding necessary to achieve such a goal. Let's stop relying on Oprah to drive cancer awareness. (And while we are at it, let's stop worrying about what the hell Brittney Spears is doing) "

hehehehhee...okay, I don't want to enter into this discussion. B/c I don't see it going anywhere (for me) but a bunch of lengthy time-consuming posts.
BUUUTTT...this is amusing. Really? we don't need oprah to spread the word? we can do that ourselves? really?
we sure seem to be doing one helluva good job of it right now don't we?

The sad unfortunate truth is, YES, we SHOULD be electing the right people to office, BBUUTTTT as evidenced by our last presidential election...that doesn't seem to happen.
And not just for colorectal cancer awareness and research. Hell, we should be electing the right people into office for a myriad of things.

That would be the ideal. But the reality of it is, it doesn't happen like that.
Majority of people who vote don't give a rats ass about a cause or an issue until or unless it personally affects them. Then they wanna cry and moan about healthcare, or whatever their issue is.

but i'll give myself as an example. if you caught me three or four years ago, i woulda told you i voted. and who i liked and didn't like. but i definitely didn't have a 'passion' for any one topic. yes i thought some things that happened in politics were just awful. but i wasn't personally affected yet.

so the sad truth remains, that we DO actually need celebrity endorsement and spokesmanship for certain issues. unfortunately it DOES get things started in teh right direction.
and whether you like oprah or not, as people have said, it IS a step in the direction that we need.

(and p.s. I'D laugh at the word poop. it's a funny damn word. I'll laugh at Feces too. it's funny. And I have to deal with the shit every day, pun intended)


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