farrah fawcett has "anal cancer" ?

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cynnycal
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farrah fawcett has "anal cancer" ?

Postby cynnycal » Fri Oct 13, 2006 12:00 am

Okay, since i'm in recovery i have excuses to watch bad television.
and while watching one of those tabloidish tv shows (acess hollywood or entertainment tonight or one of those) i heard that farrah fawcett had cancer or something.
i figured it was breast cancer (that's what all teh stars seem to get when they get cancer)
but then a few days later, that same show says "lower intestinal cancer" and then later on in the show they actually say "anal cancer"
now...i never heard of it referred to as anal cancer and i think they're saying that just to make it even more 'tabloidish'
surely it's rectal cancer. or maybe just really really low colon cancer.
either way, thought i'd share the news.
i was never a fan or not a fan of hers, i really don't have an opinion on her as an actress or person, but it's horrible to get something like this no matter who you are, so even though i know she's not reading this, i really wish her the best and i hope the press is gentle and forgiving on her during this fight.

janb
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Postby janb » Fri Oct 13, 2006 5:20 am

It's my understanding she has colon cancer and a large tumor was removed.
Together....we can make a difference!
www.whereintheworldisgregkelley.com

Maggie

Postby Maggie » Fri Oct 13, 2006 8:45 am

It really is awful for her to have any kind of cancer. It's awful for anyone. But...to look at the silver lining.....having another famous person whose been touched by colon cancer can be helpful to the cause. The more people are aware of it, the better chances they have of getting tested sooner and taking more precautions!

missjv
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Postby missjv » Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:36 am

hi,
i agree maybe this will bring more attention to this disease. it seems breast cancer is big in hollywood and colon cancer seems non existant. thanks to sharon osbourne and tammy faye baker it has come out of the closet. i do remember elizabeth montgomery who played bewitched died of colon cancer and i think so did audry hepburn. i hope farrah does well in her recovery it sounds like rectal cancer because she received radiation and i do not think radiation is the norm with colon cancer??

missjv

Leann

Postby Leann » Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:04 pm

missjv
I agree with you about how colon cancer is not getting the attention like breast cancer nor are any big companies behind it, like Ford is with the breast cancer campaign. But getting any cancer is bad enough. Tonight I heard John Forsythe has colon cancer. I too hope Farrah does well in her recovery. I heard it was a fast growing tumor and that why she had radiation.

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cynnycal
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Postby cynnycal » Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:58 pm

i heard john forsythe also has colon cancer.

and yes i do agree. what gets me is how few people (celebrity) out there have ostomies of any kind (that you know about)
i remember seeing a list online somewhere of famous people with ostomies. and i didn't know really any of em (i'm assuming b/c they were mostly older actors) except i heard Queen Elizabeth has a colostomy.
but it's discouraging.
i know there was a girl from road rules mtv that had an ostomy for a bit and now she has a jpouch.
but it'd be nice to know more high profile people who have it.
ah well.
i don't wish it on anyone.

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pearlgirl
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Postby pearlgirl » Sat Oct 14, 2006 8:57 pm

cynnycal wrote: what gets me is how few people (celebrity) out there have ostomies of any kind (that you know about)
i remember seeing a list online somewhere of famous people with ostomies. and i didn't know really any of em (i'm assuming b/c they were mostly older actors) except i heard Queen Elizabeth has a colostomy.
but it's discouraging.
i know there was a girl from road rules mtv that had an ostomy for a bit and now she has a jpouch.
but it'd be nice to know more high profile people who have it.
ah well.
i don't wish it on anyone.


I imagine there *are* more famous people who have colostomies, but who don't choose to share that information with the public, in an effort to "protect" their images. Don't misunderstand - I'm NOT saying ostomy patients should hide the news of their ostomies as if it was some horrible secret. I'm just saying some famous people work hard at creating an illusion of "perfection" and sex appeal, and a serious illness like cancer may not fit with the image they want to project.

Magnolia
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Postby Magnolia » Sun Oct 15, 2006 6:48 pm

This has been a pet peeve of mine since long before I was diagnosed. I'm all for breast cancer awareness, but it's not the only cancer people get. No one seems to even think about any others. Every gift catalog you see has items with pink ribbons on them. Safeway has breast cancer fundraiser stuff going on. I keep asking at Safeway if they plan to do anything in March for colon cancer awareness and they look at me like I have two heads. There's work to be done. Celebreties are in a good position to do it, but no one can blame a person for choosing to maintain privacy about their health. It's a personal choice. It's good when someone chooses to be open about it for awareness's sake. Public awareness can certianly save a lot of lives. And not just with colon cancer. Early diagnosis of a lot of other cancers is critical for survival, and so many people don't have any idea they're at risk. How many young guys know that testicular cancer strikes men between the ages of 15 and 35? Not many, I bet. Certianly not enough.

I applaud Farrah for coming out with her story. I hope there's more. I'd like to see her recover and tell the world how she did it. I'd like to see her do what Sheryl Crowe, Olivia Newton John, and Melissa Etheridge have done. Their boobies are household names now. It's time some famous colons were discussed as frankly.

Maggie

Postby Maggie » Sun Oct 15, 2006 9:26 pm

I have to admit, I do get frustrated seeing a million and six pink ribbons everywhere. I mean, I am all for supporting a cause, and breast cancer is as good of a cause as any (my grandmother had breast cancer), but it seems like a lot of times, all the other cancers get put on the back burner. I would assume, in a body driver world, colons, lungs, livers, etc aren't anywhere as pretty and interesting as breasts are, but we all have all those other things too!! It just seems like focusing on breast cancer is another way of showing our obsession with appearances and women's bodies in our country. Just an interesting thought.
It's ok though, our plight, though not as easy to get the word spread about, is an important one and one we're all committed to. Just being colon cancer survivors and telling our stories to our friends and families slowly spread the word about early detection! As much as I don't wish colon cancer (or any cancer) on anyone, having a famous voice out there just helps us educate more people about colon cancer a little faster!!
Maggie

Jeff

Colorectal cancer vs Anal Cancer

Postby Jeff » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:08 am

Anal cancer is pathologically different from colon and rectal cancer. Anal cancer is predominantly a squamous cell carcinoma while colon and rectal cancers are adenocarcinomas. Even much of the treatments are different. Anal cancer is also hight associated with papilloma virus infection whereas colon and rectal cancers are not. It remains unfortunate that the media is often referring to this as "intestinal cancer." If she truly has a low rectal cancer then they should clarify as such. Regardless, I wish her well and all of God's blessings.

Jeff Carenza, MD
Stage IIIb Colon Cancer.

Guest

HPV Connection

Postby Guest » Mon Oct 16, 2006 6:46 pm

Farrah Fawcett Is Fighting Anal Cancer - Read HPV Connection

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/128/117115

HPV also associated with colon cancer:
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection was found in more than half of patients with colorectal cancer, an NCI study reported in the April 15 Clinical Cancer Research.

Researchers in the HIV and AIDS Malignancy Branch of NCI's CCR found that 28 of 55 (51 percent) of the colorectal cancer patients studied were positive for HPV based on examination of samples from tumors and adjacent tissues. Colorectal tissue from 10 control individuals, who didn't have colorectal cancer, were all negative, they noted.

The findings confirm previous controversial studies linking HPV with colorectal cancer, but the NCI researchers were careful to avoid the cross-contamination of tissue samples in the detection that may have affected earlier research.

http://www.nci.nih.gov/ncicancerbulleti ... 05/page5#d

Clem25
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Farrah and colostomy

Postby Clem25 » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:03 pm

I can't help but admit that I wondered whether every possible means would be used to prevent Farrah from having a colostomy, while the rest of us are just defaulted to the procedure. When my father was diagnosed with rectal cancer, the only option we were presented was AP resection and (of course) permanent colostomy. No choices, no options. The chemo and radiation shrank the tumor, but he still had to have the surgery, despite the fact that he was succumbing to dementia and would have been unable to deal with the device. I'll bet Farrah gets more options.

That does not mean I wish ill upon her, please understaqnd that. I hope she recovers. I just think that it sucks that some people get options because of celebrity that "regular" people don't get.

Guest

Cut her a break! She has cancer!!!!!!

Postby Guest » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:39 pm

You probably have health insurance... what about the people who do not?

Maybe in their eyes you have celebrity status.

Have some compassion... remember when you were diagnosed?

Guest

Colon Cancer and ostomies

Postby Guest » Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:30 pm

Radiation is common with colon cancer and well as rectal cancer. Ostomies are not as common for colon cancer as they used to be; in most cases the colon is reconnected to itself during the initial surgery after the section with the cancer is removed. Sometimes it is reconnected a few months later.

Clem25
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Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2006 6:55 pm

Choices

Postby Clem25 » Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:40 pm

My father is dead because he was given only the "choice" of surgery (ostomy) following the chemo-radiation. Other factors, such as that his lungs were in poor shape and his overall health was not good, were given no merit in the decision. He died not from the cancer but from pneumonia following surgery. Sorry if I'm a little bitter about the whole thing.


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