Postby weisssoccermom » Thu Oct 01, 2015 6:51 pm
Look, I wasn't saying that there isn't an obesity problem in this world and yes, for the most part, I agree with the idea that you exercise more and/or eat less and you lose weight. However, as both you and NZ are MALE, you really have NO personal experience with the whole concept of female hormones and how much they effect a woman's body. Lose those hormones....particularly lose them quickly ....as is oftentimes the case with cancer (either lose them due to chemo and/or radiation) and you open another can of worms. Weight gain is just ONE of the problems that comes with menopause. In today's world, you don't just necessarily replace those hormones...at least not the way it used to be...because too much hormone replacement puts you at risk for more cancers. It's a balancing act and not one which is easy to have to deal with.
The OP wasn't asking about weight loss surgery for someone in the 'normal' population but rather commented that losing weight after CANCER and the treatments was HARD...nope, pretty much impossible. My onc told me (and I believe him) that chemo messes with the female's hormonal balance...even if it doesn't cause us to go into menopause. We had a member, quite some years ago, Gaelen, who was a pharmaceutical researcher...quite intelligent I might add....who also stated the same. You can't deny the fact that the female's hormones are all screwed up thanks to the treatments.
Simply put...cancer survivors are a different group....nope they aren't the 'average' member of the general population. So, while I agree that in the majority of people - the idea of energy in vs energy out is what makes the difference in weight loss/gain....that same idea doesn't necessarily hold for the cancer survivor patient....or more specifically...for the female cancer patient/survivor - even more specific...if she has entered into menopause because of her treatments.
It is rather offensive to the female population on this board who have gone through so much (and I don't care what the heck stage you are) dealing with this disease to simply tell them to 'eat less' and or exercise more. We all deal with our bodies betraying us and then we deal with the whole cancer crap...from diagnosis, treatments and finally the whole worrying about recurrence. Then, on top of all of that, female cancer survivors deal with the dramatic cessation of hormones that are supposed to be a normal part of a functioning human body and you just dismiss all of that. It's very real and it's not fun. You go and ask any doctor how come it is more difficult for the menopausal woman to lose weight and then come back and tell us it's all about energy in vs energy out. When you're metabolism is stuck because something is 'missing'...when nothing you can do makes it rev any higher....it just simply sucks!
So, if the OP wants to have weight loss surgery and if she qualifies and recognizes that it's not necessarily an easy fix...then go for it.
Dx 6/22/2006 IIA rectal cancer
6 wks rad/Xeloda -finished 9/06
1st attempt transanal excision 11/06
11/17/06 XELOX 1 cycle
5 months Xeloda only Dec '06 - April '07
10+ blood clots, 1 DVT 1/07
transanal excision 4/20/07 path-NO CANCER CELLS!
NED now and forever!
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