- crap genetics
- tobacco
- bad diet and lack of exercise
- sun and uv exposure
- radiation exposure
- other carcinogens like pollution, radon, asbestos, hair dye and cosmetics (!!!), cell phone towers, booze and more
100 years ago the big death dealer was tuburculosis. It’s still present but, here in the U.S., it doesn’t make the top five anymore.
The current Top Five:
- Heart disease
- Cancer (malignant neoplasms)
- Chronic lower respiratory disease
- Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases)
- Accidents (unintentional injuries)
I saw this little Australian movie, Bliss, back in the ‘80s. This wildly surreal film introduced me to cancer clusters.
A cancer cluster is the occurrence of a greater than expected number of cancer cases among a group of people in a defined geographic area over a specific time period.
From Wikipedia:
Notable examples include: scrotal cancer among chimney sweeps in 18th century London; osteosarcoma among female watch dial painters in the 20th century; skin cancer in farmers; bladder cancer in dye workers exposed to aniline compounds; and leukemia and lymphoma in chemical workers exposed to benzene.
The flick was a real eye opener on top of being full of hypnagogic wonderment.
I’m not claiming or even thinking that my Amazing Bob’s the victim of criminally heartless industrialists out to make a buck at the expense of workers lives (hells, we’re a dime a dozen after all!). Nope.
Cancer happens for a zillion and 3/4 reasons, not the least of which is what we nasty-ass, supposedly smartest mammals have done and continue to do to our planet in the name of the almighty buck-ola.
nota bene: you can run but you can’t hide. Cancer’s gonna getcha, getcha, getcha even if you’re well connected and/or rich.
Tony Snow, press secretary for George Bush—dead from colon cancer at 53
Jackie O—non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Rudy Giuliani—prostate cancer
Peter Jennings—lung cancer
William Rehnquist—thyroid cancer
and the list goes on and on and on and on and....
Where am I going with all this? Dunno. Mostly I’m just shaking my fist at the sky.
We leave in a half hour to meet TAB’s cancer doc. We’ll finally get the word on what we’re up against, possible treatment paths and, ya know, where to now Saint Peter.
Hell yes, we’re scared!
Jen and Oni, saints that they are, are going with us. All fingers are crossed.
I’m not claiming or even thinking that my Amazing Bob’s the victim of criminally heartless industrialists out to make a buck at the expense of workers lives (hells, we’re a dime a dozen after all!). Nope.
Cancer happens for a zillion and 3/4 reasons, not the least of which is what we nasty-ass, supposedly smartest mammals have done and continue to do to our planet in the name of the almighty buck-ola.
nota bene: you can run but you can’t hide. Cancer’s gonna getcha, getcha, getcha even if you’re well connected and/or rich.
Tony Snow, press secretary for George Bush—dead from colon cancer at 53
Jackie O—non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Rudy Giuliani—prostate cancer
Peter Jennings—lung cancer
William Rehnquist—thyroid cancer
and the list goes on and on and on and on and....
Where am I going with all this? Dunno. Mostly I’m just shaking my fist at the sky.
We leave in a half hour to meet TAB’s cancer doc. We’ll finally get the word on what we’re up against, possible treatment paths and, ya know, where to now Saint Peter.
Hell yes, we’re scared!
Jen and Oni, saints that they are, are going with us. All fingers are crossed.
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