Life Goes On

Days Fifty, Fifty-one, and Fifty-two – Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

The thing is….life goes on. Most days are the same. We rise, we get ready for the day, we get through the day, and we sleep. A lot of other things are thrown in there, but generally, that’s what happens. Most of my days are like that, even though I have Cancer. They are that way for people with Fibromyalgia, Manic Depression, Auto-immune Diseases, and the list goes on.

My life is normal right now. I did some research on Diabetes and natural ways to help lower my blood sugar and found out that it is better to walk after dinner for 15 minutes than to do 45 minutes of exercise earlier in the day. How this information was derived and who came up with these numbers, I don’t know, but that’s what I read. Also, Royal Jelly can be helpful for lowering blood sugar. Who knew?

Education is power, but be careful. Ask questions and find what is best for YOU, not just because somebody said it or you read it in a magazine.

Day Fifty-three – Monday

Yesterday’s thoughts led me to a subject near and dear to my heart – statistics. The whole love/hate relationship I have with them started when I heard this comment on the evening news, “30% of all people who have cancer did something to cause it to themselves.” I know of no one who wants Cancer and I can think of no one who tries to contract Cancer. I had just been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and I took a personal affront to this statement.  I used to refer to smokers as eternal optimists because they knew the risks and chose to take them. My father is 80 years old and has smoked since he was, I believe, 16. He does not have lung cancer or any other smoking related diseases. I could list a bunch of people who are in the same category.

So, let’s look at where these statistics come from. My husband’s statistics teacher said the first day of class “There are 3 kinds of lies: white lies, damn lies, and statistics.” I believe statistics are the dangerous ones because they can all be backed up by facts and mathematical calculations.

Let’s take a gander at the 30% one I mentioned before. What they were talking about was lung cancers, mouth cancers, liver cancers, and the like that are “caused” by people who smoke and drink too much. When you see a percentage without actual numbers (like 3 out of 10 or 30 out of 100) you should ask yourself some questions. How many people were sampled? How long had they been living this lifestyle? How old were they? What other things happened in their lives? What is the ratio of men to women?

In order to come up with this 30%, a sampling of people who had cancer was probably asked if they smoked or drank. You get asked these questions all the time when you go see the doctor. Why do they ask those questions? So somebody in a little cubicle somewhere can crunch the numbers and determine that, inevitably, smoking will kill you. It is exactly, those numbers that have caused the revolution against smoking. It is now taboo. You are looked down upon if you smoke. Hell, if you smoke around your children, it’s considered child abuse. All because a sampling of people who had cancer was asked if they smoked.

Simplistic? It is just as simplistic to say that 30% of people with cancer caused it to happen.  Because we hear a number with a percentage attached to it and we take it as gospel. Somebody must know what they are doing because they know enough to come up with a statistic about it. Not really. No. Somebody got somebody to listen to them by yelling loud and long about a number with a percentage attached to it. And that somebody made us afraid, and because we became afraid we looked to the government to make us safe by banning smoking. Ah. Don’t you feel safer now?

I have had cancer three times. I have never taken an illegal drug. I do not drink alcohol in excess. I have never smoked. No one in my family had cancer of any kind before I did. Where’s my statistics? What causes this to happen to me? My oncologist said I am just about the unluckiest person she has ever seen. So, it’s luck?

It’s life. Here’s a statistic you can take to the bank: 100% of us will die of something, someday. No one gets out of this life alive. NO ONE! Our bodies are not meant to last forever and will, at some point, fall apart. I have seen very angry people who are perfectly healthy and hate their lives and I have seen extremely happy people who are dying. Live your life the way you chose. Accept the consequences of your own actions. Don’t listen to statistics because tomorrow they’ll be different.

When my husband and I were talking to my internist during my first bout with cancer, the doctor said I had a life expectancy of about 10 years. My husband then asked, “So you can guarantee me that she won’t walk out of this hospital and get hit by a bus?” The doctor said, “Nobody can guarantee that.” My husband said, “Then we won’t talk about life expectancies again.” It’s been 17 years since that day and I’m still alive and kicking and haven’t been hit by a bus.