Do you assume you'll be diagnosed with cancer?

[BigBigBear]

Boy, some days I do.

Ex-smoker (30+ years, cig-free 10 months) with a light smattering of cancer in family (2 members, different generations, out of 40 or so).

I figure I'll get it - prostate, lung, colon.

Scares me.

[U of M Dem 07]

1. I'll probably get skin cancer

...it runs in my family, I'm very fair-skinned, I have all the things on the list.

[Qanisqineq]

3. same here

I'm the palest you can get without being albino :) Too much Scandinavian in me, I guess

[Snow]

I'd really keep an eye out for smokers' lung instead.

not the big C, the little c - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Nasty, debilitating, and usually fatal - but more slowly than cancer.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

2. Yes

Or heart disease. Colon cancer killed my mom; breast cancer killed my sister; a cerebral hemorrhage killed my dad. Of all of them, I'd prefer the cerebral hemorrhage.

I don't smoke and never have, nor do I drink, but my eating and exercise habits could use some improvement.

[SmileyBoy]

4. Cancer is non-existent in my family.

But Diabetes runs RAMPANT. I really have to watch out for Type-II Diabetes...

[ulysses]

5. as my old oncodoc said a few years ago,

"If you live long enough, you'll get cancer".

Been there, expect it again at some point.

[hippiechick]

6. My grandma, great aunt and mom all had the same rare kind

... of brain cancer (glioblastoma multiformae - vicious, lightning quick form of cancer whose symptoms mimic alzheimer's) ... all died between the ages of 50-60, all had 'state of the art' treatments that couldn't lay a finger on it.

I figure I'm toast too, so bring on the cigs, the liquor and the tanning beds !!


:hippie:

[CrownPrinceBandar]

7. Kinda in your boat....

Not a cigarette smoker, casual pot smoker. Both grandparents on my Mom's side died of lung cancer. I'm not a doctor, so I can't say if its a high likelihood or not. Nonetheless, it scares the shit out of me.

[ForrestGump]

8. Nope, except as an astrological sign

[Maestro]

9. I am currently fighting thyroid cancer

I have been out of work off and on battling this since October. I had surgery in February to remove my thyroid and radiation treatment two weeks ago and I have always been healthy. I used to run 20 miles a week, blood pressure of 110/70 or 120/80 all the time and a standing heart rate in the 60's. It didn't matter though, cancer got me. I do have a good prognosis though. So count me as a cancer survivor and I just turned 36 today.

[SOteric]

10. Been there. Done that. Have several nice t-shirts.

I expect I'll die young of complications. (But no, not in the next few years. Rest easy friends.)

[eyesroll]

11. Yep.

Mom's side -- Grandmother (breast, then liver/lung)*; uncle (breast)
Dad's side -- Grandmother (breast); grandfather (thyroid); aunt (breast, then all over)*; uncle (leukemia)

* = died from it.

So far, my parents, my sister and I have been heathy. But my doctor wants me to get a baseline mammogram at 30 or 35 because it's so prevalent in my family.

[solinvictus]

12. Yep

I have reflux, so with that and my family history, I'm worried about esophageal cancer.

[Kathleen04]

13. It does run in my family..

my grandmother has had colon cancer THREE TIMES..once in the 60s, once in the 70s, and she was diagnosed again this year..she had surgery to remove it and she's doing well right now. I believe she's also survived breast cancer as well.

My grandfather has survived prostate cancer..neither of my parents have had cancer, but they're still young, so I'm hoping they never will.

[BigBigBear]

14. They say it skips a generation

Dunno if that's true. We lost a cousin to ovarian cancer 25 years ago - she was 30-ish, went into remission after first treatments, then it came back and took her in a month or so.

My (now deceased) cousin and I genetically very close; her father is my father's brother, and her mother is my mother's sister. That's a little scary.

[Whitacre D_WI]

15. No.

Considering my family history, diet, smoking, and level of idleness... I will likely be dead of heart disease long before cancer.

[Amaya]

16. Been there

and hopefully I won't be going there again. I'm currently in remission...but nothing is for sure. Enjoy every minute of life :D

[supernova]

17. I try not to limit my thinking

in that way. I don't want to will myself to have it if that makes sense?

There's breast cancer in my family. Mom died of it just after turning 70 and my sister is now a 5.5 year survivor in her mid-50s.

My immediate relatives, except for Mom, have all died of either heart disease (heart attacks and stroke), or diabetes.

But just because I'm not fatalistic doesn't mean I don't keep learning about my health and manage risks I can control. I exercise. I eat well. I'm not overweight. I drink moderately. I've never smoked. I manage stress and do not engage in activities that cause me a lot of anxiety.

Since I do have congenital heart defects, I do assume there is more heart surgery in my future. I will be pleasantly surprised if my wonky valves last me my whole life. :D

[Snoggera]

18. Smoker here

I periodically try to determine whether it would be better to have the time to finish off everything (like Warren Zevon), or just have it happen quickly. I'm leaning towards the Warren Zevon way for now.

[BigBigBear]

19. Warren's passing was one motivating factor

for me to quit.

Another was the story of the father of an online aquaintance. He got cancer in his jaw - this man's suffering and slow demise was one of the most gruesme things I've ever read about, spread over several months.

It was the last straw. I kicked, never went back - ok, I do have a small cigar once a month or so.

[gpandas]

20. stay off the cigs..

you can do it because i did and i'm really weak. smoked for thirty years and quit for eleven.

[amazona]

21. everyone who lives long enough will, sure

But I don't lay awake nights worrying about it. After a certain age, all men have prostate cancer, don't they, or else they don't have a prostate. As a woman, it might not be so cut and dried, but according to my health insurance company, I've got a pretty straightforward choice. Women who don't get regular exposure to sunlight have a high risk of breast cancer, which has a high death rate. I can lower my risk of breast cancer by getting regular sunlight but if I live long enough, I'll then be at risk for skin cancer/cataracts. I think the smart way to play it is to keep moles/skin cancers etc. removed when small and to get the sunlight, since breast cancer is much more difficult and expensive to treat. The other choice is to be sure and die early, but that's no fun either.

I have a huge extended family, so way more than 2 people in my family have had cancer, but supposedly 1 in 4 Americans get cancer -- 1 in 3 if you include skin cancer -- so it sounds like your family history is better than average. Do your best and don't let it prey on your mind.

[SarahB]

22. Skin maybe

I'm very fair, but I'm pretty careful as well.
My mom had endometrial cancer and I'm at some risk, but she also had female issues for years prior that I haven't had. Plus, my fuctional uterus and years spent nursing has a protective effect in that regard. I eat healthy. I don't smoke. I drink very minimally. I don't have a big family history. Overall, I'd say I should be fine for at least another 40 years or so.

[AlienGirl]

23. I was, someday I will likely be again

Squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, diagnosed December 2001.

The recurrance rate is pretty high in my age group. People who get SCC of the mouth in their twenties, without obvious risk factors, tend to get second primary tumors within five years.

Tucker

[REP]

24. I've Had Cancer - Still Do

I had cervical cancer in my 20s, and I still have a squamous cell carcinoma on my leg I keep forgetting to have cut off.

The odds of me developing another cancer that'll kill me before the kidney failure does is very, very low.