It is November and a number of men in my precinct are growing their moustaches to raise awareness for men’s health issues such as prostate and testicular cancer. The Movember foundation encourages men to get involved in their health issues. It encourages men to be aware of family history of cancer, to adopt a healthier lifestyle, and to get an annual check-up, as early detection can reduce the number of deaths from men’s cancers. October was a sea of pink. November is a sea of moustaches of all shapes and sizes. It’s like big stache fest! In its early stages, Prostate cancer may not cause signs or symptoms. Prostate cancer that is more advanced may cause signs and symptoms such as trouble urinating, decreased force in the stream of urine, blood in the urine, blood in the semen, pain in the lower back, hips, or thighs, discomfort in the pelvic area, bone pain, and erectile dysfunction. Screening tests include DRE (digital rectal exam) and PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test.
November is also Lung Cancer Awareness month. Lung cancer often has no symptoms until it has spread (metastasized).This is because there are few specialized nerves (pain receptors) in the lungs. When lung cancer symptoms do occur, they vary depending on the type of lung cancer and location and size of the tumor. Some lung cancer symptoms are similar to those of other common illnesses such as a cold and asthma. These symptoms include: coughing, blood in the sputum, shortness of breath, wheezing, pain in the chest, and pneumonia (for local disease, which hasn’t spread beyond the location it started). Symptoms of locally advanced lung cancer (cancer has spread to nearby tissue and lymph nodes) include: pleural effusion (excess fluid in the lining of the lungs). pericardial effusion (excess fluid in the lining of the heart), hoarseness, difficulty or pain in swallowing, and a high pitched sound, usually heard while taking a breath, similar to wheezing (stridor). There are various types of lung cancer. For information on the types, visit www.lungcanceralliance.org.
Once again I ask for prayers, healing light, positive thoughts, and positive energy for my friends currently battling cancer. I forgot to mention Bonnie on my last post. Linda needs extra prayers so please send them her way. Cancer really, really sucks and the treatment isn’t much better. I am still dealing with fatigue and brain mush and I completed chemo at the end of July.
I went with my sister Monica to her 30th High School Re-union. As we are only 15 months apart (two years in school years!), I knew a lot of people. I had a wonderful time and I danced up a storm. A couple days later, I was in a lot of pain. I somehow bruised?? my left breast area. Too much bouncing knocked the expander out of whack? I spent the next few days with an ice pack on my chest. I felt like the character on the movie “Alien” when the baby alien explodes from his chest, except instead of an alien, I thought my expander was going to explode out of my chest. My breast area was very swollen. A few days later, I was able to get an appointment with Dr. W (plastic surgeon). He recommended a chest CT with contrast to see what was going on. As I had recently had a CT (Cat Scan), I didn’t want another so soon. I asked if he could remove some of the fluid from the expander to ease the pressure I was feeling. He removed 30 cc’s of fluid and I felt a lot better. I returned two days later for a follow-up. I didn’t develop a fever so at this point, we will keep watch. No Chest CT, no antibiotics. I was told to limit my “dirty dancing” in the future. OK, I know I danced up a storm, but I wouldn’t call it dirty dancing. The DJ was playing some great dance music, a lot of early 80’s stuff, I couldn’t sit still. So……………. I have to take it easy once again. Zumba is out. No crazy Tae Kwon Do. I started using the elliptical machine at work and my stationary bike at home (what a pain in the ass!!! Literally).
Reconstruction will most likely take place some time in January. I definitely don’t want to do any major surgery before the holidays!
Gillian just finished TKD class. Gotta go! Keep up the prayers. We all could use them.
Breast Cancer's Triple Play! 