Young adults and cancer

I read an article on the Atlantic about the plight of young cancer patients. First of all, please do not use the word 'plight'. A plight is defined as: a condition, state, or situation, especially an unfavorable or unfortunate one. To me its another one of those sneaky, snarky labels with negative overtones. And the article also calls them survivors which is not my favorite term as well. A double negative for me.

Yes, life sucks after a cancer diagnosis. Particularly if you are younger and there are no others around with cancer to help you cope. I was one of them and I do not think that I had a plight. I had a life to live and figure out.

After cancer at any age, you are left with a mangled body, soul, and finances. I was luckier than most as my cancer did not require chemotherapy at age 19. My finances were covered through my parents' health insurance but I had the body and soul of a cancer patient.

Well back to the article. I did like it. I did like the information provided about the issues a young cancer patient is left with. If some one at age 20 is diagnosed with cancer, in addition to everything else, they are left with deciding what to do with their future. Maybe they were in college and were planning a career, now they have to decided can they finish their studies as previously planned and then go on with their career.

What about dating and children? Would a potential partner be turned off by their scars and medical history? Are they now damaged goods in the dating world? If you are diagnosed at age 60 which is somewhere closer to the average age at diagnosis for most, dating and children are no longer an issue.

And finances - take your average post college debt and add on top of that medical bills. Where does that leave the young adult with cancer starting their life after cancer?

Finally, how do you repair the damaged soul of a cancer patient? I can tell you it can take a very long time before you want to open up and talk about your medical crap with anyone - even a therapist. Healing is difficult, long term, and deeply scarring.

So next time you see a teenager or 20 something at the oncologists office, think about what they are going through and where they are starting the rest of their life. How do they get a to a new normal for their adulthood if they never had one in the first place?

The transfat debacle

The FDA wants to get rid of transfats because they are bad for us Americans and cause all sorts of problems. I don't have a problem with that because they are in things that either I don't eat or can be easily made without them.

I used to use margarine but decided it had too many ingredients. Now I use unsalted butter. It has one ingredient - cream. I don't buy frozen pizza, microwave popcorn, coffee creamer and all sorts of lovely prefab foods including baked goods. It helps things retain their shape and improves shelf life. I prefer things that are fresh with few ingredients.

McDonalds has gotten rid of transfats so you can safely eat their fries. Dunkin Donuts seems to have removed transfats from their donuts. I am sure other chains have done the same.

Skip the frozen pizza - either order it delivered or make your own from scratch or use the premade crust available at the deli. Microwave popcorn - a/k/a chemical popcorn - can easily be replaced by a little brown paper bag that you used to use to bring lunch to school and 1/4 cup of kernels. Fold the bag sealed and put in the microwave for 3-4 minutes. Voila its chemical free. Melt some butter separately if you really want.

My absolute favorite, horrible for me meal that I eat rarely is fried clams and scallops with onion rings and fries - my husband and I split a plate - and we get it at a place which fries everything in lard. Lard doesn't have transfats either.

My gut (haha) tell me that the place that would take the biggest hit if transfats were removed would be the frozen prepared food section of the grocery, the premade baked goods in the grocery, microwave popcorn, and the fancy creamers that go into coffee. Could we live without these? Probably fairly easily.

I am with the FDA on this one.

World Cancer Day

Today, February 4, is World Cancer Day. The target of the day is to Debunk the Myths surrounding cancer.

World Cancer day started a few years back. They presented signatures to the United Nations in 2011 with the goal by 2025 of:

There will be major reductions in premature deaths from cancer, and improvements in quality of life and cancer survival rates.

I like their way of thinking. They set up a list of targets and this year is to Debunk the Myths. You can go to their website and see more details on the myths and their other targets.

To show your support for this day, if you had cancer you are supposed to wear purple. Hmmm.... Isn't that labelling? I hate labels. I am not the S-word. But I want to show my support.

Today I am taking a family member to chemotherapy so will be hanging out in the oncology department. How much purple will be there?

My compromise is a purple patterned shirt and purple undergarments. Am I a weenie? I'm not sure. I just hate the labels.

I digress. Today is World Cancer Day.  Show your support by learning more about it and seeing what you can do to help.