Things that piss you off that shouldn't

[GeorgeVilla82]

My Dad's been diagnosed with prostate cancer today. Caught very early, and good chance of getting rid of it (or at least living a long time before it has any worse effects), but still a bit of a shock. None of my close family have ever had cancer, so (stupidly) I kind of thought no one would ever get it, even though it obviously doesn't work like that.

[lapal_fan]

SERIOUSLY, **** CANCER THE **** word removed!

 

Sorry to hear obviously George, hope you and your family are comping okay.

[mjmooney]

FWIW, my mate didn't smoke.

[LxYoungAVFC]

When safari randomly switches to desktop view mode on my phone and I lose what I wrote.

The train I use everyday has "Welcome" printed in 20 languages on the tables in each compartment.

Everyday i hear children read it out loud in their squeaky, headphone penetrating voices.

WIlkommen, bienvenu, bienvenuti, welcome, добро пожаловать, ترحيب, ようこそ......

Edited May 15, 2015 by LxYoungAVFC

[Chindie]

I lost my father to cancer this year. And it had more than a small part in my mother's death last year. With my dad, the family has a genetic disorder that is literally a coin toss - heads you WILL get cancer, tails you only risk your children getting it. My dad was diagnosed about 14 years ago originally. He was very unwell, had some fairly major things done, and was never quite the same. My sister was diagnosed at the same time. We got those extra years with him, but it won out this year and withered him quickly away. It spread throughout him, eventually getting to his brain. If nothing else it took him quickly and he was at home until about 5 days before - we has no idea what was specifically wrong until it was too late.

It's a horrible disease.

All the more horrible that it is a fault of our own makeup that makes it such a problem. It isn't some foreign organism to us that we can fight. It's a betrayal of the very fibre of our beings, and if we are lucky to live long enough, all of us will fight it some day.

I just wish I hadn't seen in such powerful detail exactly what it'll do one day, perhaps.

[snowychap]

It's a horrible disease.

Are there any that aren't?

That's not a comment meant to denigrate the pain that your father, mother or you and the rest of your family have gone through but to question how people regard 'cancer' over and above anything else.

I understand why it strikes such an unpleasant chord with more people than any other disease or illness (i.e its prevalence - hence the standing out of Leemond's comment earlier) but very few serious and terminal illnesses and diseases are surely anything other than horrible.

[Chindie]

Well unfortunately I've only had close experience of cancer. I thought it was horrible, watching my father struggle to breathe taking long slow shallow snatched breaths and look distinctly like he was having a fit for 10 hours with his eyes starring at the ceiling through me, his head shaking on his neck and body trembling constantly, having lost control of every facet of his being.

I'll have to reconsider it as mildly unpleasant, because it could have been Ebola.

[snowychap]

Well unfortunately I've only had close experience of cancer.

Which was rather the point.

It's horrible yet so are many other illnesses and diseases.

I've sent you a PM. I'll leave it there.

[mjmooney]

It's a horrible disease.

Are there any that aren't?

That's not a comment meant to denigrate the pain that your father, mother or you and the rest of your family have gone through but to question how people regard 'cancer' over and above anything else.

I understand why it strikes such an unpleasant chord with more people than any other disease or illness (i.e its prevalence - hence the standing out of Leemond's comment earlier) but very few serious and terminal illnesses and diseases are surely anything other than horrible.

I think it's the fact that it's so prevalent and the fact that we haven't come up with a cure or a vaccine. More people died in 1920 from flu than in the whole of WWI - but we came up with anti-inflammatories that reduced it - in most cases - to an unpleasant inconvenience. When I was very young, everyone lived in fear of polio - but we came up with a vaccine that has virtually eliminated it. But the cancer problem remains unsolved.

[snowychap]

I think it's the fact that it's so prevalent and the fact that we haven't come up with a cure or a vaccine.

I get that, Mike. I understand why it, more than anything else, takes such a hold of the public discourse and that is, largely, understandable.

But the cancer problem remains unsolved.

I have a supplementary question here - what do we do (i.e. where do we go in public policy terms) if/when we do solve it?

[Meath_Villan]

Hasn't cuba came out with some sort of drug to massively reduce the chance of lung cancer 

[darrenm]

Oesophagal cancer is caused by acid reflux generally. Because of our modern diets this is very prevalent. Someone with an hiatus hernia or general weak sphincter is at risk of getting Barrett's oesophagus which eventually leads to cancer.

If you get regular heartburn and need to take antacids, lose some weight, exercise to strengthen the diaphragm and eat more fruit and veg, and less sugar and fat.

As far as I'm aware, the rest are due to damaged DNA which progressively degrades as you get older. Again a poor diet doesn't help with this.

Best thing you can do for everything in your life is to eat healthily, exercise regularly and make a nuisance of yourself at the doctor's.

Lots of people seem to be cottoning on to the first bits, it's just a pity the NHS is so awful for the latter.

[Stevo985]

 

It's a horrible disease.

Are there any that aren't?

That's not a comment meant to denigrate the pain that your father, mother or you and the rest of your family have gone through but to question how people regard 'cancer' over and above anything else.

I understand why it strikes such an unpleasant chord with more people than any other disease or illness (i.e its prevalence - hence the standing out of Leemond's comment earlier) but very few serious and terminal illnesses and diseases are surely anything other than horrible.

 

You seem to have a problem with people having a sob story about cancer.

 

It's not cool bro.

[snowychap]

You seem to have a problem with people having a sob story about cancer.

Not in the slightest.

[Jon]

I think it's the fact that it's so prevalent and the fact that we haven't come up with a cure or a vaccine.

I get that, Mike. I understand why it, more than anything else, takes such a hold of the public discourse and that is, largely, understandable.

But the cancer problem remains unsolved.

I have a supplementary question here - what do we do (i.e. where do we go in public policy terms) if/when we do solve it?

people will just die of something else, eventually.

[snowychap]

people will just die of something else, eventually.

Well, yes - but I was more thinking about the consequences (having the desire to eradicate cancer, for example, as a given) for elderly (social and medical) care.

Isn't it incredibly important that we look at sorting out the problems in those areas that we're already having and will only increase when the day comes (or rather subsequent to the day) that we have the remarkable breakthrough of curing cancer?

[Wainy316]

The cynic in me thinks the pharmaceutical companies make too much money treating cancer to make curing it a priority.

[AVFCDAN]

The cynic in me thinks the pharmaceutical companies make too much money treating cancer to make curing it a priority.

 

Not sure i agree with that, as we have already said most people are affected by cancer at some point, that means the researchers working on cures all the way up to the directors at the top of the company have probably all had to deal with it, surely money doesn't come into it when your loved ones are dying from this disease?

[Chindie]

The company that comes up with a cure to cancer will become one of the most powerful businesses on Earth. They'll have effectively worked out how to turn off an inbuilt kill switch in our being, the entire planet is thusly their market, and very compelling reason for everyone to buy it someday.

Unfortunately it's not likely to be a disease that is ever going to have a few pills that will cure it. It's a flaw in our cell reproduction at heart. That will take genetic modification to fix, on such a scale that it may never be possible.

[limpid]

 have a supplementary question here - what do we do (i.e. where do we go in public policy terms) if/when we do solve it?

I'm surprised we aren't spending a lot more research funds on dementia and similar problems. That's going to become a huge issue if we cure cancer.