Tonight a friend of mine is dying. He is only 62 and there's a good chance that he'll be dead by morning. It was only about 6 weeks ago he found out he had lung cancer which had metastasized and was in his bones and liver. He only found out because all of a sudden his hips hurt so bad he called 911. It turns out that the cancer had broken through the interior of his pelvis and into his hip joints.
He was told he probably had cancer for 4 years. He had been smoking for at least 30 years. As long as I've known him his lungs sounded like shit.
I know economics played a part in him not getting his lungs checked. Denial played a larger part. 0nce a year lung health check for smokers with low income can be done without undue hardship. My friend could have afforded it. Especially considering the wife, children, and grandchildren who will lose my friend and more importantly their husband, father, and grandfather. And his dying is truly a loss. He was a truly generous person. Who denied to himself that years of smoking might be bad.
We don't live as islands if we have friends and family and community that care about us. Or love us.
I got checked for prostate cancer on the regular schedule. And was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. At age 58. The cancer was especially aggressive. I'm now 63 and apparently cancer free. If I had not done the regular screening I would be dead.
A woman friend of mine also had regular screening for breast cancer. And they discovered she also had an aggressive cancer but the prognosis is good because it was caught early enough to do something about it. Her cancer was discovered a couple years after mine and she is younger than me. So it doesn't mean you need to be old before you start taking cancer screening seriously.
Please, don't be selfish and think that any health problems you have will only affect you. Cancer keeps on killing, we are all getting older, which ups the risk, and we have people who love and care and depend on us. Depend on us for love and emotional support and advice.
Thanks for reading. Even more thanks if you take this to heart and get your ass in and get checked for diseases that can be dealt with in the early stages. Like high blood pressure. Or type 2 diabetes. Or liver and kidney problems. Or cancer.
Sincerely,
Eric