Sun damage

Ecogirl

Ecogirl

Friends
I thought I might share with you an email that one of our senior managers has sent around. This gentleman is late 40s, with kids, a lovely guy and a fantastic manager.

The company I work for is very health conscious and he was sent along for a general health check as part of the company program. The doctor found a melanoma on his back mid last year. This is his email from last week:

Yesterday I discussed my latest scans with my treating Oncologist. (I never contemplated having one of those).

The result of the discussions is that there is no improvement in my situation, and in fact it is deteriorating. The chemotherapy did not work and there is no other treatment left to try. The tumours in my liver, lungs, spine and lymph system are increasing in size and number, in spite of being on the chemo program.

According to the statisticians, I have between two and six months left on the planet and the driver of the situation will be my liver. The prognosis is that as I run out of liver capacity, I will become more tired and listless, and will eventually lapse into a coma from which I will not recover.

As always, there are the cases we all hear about where someone defies the odds and pulls through regardless. Which camp I am in remains to be seen.

In the meantime, I am in the hands of the palliative care specialists and am getting good attention from them. For us as a family the next few months will be all about living rather than dying. We will continue to make the most of each day and we will be aiming to turn whatever negatives come our way into positives. When I think about my situation I am grateful for the many good years I've had and perhaps it is all about the quality of the time we have here rather than the quantity (quantity being something they tell me I am fast running out of!) But in any case we won't give up and as I've said before "while there is life there is hope".

I would like to see or hear from you if you have some time over the next few weeks.
Click to expand...

He is currently in ICU after having a tumour removed from a vertebrae in his neck. I am now off to a skin specialist to get checked over and will not sunbake anymore.

Look after yourselves.

Ecogirl
 
Hi Ecogirl,

Very timely advice. I saw the 60 minutes follow up on melanoma sufferers only a few weeks ago, and I tell you it shocked the living **** out of me. Since the original story a few of the people had died - one was in his late 40's and admitted to having a sun luvin' youth - he had lost an arm and the melanoma almost covered his whole torso! A few of the others were only in their late teens :eek: to late 20's.

Needless to say, I booked myself in for a skin check straight away, but can't get in until mid July due to the demand. I will ensure I have one every six months - completely bulk billed as well so no excuse.

I hope your manager is one of those who defies the odds.

Cheers
Nat :)
 
So true

A short time we all have.

This is why I changed my main goal from 'X net worth, generating Y dollars a year so I can retire".

I worked out I was missing the whole point.
 
Hi Eco,

Newcastle University are doing experimental work on this, here is the link

http://www.newcastle.edu.au/news/media-releases/2003/shafrenmelanoma.htm

Lets hope the bloke can hang on until something is found.

I get sunspots, but fortunately only basal cell carcinoma, my kids have those dark moles which can develop into melanoma.

Some research is showing that with the advent of sunscreen creams, basal cell and squarma cell carcinomas are being avoided but melanomas are actually increasing.

This is because different UV rays effect different layers of the skin and a lot of the sunscreens don't stop the UV that causes melanoma.

As people don't get burnt as much because they have used a sunscreen, they actually spend more time in the sun which is why melanomas are increasing. :(
 
Check your family regularly

Thanks Ecogirl for sharing that with us. I feel for your colleague very much and admire his positive attitude and strength.

The first thing I thought about when I read about everyone making appointments to see the doctor is that we mustn't forget that we can check our loved ones too. Don't get me wrong - I am not suggesting you do this instead of seeing the doctor - but rather have the knowledge to identify spots that could become a problem that might show up in between visits to the doc. And it's easy as ABC...D!


The following are warning signs that you should look out for:

A ~ ASYMMETRY

B ~ BORDER: Is it irregular? Does it have a notch or indentation?

C ~ COLOUR: Is it irregular? Are there variations of colour? (In particular a combination of black, blue and/or red.)

D ~ DIAMETER: Is it greater than 0.6cm?


Also watch out for:
  • A change in colour.
  • A sore or spot that doesn't heal.
  • Bleeding.

If you have any of the above don't panic - many harmless spots have some of these characteristics also - but these are warning signs that shouldn't be ignored until your GP confirms that everything is fine.

And by all means, I reiterate, still have your regular check-ups!

Hope this is useful... :)
 
Hi Eco

A timely reminder. My Boss, at the start of last year tells me, "see this little white pimple on the edge of my beard, my doctor wants to do a biopsy just to check it out". He's 53 looking forward to retirement " I think I'll buy a Rover (car) and travel around Aus when I retire (at 55)."

"Oh, it not good" he says. After his first operation he is telling me the doctor's say he has 60 /40 chance of surviving 12 months! He tries this drug (interferon ?), $10,000/month, (mostly paid by medicare). This he tells me should bring the odds back to 50/50.

We were travelling together over to WA where we were working on a project for Defence. This is just after he had been diagnosed with skin cancer.

We are driving along the coast road heading to HMAS Stirling he says "see the beach down there, thats where I used to spend all my school holidays in the sun fishing and crabbing" He was unusually quiet after this.

I'm like, well what do you say....... how many of us grew up spending our school holidays playing in the sun?

Any way, the medicine was really making him sick, so he stopped. "I'd rather feel normal than be throwing up all day".

He died in February this year, 13 months after he showed me his lump. He leaves a wife and twin daughters (both studying at the ANU). He always was very proud of his daughters.
 
Ecogirl

Don't want in anyway to decrease people's awareness of Skin cancer , in particular melanoma , but before people cover themselves with sun cream or hide in the dark there is some interesting research coming out about the Cancer preventative benifits of Vitamin D.

There are several current references to Dr. Edward Giovannucci, a Harvard University professor of medicine and nutrition who laid out his case in a recent lecture at a major cancer research meeting.

His research suggests that vitamin D might help prevent 30 deaths for each one caused by skin cancer.

There are numerous links quoting him on the Net at the moment.

Here is one

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/living/11818200.htm

I think it comes down to doing things in moderation.

See Change
 
G'day Seech,

And, if I remember correctly (and that's NOT a given...) isn't it sunlight that GIVES Vitamin D? Wasn't Vitamin D the cure for "rickets" - and some time in the sun was what the doctor ordered?

Might be my memory - but if I am right, that is almost a conundrum, isn't it?? (i.e. spend a bit of time in the sun to prevent skin cancer.....)

Regards,
 
Ecogirl,
To state the obvious, we need the sun and we'd be stuffed without it. Due diligence should also be applied to monitoring our own health and reducing risk of excessive exposure. Our hard work will be in vain if we don’t. I too watched the story on melanoma and was shocked and saddened. I wish your boss strength and optimism.
 
Les said:
G'day Seech,

And, if I remember correctly (and that's NOT a given...) isn't it sunlight that GIVES Vitamin D? Wasn't Vitamin D the cure for "rickets" - and some time in the sun was what the doctor ordered?

Might be my memory - but if I am right, that is almost a conundrum, isn't it?? (i.e. spend a bit of time in the sun to prevent skin cancer.....)
Click to expand...

Perhaps that's the difference between having sunlight exposure, and being literally roasted by UV rays.

For example, the difference between someone going out for a 45 minutes jog in the morning/evening who puts some sun screen on, and those who go to the beach, and put sun screen on and then fall asleep on the sand for an hour or two... (And yes, I know for some, it does not take much exposure to develop a melanoma).

Again, I think sunlight is one of those things that is good in moderation, but gets ugly in excessive doses — like red wine. :p

Also, I saw the 60 minutes edition with the melanoma story. Very sad and it affected me too. I've always been a bit wary of the sun in excessive doses, but I'll be more vigilant in future.

My heart goes out to all who have been affected by these dreadful cancers — it is something no one deserves. Cancer is one word that scares the hell out of me. :(
 
Les said:
G'day Seech,

And, if I remember correctly (and that's NOT a given...) isn't it sunlight that GIVES Vitamin D? Wasn't Vitamin D the cure for "rickets" - and some time in the sun was what the doctor ordered?

Might be my memory - but if I am right, that is almost a conundrum, isn't it?? (i.e. spend a bit of time in the sun to prevent skin cancer.....)

Regards,
Click to expand...

Same as treating cancer with cancer causing agents - chemo & radiation!

Olly
 
Les said:
G'day Seech,

And, if I remember correctly (and that's NOT a given...) isn't it sunlight that GIVES Vitamin D? Wasn't Vitamin D the cure for "rickets" - and some time in the sun was what the doctor ordered?

Might be my memory - but if I am right, that is almost a conundrum, isn't it?? (i.e. spend a bit of time in the sun to prevent skin cancer.....)

Regards,
Click to expand...

I think Rickets was mainly a disease of industrial revolution era England. Where kids would see very little sunlight at all.

I doubt it was ever prevalent in Australia where lack of exposure to the sun is never an issue.

I have also heard it is making a comeback amongst those muslim women who cover up completely.

I think that with even the most stringent sun protection in Australia we will still get enough sun to avoid rickets!

Cheers,
 
There have been lots of threads on here of late about health, diets, the medical profession, treatments, drug companies and now specifically cancer.

As you know I was diagnosed with cancer about 2 months ago, have had surgery and will be starting chemo next week followed by radiation therapy in November. My life during the last 8 weeks of recovery has been nothing but research and reading on all things cancer! Diet, exercise, drugs, natural therapies and so on and on and on. I spend anything from 2 - 5 hours a day on this and overwhelm myself with information that I then have to put into some order to come up with the plan/programme I'm happy with and plan to follow in my fight.

However, of all the books, pamphlets and other material I've come across nothing beats the book I started last night called "Shattering the Cancer Myth" by Katrina Ellis. It took 6 specialists and over 6 months for her to be diagnosed properly and by then her tumour was the size of a 10 month old baby in her stomach. She had a rare cancer and the prognosis was bad. This book is about 400 pages and about 15mm thick yet HER story only takes up 25 pages although that is inspirational in itself. The rest of the book is practical information on how you can help yourself beat cancer. She's done all the work for you!! There are heaps of easy to follow tables on vitamins, minerals, herbs, foods information etc.

Chapter 9 'Alarm Bells' lists cancer causing additives, other causes of cancer, signs to watch out for for early detection BY each type of cancer.

Chapter 21 is called 'Back to our Origins - Diet is the Answer'. She even lists recipes at the back of the book.

Yes, she also covers the benefits of meditation, yoga, magnets, crystals, colour therapy, music, cleansing, affirmations, positive mind imagery and lots more, but not in a 'quacky' way and let's face it - if our mind and spirit aren't primed for the challenge, our physical state has no hope, regardless of what drugs and treatment are used.

I could keep raving about how good I think this book is, but what I'd like to conclude with is that although the book is predominately about BEATING cancer - YOU can use this book to prevent cancer and other diseases. Maybe it's not too late for Ecogirls workmate to still get something out of this book, but for the rest of you, I'm sure you'll find it hugely useful as well and it will save you a lot of research time.

Cheers
Olly
 
Re: the whole cancer topic.

I've noticed that in most posts here the term "cancer & other diseases" is used, as if cancer needs to be mentioned on it's own, as if it's the worst disease to have. No arguing that it's a horrible disease but there are other diseases that are horrible too, that have no screening tests, no prevention and no cure.

You can actually help yourself to avoid some (maybe all) cancers.
*Some cancers have screening tests - breast cancer, cervical cancer etc - Use them.
*Smoking related cancers can by avoided by not smoking - DUH! or staying away from smokey areas.
*Sun related cancers can be avoided by covering up with cream or clothes and not staying in the sun for long periods even when covered with cream and/or clothes.

Use common sense (safety clothing, equipment and procedures) when dealing with hazardous materials, poisons etc.
Learn to handle stress better or remove it from your life.
There is more cancer in the cities than in country areas - probably because city folk have to deal with more pollution & stress, are more sedentary, and have a fast paced lifestyle which often equals poor diet and so on. So city folk have to work that bit harder at staying on top of it. Make sure you keep your fitness levels up, watch your diet and escape to clean air as often as you can (beach, forests etc ) and suck it in deeply. These areas have negative ions in the air which are good for us - that's why we always feel charged/energised when we visit these type of places.

It's believed that our immunity system fights off cancer cells every day. It stands to reason then that if cancer has taken a hold then our immunity system is weak and needs strenghtening. So you can help yourself by having the right diet - one that boosts your immune system which will help ward off cancer AND other diseases.

All the survival stories I've read so far of people beating cancer, occur when conventional medicine can't help them anymore and they've taken a battering with toxic chemical treatment, surgery and other drugs and they are in their worst physical state possible - then they go off and bombard themselves with vegetables, fruit, vitamins, minerals etc and bring themselves back from the brink of death!!! Diet obviously plays a key role in preventing and curing cancers!!!!

It makes me wonder why more work isn't being done into this area, why hospital menus don't incorporate these foods more, why vitamins/minerals etc aren't part of the recouperative process and so on. Oh, silly me, I just remembered - sickness is a business, our health is something we have to look after ourselves.

Cheers
Olly

PS: Duncan - have you had a chance to riffle through that book yet - what do you think?
 
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