Former White House spokesman Tony Snow dies (cancer discussion)

[lily]

My feelings exactly. My brother died of colon cancer at about the same age. Its a hard thing for any family. May he rest in peace and may his family find the strength to live without him.


One of the tributes I watched today said his mother died of colon cancer at a very young age and he was very vigilant at making sure he got the proper screening.

Got my dad, but he was older. Made us all decide to get checked......that's when my sister found out she had it, died at 55.......way too young, both of them.

[NIOSA]

One of the tributes I watched today said his mother died of colon cancer at a very young age and he was very vigilant at making sure he got the proper screening.

Got my dad, but he was older. Made us all decide to get checked......that's when my sister found out she had it, died at 55.......way too young, both of them.

I am sorry lily. :(

[NIOSA]

I never agreed with him politically, but he was truly likable. I felt some kinship with him because I had a battle with colon cancer at 40. At 73 now, I think I'm cured.

That's great Buck. :)
You're a class act too, even though you didn't agree with Tony Snow politically, you recognized his likeability.

[AlanC]

One of the tributes I watched today said his mother died of colon cancer at a very young age and he was very vigilant at making sure he got the proper screening.

Got my dad, but he was older. Made us all decide to get checked......that's when my sister found out she had it, died at 55.......way too young, both of them.


My brother was 54 and yes, entirely too young.

[Buck Laser]

One of the tributes I watched today said his mother died of colon cancer at a very young age and he was very vigilant at making sure he got the proper screening.

Got my dad, but he was older. Made us all decide to get checked......that's when my sister found out she had it, died at 55.......way too young, both of them.
My kids, 45 and 43, are a little pissed at me, but they've both dutifully gotten their colonoscopies every few years since they turned 35. My doctor told me back in 1975 that mine was atypical, so hopefully they won't run much risk. I only get a colonoscopy every five years now.

[lily]

My kids, 45 and 43, are a little pissed at me, but they've both dutifully gotten their colonoscopies every few years since they turned 35. My doctor told me back in 1975 that mine was atypical, so hopefully they won't run much risk. I only get a colonoscopy every five years now.

After my last one, my doctor ordered one for 6 months later......insurance comapy turned me down........and on that note, I think I'll split the thread for those that want to talk about cancer and those that want to pay tribute to Tony.

[lily]

I am sorry lily. :(


Thanks.......we were close, lived down the street from each other after we married. Raised our kids together.

[Muser]

Colonoscopies are a breeze these days (compared to days of yore); pills to easily clean you out, then you're knocked out for the procedure. Errr...at least, you're supposed to be - I woke up in the middle of mine. No pain whatsoever, but it did feel quite strange to have something snaking about in my midsection.

[Sirk]

I have a theory cancer only kills the good people. It leaves us ornery ones.


http://www.kungfeud.com/u/files/4/abs007.jpg

18 years 3 months since I had my kidney and adrenal gland removed from a tumor they didn't find until it ruptured.

[Muser]

I missed it earlier, but I'm sorry to hear about your dad and sister, lily. :-( My sympathies to you, as well, Sirk.

I lost my 62-year-old Mom to cancer in 1995 after a long, painful battle. She looked quite similar to Susan Sarandon - every time I see an image of Susan, my eyes start to well up. The movie "Stepmom" (starring Susan, who dies from cancer) came out just a couple of years after my Mom passed on; I went to see the movie, not really knowing what it was about (other than it was a mom-stepmom thing). I was completely blind-sided, and it knifed my heart. That movie still has the power to make me cry like a little girl.

<ahem> Anyway...on a more positive, constructive note - I did want to mention a website that might prove beneficial to some. The man who authors it is one of those ultra-health nuts - but not in a bad way. Some of the articles - particularly with respect to cancer - are extremely fascinating and intriguing. For those interested in what they can do to help prevent cancer in themselves, or their children - there's some amazing stuff there. Keep an open mind, but beware some articles might be over-the-top. Overall, I find this site to be a Very Good Thing[tm] - I can't help but give a :thumbsup: to someone who can lambaste the FDA so excellently.

http://www.naturalnews.com/

[sam]

Lily, I am sorry for your losses. My mother died from colon cancer that had metastized to the liver 21 years ago, my dads brother died the following year from the same disease. My sibs and I have been tested since we were in our thirties.

Colonoscopies are a breeze these days (compared to days of yore); pills to easily clean you out, then you're knocked out for the procedure. Errr...at least, you're supposed to be - I woke up in the middle of mine. No pain whatsoever, but it did feel quite strange to have something snaking about in my midsection.


I agree with you as my first two experiences were a breeze. The last one
was a disaster, they didnt give me sedative and because they found a kink could only get 3/4 of the way thru the procedure before they finally got it thru their thick skulls I was in extreme pain.

I'll continue to get them but I am going to a different Dr. This really is a simple procedure. One suggestion, schedule them for early in the morning.
This last was in the afternoon, and I remember thinking the Dr looked harried the minute I saw him come into the room.

[Leslie]

While I hate to see anyone lost to early death, we have to acknowledge these deaths of celebrities bring attention to illnesses which may not otherwise be brought to the awareness of the general public. I have to admit that when the pharmaceutical companies advertise their latest medications on TV, I tune them out of my head. And sometimes I'm guilty of believing I'm younger than my biological age.

Thank you to the OP (lily) for starting this thread and all of you for sharing your personal info, it enlightens us all regardless of our own experience.

And lily, I'm especially thankful for your post about your insurance company's refusal to allow your additional exams, it's a testimony to the failure of proper healthcare by insurance companies when doctors' recommendations are refused. We all should be concerned about healthcare even when it doesn't seem to be "our problem."

[Truth_and_Power]

I had my first colon check this year at age 31. A little early, I guess, but I'm mildly paranoid about cancer.

[Muser]

And lily, I'm especially thankful for your post about your insurance company's refusal to allow your additional exams, it's a testimony to the failure of proper healthcare by insurance companies when doctors' recommendations are refused. We all should be concerned about healthcare even when it doesn't seem to be "our problem."

In all fairness, lily's doctor was recommending she have another colonoscopy 6 months after she'd already had one - highly unusual for a doctor to recommend such a thing, and you'd be hard-pressed to find an insurance company that would cover more than one colonoscopy per year. The costs of doing so far outweigh the benefits, in terms of screening for prevention.

OTOH, I was rather surprised to find that my insurance company was unwilling to pay for a colonoscopy (which *should* be considered standard screening for people 40 and over) when I was 41 - unless I (via my doctor) could prove there was a "valid" reason for doing so, i.e. fecal test abnormalities, bloody stools, history of cancer in the family. The cancer history was my ticket to approval.

Given the astronomical costs of full-blown cancer, one would think insurance companies would be far more amenable to covering basic screening procedures for early detection, leading to higher success rates in early-stage cancer treatments.

On my most cynical of days, I'm thoroughly convinced our government, who's in bed and having sex with Big Pharma, want people sick and unhealthy - after all, there's a lot more money to be made from sick people than from healthy people.

[Osborn F. Enready]

I hate to see anyone leave life so young.... but I have not one good word to say about Tony Snow......

Bye Tony.

[sam]

In all fairness, lily's doctor was recommending she have another colonoscopy 6 months after she'd already had one - highly unusual for a doctor to recommend such a thing, and you'd be hard-pressed to find an insurance company that would cover more than one colonoscopy per year. The costs of doing so far outweigh the benefits, in terms of screening for prevention.

OTOH, I was rather surprised to find that my insurance company was unwilling to pay for a colonoscopy (which *should* be considered standard screening for people 40 and over) when I was 41 - unless I (via my doctor) could prove there was a "valid" reason for doing so, i.e. fecal test abnormalities, bloody stools, history of cancer in the family. The cancer history was my ticket to approval.

Given the astronomical costs of full-blown cancer, one would think insurance companies would be far more amenable to covering basic screening procedures for early detection, leading to higher success rates in early-stage cancer treatments.

On my most cynical of days, I'm thoroughly convinced our government, who's in bed and having sex with Big Pharma, want people sick and unhealthy - after all, there's a lot more money to be made from sick people than from healthy people.

I have told all my smoking coworkers to get an annual chest xray every year and several have said it is not covered by their policies (and one had a parent die from cancer).

I was diagnosed with stage 1a lung cancer which is virtually never seen so early because I insisted on a chest xray every year (cancer in every organ of the body is common on my dads side).

I cant tell you how many times the oncologists, the surgeons, and others in the medical field asked me why I had thought to have a chest xray. Most lung cancers are not diagnosed until the third an forth terminal stages.

I did have a lobectomy (but no chemo or radiation treatments) but am told that after 3 years (with a CT scan every 6 months) with no reoccurance, I will be considered cured.

T&P, you're not paranoid. You're acting intelligently.

[sam]

And for the women on the board:

http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/hpv-news-you-can-use/586268f271903110VgnVCM10000013281eac____/health/conditions.treatments/cervical.cancer

A Pap test, which identifies cervical cell changes, is the current standard for detecting cervical cancer. However, a recent Danish study suggests that women over age 40 get routinely screened with both a Pap and an HPV test, which can detect whether you've been exposed to cancer-causing strains of the virus.

Of more than 10,000 women studied, nearly 25% of those over 40 who had a negative Pap but a positive HPV test developed abnormal cervical changes within 5 years. Many gynecologists don't routinely offer the HPV test, so ask for one at your annual checkup (most insurance plans cover it).

[Sirk]

Many gynecologists don't routinely offer the HPV test, so ask for one at your annual checkup (most insurance plans cover it).
Check on that one because I DID ask my doc for the HPV test and the first time I was told no, you don't need it, and it's expensive. (I did end up getting it done at a later date.)

I also learned the hard way that 20% of cervical cancers are not caused by HPV. I paid for the vaccine out of pocket and got the pre-cancer anyways. :lmao:

[ptif219]

Quite. I think some, unintentionally, do not realize this particular thread is related to cancer, and has been split from the original "Tony Snow" thread.

Perhaps lily or another mod can move the off-topic entries into THAT thread.

Sorry My dad had cancer of the voice box a year later he died from a bunch of mini strokes.They were caused by internal bleeding in the intestines I was told.Guess where they took the material to rebuild his throat from.

Can't complain he was 70 and had a good life.That was 15 years ago.

Just thought I would show not all cancer deaths are from the cancer.

[Sirk]

Just thought I would show not all cancer deaths are from the cancer.
Truth. :(

A girl I went through chemo with ended up with heart failure due to one of the drugs. When I was in college she finally got her heart transplant, but then never woke up from the surgery.

If the cancer doesn't get you, the treatment can.

[lily]

I have a theory cancer only kills the good people. It leaves us ornery ones.


http://www.kungfeud.com/u/files/4/abs007.jpg

18 years 3 months since I had my kidney and adrenal gland removed from a tumor they didn't find until it ruptured.


That is some scar!

[lily]

In all fairness, lily's doctor was recommending she have another colonoscopy 6 months after she'd already had one - highly unusual for a doctor to recommend such a thing, and you'd be hard-pressed to find an insurance company that would cover more than one colonoscopy per year. The costs of doing so far outweigh the benefits, in terms of screening for prevention.

Without going into details, my doctor prescribed the 6 month colonoscopy for a reason, he did it on the day he performed my colonoscopy.......but waiting another 6 months until they will cover it, isn't going to kill me.