Disease Prevention

I recently found out that one of my friends has prostate cancer. He did not go through too much details, but he is having radiation treatment, so I am hoping that it is curable.

Cancer is one of those diseases that seemed so distant to me growing up, but in the past few years it has been thrust into my awareness, with family members of mine being affected. I remember going straight to the Internet and researching minutes upon learning of the illness. It seems like such a death sentence to be told "I have cancer," but reading about it helped a great deal. I am thankful that both my mother and sister have survived cervical cancer, one of the most curable forms of cancer out there, specially when detected early. I would do it if I could, but if you are a woman, you should get regular Pap tests and mammograms. And if you are male over 50, get regular prostate exams (fun!) These tests could definitely save your life. It was a very stressful time when my mother had a hysterectomy and my sister went through radiation therapy and chemotherapy, and so I can only be thankful they got through it and are still here.

My father died of a stroke when he was 46. It was of course a massive attack. These days when I hear of people getting a stroke, I don't feel too hopeful. If they don't survive it initially (usually resulting in some sort of paralysis), then it is almost certainly over. I never heard of stroke as a medical term until my father had one when I was a boy. Somehow a heart attack sounded more dramatic and deadly, when in fact it is the opposite. I can't really think of anything to prevent heart disease, since I think it's one of those highly hereditary things, but there are numerous warnings out there that we all know. Unfortunately, since I am a big fan of eggs and pork fat, I'm currently not doing myself much good (but at least I'm loving what I eat). I guess eating in moderation is the key and going to the doctor for check ups. My favorite quote along this topic was from my older brother who once told me when he turned 30: "I'm old enough to get a stroke, you know!" (Well, maybe if you stopped smoking, it will not happen soon.)

My high school guidance counselor had Multiple Sclerosis. Interestingly enough, he died of a heart attack, but he lived for many years with the debilitating MS. It was painful to watch even if I got used to him walking around with a cane. I feel really bad when I hear of someone's relative having MS. For MS, I believe its hereditary. And like the numerous diseases like it out there, I hope there will be a cure soon.

One of the guys I know at work asked me a few weeks ago where to go to get tested for STD. It was a bit shocking, but if you've seen the pictures (warning: very graphic), it's not fun. Apparently, he only used condoms less than 10% of the time he had sex with multiple women, and he only thought of taking a test when someone told him he had given her some "thing." Fortunate for him, it turned out to be a hoax since his tests came out negative, but really, use a condom buddy. The microbes you could get include: Gonorrhea (graphic), Syphilis, HIV, HPV (the virus that causes a lot of cervical cancer) and Hepatitis.