So, I'm not real sure about this, but I'm gonna give it a shot.  I'll be honest, most of this is gonna be about cancer...especially breast cancer...my journey through it...and lots of technical crap about it...cause I care about the vast numbers of women who develop it, the increasing number of young women, and why they get it.  At times my blog may sound a bit like a conspiracy theory...but I (and a growing number) of scientists, physicians, and patients have some very different thoughts about it than is generally accepted...a lot of you might not want to read this, and I understand...its not "warm and fuzzy" stuff...anyway, here goes...I'll start here....radiation.

FYI...I was diagnosed with scoliosis at about the age of 15...I had had xrays before, broken arm, broken leg, etc...around the age of 10, but at age 15 I began receiving xrays of the spine, and by association, the chest (and my little tiny baby breasts...lol), abdomen, pelvis, reproductive organs, etc.  I suffered back pain and injuries into adulthood, and had a number of xrays for spinal issues over the years.  In 1980, having popped "positive" for tuberculosis (step-dad brought it back from Vietnam), I began receiving annual chest xrays to monitor that.  After 20 years in the Navy, with all its entry, flight, exit exams, I got more chest xrays...probably 20-30 in all...what I know today is that I've received more rads than almost any victim of Hiroshima...no lie....and many of you have, too.

Radiation, in any form, causes cancer....and it likely is the greatest cause of virtually all cancers today...please read...and use the links...its scary shit...but its true.  Skip over the shit you don't understand, but read the stuff you can...please...

http://www.ratical.org/radiation/REHW693.html 

 

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This is so important!  Thank you for sharing!

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"For every star is formed in fire, and so it goes for you. And every face along your path, sees your heart is true." DuVall/Constantine

Yes, it's very important.

And very scary.  I hope everyone on this board reads this vitally important info.  

We love you, Sugar!!! And thank you so much for caring enough to share your most personal story with us.

((((((((hugs)))))))))

 

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"We play so fine, don't you agree?" ~ Layne Staley

"We want to celebrate what we did and the memory of our friend." ~ Jerry Cantrell

Thank you SugarTaste, for posting this information and for starting a blog on this topic. I happen to agree with the article and with what you have said. I'm no scientist, and none of us here are either, BUT if you've even taken a basic college (or high school) course in biology where you would have studied a bit of genetics and cell biology, you'd clearly see how valid this is. If the sun's rays can cause cancer to your skin, what do you say about the safety of a machine that you've been exposed to a number of times, that emits such a high amount of radiation from a very short distance in such a short period of time? I hate how doctors are so quick to give you or send you off to get x-rayed - I go to my dentist regularly and notice how even when I'm there to have a routine cleaning done, they attempt to get me x-rayed. No thanks. Same goes for antibiotics. I see so many people on antibiotics for even the smallest thing. People get a runny nose or a little cough and thier doctors put them on antibiotics. If you read the fine print and read what antibiotics and all these other drugs do to your body on a cellular level, you would never even think about popping another pill again. If it's not a life threatening situation, then avoid x-rays, antibiotics etc. as much as possible. Anyway, I could rant on and on about this - I started off studying biology in college before I switched my major. And once again, thank you SugarTaste for posting and sharing this stuff with us. Best of luck to you.

Wow, that is scary.  Gofmans examples of multiple causation is something I never heard of before. I guess that's why some people live to be 95,  even though they were smokers, and never took care of themselves. The family history  of cancer wasn't there.  I wish we had this information when we were younger, but then I thought I was immortal and probably wouldn't have believed it. Thank You again for reminding us that how we choose to live our lives really does matter.

Thanks Sugar, That piece is certainly thought provoking and made me aware of things I'd never even considered before. I've never thought twice about allowing an x-ray at the dentist, but I will now.

I appreciate you taking the time to educate us all about cancer, after all 1 in 4 women (in the UK at least) will contract it and whilst the survival rate is improving all the time, awareness is all important to everyone - not just women!  I doubt if there is a single person on this board that does not know someone who has contracted the disease, hopefully by taking the time to read this thread we may all learn a little and with just a little extra knowledge make a difference somewhere some day. 

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What do you think about the Get Born Again movie?
Jerry: Yes. It’s fucking horseshit.

Wow! Very eye opening information Sugar.

I was shot in the ankle as a two year old and have received countless X-rays and catscans due to complications from and since.

I have to tell you I have never even heard of this.....

Good to know. Hopefully this prevents someone from having any complications from radiation. Pretty damaging stuff.

Thanks for sharing your story Sugar.

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I'd like to share the name of a book I've just started reading. It's " The Breast Cancer Prevention Diet" by Dr. Bob Arnot.  I think we tend to feel that we are at the mercy of cancer or any other life threatening disease, but we have more information then ever that can help us make decisions that will greatly impact the quality of our lives.

I had a scare in January. I had some spots that made my Radiologist  "uncomfortable". The biopsy came back negative for any malignancy. I'm supposed to go back in July for a follow up mammogram. I'm not going to just sit back and hope for the best, I'm following the recommendations in this book as far as diet and supplements are concerned. Or at least I'm working on it.

You are absolutely right.  We do have more information than ever that can help us make better choices when it comes to our health.  I hope that no one feels at the mercy of cancer.  It can be beaten.  I have had three different types of cancer in the last five years.  And having cancer is not an easy road as Sugar knows.   After I had chemo and needed radiation my doctors told me that the radiation would lead to other cancers many years down the road.  I had radiation to my upper chest for Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and within a year and a half I had breast cancer and in another year and a half melanoma.  I am in remission now and feeling great. I strongly believe that changes in diet, exercise and taking supplements can make a difference.  I also believe in the power of positive thought and alternative medicines. We have to be our own best health advocates and educate ourselves. Thank you for starting this blog Sugar and sharing such important information with everyone. 

Thank you for posting about cancer Sugar. As I have said my grandma is going through it in her stomach, so this is very useful info to me. Keep on posting girl!

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"Everyone calls America a 'she'. But America has a penis. And that penis is the state of Florida."

Thank you for sharing your story Sugar and educating us in the process. As some of the other posters have said..I do think it's important that we don't just "hope for the best"..we need to take the initiative to try to avoid serious health risks and lead healthy lives.

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*SheWolfSarie - Megadeth Forum*
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Dave Mustaine = GOD

Well, hey...I'm glad some of you found some stuff interesting and eye-opening...if just one person benefits from this...then I will be happy...

Since my last blog, I've had yet another x-ray...yay!  Bummer is....not really any other way to track my progress...double-edged sword for sure.

Today is just a little update on me...I talk with some of you now and then online, pm, whatever...and some of you on the "telly", and honestly I can't remember who I've updated when and what about, so....current status...

I am at about 40 months post-diagnosis...which is good...18-24 months is the average bullshit prognosis they give gals like me...I don't give much thought to those numbers, cause like most studies, the numbers are flawed...but I do use them to sort of kick myself in the ass and "get my affairs in order"...just in case...we should all have our affairs in order anyway, right?  Well, maybe not at the ripe old age of 17...unless you care who gets your old dusty box of legos...

So, saw my HemOnc (hemotologist/oncologist) late last week for a check up...about 6 months ago, CT scans showed considerable progression in the bones (which up til now is the only place this crap has spread from the original breast site).  We had been watching 3 tumors...6 months ago, a buttload more tiny "multiples" showed up throughout the pelvis and sacrum, and new ones had popped up along the spine.  The ones in my hip/femur/humerus had gotten much bigger, too...a little background here...I had declined a change in medication about a year and a half ago, when some growth was noted in those tumors...I was sick of the side effects I could feel, and scared of the ones I couldn't....Tamoxifen (which I'd taken for almost 2 years) runs a high risk of causing uterine cancer.  The drug they wanted to switch me to, Arimidex, causes osteoporosis, so I just nixed all traditional meds at that time.  Fast forward back to six months ago...lots more tiny tumors in the bone...I still declined these meds, but did do the bone density test in preparation to start them...showed osteoporosis in the lower spine and osteopenia in the hips.  I also found out they were supposed to check for this before the first meds, and even chemo...fuckers...apparently Tamoxifen, by virtue of competing with estrogen to attach to estrogen receptors, causes osteoporosis, but that's another story.  About 3 months ago, around Christmas, I started having serious pain in my "upper right quandrant"...lol...the right lung/rib/liver area...when it started becoming difficult to breath deep, or cough, or sneeze...I got scared.  I thought it was my liver, which breast cancer loooooves...and then I found another lump in my right pec muscle...got real scared then, so I started the Arimidex...felt better within days.  Arimidex inhibits an aromatase that changes androgens into estrogens...for me, its all about trying to deprive my cancer of estrogen.  Too much estrogen is incredibly bad for you...yet again another story...anyway, a CT scan showed pleural effusion to the right lung lining...so we know the cancer has spread there now...we did a thoracentesis (a big needle through the back into the lining to draw fluid), and a couple more xrays...Yay!  The fluid in the lining had indeed gotten better, since it took some time to get this procedure done, the meds had starting working...cool.

So, back to the HemOnc visit...another xray...blood work...the fluid is still there but the level is still lower, and blood work looks good...liver is going strong, which is critical...cause Sugar loves her alcoholic beverages...lol.  And, I get a little reprieve...I don't have to go back for another 3 months unless something else comes up.  We've postponed any biopsy of the pec tumor, since its dangerously close to my implant, we already know its cancer, and a biopsy will only help to determine what course of chemotherapy I'll need again when the time comes...

Summary, significant progression, but no changes in treatment for now...3 months off for good (riiiight) behaviour...clinically depressed, and finally trying anti-depressants (my latest contribution to the support of the pharma-giants)...anybody have any experience with Effexor?  I haven't recieved it yet (my shit comes USPS) but hear it does wonders for the medically induced menapausal hot flashes, too...more bang for my buck!  I also started counseling again...tired of living in a sea of snotty Kleenex and ripping my kid's head off...the last 3 months have been pretty shitty....after almost 4 years of this, I feel like I'm coming apart at the seams...not coping well at all...constant negative rumenation...sleeping like shit...eating like shit...can't afford alternative treatments and can't stick to them even when I can...drinking and smoking too much...fucking hate winter...but...

I'll end this with some GREAT news!!!  I had a face-to-face hearing with the VA on the 12th...I've been waiting over a year for this hearing, and have been fighting with them since I was diagnosed...denial after denial for service-connected compensation.  Well, they REVERSED THE DECISION!!!! I got my service-connection (seems they found evidence of abnormality dating back to 1988), and all the benefits that entitles me to...FINALLY...I can pack up all the paperwork, and move on...this means a trust fund for my boy...it means more than I can say...it means they admit they fucked up, and they are sorry...

Ladies (and, gents)...I've said this before and I'll continue to drive it home...abnormalities in the breast are not normal...EVER...the majority of these abnormalities will eventually turn malignant...benign lumps, dense tissue, calcifications, all of it...and if you suffer from the littany of "female maladies" that we are told are normal...that's a huge red flag...heavy periods, PMS, clotting (sorry, boys), severe cramping, ovarian cysts, fibroid tissue, pelvic inflammatory diseases, endometriosis...its not normal...but it is epidemic to the proportion that we have come to consider it normal...these are all signs of excess estrogen, and excess estrogen causes cancer...fact...proven...fact.

Oh, yeah, and....metastases to the lung means a new prognosis of 1 year or less survival time...but you all know what I think about that...it means "fuck 'em and I'll see you at the show!"

Enough for today...hot cup o' tea and back to bed. 

Peace 

 

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Peace and love to you, Sugar!

I would LOVE to dance with you at the next show!

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"For every star is formed in fire, and so it goes for you. And every face along your path, sees your heart is true." DuVall/Constantine

Ditto, Sugar!

I hear lots of people talk about meeting up on the next tour and wouldn't it be a GREAT IDEA to meet up somewhere all together and party like rockstars with our Sugar!?!?? 

I've never been to your part of the country, so I'd love it!

I'm putting my pennies in a jar for this fun trip!

(((( hugs )))) and peace and serenity to you, my friend.

I'm so happy about the court ruling; now that's one thing you don't have to worry about.

 

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"We play so fine, don't you agree?" ~ Layne Staley

"We want to celebrate what we did and the memory of our friend." ~ Jerry Cantrell

sugar, congrats about the ruling!  thanks so much for sharing the info with us.  i've recently cut soy out of my diet because it mimics estrogen.  until we meet at a show, you're in my thoughts and prayers.

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^ qwning sig by creep!