Survival rates of head/neck cancers

     There are some obvious variations to the length of time you may have on this planet and that depends on what ‘they’ find when investigations have been completed. We will use the most common cancer (squamous cell carcinoma, but there are other types). The good news is that people diagnosed with “Stage 1 or 2” SCC have a tremendous survival rate, as much as 90+% in fact so the 5yr ‘all clear’ declaration should be within easy reach of most. However, those that have n”Stage 3 or 4 SCC  decide that continuing to smoke and/or drink will have a considerably poorer chance of survival-probably less than 50%!

     Surprisingly, those who have suffered courtesy of the HPV(irus) have a better chance than non-HPV sufferers. We also undergo frequent ‘follow-up’ appointments for the first 5 years are, most crucially, when Mr C will return to blight our lives. But that doesn’t mean that after 5yrs you are risk free good peoples! However, post 5 yrs re-currencies tend to be more for non HPV cancers. Whatever happens I will say one very important thing and that is to stay calm, stay positive & take each day as it comes my friends.

A different tale:

This is slightly ‘off-key’ to my normal delving into the various cancers that occur in our sector but I was sent a very nice email from a Californian lady (we’ll simply call her KB) explaing thus: “My sister’s breast cancer diagnosis came when she was only 23 and shook my entire family to its core. I’m endlessly grateful that my sister was able to conquer her disease, but I think a lot about how lucky she was. Not everyone is as fortunate, and many don’t realize how real the risk of cancer is. This has been something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, since our family’s annual summer vacation is on the horizon. In her honor, I wanted to pass along some really important cancer and terminal illness resources that would fit great here.” (KB)

I have read through what KB has to say and I think it may well be of value to many of you out there, for, at the end of the day, cancer is cancer and anything that helps has to be a bonus ball. I state here and now that we may not agree with all that is written & there will be bracketed opinions along the way but each person must make up their own mind as we go along! I hope they’ll ease the minds of anyone going through a difficult time due to a cancer diagnosis.

Nine ways to reduce your cancer risk:

1… Don’t smoke – or use any form of tobacco. If you’ve never smoked or have already quit, congratulations – you don’t have to do a thing. If you do smoke or use tobacco products, you can cut your cancer risk by stopping right now. Quitting isn’t so easy, but the benefits are almost instantaneous: Medical experts have found that a person’s health can improve within minutes of the last puff (or snuff) – and the health advantages can last a lifetime. Here’s a simple step-by-step plan to get you started.

(Having stated the above, one has to remember that smoking/snuffing/vaping is a freedom of choice & some people are simply born to smoke, some not. It is also worth remembering that the six (6) oldest people ever to live all smoked for at least 70 years! Another couple of interesting facts are that 80% of lung cancer cases occur in NON-smokers & 49% of lung transplants come FROM smokers/ex-smokers. Smoking does NOT actually cause lung cancers but it is a ‘risk factor‘). Bizarrely, back in the mid 60’s the then Sugeon General USA  (Dr Richard Carmona) declared that even standing next to a smoker (smoking) could give you cancer/cause you to have cancer – but never a mention of the highly toxic & dangerous road traffic fumes! (food for thought there).

2… Make your home (and car) smoke-free. Okay, so you don’t use tobacco, but is the rest of your life up in smoke? All the cancer-causing ingredients in cigarettes, cigars, and pipes are also found in secondhand smoke. Even the remnants of tobacco smoke on surfaces, known as thirdhand smoke, can be a health hazard. If you live with a smoker, ask him or her to quit – or to smoke outside, away from your home or car. Adults, kids, and even pets are all at risk from the danger of secondhand and thirdhand smoke.

(Firstly, it is impossible to make your home or car smoke free. Secondly, SHS has now been officially declared harmless by the WHO, which is a total backtrack on all the lies spouted a decade ago so as to gain smoking bans worldwide! True scientific research has caught up with the WHO and they now have little option but to comply with the truth which is simply that  as the world became more & more industrial so did cancers become more prevalent. As for harmless ‘third hand smoke’, [only a theory by the way] so called by Dr Winnickoff, who put the telephone down on me some years ago, it is basically a scaremongering tactic that quickly gained worldwide recognition as a household danger [courtesy of the ever greedy media etc] -but then so are dust particles, cooking odours, air pollution generally – and a whole host of other things that you wouldn’t even think about – that’s why we now have ‘antiseptic wipes’ and ‘Dettol sprays’ these days. By the very nature of the beast it is impossible to avoid airbourne toxins when driving the car or simply travelling in a car! Either fumes from the car in front, behind, next to you or you own car will get to you for the simple reason that they are forced out of the car via the exhaust system. However, rigorous testing has proven unequivocally that a window or two, opened only 1/2″, will greatly help to dissipate all such unseeable fumes.)

Asbestos – What You Need to Know:

This section deals with the dangers of asbestos, a much used material back in the late 40’s & 50’s as it was cheap, very usable and easy to get hold of! Now most of this is written for our American friends but I will point out that over here in Britain the easiest way to dispel fears of asbestos if refurbishing a property was to leave it in situ if possible, especially as a dividing wall [which it often was], and simply PVA (which seals the outer surface) & plasterboard straight over it, then a double coat of plaster! Simple, cheap and very effective. You see good people, where folks go wrong is they adhere to all the scaremongering and think they need to call in the very expensive ‘professional asbestos removers‘ [who look like spacemen in all their protective gear], when in actual fact they don’t! I know of an elderly gentleman who had an old style ‘asbestos sheet garage‘ that needed clearing out: the council informed him that there would be a £800-£900 charge.  A few lusty blows in the right places soon razed said garage to the ground, leaving for 30 minutes to let those nasty little spores dissipate/settle and the offending asbestos was quietly bagged up and taken to the local tip – total cost…..£3 in petrol!

Wearing a protective mask is always a great idea when dealing with any asbestos as the airbourne spores do not do anyone any favours but generally, if asbestos is treated with respect there is very little danger of it causing any form of cancer. You may well laugh but it is not a bad idea to gently ‘hoover up‘ over the old concrete base so as to be clear of any random spores. As always, it is up to the individual as to what they decide to do with their asbestos-if they even have any.

ASBESTOS 11:

This is a detailed composition of how you should go about removing any asbestos in your home – American style – with costs ranging from between $1,000 & $2,500 and involving people dressed as spacemen for the duration of their removals. As per normal you are treated as if you are dealing with ‘sarin gas‘; ie, well OTT ande most of you will find it far easier to follow my route (which is not illegal) as detailed above.

Creative play – Helping children cope with cancer:

This department is way beyond my humble knowledge so we’ll rely on all the good work done by ‘KB’ and simply pass the information onto your good selves.

 

A Sobering Diagnosis: (Coping with a Terminal Illness diagnosis as a recovering addict)

Positivity is the best advice in the world-despite the situation