the scourge

how strange is this scourge, cancer?

we see it everywhere, all around us. and this is not like when you buy a red car, suddenly you see everyone else is driving a red car. this is the real deal.

we are shocked to realize that we know SO many people in our age group who have been diagnosed with various forms of cancer. and we look at each other - everyone is fit, 'healthy', on a good diet plan, living balanced lives - and we shake our heads. how can it be? it doesn't make sense?

this unfortunate reality somewhat paves the path for jane when she learns that she has breast cancer. it is a silent resignation, a 'crossing over' to the other side, joining close friends and family in the shared struggle for what is taken for granted - good health. so, the words are uttered - it's cancer - and suddenly off and away we go! we know the terms too well, not just because jane is a physician, but because we've heard our friends say them over and over.

but misery does NOT like company - although frankly we do draw upon the strength of others. then we are in the midst of the battle, and an acquaintance will call to share their story. did YOU know they had cancer? nope. then another. and another.

so, mr. gore, is it the environment? the fabled long island curse? the ddt that jane ran through as a child in baghdad, when they did pesticide spraying indiscriminately? is it our cross-pollinated genetically modified food? white sugar? bleached flour? stress? fatty food? genes? dye in our clothing, sheets, hair? radio waves? cell phones?

we may wait years for science to uncover the actual answers, and hopefully this knowledge is within our reach. the real question is, if there are environmental considerations in the causes of cancers, will we human beings have the fortitude to curtail our habits that may play a part in this plague?

h

hit me with your best shot

jane and i are considering shooting each other at the age of 50.

stents, cancers, colonoscopies, and the myriad of diseases (and tests thereof) that await us do not entice. so we are considering expiring, like old milk with yesterday's sell-by date, at the ripe old age of 50. it's all too much work ... high cholesterol, low self esteem, mid-life crisis; hypertension, hypoglycemia - too many ups and downs! how's a human to bear it all???

in the good ol' days, a decent bout of scurvy or plague would finish you off ... none of these antibiotic-resistant 'strains' to come back and haunt you. and if you were concerned about leaving your loved ones behind, there was no need for alarm, as rampant infestations generally took the whole village with them! a good thirty years of milking the cows, ploughing the wheat asunder, fetching water from the well, and then they'd find you - stiff as board, propped up in the field.

we're too fat. we're too thin. more protein. fat-free. lactose intolerant. carbs will kill 'ya. ugghhh. cat scans. mri scans. pet scans. pet dander. what's a human to do?

and even if you do make it past 50, something's always lurking around the corner. for example, take the case of the oldest living creature on the planet. recently, said mollusk, hitherto unnoticed by fish and fowl, lay dormant beneath the ocean floor. along came a scuba scientist, and recognizing it's unique lineage by the many rings generated on the shell, snatched the unsuspecting specimen and scurried back to the lab. where the unfortunate clam was expediently pried open to reveal it's actual age (an incredible 400 plus years!). and where the unlucky animal also immediately expired (as a result of being pried open to reveal that it was the oldest living creature on the planet). they just couldn't leave the poor guy alone (must have been a guy, for all the obvious reasons).

on the other hand, think of impoverished van gogh. paints a few multi-million dollar paintings and ends it all before reaping a single penny. hhhmmmmm.

on second thought, maybe we should stay along for the ride - whatever potholes it may hold in store ...

h