Grugger’s Way

After lung cancer, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women.

The American National Cancer Institute estimates that 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer during her lifetime and studies show that the risk of breast cancer increases as a woman gets older. Most breast cancers occur in women over the age of 50, and the risk is especially high for women over age 60. Also, breast cancer occurs more often in white women than African American or Asian women. Breast cancer is uncommon in women under the age of 35, but it does occur, so women of ALL AGES should become aware of risk factors, symptoms and preventative measures, including self-examination.

Besides age, risk factors include family history and obesity. A woman whose mother (or sister) had breast cancer before age 40 is at greater risk. A family history of breast cancer on either the mother or the father’s side of the family can also increase risk.

Here is a link to the Federal Citizen Information Center web page on National Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Here is a link to the American National Cancer Institute webpage on Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer killed two of my co-workers, one in her forties, the other in her fifties. Breast Cancer is in my family and in my in-law’s family. Cysts and lumpectomies have proven benign in two women that I dated years ago, when they were in their thirties, and provided a scare and a wake up call to both of them.

I urge all women, young and old, to become informed; to teach their daughters how to protect themselves; and to protect those they love. Men too, owe it to their ladies to become knowledgeable and supportive, and encourage preventative measures and tests.

And WHY bring Off-road, four-wheeler ALL TERRAIN VEHICLES to a campground?

I hope these party people are all exhausted from their weekend of drinking, smoking, listening to loud music, rip-roaring around on the ATV’s and generally being a pain in the butt to those of us who were hoping for a little peace and quiet. Perhaps we should stay home on three-day weekends.

Now I understand why retirees enjoy the OFF-SEASON so much!

All I can say is how much I appreciate enforced Quiet Hours in a campground where the Host is actually On-Duty!

Another thing that made this past weekend endurable was the rain. Lots of rain tends to calm things down and confine the noisy kids to their own tents and campers.

There was a pause….I had to think….what the hell? I know what year I was born–1947, that never changes. But my age in years is something I can hardly keep up with.

Is it because my memory is going…going…? Or do the years just speed by so fast that I can’t keep track any longer. Or don’t I really care?

Ah, maybe that’s it! Who does it matter to anyway? Not me. Not my spouse (who HATES to be reminded of MY age because that…ah yes…reminds her of her own).

My kids are now ages 24 through 40. Five of them. They have various ideas of how old I am, ranging from 45 or so…to over 70! Oh, to have such perspective!

I wonder if my Mother has to think for a moment to recall her exact age. It is 82. I remember her age as well as my own….but again, it is because I remember her YEAR of birth….and that has never changed…not since she reached age 39. (Oh, she loved Jack Benny!)

A couple of years ago, the IRS would not accept my federal tax return because my DATE of birth, (the day, not the month or year) that the IRS had on file did not agree with the Social Security Administration. One had the 7th, the other had the 9th. Social Security had it WRONG! I had to make a trip down there with my original birth certificate to get it corrected. THEN I could file my taxes.

I suppose this was good. I wouldn’t want to get into a big brouha with Social Security when the day comes that I want to Draw it. I will have no problem remembering my age THEN, you can be damn sure.

It can happen so suddenly and with an abrupt realization that there isn’t any hope to stop it; only to fight for every additional day. In this case, a headache, a diagnosis of an eye tumor, removal of the eye, implant of an artificial eye and then, six months later, the recurrence, and brain cancer. Four months later, a prognosis of two weeks to live. That became nine months of fighting for life.

There were so many at the service who knew her better than I did….so much better. They could remember her great laughter, her great sense of humor. Her friends told of her achievements and her healing powers, a qi gong master, an acupuncturist, and so much more. She had many friends who were healers: qi gong, yoginis, acupuncturists, cranial-sacral healers, faith healers, vibrational healers, spiritual healers, reiki masters, massage therapists, shamans. Her friends sought more to ease her way than to heal her physical body. In the end, she died; her body exhausted.

I cried for her husband who stood up there in front of 200 people and attempted to tell them how much his life had been enriched by her presence and how much he will miss her.

The few friends that I have are becoming fewer and fewer in number. Mostly, they have become victims of cancer. I don’t understand why science and medical researchers have not solved cancer. They know that some people reject cancerous cells as soon as they form; others are defenseless. If it is just a matter of money, then we must be spending our money foolishly. Too much on military, space exploration, bank bailouts, executive salaries, welfare (to take care of so many cancer patients too).

I know the American Cancer Society is always looking for volunteers and donors. And the Relay for Life is another way for individuals to show support for patients and survivors and contribute something as well. I need to reassess my own priorities and make certain that I do what I can.