The Fear of Cancer

In today's generation, a simple lymph in any part of the body gives shiver to anyone who has it.

When we touch a lymph especially on places of our body where it should not be, our tendency is to seek professional help. When we speak of professional help, we go to doctor to doctors. Seeking advises and recommendations.

When the doctor mention the word "tumor" we crashed down. And shiver in fear. Our minds works rapidly. Our heart is pounding. All negative vibes are internalized. We even sometimes cry....in fear

Who wouldn't? We all know that tumor is always an indication of cancer. And cancer is a terminal disease. Cancer is a disease for the rich. What will happen to ordinary person, earning minimum wage if he is detected with such illness? What more if he is unemployed? These are instances that will really makes us think, "what will happen?"

This happens with my husband. One day he touched a lump on his left breast just under his tit. For a few days he ignored it. But a week or so, he started complaining that it hurts. I ignored him. Saying and convincing him that maybe some hard objects landed on his breast or maybe he was beaten a little harder. And he agreed that maybe he got it when he bump hard on his motorcycle. For awhile that is what we keep in mind.

After 4 or 5 weeks that nothing change with the situation and an occasional pain he felt, we decided to consult a doctor. Upon the doctors initial diagnosis (touching the breast and the lump under the tit) his findings ... "Gynecomastia".

GYNECOMASTIA is an abnormality in hormone production of a male individual. He said that Gynecomastia is caused by too much production of estrogen instead of testosterone, thus making his breast to enlarge.

The doctor advised him to undergo breast ultrasound to have more accurate findings. Since my husband is too old for breast enlargement. Which usually happens for teenage boys. Upon the result of ultrasound, the findings is different. It contradicts the doctors initial findings. Which gives us fear.
In ultrasound result, there are two possibilities that causes the breast lump.

The words "complex" and "cyst" are words that makes us fear the result. And because the result of the ultrasound and the doctors' initial findings did not match, he was recommended for biopsy. We went home that day, thinking what to do. We didn't decide yet if we want to undergo biopsy since an operation will be done and it is expensive. Budget is another issue.

We stayed home for awhile and looks for guidance and opinions from friends and relatives. But most nights my husband doesn't sleep well during this stage. And I caught him thinking deeply. He became silent and less active. I know that he is in fear. I know that he thinks of his condition. He is stressed out. He loss weight. He rarely went out of our home.

We were thinking of asking for a second opinion. We are considering going to Manila to ask other doctors. But with my husband attitude towards his illness and the constant complain of pain and not sleeping well, we decided to go on with the operation.

The biopsy as advised by the doctor will give us more accurate result. A 100% accuracy of the condition. So holding on to that, we went on with it. The two (2) weeks of waiting for the result is a torture. Both of us are in fear. Both are anxious. Even if I wanted to show him that I am strong (for one of us must be), deep inside I was killing myself very slowly.

So when the hospital's laboratory officer texted me that the result of the biopsy is available, I left my work without notice to my boss. Went home, told my husband that the result is ready. Even texted the doctor's secretary to ask about the availability of my husband's surgeon. We want immediate action. We want to end the torture.

There is fear. Fear of the result. What if's. What is it is positive for cancer? What if, what if..

But the result will end the torture we are going through. There will be an answer. Medication will be given early if it is. And peace of mind if it is not.

Relief was a gift.... Tears of joy flood in... And he almost hug the surgeon when we heard the result.
"Gynecomastia"..


He is now in a month of recovery from surgery.

We are now on third week of recovering from silent torture...

It hurts you know!

    Three days already after the Boy Scout of the Philippines (BSP) Provincial Jamborette and yet my knee still aches. Felt the pain on the third day of the jamborette, but I just ignored it because it's tolerable. But later on, I felt that there seems an inflammation on the knee cap. It's not visible though but there is this feeling that the tendons are swelling.
    I was not injured and never had an accident the entire week of the jamboree but it started aching when we walked a few meters. We are also always on mobile - going to market to buy foods for the entire outfit, attending to scouts and walking to BSP Activities - and almost always standing cooking.
    Another reason I can see of the pain is that we have no proper sleeping area. Although we have sleeping bed, it is still different to be home. :(
    I am afraid, that's the truth. And still thinking what it might be. Even cried when some people said that it will be operated. Knee is a sensitive part. Any fault on the knee might leave me paralyzed which I am afraid to be. I love my feet and I love traveling.
    I am reading online about the knee pain. And most of the notes I read suggest that it might be arthritis, tendonitis, Chondromalacia and Bursitis. But after reading about all of them, I can relate more to Bursitis. The symptoms visible for Bursitis are the things I am feeling which are: 

• Joint pain and tenderness when you press around the joint
• Stiffness and pain when you move the affected joint
• Swelling, warmth or redness over the joint

   Although the third - swelling, warmth or redness over the joint - i am not sure. I am 80% sure there is swelling (inside) which I felt, warmth and redness I am not really, really sure. But if the basis is the picture above courtesy of Wikipedia.org, well it's not bursitis. Because I don't have the same visible condition. 
    I hope it's just a simple stress and over use of my foot. And may the pain would be gone sooner and not later. I am now walking with slight dis-alignment which is not normal. I couldn't depend my weight to my right knee. (^-^)

   Help! anyone?!? Can you suggest remedies without the doctors intervention?

SecondHand SmOke - How DanGerOus cOuld yOu be

Some people says that second hand smoke is double dangerous for than the smoke inhaled by the smoker himself. So why and how that can be?


Here are some facts about Second Hand smoke:

1 Secondhand smoke is composed of sidestream smoke (the smoke released from the burning end of a cigarette) and exhaled mainstream smoke (the smoke exhaled by the smoker).

2 While secondhand smoke has been referred to as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in the past, the term “secondhand” smoke better captures the involuntary nature of the exposure.

3 The 2006 Surgeon General’s report uses the term “involuntary” in the title because most non-smokers do not want to breathe tobacco smoke. The term “involuntary” was also used in the title of the 1986 Surgeon General’s report on secondhand smoke.

4 Secondhand smoke contains many of the same chemicals that are present in the smoke inhaled by smokers. [Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds.]

5 Because sidestream smoke is generated at lower temperatures and under different conditions than mainstream smoke, it contains higher concentrations of many of the toxins found in cigarette smoke.

6 The National Toxicology Program [NTP] estimates that at least 250 chemicals in secondhand smoke are known to be toxic or carcinogenic.

7 Secondhand smoke has been designated as a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the NTP, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and an occupational carcinogen by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

8 Secondhand smoke contains more than 50 cancer-causing chemicals.

9 When nonsmokers are exposed to secondhand smoke, they inhale many of the same cancer-causing chemicals that smokers inhale.

10 There is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke: even small amounts of secondhand smoke exposure can be harmful to people’s health.

11 Many millions of Americans continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke.

     A smoke-free environment is the only way to fully protect nonsmokers from the dangers of secondhand smoke. Separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot eliminate exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke.


     So the question that first came to my mind after reading this is: “So, smokers are safer than non-smokers who became involuntarily a secondhand smoke recipient?”


     I ponder on it for a little while, then I realized, maybe not really. In a chance that you smoke, let’s say 25% of it you inhaled and 75% goes to a secondhand smoke recipient. Then you are beside your buddy also smoking, so he takes 25% of his own, and 75% goes to you, that results for you to have a 100% and the secondhand recipient still 75%, the smoker is still in much danger than the non-smoker, though non-smoker is still not safe.


     So now I think, I maybe smoke very rarely, but I still add to the danger of people around me, polluting the air that we inhaled. My bad. :)

free condom..free..it's free :D

It was so early in the morning when i first heard it in the taxi's A.M. band radio. I couldn't believe it at first. I thought it was just a prank, a joke. So I search for it in the internet site and guess what???

It's true!!!

DOH has given free condom last February 14 at the DAngwa Flower Market, the hearts day! Huuwwat????!!!

My reaction was shocked! Really, the Department of Health see Valentines day as a day of SEX?? Maybe people do forget the real meaning of LOVE. Although I admit that the word LOVE this days always carry the word "SEX". To prove love you have to have sex with that person..It's gross and it's not good. Not healthy..But I couldn't really believe that DOH too would consider such thought.

The church do condemn what the DOH has done. It is immoral and vulgar. The bishops said giving customers free condoms for every purchase of flowers would only promote sexual promiscuity especially among young people. It is true..where do you used condom?? do you use it as medicine?? or for food?? Absolutely Not!

Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz said and I quote: "It is vulgar, it is lewd, it is gross. To what extend would they entice young people to be promiscuous? How far are they willing to go in promoting illegitimate carnal relations?"

Dr. Ed Janairo the head of the DOH’s National Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said the condom-giving campaign dubbed “Be My Valentine, Ingat Lagi” was meant to raise awareness for HIV-AIDS prevention and not for family planning. --My God, secretary, what do you think of the people around you?? You're making us for a fool!! Some promiscuous people might like what you have done, or maybe the married couple who wants to make love without creating children may like what you did, But most people might not!!

It is outrageous, it is condemning!! I hope we could still remember the true meaning of love and what we really are celebrating in the day of St. Valentine..*_*