Cancer Diary: Yes, Those Signs Are Often There But So Insidious We Don't See Them
Looking back on Carl's cancer, our cats' cancers, and cancers among friends and family, we should have seen the signs, which would have led to better decisions and, likely, better outcomes. But they were small changes, slow changes that we got used to gradually without thinking back to what things used to be like.
One day, Carl forgot where the brake on the car was and pushed the gas pedal instead. Scary! Could happen to anyone, right? That was a few months before his late stage 4 metastatic cancer diagnosis, with hypercalcemia (which really messes up the brain). A small sign, but we missed it. His growing tendence to leave dishes to do until the next morning of plants to water the next day. Lazy, right? That started maybe a year out before the cancer diagnosis, likely about the time his organs were being attacked and overwhelming his immune system -- and likely his energy. A small sign, but we missed it. There were more. If we even noticed them, we dismissed them all as
- aging;
- coincidence;
- laziness;
- brain "glitch;"
- accident;
- being cooped up because of COVID. or
- boredom because of being cooped up because of COVID.
But very well they could have been early signs of cancer, and had he done some tests, chemotherapy might have been a viable option. As it was, it was too late, and chemo did not work.
Even doctors can miss the small signs. Sometimes, we miss them because we do not even know what they are.
Here are signs that should not be overlooked for some common cancers. See Carl's Cancer Compendium for more cancer types and their symptoms.
Oral cancer
Woman told mouth ulcers were caused by ‘working long shifts’ given devastating diagnosis (msn.com)
Pancreatic Cancer
8 Pancreatic Cancer Symptoms You’ve Probably Been Ignoring (msn.com)
thyroid cancer
‘Fit and healthy’ mother who fought thyroid cancer at 27 shares 4 symptoms she ignored (msn.com)
For other Cancer Diary posts, click HERE.
Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page, Carl's Cancer Compendium, as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on the Internet and/or from professionals. The CCC is expanded and updated weekly. As part of this effort, each week, on Monday, this blog will carry an informative, cancer-related story -- and be open to guest posts: Cancer Diary.
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