MSI Press Blog

  Carl did not die of colon cancer. He might have had it, but his colon was clean by the time tests were undertaken to find his primary. They never did. The died of cancer of unknown primary (CUP), but there are theories that say that CUP results when very strong immune systems knock out the primary, which then escapes to other organs. In Carl's case, five other organs were under siege, but the oncologist always felt that the cancer had started in the GI tract though it could not be seen there by the time Carl was diagnosed. Carl also did not have a colonoscopy. His perception of it as unpleasant, and his imagination of it as just too uncomfortable, especially the preparation, kept her from scheduling it -- likely to his eternal detriment. That given and said, I was fascinated to find a wonderful little article about how to make it all more tolerable. Short, illustrated, helpful. Read it HERE . For other Cancer Diary posts, click  HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Car

  March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Being aware of the dangers of colon cancer, how widespread it is, and how fairly easily it can be identified and treated at early states is important to everyone's long-term health because colorectal cancer can attack anyone. Here is a guide that can help: Guide to Colorectal Cancer Carl Leaver for whom the CCC is named and maintained died of cancer of unknown primary. How oncologist believed (no evidence when it comes to CUP) that the cancer started in the colon.  I, his wife and MSI Press LLC managing editor, was found cancerous polyps through a home colon cancer test, ordered because of an observed change in bowel behavior, that led to a much-earlier-than-planned follow-up colonoscopy (5 years instead of 7-10 years after the first colonoscopy that had yielded no concerns). That led to several siblings revealing the same state and that they were on short-term follow-up colonoscopy schedules. Carl blew off his scheduled colono

As with Carl, many people have "signs" of cancer that can be interpreted either as something else quite mild or dismissed entirely as just a bad day or maybe I ate something bad yesterday. Otherwise quite healthy people simply ignore them as an annoyance. (Before cancer, Carl was sick just one day in his life -- 50 years earlier he threw up, once, on the lawn, from unsuspectingly drinking stagnant water the day while carrying out his Forest Service employee duties, Seriously. Never again did he ever throw up even after three rounds of chemotherapy, but he died, healthy, from cancer!)  This is the insidious nature of cancer. Often, you just do not know you have it because the signs are so innocuous until it has taken over your body and is in the winner's circle -- and you have an incredibly difficult battle to get your body back -- and many people lose that battle every single day. This is especially true of "toilet information." Change in bowel movement is prett