MSI Press Blog

  The color of poop - a visual guide to the quiet warnings our bodies send 🟥 Red Possible cancers: • Colon cancer • Rectal cancer • Anal cancer Why it happens: Fresh blood mixes with stool when tumors in the lower GI tract bleed. Clue: Blood is on the stool or in the toilet bowl, not digested into it. ⚫ Black / Tarry Possible cancers: • Stomach cancer • Esophageal cancer • Small intestine tumors Why it happens: Blood from higher up in the GI tract gets digested, turning stool black and sticky. Clue: Looks like coffee grounds mixed with tar. 🟤 Dark Brown / Maroon Possible cancers: • Right‑sided colon cancer • Small bowel tumors Why it happens: Slow bleeding higher in the colon darkens stool without turning it fully black. Clue: Often overlooked because it still “looks like poop.” 🟡 Yellow / Greasy / Floating Possible cancers: • Pancreatic cancer • Ampullary cancer Why it happens: Tumors block pancreatic enzymes → fat isn’t digested → stool becomes oily, pale, ...

  (Sula in the arms of Fr. Ed at her godparents' house in Hollister, godparents on the left, friend on the right, and another MSI Press author, CB Leaver , in red in the front) Sula has been the parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista for 13 years and through four bouts of cancer (fourth just starting/reappearing). With Covid-19 and the shutdown of the Mission, along with the rest of the state of California, Sula retired to live with her godparents in Hollister, where she can be watched after and can even have a visit occasionally frnom a retired priest from the parish who lives neaby. She still works on Sundays, though -- and visitors are always delighted to find her in the pews at Mass, where she goes on her own and sits with whomever seems to need her at the moment even though she does have her own pew with her name on it, and between Masses at the Mimssion gift shop. Here is her bio: Sula is a very unusual cat. She is the parish cat for Old Mission San Juan Bautista and, b...

  Some people age in straight lines. Others age in spirals, zigzags, or not at all until something forces the issue. Chronological age is the least interesting part of the story. What matters far more is how we age — the choices we make, the stories we tell ourselves, the habits we build or avoid, and the relationship we have with our own bodies and with the medical profession. Cancer exposes these differences with a kind of harsh clarity. It doesn’t create new patterns so much as amplify the ones already there . 1. People age differently — and not just physically We talk about aging as if it were a universal experience, but it isn’t. I’ve watched people in their forties move like they’re ninety, and people in their eighties move like they’re fifty. The differences often come down to: Mindset — whether aging is seen as decline or adaptation Behavior — whether movement is a daily habit or an occasional chore Attitude toward medicine — trust, avoidance, denial, or partner...

  For years, alcohol carried a kind of health halo — especially red wine. But modern cancer research has stripped away the romance and left us with a clear, uncomfortable truth: alcohol is a carcinogen , full stop. Not just hard liquor. Not just “heavy drinking.” Any drink containing ethanol — beer, wine, cocktails — increases cancer risk. Why alcohol raises cancer risk When the body breaks down alcohol, it produces acetaldehyde , a toxic compound that: damages DNA interferes with DNA repair promotes inflammation disrupts hormone regulation (especially estrogen) Over time, these changes increase the likelihood that damaged cells will become cancerous. Which cancers are linked to alcohol? The list is longer than most people realize. Strong evidence connects alcohol to: Breast cancer (even at low levels) Colorectal cancer Liver cancer Esophageal cancer Head and neck cancers Stomach cancer (emerging evidence) There is no safe threshold . Even one drink a day nudges...