MSI Press Blog

  By the time, Carl was diagnosed, his cancer was metastized to his liver, lungs, bones, and upper stomach. After many biopsies and scans, the primary could not be found, and the cancer was officially labeled Cancer of Unknown Primary . Impaired Mobility: harder and harder to walk and climb stairs     We associated this with worsening of gout, which had been present for more than a decade     This could have been due as well to cancer-related hypercalcemia and bone cancer Frequent urination     We associated this with normal aging     This could have been related to  prostate cancer (not the case with Carl but the case with many) Pain in the side     We associated this with a gallbladder attack; it appeared similar to what our daughter, who had her gallbladder removed, had gone through.     We did not know that this same kind of pain is diagnostic of liver cancer. Frequent dozing off while working on the com...

  One of the five cancers Carl died from was stomach cancer. I, therefore, found this article interesting and hope sharing it will reach others who may be able to avoid stomach cancer or at least detect it early enough to cure or put into remission:   Causes Of Stomach Cancer You Might Not Know About . 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 .   Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter (recent releases, sal...

  Carl died of Cancer of Unknown Primary -- never could find the original cancer; CUP is frustrating that way. Of the cancers that were known, stomach cancer was one of the five cancers that wracked his body. We did not know anything until it was too late. Carl lived only five months after his initial diagnosis. Had we known what to look for -- and even though to check out little aches and pains and oddities -- he might have fared much better.  For those still living with what may seem like little aches and pains and oddities, here are some  Stomach cancer: causes, warning signs, and treatment (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 th...

  This is another one of those posts (by others) who have some very good advice on what to watch for in order to catch potential cancer at the very moment it first pokes up its head -- and ultimately give your doctor the time to do something about it and you the time to survive it. In this case, we are talking about stomach cancer, which you can read about here:  Mum with stomach cancer warns of hidden symptoms (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 ope...

  (photo from cancer study website) Today is the observation of a combined holiday: Columbus Day and Indigenouse Peoples Day. In observance of this done, focusing on the second holiday, Cancer Diary is sharing some important dasa from a study of cancer among indigenous people. To cut to the chase, here are the conclusions: American Indian and Alaska Native people were more likely to get liver, stomach, kidney, lung, colorectal, and female breast cancers than White people in most regions. Compared to White men, Native American men had higher rates of getting liver, stomach, kidney, colorectal, and lung cancer and myeloma. Compared to White women, Native American women had higher rates of getting liver, stomach, kidney, colorectal, and cervical cancer. Native American men were more likely to get cancer than Native American women. The difference ranged from 23% more likely for lung cancer to 129% more likely for liver cancer. The biggest differences in cancer rates between Native Amer...

  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, ...

   54-year old Jason Maman put off checking out the reasons for his stomach pain for a year. It turned out to be stage 3 colon cancer. Read the article here .  This is a bit different from the delayed diagnosis described in last week's (May 13) Cancer Diary blog post. In that case, the patient knew something was wrong; it took too long for doctors to take her seriously and to get an accurate diagnosis. Carl , too, put off getting a diagnosis for something he thought was just stomach pain . He consulted "wisely" (right?) with our daughter who had had her gall bladder removed years earlier when he thought it might be his gall bladder. He decided to just monitor it for a while and see if it got worse. He adapted his food intake for gall bladder management. It did not work. To his defense, this occurred as covid was winding down, and doctors in our area were not seeing patients in their offices, just telehealth -- and his long-term doctor had left when the pandemic started to...