MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Free - "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie"

AHMavrick · 11-20-2010, 01:05 PM

As a prostate cancer survivor myself (going on 2 years now) and the husband of a breast cancer survivor I have a couple of opinions on the subject.

You can go through life with an ignorance is bliss concept and accept what ever term of years you get. You can also go through life accepting that medicine can and does add more years to life by taking advantage of it. You do have an annual physical right? Why, if you are not concerned about your health? If remaining ignorant is the goal then there is no need for regular check ups, medical care and repairs of trauma or the ravages of disease. After all you are just going to die anyhow, right?

If it is fear of loss of sexual function, ask yourself some questions. Is sex the entire focus of your life? Is there nothing else you live for? How much sex do you expect to have after you die from prostate cancer because you ignored it?

Frankly speaking, cancer sucks. It is not a pleasant way to go, neither is it nice to watch as another dies that way. If you don't care, don't get checked. That painful way of dieing has to be more pleasant than a blood test and a rectal exam, right?

My wife had surgery, chemo and radiation treatment over 10 years ago for an aggressive form of breast cancer. A side effect of the chemo was the loss of sexual function due to vaginal atrophy a year after treatment. She was 50 at the time and I was 46. We had been married only a year and a half when she was diagnosed. I loved her then and still love her now in spite of the loss of that part of our life. There is more to life than the sexual aspect. We fully realize that she would have had less than 4 years to live had she ignored the cancer and I would be a widower with some really bad memories about how she died. Instead we travel the country full time. Spoil the grand kids and great grand kids and have fun while sharing each others company for as long as we can. We took an oath and honor it.

Guys, get the check up. It is not that bad. If you get a positive result get the biopsy. It's no fun but still not as bad as some dental treatments I have had in the past. If you have cancer explore the means to treat it and follow through. At worst after treatment you will lose sexual function but still be able to enjoy every other part of life's experiences. That is by no means a given result of treatment either. There are many of us survivors who carry on as before.

Everyone in this life dies. Life is a full contact sport and no one gets out alive. Now are you going to quit the game early out of fear or are you going to play as long as you can and as hard as you can until the game is over. In this case it's kind of like having an overtime option. Play or quit. Make a choice.

11-20-2010, 01:05 PM	#5
AHMavrick Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 10000 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: none	As a prostate cancer survivor myself (going on 2 years now) and the husband of a breast cancer survivor I have a couple of opinions on the subject. You can go through life with an ignorance is bliss concept and accept what ever term of years you get. You can also go through life accepting that medicine can and does add more years to life by taking advantage of it. You do have an annual physical right? Why, if you are not concerned about your health? If remaining ignorant is the goal then there is no need for regular check ups, medical care and repairs of trauma or the ravages of disease. After all you are just going to die anyhow, right? If it is fear of loss of sexual function, ask yourself some questions. Is sex the entire focus of your life? Is there nothing else you live for? How much sex do you expect to have after you die from prostate cancer because you ignored it? Frankly speaking, cancer sucks. It is not a pleasant way to go, neither is it nice to watch as another dies that way. If you don't care, don't get checked. That painful way of dieing has to be more pleasant than a blood test and a rectal exam, right? My wife had surgery, chemo and radiation treatment over 10 years ago for an aggressive form of breast cancer. A side effect of the chemo was the loss of sexual function due to vaginal atrophy a year after treatment. She was 50 at the time and I was 46. We had been married only a year and a half when she was diagnosed. I loved her then and still love her now in spite of the loss of that part of our life. There is more to life than the sexual aspect. We fully realize that she would have had less than 4 years to live had she ignored the cancer and I would be a widower with some really bad memories about how she died. Instead we travel the country full time. Spoil the grand kids and great grand kids and have fun while sharing each others company for as long as we can. We took an oath and honor it. Guys, get the check up. It is not that bad. If you get a positive result get the biopsy. It's no fun but still not as bad as some dental treatments I have had in the past. If you have cancer explore the means to treat it and follow through. At worst after treatment you will lose sexual function but still be able to enjoy every other part of life's experiences. That is by no means a given result of treatment either. There are many of us survivors who carry on as before. Everyone in this life dies. Life is a full contact sport and no one gets out alive. Now are you going to quit the game early out of fear or are you going to play as long as you can and as hard as you can until the game is over. In this case it's kind of like having an overtime option. Play or quit. Make a choice.