Cancer scares me, so I'm doing some crazy rambling!

(Brace yourself for a rambling rant of my crazy brain... but these are typically the thoughts that swirl around in there when I think about these issues!)

 

If you read here often enough, you know I preach a general motto of "processed/chemical/etc foods cause inflammation and inflammation causes disease" around these parts.

 

This morning I was reading an article about the link between obesity and cancer risks (from your predisposition to GET cancer to your ability to recover from it):

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/01/health/obesity-cancer-asco/

 

The article can be summed up in these quotes I pulled from it if you don't want to read the whole thing (but I recommend that you do!);

 

"the encompassing explanation seems to be that obesity triggers changes in how the body operates, which can cause harmful cell growth and cell division. Many of these changes may be linked to inflammation. In general, inflammation occurs when your body is reacting to something out of the norm -- say a virus or a splinter in your foot. Obesity seems to cause chronic inflammation, which in turn may promote cancer development."

 

"Obesity can affect a cancer patient's outcome from diagnosis to remission. Obesity-related pain or unbalanced hormone levels may distract patients from the early warning signs of some cancers. Fatty tissue can also make it difficult for doctors to see tumors on imaging scans. And a late diagnosis often means a lower chance for survival. The relationship between cancer and obesity also matters after diagnosis. Cancer treatments, such as radiation or chemotherapy, may be hindered by a patient's size. If the patient needs surgery, studies show excess fat puts them at a higher risk of complications, infections and death."

 

While, of course, we all want to look good and every human has a little (to a lot!) vanity in them, these values I preach are NOT about vanity. They are about your life and your health and your longevity.

 

You can see from my weekend that I do not eat PERFECTLY, I don't know that I ever will (but I know some people and read some blogs of people who do - it is something to aspire towards!). But I eat really, really, really well and moderately most of the time. Even when I have some wine or eat a pancake for breakfast on a vacation, I still eat lots of veggies, drink lots of water, get tons of exercise. It is important to always take care of myself... this isn't a game I am playing here, this is my one and only life I get to have on this earth (well, likely my one and only ... I won't say anything is impossible, but I do doubt reincarnation ;) )

 

I was 200 pounds years ago - I was on that path, I didn't care if my life was shortened. What changed? I am not sure. I think I grew up and realized that I loved it here. This crazy, scary, beautiful world. I didn't want to leave it early.

 

I might leave it early - accidents, crazy diseases, who knows? But if I do, as I lay there dying, I don't want to look back on the years and know that I could have prevented it. No regrets, right?

 

I posted this article because cancer scares me. And I imagine it scares you. CANCER. Damn. It took my mother when I was 10. That fact alone scares me and saddens me beyond belief.

 

I think about the future sometimes when I make choices that are hard for me (the choice NOT to eat the pizza, the choice to wake up early and go for a long walk, the choice to down a few liters of water instead of drinking with friends, the choice to spend my weekend hiking instead of cozy in bed with my cat and a book, etc). I think about the fact that I want to see and do and live and be here as long as possible. And if that means not indulging the child in me who wants comfort and pleasure and distraction and to be numb to the scary things in the world, so be it. It's better that way anyway, since it is the joy AND the pain that makes this life really awesome.

 

Why did I say all this?

 

To those people who maybe need to get real with themselves.

 

Losing weight, getting fit, being healthy - it might seem like a fad or a game or something OTHER people want you to do or to be. But it is for YOU and your life and your family.

 

I did not succeed in weight loss when it was all about vanity and all about fitting in.

 

I succeeded when I focused on doing the things that would keep me here the longest (and keep me here in GOOD CONDITION!).

 

That's my rant. Slow day at work. Scary article. Crazy brain :)

Take care of yourselves today and all days <3