cancer.......

ok, so i was a bit stunned today when the 30 year-old dietitian i sat next to at the breastfeeding workshop started fanning herself.......surely you are too young to be having hot flashes, i offered.......no, she replied...it is a side effect to the medication i am taking to try to shrink my ovarian tumor............omg.......not the answer i expected........these days it seems that i know far too many women who have cancer, have recovered from cancer......are taking measures to avoid getting cancer.......my spouse's eldest sister called this evening, partly to wish hin a happy belated 50th, but also to let us know that she will be having her abdominal tumor removed after a family wedding in june.......this is news to us, as the last we heard she was receiving chemotherapy for breast and ovarian cancer.....so this new surgury is not good news......on the other hand.......there was news this week that the risks of skin cancer from sun exposure are far outweighed by the benefits of some sun exposure, especially with regards to vitamin d development in cells just under the skin........the concern over our collective fear of sun exposure was highlighted today at this workshop.....in that parents now carry their infants around with blankets over their strollers, even in summer....so as to block them completely from the sun's rays........and that baby's health will be affected longterm by the lack of natural vitamin d.......which controls calcium absorption, among other things............i learned today that women who breastfeed are far less likely to contract breast cancer....and their female children are less likely to contract the disease as well......hmmmm........i could go on all night about the benefits of breastfeeding......but i started out with cancer and i will finish this train of thought......i was at a loss for what to say to my friend with the uterine cancer.......i had no idea that her lack of fertility had anything to do with such a profound problem.......like so many other themes i have blogged about of late....it makes my life and my petty worries pale by comparison............