My cousin passed away this morning.
Esophageal cancer is a bitch (relative survival rate: 9-16% after five years), and it's on the rise (a specific type, adenocarcinoma, is the fastest increasing cancer in the United States).
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has a list of risk factors and information on screening.
My cousin didn't smoke. And she wasn't the type to whine about not feeling well, she was the type to pop another Tums and get back to work. By the time she went to a doctor (because she was having trouble swallowing), the cancer was fairly advanced.
Why am I posting this?
Just in case somebody clicking through here looks at those links, and sees a doctor for the GERD or the lump in his throat that hasn't gone away, and gets an early diagnosis or finds preventative treatment, and nudges those statistics up for survival rates and down for prevalence.
For the same reason I raised money for the Tour of Hope.
Because I have to do something.
Posted by Nic at October 5, 2005 01:31 PM | TrackBackI'm sorry, and good luck on the Tour.
Posted by: Ted at October 6, 2005 05:00 PMI'm sorry to hear about that. But you are doing a very good work in a way.
Posted by: Raquel at October 10, 2005 09:57 AM