A TALE OF TWO CANCERS
Cancer is one of the major killers in today’s society. It is not the feared condition that it used to be and big strides have been made in the treatment and cure of the disease. Cancer has no respect for age or gender nor is it aware of class or lifestyle. In the treatment of today much effort is given in educating people about the attitude of positivity and there is a growing belief that this is a great support for any treatment.
It is becoming widely believed that positive thought is a great help in avoiding as well as treating many forms of illness.
It is an interesting to think that we are able to control the quality of our lives by the way that we conduct our thoughts, we know that there are many things that we can or cannot do because of the way we think. If we convince ourselves that we cannot do something it is expected that we will not do it, on the other hand if we are confident and believe that we are capable of doing something we will most probably succeed.
Healthy thinking as well as healthy living and avoiding stress can contribute to a good approach to Senior citizenship.
Exercise of the mind is as important as that exercise of the body and in healthy proportions both contribute to a life of energy and interest.
Stress, whether it is real or imaginary, is one of today’s biggest problems and is known to be a killer if not checked. All forms of relaxation are essential if we are likely to live through a time of stress and at this time one of the benefits comes from activities like yoga and meditation. This is the time that imagination becomes a key point. Imagination can work for us or against us and with the disciplines that accompany most relaxation activities, we take charge of the mind and direct it in the way that we know it will work for us. Visualisation is essential for this and the better we can visualise the results that we want the better they will manifest. Care should be taken to ensure that we only visualise what we want and not what we don’t want.
No amount of thinking can stop the years rolling by but, with the right kind of thinking, we can motor through it with as little stress as possible.
Of course, not even stress need be a burdena. Stress in control can be utilised for achievement and gain.
The following is an excerpt from the Daily Mail under the title” A Tale of Two Cancers”
Incidence
Prostate: nearly 32,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK each year. It is the most common cancer among men.
Breast
Almost 42,000 women a year are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK. It is the countries most common cancer
DEATH RATE
Prostate: Mortality rates for the disease have risen by 18 per cent since 1989. Sixty-five per cent of men diagnosed with prostate cancer survive for five years. It kills around 10,000 a year and accounts for 14 per cent of UK male cancer deaths
Breast: Mortality rates for the disease have fallen by 31 per cent since 1989. Eighty per cent of women diagnosed with breast cancer survive for five years. It kills around 15,000 women a year and accounts for 17 per cent of female deaths from cancer in the UK
SCREENING
Prostate: There is no screening programme for prostate cancer. Treatment options include radical prostatectomy, the surgical removal of the prostate through the abdomen. Cryotherapy, a method of killing cancer cells by freezing them; Hormone therapy, a way of shrinking the tumour by reducing the amount of testosterone in the body; and radiotherapy, including brachytherapy.
Breast: The national breast cancer screening programme for women over 50 costs £75 million a year. Treatment options include removing a whole breast (mastectomy) or just the tumour (lumpectomy), radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
ON THE WEB
Prostate: The Prostate Cancer Charity(www.prostate-cancer.org.uk); the Prostate Cancer Support Association (www.prostatecancersupport.co.uk), set up by a group of men suffering from the disease in 1995.
Breast: Breast Cancer Care UK (www.breastcancercare.org.uk); and Breakthrough Breast Cancer (www.breakthrough.org.uk).