Dai Henwood has cancer

[Lilith7]

Dai Henwood has Stage 3 bowel cancer. Tough to deal with at any age but at 44 & with two kids, it can't be easy.

Some might remember his dad Ray from an old TV series, Gliding on which also starred Ginette McDonald.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/ce...is-for-two

[Zurdo]

A friend of mines mother had bowel cancer in her late 40's, early 50's. She's in her late '90's now - it's not a death sentence.

[Lilith7]

A friend of mines mother had bowel cancer in her late 40's, early 50's. She's in her late '90's now - it's not a death sentence.

Well, with any luck he'll live longer than expected too.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

It is pretty challenging to survive stage four of any cancer. It is the terminal phase.

But miracles do happen.

[Oldfellah]

Sorry but lots of people have bowel cancer and dont make headlines about it.

[nzoomed]

Yeah I heard about this in the news the other day.
It's sad how many lives are lost to this that could have been saved for the sake of a simple test.
Bowel screening should be opened up to younger age brackets, those tests you mail in are only available to those in their 60s I think.

[Oldfellah]

Correct, I had one sent to me, did the deed and sent it back in the mail, a week later an email saying Im all clear, yes it should be made available to all.

[nzoomed]

Correct, I had one sent to me, did the deed and sent it back in the mail, a week later an email saying Im all clear, yes it should be made available to all.

Did they just send it out to you automatically without even asking?
Looks like its only available to those between 60 and 74

[Oldfellah]

I cant remember if I was sent an email first or a letter in the post , but it said that a test kit would be sent out to me with instructions on what to do, there was no, no I dont want one thanks it was sent if you wanted one or not.

[Kenj]

They are not interested in us oldies once we turn 75. At least, that is the case with Prostate tests for me and I hope all is well after 5 years since the last one. They say that most men die with prostate cancer but not necessarily of it.

Wife had a problem a few years ago with a lump on her boob. Was OK and was tested once a year until 70. Hasn't been called for one since. Can have one if she pays for it.

Ken

[Oh_hunnihunni]

I rang the help line in the package and told them to take my name off their records and stop sending me these things.  Haven't had one since. I also am off the lists for mammograms, smear test, and any other unrequested medical screening programmes.

It is quite easy to arrange, just make your preferences known. I prefer not being on public health data banks unless it is by choice. Just as I prefer not taking part in genetic analysis, and for exactly the same reason.

Privacy.

[Kenj]

It is strange how people feel about cancer treatment. An associate of ours has advanced form of cancer and has had not very successful radiography treatment and been given 6-8 months to live. If he has chemo which he knows is pretty darned awful, he may get an extra couple of months of life, unpleasant as it may be. He has chosen to do so. Thing is, he is in his mid 80's. I am not criticizing him, as I don't know what I would do in similar circumstances to gain another month or two? Pain and mobility issues play a big part in my life and I wonder how I would feel and what I would do if I got cancer.

Life is full of choices!

Ken

[Lilith7]

The state of our health system is something which makes me really bloody angry. Healthcare of all kinds (including dental) should be free & paid for with our taxes, & if that means that they need to rise, then so be it with those who are wealthiest paying their share & those who aren't so well off paying their share, albeit at a lower scale.
There should be NO private healthcare at all imo; no one should be looking to make money from the suffering of others.

As to the if I had cancer thing - if it was stage 4 & if any treatment was likely to be awful & any extra bit of time was also likely to be dire then I'd opt out of it.

[Oldfellah]

life is a funny thing and just for a few extra months I have no idea what I would do either, I know that death scares the shit out of me because its so final but do you put up with the aches and pains and being sick with chemo or do you just call it quits?

The healthcare system is crap I have been waiting now for about 18 months for open heart surgery to have a replacement Aortic valve put in and last Monday I went to see the surgeon and he apologised and said I had fallen through the cracks and my surgery should have been many months ago, so I asked him ok so when will it be scheduled for me now and he couldnt tell me, he said he was so busy that wasnt going to put a time on it.
Yep GREAT health system.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

What makes you think it is final? Energy makes your heart beat, your brain think, your legs move,  and we know from science that energy is never lost, only transformed. So, being creatures of energy death simply transforms us, just like being born does. We become something new.

Not something to fear... xxx

[Lilith7]

What makes you think it is final? Energy makes your heart beat, your brain think, your legs move,  and we know from science that energy is never lost, only transformed. So, being creatures of energy death simply transforms us, just like being born does. We become something new.

Not something to fear... xxx

I'd also like to think that everything we learn during our lives isn't wasted.   I don't think it is.

---

life is a funny thing and just for a few extra months I have no idea what I would do either, I know that death scares the shit out of me because its so final but do you put up with the aches and pains and being sick with chemo or do you just call it quits?

The healthcare system is crap I have been waiting now for about 18 months for open heart surgery to have a replacement Aortic valve put in and last Monday I went to see the surgeon and he apologised and said I had fallen through the cracks and my surgery should have been many months ago, so I asked him ok so when will it be scheduled for me now and he couldnt tell me, he said he was so busy that wasnt going to put a time on it.
Yep GREAT health system.

I don't think death itself is anything to be afraid of - the getting to the point of death with probable pain is scarier than anything else for me, mainly due to being a big sook about pain, whereas I see death as just opening another door - one which we didn't know was there.
Mind you though - apparently I'm weird.

[Oldfellah]

When we are alive, we are filled with energy, but when death comes, that energy is extinguished, signifying the end of our life.

[harm_less]

life is a funny thing and just for a few extra months I have no idea what I would do either, I know that death scares the shit out of me because its so final but do you put up with the aches and pains and being sick with chemo or do you just call it quits?

The healthcare system is crap I have been waiting now for about 18 months for open heart surgery to have a replacement Aortic valve put in and last Monday I went to see the surgeon and he apologised and said I had fallen through the cracks and my surgery should have been many months ago, so I asked him ok so when will it be scheduled for me now and he couldnt tell me, he said he was so busy that wasnt going to put a time on it.
Yep GREAT health system.

Yet another complication caused by the huge demographic bulge that is commonly referred to as 'baby boomers'. As the population percentage of this age group increases social support infrastructure such as superannuation, health, public transport and housing will struggle to operate as those older members of the population are supported by an economy with proportionally fewer of working (and tax paying) age.

In particular the health sector will face huge demands as the afflictions of the elderly increasing dominate its workload. I've heard it said that somewhere around 80% of the average person's medical support is undertaken in the last 2 years of life. Also the unrelenting rise in dementia sufferers is a worrying burden on the health sector due to the amount of personalised care per patient increases drastically as the illness progresses. Maybe a promising growth model for the aged care sector but their demand for quality staff is already under extreme pressure.

The most health compromised also tend to be those with lower socioeconomic standing who are least able to fund their own care. Somewhere down the line our health sector is in danger of collapse and it ain't going to be pretty.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Another good reason to include dementia in those conditions eligible to request assisted dying.

[harm_less]

Another good reason to include dementia in those conditions eligible to request assisted dying.

Very much a hot potato in terms of legislation. The subject is obviously 'not of sound mind' to make the decision themselves and either declares their intention in advance (but how early is an insurance that they're not already in mental decline?) or a watertight method EPA must be implemented that is 100% free of coercion and/or conflict of interest.