Pentax K-1000
I was reading the latest statistics released by the National Cancer Institute of Canada recently, and the figures are quite sobering:
An estimated 153,100 new cases of cancer and 70,400 deaths from cancer will occur in Canada in 2006.
The total number of lung cancer cases (men and women combined) is greater than the number of either prostate or breast cancer cases.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women.
Overall, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer.
David was not a sickly person, nor had he ever spent a night in a hospital bed until they found a tumour in his lung at CMC on August 5. The diagnosis shocked everyone, including the ER doctor who discovered the tumour. David didn’t fit the profile of a small cell lung cancer patient at all. They even spent an extra day of running tests on his biopsy, but it only confirmed the worst case scenario.
There’s nothing I can do to get David back, but I know there’s plenty I can do to educate people on what I’ve learned from our experiences. We’d never heard of small cell lung cancer before. We didn’t have time to freeze David’s sperm. We were not prepared for all the side-effects, the lack of therapy options, the implications of terminal illness, the stress of how to deal with other people’s reactions, or the stress on our own relationship.
We ran out of time. Is there ever enough time?
I flounder in my own acceptance of David’s death under these circumstances. The doctors can’t conclusively state why he got lung cancer, we only have theories. In the meantime, I have all the reason I need to direct my efforts to promote cancer research. It’s something that’s been sitting in the back of my mind for some time now, bumped down the priority ladder by a long list of immediate concerns that have since shortened. As I take stock of my own health, I see that it’s time to act.
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