Tag - cancer

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Carcinophopia—Fear of Cancer
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Running For The Cure

Carcinophopia—Fear of Cancer

Did you know today is World Cancer Day? I wasn’t familiar with this event until I saw it on Twitter this morning. Or maybe I did know but chose to stuff it deep down into that place where I keep all my fears about it. And I should tell you, the place is full. It’s busting at the seams because talk of ‘it’ is everywhere.   You can probably name at least ten people in your life who’ve been diagnosed. And like me, you may have lost somebody close to you because of it. (I try to not directly refer to ‘it’ by name if I can help it. It’s easier to ignore when it’s unacknowledged.) I’m obviously afraid of it. Unlike a fear of sharks or getting swallowed by a sink hole, this disease is a more statistically plausible threat. We’re a pretty Cancer Phobic society—focused on a killer that may or may not ever come for us. Realistically we’re more likely to die of heart disease in North America than from cancer and yet we hyperfixate on the Big C. Is it any wonder so many of us suffer from Carcinophobia?   Cancer is in the news every[…]

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Running For The Cure

I have so many fears that I’m afraid there’s something wrong. It frightens me.   I worry about things like Hog Weed, and Lyme Disease, and plane crashes, and nuclear war. I’m scared of penicillin resistant super bugs, and child abduction, and funnel clouds, and pesticides, and GMOs, and solar flares destroying the earth or at the very least, our internet access. And tsunamis (which is dumb because I don’t even live near an ocean, but we occasionally visit the seaside). Oh, and Ebola. But the thing that scares me the most; the one fear that consumes my thoughts on a daily basis, is cancer. It’s the Exorcist of diseases. Gory slasher flicks don’t scare me, but horror movies like Paranormal Activity and the Exorcist terrify me because they could happen. Just like cancer could happen. And it does. Based on 2009 estimates two out of five Canadians (45% of men and 41% of women) are expected to develop cancer during their lifetimes. And one out of four Canadians (29% of men and 24% of women) is expected to die from cancer. Source This is truly frightening. FYI, fretting over every lump, bump and funny mole doesn’t actually help. In[…]

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