This week, CBS News, the Washington Post, NY Times and USA Today shed a glaring light on people living with cancer. And Newsweek put the Livestrong wristband on its cover.
Pick up the April 9, 2007 issue of Newsweek to read the story How I live with Cancer.
Jonathan took the call on his cell phone at the Starbucks in New York's Penn Station...It was from a doctor I barely knew telling me that a CT scan-ordered after three weeks of worsening stomach pain-showed a large mass in my abdomen, with what she said was "considerable lymph node involvement." I rubbed my eyes and sensed the truth instantly: cancer, and not one that had been detected early. I was 46 years old and had not spent a night in the hospital since I was born. Nonsmoker. No junk food beyond the occasional barbecue potato chips. Jogged a couple of times a week. I was not remotely ready for this.
Later on in the article Johnathan tells his readers:
I have cancer, it's going to be bad, but I'll live until I'm 90. Probably not, but I turn 50 this year and, full of hope, recall that great line from "The Shawshank Redemption": "You can get busy living, or get busy dying." For me, it's no contest.
What if the lab results thought to be our own really were not? Hey, mistakes happen in all walks of life. And labs are not immune. But there are a few steps we can take to protect ourselves. Here they are:
