Top 50 Cancer Sites, Blogs – Best Resources

Here’s a great site: a list of the “Top 50 Cancer Sites, Blogs – Best Resources”: http://www.asbestosnews.com/news/top-50-cancer-sites-resources/  Are they really the “Top 50”? Who knows? (and who cares?)

Some have great names that just have to be read, i.e.

Punk Rock Mommy: http://punkrockmommy.org/

The Adventures of Baldylocks: http://baldylocks.blogspot.com/  

Cancer is Hilarious: http://cancerisnotfunny.blogspot.com/

Cancer Banter: http://cancerbanter.blogspot.com/

There’s also a whole section about survivors which is described as: “SURVIVORSThe journey of cancer doesn’t end abruptly with the “remission” diagnosis — it’s a tenuous and delicate tightrope walk back to health and normalcy. These blogs chronicle those bold steps farther and farther still away from the edge.” Here’s some more that I like:

Everything Changes: http://everythingchangesbook.com/

The journal of a prizefighter: http://www.thejournalofaprizefighter.com/

I’ve Still Got Both My Nuts: A True Cancer Blog: http://www.cancerslayerblog.com/

I’ll talk about the “community” and “caregiver and family” blogs later.

John

Image credit: <a href='http://www.123rf.com/profile_dirkercken'>dirkercken / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

Beautiful Bad-Ass Brain Tumor Bloggers: Kaylin Andres Spotlight

When I came home from the hospital without a good chunk of my skull (resected due to an infection from my surgery) I yearned to find folks like me –brain tumor victims who were fighting a battle against a seemingly relentless and demonic disease.

Almost through sheer luck, I then discovered an entire tribe of brutally honest, utterly defiant and powerfully angry brain tumor and cancer bloggers. They were sick; they were mad and they were going to tell the world about it.

One of my favorite Bad-Ass Brain Tumor Bloggers is Kaylin Andres. Her blog is sardonically entitled Cancer is Hilarious which, of course, means it’s not.  As I’ve previously written, she writes about her medical and health challenges with intimacy and rage and honesty that makes me feel likes she’s talking to her best friend over coffee.

As of Feb. 4^th she was in the hospital and wrote wonderfully about her latest surgery. Here’s a link to that posting: http://cancerisnotfunny.blogspot.com/

If you read it, be sure to click the “flipping the bird” link.

John

PS – If you’d like to nominate another Beautiful Bad-Ass Brain Tumor Blogger for a “spotlight” posting, send me a note.

More on Fake Cancer Victims

I just read Kaylin Andres’ most recent blog regarding cancer fakers, i.e. losers who pretend to have cancer to get sympathy/attention/etc. That she has to give advice on how to spot cancer hoaxers makes my head hurt _____ (insert your own bon mot). 

As usual, she writes with passion and angst and horror about all this. Here’s a link to her site: http://cancerisnotfunny.blogspot.com/  If you go there, be sure to read the comments posted on that blog posting.

Kaylin also posted a link to a posting by Adrian Chen, who notes that cancer hoaxes aren’t particularly new. They’ve been around for years. His article/story, The Long, Fake Life of J.S. Dirr: A Decade-Long Internet Cancer Hoax Unravels, is illuminating and depressing. You can read it here: http://gawker.com/5914621/the-long-fake-life-of-js-dirr-a-decade+long-internet-cancer-hoax-unravels/

Glioma at 4 Days Old

I just find this painful.  Today’s Chicago Tribune has a front page story about Matthew, an infant who was born with relatively large Glioma brain tumor.

The story goes on to categorize the tumor as a rare “high-grade glioma which is most diagnosed in adults…” In the brain tumor world, high grades are, in fact, low grades in terms of health.  High grade tumors are aggressive and invasive and dangerous. If you’re interested in learning more, the ABTA site – www.ABTA.org – always has good info. 

Brain tumors of this ilk are rare; according to the article “only about five children nationally are born with such a rare, usually fatal condition each year.”

His Dad asked a special a great question “Is Matthew dying? Was he born dying?” The answer, which seems to defy all odds, was “no”. According to the oncologist, “…Matthew’s organs were functioning normally and, aside from the malignant tumor, he was healthy.”

I’ve reread that sentence a couple of times and it still doesn’t make sense to me. It’s sorta like saying aside from that hatchet sticking out of the top your head, you’re fine.

For some strange reason this also reminds me of the mope that shot himself in the head with a nail gun.  He screws up and nothing happens to him. This poor couple and infant do nothing to nobody and get whacked with a glioma.

Is there hope? A bit, given the rest of his body’s relative health they’re going to start chemo. All I know about chemo is that it’s a rough, rough rode with no assurances.  For a great blog about surviving chemo check out early postings on “Cancer is Hilarious…terminally illin’” from Kalyn Marie: http://cancerisnotfunny.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html

The Chicago Tribune not only has a pretty comprehensive article but it also has a touching video interview with a brave Mom and Dad. Give it a look: http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-baby-cancer-chemo-20120203,0,3325094.story

I don’t know the couple and I have no idea what I would say to them if I did know them.  All I know is that if this doesn’t pull at your heart strings hire a detective, because you’ve lost your heart.