Sad. Cancer takes away one of the greats.

RIP funkmaster.

It always saddens me greatly this kind of news...RIP Garry

Okay, to those of you who don't know me, this
particular post is no doubt going to sound a bit
frivolous, or even crazy.

Let's get the frivolous part out of the way, right
away. Up and coming musicians should stay out of
small aircraft.

Now, let's get to the crazy part. Most people who
are reported to die of cancer actually die of
cancer treatment. Statistically, for instance,
more men survive prostate cancer untreated than
they do if it is treated. And, remember, this
doesn't even include the undiagnosed cases.

And, before you flame me, let me tell you I
researched this, and I had reason to. My father,
when he was in his early eighties, was found to
have a tiny spot in one of his lungs. This was
diagnosed as malignant, though no biopsy was
taken, and the doctors bullied him into allowing
them to treat it aggressively. This treatment
included chemo, and radiation. Between the two, he
was totally debilitated, and he died in agony and
shame. Shame because he had no way to keep his
dignity.

Fellow AB'ers, if you are ever diagnosed with
cancer, first, get a second opinion. Then, my
advice to you, should that second opinion agree,
is to run away from the doctors as fast as you
can. Modern medicine is about on a par with
trepanning and bleeding, regarding cancer. Right
now the "cure" is more likely to kill you than the
disease.
Kelly

i would have to disagree Kelly to the fact of everyone dodging cancer treatment....if my mother or younger brother had not had them neither of them woudl be here with me today....BUT....i agree in your dads case he shoudl of never received treatment in his 80's. ANYONE who believe it is a good idea for someone of such advanced age to undergo treatment for such a disease is just plain greedy or selfish. my grandmother (who was in her 80's at the time) was diagnosed several years ago with a brain tumor...at that age....there is no guarantee of the treatment extending or improving life at all. so the decision was made....to leave it be...earlier this year doctors told us she has a blood cancer....he even said there was nothing he could do...she is now 94...home and doing better than she has in several years..

it's a tough call. My dad died of the effects of several cancers including lung cancer and a brain tumor, which may have been an offshoot of the lung cancer. Contrary to popular belief, Bob Marley died of acral lentiginous melanoma, a nasty form of skin cancer. I would not ever want to lump all modern medicine into the catagory of "the cure is worse than the disease", but many times it's true. The main thing that is true, 100% of the time, is that the mental outlook of the cancer victem wil always have a possitive or negative influence on whatever cancer, or any disease, they have.

Firstly RIP Garry Shider !!

Secondly I do not know enough about various forms of cancer or its treatments. What I can tell you is from the experience we had with my father. He was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer (by all acounts a particularly nasty one) He had been having symptoms but being a crusty independant old bloke he ignored it and told no one until it was too late. He was extremely unwell. He was given 2 options, do nothing and he had a month to live - he looked like it too! or an operation to bypass the area of the tumor and live for six months and longer with chemo. He was up till then a fit 75 year old. He opted for the operation but was vehement in his denial of chemo. Stating that if he was going to die he wanted to do it on his terms. Whilst this was hard for us, as he was our dad we wanted him to stay with us as long as possible. But we respected his decision. The time after the operation he was relatively healthy we were able to spend quality time with him and tell him the things we wanted to and him us as well. He died peacefully - admittedly under a lot of pain relief almost exactly six months after he was first diagnosed.

So I am advocating neither option, treatment or not - just relating my experience in context using my dads experience. On reflection I think it was a good one and I hope I am able to make the same logical decisions when I am in that situation.

Gumby