Cutting off cancer at the neck!!

Image enhancement (clouds in background) by John Bond of Far Northern California. Thanks John.

My brother-in-law Mike came through the seven hour neck surgery just fine. The day before his neck surgery, I asked him how he felt. His response was, "I feel like I have a noose around my neck--and it is getting tighter every day."

His thyroid glands were enlarged, one much more than the other. The super one was baseball sized. Imagine having a baseball sized tumor in your neck-- no wonder it felt like a noose! Both glands were removed, as well as the lymph nodes on once side.

The surgery was all day Thursday, and Mike actually walked two blocks outside today. (Sabbath) He is feeling kind of tired, but after a major surgery like that, I am not surprised.

The most surprising thing to me is that they did not use external stitches to hold the neck together after surgery. I am assuming the surgeon used internal ones. But all that was used externally were some little metal staples. But before they sent Mike home Friday, the little staples were all removed(!) and replaced with Steri-strips. Just little tiny pieces of tape holding his neck together!! I suppose it heals much better that way and doesn't leave an ugly scar like the running baseball stitch the surgeon used on my right knee over 20 years ago.

I am so glad that Mike is still alive. Now we have to wait for the laboratory reports to see which type of cancer he had. And Mike still has those spots on his lungs that showed up during the CAT scan. I am hoping these will go away with a little radioactive iodine treatment.

Don't get cancer...

David A. Youngs
http://polybids.com/

Being Healthy at 55 isn't easy, but it is doable!

Okay, so I am 55. That doesn't mean I have to be unhealthy does it? So why am I "suddenly" overweight. I think somebody played a trick on me one night and switched bodies on me in my sleep. That must be what happened. My body never looked like this. And this body has begun to develop problems. Severe problems are beginning to exibit themselves. Problems like swelling in the ankles and now the feet. And apparently high blood pressure.

Now when I "retired" several years ago due to a severe neck injury which revealed advancing problems with the cervical vertibrae, of course I did not work any more. Work was hard physically. I had been a janitor. Pushing around a BIG mop loaded with water is tough. And I did not miss it one bit. So maybe my muscles did start to get a little flabby.

But this is ridiculous. And I find myself out of breath at the slightest sign of physical exertion.

Well, I joined a health club and began going. At first it seemed like things were going to get better as I rode the stationery bicycles, but... I did not lose weight. And it began to be a drag to drag myself over to the health club. I have to start going again because I am still paying for it. And I should start eating better.

Well now there is the rub. Eating better. We all know what we should do, but do we actually do it? Not always it seems. I mean, I know that pizza is not the best thing to eat, but wow does it taste good. I have a rather thin and healthy friend who suggested I eat only RAW foods. Well, I did not find RAW PIZZA all that exciting. (just kidding)

Well, raw foods? I do eat bananas, oranges, nuts (except I find they are usually roasted AND salted -- a no no) and grapefruits. But I really don't like raw potato. Now raw corn isn't too bad and raw fresh green peas are okay.

I do eat a lot of salads now. At least a whole lot more than I used to.

And I know that the vegetarian (and expecially the vegan) diet is far superior... but fried chicken tastes sooooo good. What I am supposed to do? I do have a juicer. A Champion brand juicer. Have you ever juiced things. I mean it is okay, but then I got to clean up the juicer.

Well, one of my friends said I should try a "JUICE FAST" until I lose the weight I want to lose. I may have to eventually try that, but I do have a lot of weight to lose. I find out that I am 275 now. I should be 190. Hmmmm. That is losing 85 pounds!!!!

Now everybody and their brother has got some sure fire way to lose weight. I have never heard more misinformation and drivel on any other topic unless it is politics and how Hillary Clinton is going to be the first female president of the United States. But don't get me sidetracked into politics. Hilary is a liar. And I still need to lose the weight.

I think that my overweight condition right now is the primary problem. And as I started to spew.... everybody has a "diet" or a "weight loss plan" or some magic "pill" or "food suppliment" that is supposed to really help. Some of them are downright dangerous. Now after reflection, the juice fast doesn't sound as bad as some of those other diets.

I knew an overweight lady who decided the only way she would be able to lose weight was to undergo stomach surgery. Well, to put it bluntly, it worked. She lost weight like crazy until the day she died. She never could eat enough to actually nourish herself. So, the operation was a success, but the end result was she DIED.

Fasting is a proven way to definately lose weight. But Karen Carpenter lost a lot of weight fasting.... and she DIED.

If you take amphetamines, you will probably lose weight too. But the side affects.... not sleeping, and becoming paranoid at not exactly what I am looking for.

Somebody suggested Human Growth Hormone. Now I don't want to get any bigger. Hormones can have devistating side affects.

Well, so apparently can being 85 pounds over weight. You know, that juice fast idea is starting to sound good. Maybe I will dig out the old juicer, dust it off and fire it up.

I will keep you all posted exactly what happens.

David