My Journey: "and maybe a couple of gifts under the tree too"

All I want for Christmas is a cure for cancer. If only...., never mind Christmas, just a cure would be fine with me. This would also be #1 on my three wishes, wish list, should I ever get them. You can also count on this, when I check in at the gate with St. Peter, this will also be a wish I ask to be granted as well.

Looking at cancer related stuff most every day, I see article after article that talks about how we have made great strides with this disease of cancer. How we have now improved treatment protocols to such, cancer patients are living longer, and longer. Great news! fantastic, I am all for that, however, having said that, I would also like to point out that we are not hearing anything positive as to the "cause" of cancers.

Unfortunately the incidents of someone getting cancer are on the rise, significantly! It is now the number one cause of death in every province in Canada, beating out heart disease. Therefore there is a dire need to get to the causes and stop it at the source.

Yes there has been proven research that definitely pinpoints the cause in some instances, but I guess what I am trying to get at is, we need more research dollars put towards finding the cause. We've gotten pretty good at finding drugs and research into having people living with cancer doing just that, living with cancer.

I think it was probably sometime around my second or third relapse that one of my doctors told me the following; "we can now treat lymphomas as a chronic condition, just like controlling diabetes, we can control the lymphoma". In most cases today, that is a fairly true statement. Eventually, just like in some severe cases of diabetes, you may run out of options unfortunately.

This is where I in my own opinion believe we need to divert some of the money and funding going into research for a cure, and refocus on finding the specific causes. After all, you can't cure something you don't know the cause of right? I know this will cause some debate, but if not the cancer getting you eventually, even after dozens of years of remission, then a side effect of treatments, such as cardiovascular issues, kidney and liver related issues may get you.

Again, just my own personal opinion related to articles and papers I've read on these things. My own personal worry is heart issues. There are some new studies out that have me even more concerned about that now. Seems for a stage one relapse, radiation was the front line treatment in a lot of cases, and mine, and was the norm. Well, new studies are indicating that chemotherapy might be the better route as radiation related cardiac issues are coming to light now.

You could also say that about chemotherapy too in some cases, let's face it R-CHOP and ABVD both contain "the red devil" Adriamycin, and they don't do a Muga Scan of the heart to measure the thickness of your left ventricle for nothing now do they.

So back to the point of this blog today, let's start throwing some funding back at finding the cause, then we don't even need to worry about any of the above.

So, What I want for Christmas is a Cure for Cancer, if only.... and maybe a couple of gifts under the tree too!

Me with my cake courtesy of AutoMaxx

Moving on, this week I found myself celebrating the 3rd anniversary of my Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant, and also my 53rd birthday. Brenda and I found ourselves at the WFCU Center in Windsor to see the Windsor Spitfires take on the Brampton Bulls in OHL action. You see, my son, Travis, won 14 tickets in a luxury suite to enjoy the game from, compliments of AutoMaxx Pre-Owned Super Center. Not only did we get to see the game but we enjoyed food and beverage and to our surprise a Birthday cake sent by AutoMaxx owners Chis and Doris Taylor, great people, so if your in the market for a Pre-Owned vehicle then you need to look no further than AutoMaxx Pre-Owned Super Center.

My brother Jamie,Me and Brenda
enjoying the game from the suite!

Our Grand Kids Andre, Emily
and their Aunt Erin.

It was indeed a good evening all around including a win by our beloved Spitfires they beat the Bulls 2-1 and celebrating with family as well! Our grandchildren, Emily and Andre also enjoyed their very first professional hockey game too! As well my brother was there to celebrate with us as well. Travis also got to treat some of his friends to a "suite" experience for a game.