Nurses and cancer....

[xtxrn]

Obviously everyone is at risk for cancer. But in the last few months I've heard of 3 past co-workers diagnosed with various CA... one had bone, then breast; another a GYN CA - haven't been able to get in touch with her; another has GI- stage 3, and I'm finishing oral chemo for leukemia.

I've come to a conclusion.... exposure to geezer farts can be very harmful to ones' health

Humor helps the immune system :D :D

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

I think you are right about the need to keep a sense of humor! My surgeon thinks I am a hoot and she tells this story to other breast cancer patients. Before surgery, my breasts were "the girls". During surgery, she injected purple dye into the breast to aid in finding the sentinal node. For several months after the surgery, the breast remained a shade of purple. So, the part of that breast that remains was named "Violet", her partner who was still pink was named "Rosie". Four years later, they are still Rosie and Violet.

At the time that I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my husband was diagnosed with ALS. I do not know what would have happened to us if we did not have the ability to laugh. My husband has the most amazing sense of humor. That is one of the things that I think I will miss most about him when he dies.

My hubby used to kiss my bald scalp to encourage hair growth and my coworkers rubbed the bald noggin for good luck. No, cancer is not funny in itself but some of the things about it ARE funny. Laugh when you can! :lol2::lol2::lol2:

I have also heard about the connection between working third shift and getting breast cancer. I worked nights for more than 15 years.

Please stay current on your mammograms!

AlsGalRN

I love that Violet and Rosie got names

And, I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's diagnosis- that is a cruel disease.

Also glad that you've found that humor helps :)

I spent 6 weeks in the hospital w/my initial diagnosis of leukemia, and Funniest Home Videos kept me going. I think they wondered if I was nuts to boot since I laughed so much

[JBudd, MSN]

When my son was mis-diagnosed with a brain tumor, we called him "rotten brain boy". He'd laugh like fury, but you should have seen the (new) doc's face the first time he heard it! He whipped around and looked hard at my son to see how he was taking it.

Ya gotta laugh because crying takes too much effort.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

When my son was mis-diagnosed with a tumor, we called him "rotten brain boy". He'd laugh like fury, but you should have seen the (new) doc's face the first time he heard it! He whipped around and looked hard at my son to see how he was taking it.

Ya gotta laugh because crying takes too much effort.

I hope your son is ok:) Mis-dx or not- had to be stressful .

And yep- without laughter, it'd be white-coat time

[mama_d, BSN, RN]

I've worked oncology for several years now...and ya know what? The ones we get with a healthy sense of humor seem to be the ones who can tolerate chemo better, have better relationships with their families regarding the disease (less denial issues), etc.

I will never forget one of my pts. She was a frequent flyer for several months as her lung ca got worse and worse...I was her nurse the night that we had to RRT her and the doc told her flat out that if she wasn't tubed she'd die before the end of the next shift. We sat and had a good cry...then, knowing that some of us were planning on going out in a few nights, told me that we'd better to be damn sure to have a few rounds in her memory...and then proceeded to regale me with tales of her misspent (but oh so adventurous) youth...and encouraged me to follow in her footsteps. It's been over five years and I still remember most of those stories. (And yes, we did indeed have a few rounds in her memory.)

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

The funny video TV show kept me going (and still does at times- as well as the Ultimate Dog Tease on YouTube !!). Laughter changes everything

My dad and his lady friend would come up to visit, and we'd howl at the AFV clips- I'm surprised I didn't end up with a psych consult

[beeble]

Sorry to hear that. Hope everything is going okay for you.

I can treat others' medical issues, but when it comes to my son (who has medical issues) or myself, it is scary. I had a breast cancer scare a few years ago, and in my family history there is ovarian and breast cancer.

Keep us posted.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

Sorry to hear that. Hope everything is going okay for you.

I can treat others' medical issues, but when it comes to my son (who has medical issues) or myself, it is scary. I had a breast cancer scare a few years ago, and in my family history there is ovarian and breast cancer.

Keep us posted.

It's hard to wonder if family histories of CA are going to hit. My bio-family has a strong hx of GYN cancer. My mom (adoptive, but with her and my dad from the age of 10 days, so she's the mom I grew up with) had bilateral breast CA, lung mets, and brain mets ...but she died from urosepsis d/t negligent tx at an ED in AZ.... she'd been CA-free for 17 years. She was demented from the brain radiation but had done well medically. Even with the dementia, she was able to enjoy things even if she didn't always remember them later. For the moment she was happy:)

I'm doing fairly well with the leukemia. That's the one medical issue I have that has a good cure rate = LOL :)

[trauma_lama, BSN]

does anybody know some cancer stats for other hospital employees? like nurse techs or custodial or ED MDs? just curious...

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

does anybody know some cancer stats for other hospital employees? like nurse techs or custodial or ED MDs? just curious...

I'm not sure.... this thread was started out to bring out anything humorous....but it got serious :)

I've also wondered about hair dressers- especially back when perms had so much ammonia in them. I had an uncle who was a hairdresser, and ended up with brain cancer. Fumes and skin contact- but I've never seen anything that supports that theory :) He left behind a wife and 3 kids (they weren't little- but it's still a big loss).