I’m 50 Now And Suddenly Thinking About Cancer
When you are in your 20′s, 30′s, and probably 40′s most people give little thought to cancer. I mean, the word “cancer” is a concern because it is so deadly but it is not really on the tips of people’s tongues who are that young.
I can tell you though that once you hit 50, something like cancer becomes much more of a reality. It started with my yearly physical when the doctor looked at my birth date and said what I knew he would: it was time for my first colonoscopy and cancer screening. I knew it was coming but still……ugh!
The cancer screening was easy as he took a small blood sample and sent it off to the lab. Of course the colonoscopy was a much worse but I got through it. Luckily for me, all is okay so far but it really gets you to thinking about the future and how fragile our lives are.
Cancer has been around for all our lives so the chances are we all know someone who has had it or died from it. And most of know that it is a killer that doesn’t discriminate: it can attack anyone at any age but your chances of getting it go up with age. Now that I have turned 50, I suddenly am VERY interested in a cure being found for this evil. It is amazing that a cure has alluded humanity for so long.
When you think of how to make money, one of the ways to do it is to invent something or contribute to science by making a big breakthrough. There is no doubt that the company, organization, or person that someday does find a cancer cure will make hundreds of millions, if not more. It is something that should be rewarded financially just because of the numbers of people that will be saved. It is frustrating that with all the manpower and dollars spent finding a cure, nothing has happened and it is also frustrating that no matter how high the reward, little progress has really been made.
I hope to live to see the day when some breakthrough can be made and now that I am older, that hope has become more personal. I may be cancer free today but who knows what will happen the next time I take those tests 10 years from now. I’m hoping that those tests results won’t be as scary next time due to the fact that cancer has been cured!