Just Jot it January - Day 5 - Cancer

Today's prompt for this challenge is Cancer provided by Lauren.  Full details of the challenge can be found here.

I think most of us have been touched by Cancer in one way or another, either personally or because we have someone close to us that we've either lost to cancer or they're currently living with cancer.

I've lost a number of people to cancer, including my Dad, and I have 2 close relatives currently undergoing treatment.  So far I've been fortunate enough not to have personally suffered.

According to Cancer Research UK, 

• 1 in 2 people in the UK born after 1960 will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime.

 That's quite a stark statistic.  

But there are also more positive statistics such as:

• Half (50%) of people diagnosed with cancer in England and Wales survive their disease for ten years or more (2010-11).

The advances made over the last 40 years for example are huge.  My Grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer around 1970.  At that point the treatment was a double mastectomy followed by radiotherapy.

I can remember an aunt of mine undergoing chemotherapy and she was totally isolated in hospital.

Now there is also much more screening in place because we all know that the earlier cancer is detected the better your chance of survival.  And yet people don't take up the opportunities.  Yes, mammograms are painful, but only briefly.  Cervical screening or smear tests as most of still refer to them are not the nicest thing to get through.  Bowel screening is not easy to do if you're squeamish but having changed more nappies than I care to even try and count, collecting a sample of my own poo once every 2 years is no big deal.  If you have the opportunity for screening don't turn it down.

If you are living with cancer or grieving for the loss of someone to cancer, I wish you strength and hope you have a good support network around you.