Diabetes, Pancreatic Cancer, Waking Up to Your Health!

Published 21 March 08 09:57 PM | Corinne

Easter and Mother's Day were my Granny's two favorite holidays. If you have followed my blog, you know how important she was to me and that through her and my grandfather's painful battles with cancer I realized all of this was about more than just looking good. This lifestyle is about making a change for our kids, our husbands, significant others, and our desire to be just as Phit-N-Phat at 70 as we are at 30.

Granny died of Pancreatic Cancer. It is one of the most painful, underfunded, and near death sentences you can get. Watching someone you love spend their last months unable to eat because it hurts too bad, losing weight until you barely recognize them, and going from full of life to stripped of their dignity is probably the most sobering and life changing thing you can go through. I rank it higher than giving birth to your child, the day you marry, or whatever big event you can imagine. I always tell people, it's a blessing to say your goodbyes, to leave nothing unsaid, but a curse to have your final memory of the person you love so dearly drawing their last breath. Yes, when I think of my Granny that is what I see...not the strong woman who raised me but the byproduct of a cancer ravaged woman.

Do I have your attention yet? GOOD, I hope so. I am going to get on a soapbox here and shout loud and proud until some of you get it! If just one of my girls or any of you who read my stuff are impacted enough to do something about this topic then I feel like my health butt kicking is going to be well-served.

Do you know why my Granny got Pancreatic Cancer (and Paw Paw - just repeat the story above because I got to do this twice but with Stomach Cancer the first go around)? She was a diabetic. In her early sixties she was diagnosed with it and took her meds faithfully yet she continued to eat carelessly, avoide exercise, and hope that a few good days of eating strung along here and there were enough to keep her going.

It wasn't. She received a painful death sentence because she loved her sweets, her fried chicken, creamer with her coffee, and you name it - she loved it. Basically, she never dropped the TWENTY POUNDS she carried in her belly, rarely went for walks, and continued to eat her cakes, fudge, and junk foods.

Girls, so many of you are in the middle of pre-diabetes, PCOS, hypertension, etc., and you aren't even out of your 30's! What is this going to mean for you when you hit 50? You will be my mother, I hope she's reading, on a cane because her knees are shot, pretty overweight, high blood pressure, experiencing heart scares, toying with pre-diabetes (I have no clue how she avoids it), and trying hard to drop some weight to reduce her risk of death and blood clots when she has her knees replaced at 52!!! 50 is the the new 30. If you take care of yourself, 50 is the half-way point ya'll!

What's the lesson here? You gotta start now! You can't wait until you are 50, 60, or 70. You've lost lots of years by now. Sure you can make changes and slug down drug after drug, but you are buying borrowed time because you failed to make plans to eat healthy, no desire to wake up an extra 30 min. a day to workout, and too busy watching The Biggest Loser, Desperate Housewives, and the latest Blockbuster rental to do some research on what you SHOULD BE EATING. The bulk of the damage is done and the years on your life have been STOLEN. When you get to be 72 and the doctor says you have a few months left to live what is the first thing you will think? "Great! At least I ate chinese buffet every Friday night. Who needs another 18-25 years with my kids and husband."

Do you want your kids mad at you because you couldn't say no to the junk and too busy watching TV to exercise? Do you want your own kids to be in their 20's when they start having health problems because Momma loves her Chips Ahoy so we're all having them? You brush their teeth, wash their hands, get their booster shots, and keep them out of the street but you feed them foods laced with sugar, fat, and salt because you gotta eat Pizza Hut, McDonald's, ice cream, candy bars, Mexican on Saturdays, go ahead...pick your poison. Let me tell you, you and your kids might as well play a game of catch in the middle of the interstate. The car is coming straight at you honey!

I'm not going to go into what you should be eating, what you shouldn't, etc. This post is about awareness and not the sugar coated kind. If you have any thoughts of "am I going to take years off my living like this" or "do I feed my kids too much junk" then I want you to take the time to read some of the info linked below. At least know what you are doing and if you want to keep on down the same path...more power to you. You owe it to yourself, your family, and those who love you to educate yourself.

FAQs on Pre-Diabetes
Preventing Pre-Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes Complications
Diabetes: Heart Disease and Stroke
Diabetes Prevention

Pancreatic Cancer - stop diabetes and you are less likely to get it!
Prognosis of PC

Stepping off the soap box and giving everyone a hug. I hope you know that I really care about all of you and just want us all to live long, healthy lives. In case you haven't seen it and need a starter on nutrition info and getting your food in order, here's a link to my Active Nutrition page. It's filled with tips for meal timing, eating strategies when "dieting", meal plans, shopping lists, etc.

________________

Food Journal 3.21.08

Filed under: , , ,

Comments

# Cori said on March 22, 2008 01:25 PM:

Thanks for this post.  I lost my mother at the age of 58 to Pancreatic Cancer (on Christmas Day which was her favorite holiday followed by Easter).  She did the right things, lost 75+ lbs., exercised, etc.  However, it was after years of being over weight, having diabetes (which she managed well) and having smoked for a good 20 years (she had quit 10 years before diagnosis).  She changed her lifestyle too late.  She was lucky and had a remission for a good 6 months but the disease took her within 22 months of diagnosis.  You hit it right on, nothing has more of an impact on changing your lifestyle than watching someone suffer so much.  I have done so much research on the internet and with doctors (I work in the healthcare industry) on how to avoid that painful death.  You know what it all comes back to???  My choices, my weight, my exercise...  Thanks, Corinne...let's stop someone else from having to suffer from this!

# CindyP said on March 22, 2008 08:26 PM:

Your blog post is right on target!  It also explains WHY I am here.  My paternal grandmother was already dead at my age because she refused to take care of her diabetes.  I've been "borderline" since my late 20's and have always managed to keep it at bay with diet and exercise.  I've kept my weight down for the most part with the last year's gain attributed to my dad's cancer and my trips back and forth to his home across the state, mostly living there the last few months of his life until he died November 30 (he didn't suffer much and he did go peacefully).  My mother has made herself a virtual prisoner by her lack of moving off dead center for the past few years to the point that now she can't do much but sleep, read the paper, watch TV and drink Ensure because it's too much trouble to actually eat. How my dear step dad endures is beyond me.  The point being, I want to preserve and build the health I have and do what I can to age well!  You have put so much information at our disposal and we have so much support that it would be hard to fail here!!  Thanks Corinne!!

# Corinne said on March 22, 2008 09:51 PM:

I'm so thrilled you guys appreciate it. I was telling my friend Lisa (abs) today that I didn't even cry typing it because I was so worked up on the topic. It's like my little mission to see that people understand that life is so, so precious. We only get ONE life and each day we waste eating out of emotion, laziness, social pressure, etc., is a day we are cheating ourselves in the end.

I have said this so many times, but I wish people would look at or think of someone they love dearly in this world. Then think to themselves on their last day will they want more TIME with this person or another piece of pizza, one more donut, or a few chicken nuggets. It really comes down to this because these are the things that not only keep us from our goals, but it keeps us from living longer.

I'm all for enjoying life and not obsessing every bite we put in our mouth. But, most of don't obsess enough. (OK, me and Lisa do a good job of it, and so does Ilene LOL.) But, the majority of the people who read the blog and join PNP do so because they need to get focused. They need to realize that life is more than food. People don't like you more because you eat cheeseburgers and fries versus a salad. They want your "company" at lunch, not your mad hamburger ordering skills.

# micheleb said on March 24, 2008 08:52 AM:

This is a wonderful message.  I too get my motivation for my lifestyle changes over the last 5 years or so from the knowledge that if I don't take care of myself and my daughter, we will follow right along in my mother's footsteps.  She (and her two brothers) all became diabetic in their late 20's from obesity and had the double wammy of hypertension too.  Back then, no one (at least in the south) took it too seriously and even today, so many folks don't accept that it is related to their eating and lack of movement.  Thank God I somehow woke up and realized in my mid-twenties that if I didn't take good care of myself, I would end up just like her.  She turned 60 this year and is now on dialysis for her renal disease which came from her uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension over the last 30 years.  It is a miracle she has not died of a heart attack or stroke by now.  It is my responsibility to eat right and move my body.  I know that we are dealt the genes we get and if we don't get the good ones, we still have the second chance to practice healthy habits to ward of the diseases that we are destined to get if we don't take care of ourselves.  God gives us a second chance, but we have to put it in place and practice it every day.  

# frolic said on March 24, 2008 12:47 PM:

Thank-you so much for this blog.  A friend sent it to me through another site and it really touched me.  I see my mother in these words and it scares me so much.  I try to support and encourage her to live healthier, but I cannot push a rope.  I can, however, commit to myself and never becoming this woman.  Thank-you so much for reminding me why this journey I am on it so important.  

# Buckeye said on March 25, 2008 08:26 AM:

I gained a lot of information just reading this blog. I just wish I had known all of this many years ago. My dad died almost 10 years ago of pancreatic cancer. I shudder when I hear of anyone diagnosed with this disease (like Patrick Swayze recently on the news). It is surely one of the worst diseases and deaths I have ever seen. This is the perfect blog to send on to all friends and family-and hopefully they will send the message on as well.

Thank you Corinne for continuing to research and educate yourself in order to pass it on to others!

# Phit-N-Phat.com said on March 25, 2008 09:41 AM:

I was responding to the diabetes thread when I stumbled upon a topic I would love to discuss: our kids

This Blog

GET PHIT-N-PHAT IN YOUR INBOX

Syndication