It is hard to see Lance Armstrong's grinning face when the daily side effects of our TX are so different than his experience. For men, Prostate Cancer is all the public knows and for women, Breast Cancer. Or at least it does seem like that to me. Of course I was just as clueless and had never heard of tongue cancer let alone imagined I could get it.
It was good to see some public attention with Roger Ebert but let's face it, radiation, chemo and surgery to the head and neck are not really traditional beauty methods nor likely to yield poster child looks.
It's okay to vent here about the unfairness of cancer research and public knowledge.
charm

ARRGH - there is a brand new Cancer TV show on Showtime
Why do I hate this?
I: It's not a show about me and my cancer
II: It even sounds like me in the Washington Post review
[quote]A darkly comical and affirming antidote to te pink-ribbon and yellow bracelet platitudes that have defined the modern cancer experience[/quote]
III (okay really more of one and two but since I'm using Roman numerals, it's okay
Even the headline should have been about me
[quote]Showtime series adds a layer of snark to the obligatory upbeat cancer message[/quote]
IV: We gave up Showtime and other premium cable channels in order to pay the co-insurance on the cancer medical bills

Guess I'll just have to wait for the Season DVD to come out and get it at Redbox for a buck
Charm

Well said! Who really wants to watch a show about some actress playing a woman with cancer when we can get the real stories here. Think about it. If we turned this whole OCF forum into a series, most of it would be edited out because it wouldn't be pretty enough for the general public. People on the outside don't really want to know about cancer. So this show will give them reason to have their curiosity satisfied. But it won't be real. Smoke and mirrors.

Anita

Yeah, that's the ticket sister. We at OCF should be on a Reality show. Maybe MTV would do a "Cancer shore" show (I just visited Seaside Heights and was shooed away by the police when I dared to look into a photo booth where the Situation was burning the instant picture with a lighter.) All we need is for Brian to rent a house
Charm

I watched part of it ... but had to turn it off I normailly like Laura Linney.
Not sure about that one! Yes I agree. There is some sort of odd glorification of the popular cancers... its strange.

I had a pre-conference today at school for when I am observed. My assistant principal asked how thigns were going and then mentioned that last year I had no patience when I came back in March. He said he did not talk to me about it because he could not imagine what I had gone through. Hello, how can I correct something if I do not know I am doing wrong? I told him he needs to come to me anytime he see a problem. I want to learn. I hate when people are afraid to come to me and tell me something I need to correct because they are concerned about putting more pressure on me. UGH

I love this "Don't you just hate it when...? thread. My son used to just hate when people said to him, "Well, it could be worse". Which reminds me of a little story from a church bulletin a long time ago: "I was walking out of church one day, depressed and feeling sad and lonely - when suddenly a voice came to me and said: "Cheer up, things could be worse!". And so I did - I cheered up - and sure enough things got worse!" My son got better and is a lot cheerier, now.

There was a woman in my dog club who kept comparing the surgery she had on her gums to my cancer and partial glossectomy-but the thing that really did me in, was the time she cornered me (I was still healing from surgery) opened up her mouth and tried to make me look at how bad her incision was....

Anne Marie

With over 35 thousand views, this is indeed a much loved thread.
Your son sounds so positive and upbeat. It's much easier for an old guy like me to deal with this cancer and it's a tribute to your mother skills that he copes so well. I'm with him a 100% on hating the trite: could be worse but instead of your funny church story, my tired old cynical self just nods when I hear it and I say: Oh, did you mean, it could have happened to you ?.
Good thing I set 2017 as my goal to be charming
Charm

Michelle

Incredible. But you probably are so strong and brave about it all that she just minimizes it because it would have killed her
Charm