9 friends or acquaintances have cancer!

[countrygirl]

This is not the news someone with HA needs!

Since July last year I have had 1 relative and 4 friends and 4 acquaintances ( all being people I have been closer friends with in the past) all diagnosed with cancer - 3 of them terminal.

I am 54 yrs old and all but 3 of the above are over 60 but 3 of them are under 50.

My HA was going much better but since all this has been happening ( last news was this morning of a neighbour where I used to live who was lovely)
I seem to be seesawing between a very fatalistic attitude of " live life to the full because who knows" which I think is a very good thing for us with HA to think but I am also noticing that any new symptoms are freaking me out more than they would have done a year ago.

NO point to this thread other than I am feeling very shell shocked and wondering how others with HA cope with this sort of thing?

[MyNameIsTerry]

It's bad enough just one person but 9?! I can understand how you must be struggling to fight off those niggling thoughts of your own when you must feel surrounded by it. :hugs:

I guess there comes a time when you become more surrounded by health problems. My dad is in his mid seventies and over the last 5 years or so he has seen two of his drinking buddies die in their sixties/seventies and being the youngest of 13 kids you can imagine that age has been catching up with the elder ones. Several of them have been through serious health conditions.

I guess as you head into your sixties you start to see more of this and worry about it but I don't think anyone will ever be prepared for it. The mind set seems to change though as when I hear my parents talk about all this is not a shock to them, I guess they accept it at their stage of life.

It's awful that these people are going through all this. I think some people just seem to be more surrounded by it than others, with some people not having any knowledge of it at all. It seems so unfair but life doesn't discriminate.

I hope you find the strength to keep pushing through all this with your recovery and that your loved ones have plenty of support (and luck).

[Fishmanpa]

Sorry to hear this. There's no solace really as it's a fact of life and getting older (survivor here) and by any standards, that's quite a few people in a short amount of time for sure. I subscribe to living life to the fullest attitude because there is no rhyme or reason to much of it.

Positive thoughts

[Allochka]

That's terrible, I hate this disease. Husband had it, but he is ok now.
First impression is that cancer is everywhere and there is no escape for noone. It is a trying situation for someone with health anxiety, but the thing is - if someone has cancer, it does not mean that you'll get it too. Everyone lives his/her own life physically, no matter what happens to someone else.
I'm very sorry for your situation, it is definitely hard...

[countrygirl]

Thanks everyone. I am def in the live life to the full camp. 3 of the people have a good prognosis, its the terminal ones that rather play on the mind!

One is a very close friend which is always hard.

Its just so many in such a short time and today I was feeling like putting my fingers in my ears and singing lalala in a loud voice so no one else could tell me about any others:)