It’s afflicted a few too many of my friends in recent years, and now it’s gone and killed Chadwick Boseman. Enough already.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
It’s afflicted a few too many of my friends in recent years, and now it’s gone and killed Chadwick Boseman. Enough already.
2020 sucks. Cancer sucks.
Goddamn, this is just awful.
fuck cancer
A friend of mine from grad school died of colon cancer in his late forties. Young, but not this young.
Boseman had a bright future ahead. IMDB shows some things in production. I wonder how long he had the diagnosis. Yes, cancer totally sucks.
Fuck.
PaulBC @4: News articles are reporting he was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer in 2016.
I lost my youngest brother to colon cancer in 2016. I missed the scattering of his ashes because I was in the hospital, recovering from surgery to remove my own sudden diagnosis of intestinal cancer. The follow up chemotherapy seemed to work for about six months before they discovered it was back. Surgery for that revealed that it had spread to the point that there was no point in doing it, and going back on the chemo would only extend my one year to two. A couple of months later, my chemotherapist told me I qualified for an experimental immunotherapy treatment. Happily, my response to that was phenomenal, and they haven’t been able to see any sign of a problem in over two years, so I feel great now, instead of experiencing a miserable death last winter.
I found Boseman’s performance to be one of the most enjoyable in the MCU.
I am literally reminded several times a day how much I hate cancer in general. This news is one more fan to that flame.
Wow. I am shocked. I would not have expected him to have died so young. Had problems processing the OP. Damn cancer.
Not much of a Marvel fan but liked Black Panther. He’s also an example that just about anyone relevant in film and TV today has starred or guested on ER.
Oh man, that really hurts. Obviously that’s ridiculously young to die, but also his character was socially significant. Of all the heroes it had to be Black Panther. :-(
I was looking forward to the sequel, Wikipedia says it’s not known yet how it will be affected.
Condolences to friends and family and Chadwick you were awesome.
Scene from Black Panther because now I’m all sentimental.
Fuck.
Fuck Cancer, fuck 2020.
And please, if you can, do go to your check ups, despite Covid.
This makes me really sad. Like, the only way I can describe the feeling is that every time today I’ve thought about him, it feels like a small cloud forms right in front of my eyes, just outside detectable visual range; and any attempt (til now) to put words together results in my mind going blank, plus watery eyes (from that cloud I keep imagining).
Okay, rereading that, it sounds kind of stupid, but I only comment on here to make myself feel better, so I’ll post it anyway in a vain hope for some minor catharsis.
Get a colonoscopy when you’re 50. Get one sooner if you have a relative with colon cancer (10 years before their diagnosis, no older than 50.) Yeah, it’s no fun, but it’s a lot more fun than a colostomy bag and chemo.
dianne@13 A colonoscopy isn’t really a big deal at all. The prep is hands down the worst part. The rest, assuming it’s under anesthesia is like any other medical procedure. My daughter has been through much more serious operations.
At age 55, I am due for another, but I am still waiting out the pandemic for any non-urgent medical care. If it goes on a lot longer, I’ll reconsider.
My wife is fighting this right now. Her prognosis is good, but this really highlights the danger she’s in. Boseman surely got top-notch treatment with the resources he had available, but still lost the battle. :(
Paul@14: It depends on your specific situation, of course, but be careful about delaying too long. There’s a lot of anxiety among oncologists about delayed screening and what it’s going to do to the number of late diagnoses we’re going to have to deal with. (Not just of colon cancer and not just due to delayed screening from covid fears: when insurance rates go down, late diagnoses go up.)
Scott@14: Wishing good luck to your wife, glad to hear the prognosis is good. Both of you, stay strong.
Here in Ontario, we get Fecal Occult Blood Tests every two years after I think 50. Your family doctor gives you the kit, with collection card, sampling sticks, and a special envelope. You take samples on three days, then mail it. This is reassuring for me.
I wonder if people at elevated risk could should take a FOBT periodically?
There is a fecal test that is cheap and non-invasive. Its a good diagnostic tool to let you decide if you need a full colonoscopy. I was a volunteer test subject. You gotta put a qtip in your poo, that’s all.
I have colitis. I get yearly colonoscopies.
I hate my colon.
I had my first 20 years ago, and since they found a polyp that time and every one suceeding, I’m about due for my fifth. Prep’s not fun and ’cause I’m not a morning person I usually can’t eat until the afternoon after the procedure. But that ain’t a patch on dying miserably.
Re:he days screening tests in the days of COVID – even if patients want them, some clinics decided not to do anything non-urgent. Lots of tests are getting delayed.
This sucks, I really liked his work.
Related to colon cancer, ostomy tech has come pretty far in the last couple of decades. I have only had one for a couple of years so I’m just familiar with the modern options and this all obviously changes based on your ability to access healthcare, but my experience with having an ostomy wasn’t that bad. I had a different type of cancer but treatment for it led to me needing a permanent ostomy and while it was definitely scary before the surgery its been one of the easier lingering effects to deal with. The modern pouches I use are really low profile, disposable and both well attached and easy to change. It took some getting use to to deal with but nothing that bad. I know that everyone responds to medical stuff differently and I don’t mean to diminish the experiences of other people with ostomies who’ve had more of a rough time, but it was much easier to deal with then I feared and I wouldn’t want someone to put off treatment due to fear of needing an ostomy.
@9 silentbob. Aww she’s such a cutie. It’s nice to see parents starting their nerd indoctrination early.
A few years back, a well known video game YouTuber called John ‘TotalBiscuit’ Bain announced he had been diagnosed with colon cancer. He had noted a marked change in his bowel movements some months before but had ignored it, as most men are wont to do, and by the time he saw a doctor, he too had stage three colon cancer.
Like Boseman, he died four years later, at the age of 34.
His was a very public illness, and it was tough to see. So whatever you do, if there’s any suspicious change in your bowel movements or habits, don’t wait. Consult a doctor. It could save your life, no matter how old you are.
I am not a physician but I do work for a company which develops endoscopy equipment.
@18 + @19 If I am not mistaken the fecal test only looks for blood in your stool. Of course if that test is positive you need to have that checked out. But this test should not replace cancer screening because a lot of polyps don’t bleed. In particular sessile serrated adenomas (SSAs) are dangerous because they are usually completely asymptomatic but have a high chance of developing into colorectal cancer. And as an added bonus they are also hard to detect, even during a colonoscopy. A lot of our efforts are directed at making SSAs more visible to the physician.
As usual with cancer: Your chances of successful treatment are a lot higher if you catch it early. Most dangerous polyps can be removed directly during the colonoscopy with little or no side effects and most likely it is gone for good after that. If one has already developed into cancer you might not be so lucky, especially if it has already penetrated the submucosa. Then you are most likely going to need surgery.
@26: That’s probably why the commercials that advertise the tests tell people with particularly high risk that the product is not for them. I forget the exact wording of the warning right now, but I do remember that cases like mine are disqualified. The way you describe it would explain the false sense of security that group could get from using the test.
Also want to reiterate the importance of early detection. Preventing the damage is more effective than repairing it.