Re: Dying of other cancer...
 

Jackie,

I am so sorry for your loss. I love the photo of all your teammates. Which lovely young lady are you?

Re: Dying of other cancer...
 

To Laurel and Paula: 'Top left'(the usual 'Point-guard' positon:) in both pictures.

To Paula: I had requested for genetic testing after seeing many of our members on this Board have had the tests done. My oncologist reluctantly agreed (I'd had two surgeries each for both brain tumors and breast cancer already, plus Mother had been treated for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 1998) to my request for genetic testing in early 2009. The result was a 'BRCA1-Variant of unknown significance' and the genetic counselor in the hospital told me that my risks was higher than normal, but not to worry too much. It all changed when I learned about 2nd Brother's colon cancer (my family overseas had kept the news from me for several months) later that year. I put the 4 cancers together and located a cluster called HNPCC (Hereditory Non-polyposis Colon Cancer.) Recalling 2nd Brother had mentioned that his colon cancer was unusually 'big', I made an appointment with a gynecologist and eventually was referred to a gynecological surgeon.

There was a twist during the process: my surgery was postponed because a special 'ring' used in the procedure http://www.pelvichealthsolutions.com...y-laparoscopic had been recalled. There were only 3 good ones (of a different brand) left before the hospital could get more supplies. Hoping to be one of the three patients to get it, I called my family doctor and was given a lecture that I shouldn't have had such 'anxiety' over a prophylactic procedure. He wanted me to get a 2nd opinion! So I called my oncologist and he agreed that I should proceed with it... So I had the procedure done almost exactly a month from the orginally scheduled date.

Re: Dying of other cancer...
 

Thanks for sharing the picture(you all were such lovely young ladies and it was fun to see a photo of you). I also appreciated hearing of your experience, Jackie.

Paula

Re: Dying of other cancer...
 

Jackie, I was a forward. Not much of a ball handler, me.

Re: Dying of other cancer...
 

Lucy was also a forward - one of the best. The rules were changed during her senior year (separating the 'professional' teams - most of them were attached to technical schools - from other college teams) and she led our school team to win the championship in the new division.

Below is the link to a song I shared with her church friends and my teammates after her passing:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/...with+lyrics%29

Re: Dying of other cancer...
 

Jackie, I am so sorry. What a wonderful teacher she must have been. She was your good friend, and because of that, we all feel a loss too. Thoughts and prayers are with you always. Janet

Re: Dying of other cancer...
 

That's a beautiful song of comforting truth, Jackie.

((Hugs))),

Paula

Re: Dying of other cancer...
 

Jackie,

First of all my condolences for your loss.

I totally agree with you. Although I tested negative for the BRCA 1 and 2, I have to be vigilant for other type of cancers.

On my father's side all of my uncles, ----his brothers either died of stomach or colon cancer. My father passed away from a stroke at the age of 79 and was healthy almost to the end of his life until the stroke took him almost immediately.

I am seeing the obgyn and internist for ovarian/cervical and colon cancer . The obgyn keeps telling me that I will "never" develop ovarian cancer. I wish I had seeing her before 1994, perhaps she already knew (you know crystal ball), I had breast cancer before I even discovered myself. SHe's a nut!! She eventually signs the referral for the transvaginal ultra sound but each time I have to fight her. Oh well.

The internist does not mind seeing me, I have a strong patient-doctor relationship with my primary doctor and since she's the one referring me, I have never had a problem with the internist. He just writes the little paper and I get schedule for the colonoscopy.

We are the ones responsible for our health, and WE must remember that no one cares about you, but yourself.

Take care,

Love,

Adriana

Re: Dying of other cancer...
 

Another cancer incident of my college basketball team...

The Captain a year behind me e-mailed us pictures of Houtzu's funeral. Included was a picture of her and another teammate who had also attended the farewell service. This teammate, a college instructor in the midst of working on her advancement dissertation, is also a breast cancer survivor (surgery in 2006). Her mother passed away two years ago from stomach cancer.

So far, out of the 12 members of the 1982 team, we've had 4 cancer incidents - all gynecological cancers. All three members with breast cancer (one also had ovarian cancer, and I've had life-long brain tumors) are alive and well (8 1/2 years with recurrence - me, 4 1/2 years, 5 1/2 years respectively.) All four of us have family members/relatives who have been diagnosed with cancer (lung, NHL, Colon, and Stomach) - makes me wonder about the HNPCC connection: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/lyn...H0001895/drome

This is pretty close to the statistics of cancer incident in Taiwan http://www.asiatoday.com/pressreleas...er-rise-taiwan except that we've all just passed the half century mark (instead of the cut-off age - 74 - used in the statistics) None of us has the risk factor of alcohol use, betel nut consumption [major cause of oral cancer in Taiwan] or obesity. Hopefully we've matched the statistic and no more teammates will be diagnosed with cancer in the future.

Re: Dying of other cancer...
 

Jackie,

I am so sorry about your friend.

Amelia

Re: Dying of other cancer...
 

Jackie,
I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing Lucy's story with us. What a lovely way to honor your friend and your friendship.
Denise

Re: Dying of other cancer...
 

Dear Jackie,

So sorry to hear you lost your dear friend. Thank you for sharing her memory with us. The pictures are lovely and I hope they give you some comfort when you look at them and remember.
Sending hugs,
Mary