DAMN those commercials....
A little background. I had a hypochondria phase in my early 20s that lasted a couple years. I had one of those giant medical encyclopedias and if you start out with a toothache you end up with a brain tumor...and I actually went to the doctor convinced I had a brain tumor one time...stomach cancer another....
I got over it when AIDS came along...YIKES...everyone I knew died pretty much and then I made new friends and they pretty much all died...now everyone is dying of cancer or heart disease...I know it's coming..I see it as a race and eventually everyone goes down so I try to take care of myself and not dwell on it. I would rather live while I am alive....
...and now comes those damn cancer center commercials. The bad part...it is always something mundane...
I had an itch and went to the doctor and had stage four lung cancer
I was out of breath climbing stairs and I had pancreas cancer
I scratched my ass and had stomach cancer
I felt a little tired and had stage four colon cancer....
It all starts with one everyday thing.....
I am trying to not be paranoid again but every one of their symptoms I think everyone has ...and those commercials are everywhere......UGH....
![[-]](https://gayspeak.com/images/duende_v3_local/collapse.png)
•
Might as well be the evening news. Fear sells. *HUG*
I do think I have some things the doc is missing, and the bad part is, too late is always too late.
At any rate, I've resolved to live my life. I expect a shorter one than most people are planning, but I'm ok with that. It would only be tragic if I felt it unfair, and I don't.
•
I think I am OK with dying actually...I have worked real hard to get a bit of serenity and inner peace and I have had some success...not as much as I would like but enough to make a difference...
I have very strong spiritual beliefs and I don't believe that my soul will die at all so I am not really afraid of that part....
I worry most about my boyfriend/soon to be husband. I want to make sure he will be OK.
I do wish those commercials would stop though. I am expecting the next one to say "I sneezed one morning and found out I had throat cancer"..UGH
•
My only thought about them is: who rides in that white limo - and does it ever reach the front door?
•
Ah yes...the gated Club Med for the Cancer set.
•
Ah East -- I know from experience with an older cousin how crippling that frame of mind can be -- and how isolating. In her case she has made herself a social outcast because of her phobias about catching diseases from others and her obsession with self diagnosing. She can talk about nothing else but her imaginary health problems --- which is not only boring but makes he own sons keep the young grandchildren away from her because she scares them talking about it.
It makes her a social cripple because no one wants to be around her and have to listen to it. It's become a joke to everyone. I feel sorry for her because she's super intelligent and could be living a fun life if she ever gets past her obsession with imagined diseases.
It's not something that gets much attention as far as any sort of counseling to help people move past. I hope you can either work with your fears and keep them from consuming you or find someone who can help you overcome them.
•
Very interesting pairing with the medication ads which try to convince you that HIV is no more of a health inconvenience than hay fever.
The underlying theme seems to be "You need to be constantly plugged into the medical machine to be healthy, safe, and happy."
As I told Virge the other day, I literally do not watch TV. Other than at someone else's house (such as at my brother-in-law's where it is never turned off) my exposure to it is minimal, and when I can get away from it, I do. I also put an ad blocker on my browser and won't listen to commercial radio in my truck. The constant peddling makes me insane.
A regular check up (I think twice a year is better than once), limiting your risk factors and paying attention to your body is all you can do. You could be the healthiest person in the world and a satellite could fall on you tomorrow; it's not worth sweating it.
•
Posts: 1,323
Threads: 6
Joined: Jul 2010
Reputation:
0
I'm a : Single Gay Man
Starsign: 
Capricorn
Mood: None
I have become so jaded by all the lies perpetrated in commercials,,, that I loath all of them equally.
Cancer Centers of America mislead you into believing they do a better job of treating/healing cancer patients. But... if you read the (very small print) disclaimer within the commercial - they note that the results of the patients shown in the commercial are not typical. In other words - they are no better at curing cancer than any of the other places that specialize in treating cancer patients.
The human brain is a wonderful thing,,,, it can trick us into believing we are sick. It will sometimes trick us into thinking we are about to die!!!!. As an example,, my 86 year old widowed neighbor recently said that she felt like she was about to die. She started acting like she was deathly sick and could hardly stand up or eat,,, one night she thought that she wouldn't make it thru the night so she asked to stay at our place so she wouldn't be alone when she died.... Well,, the next day we took her to the hospital and the doctor diagnosed her with mild vertigo. Yep!!!! "Mild Vertigo",,,, nothing serious at all. By the time we got her back home after the hospital visit,,, she was all happy and acting normal again.
My mother called me up one day and said she had colon cancer and wouldn't be around much longer... This all started when she noticed blood in her stool... Well,, she finally decided to go see a doctor to find out how much longer she had to live,, and,,, the doctor diagnosed her problem as nothing more than hemorrhoids !!!! She always was a pain in the butt...................
I have bought the big medical books written for laymen, tried the self diagnosis thing and it only made my brain spin with fear. When the internet came along, I used it to self-diagnose whatever ailment I was seeing or feeling,,, and the advice there was just as scary and confusing as the medical books - if not worse!!!. I now go to the doctor when I see or feel something different going on with my body,, they have an uncanny knack for diagnosing that pimple that suddenly showed up on my leg,,, or that bump on my arm that mysteriously appeared one day.
I've been to the hospital enough times now,, that it no longer frightens me when I notice another problem creeping up on me because of my body deteriorating due to old age. It's just part of getting old..............
One of the tricks for growing old gracefully is: Have good health insurance coverage!!!!!
This commercial announcement has been brought to you by,
Jim's Professional Carpet Cleaning Co. who can make any carpet look brand new!!! (my disclaimer will be in very small print and will tell you that most carpets will not look like new after being cleaned by my company)
Sincerely?
Jim
•
Cancer Centers of America
