Could Be Worse

[tomm]

Was thinking today how lucky we all are that what ails us doesn't stop us from reaching out to other people to support each other or searching for treatments and cures - we're still pretty much all here and haven't had to learn a completely new way of interacting with the world in order to carry on with our lives as best we can.

You may have to modify, restrict or stop some of your old habits, but there's a lot of things to do out there - you're not going to be stuck for choice, you just have to be open to change.

That's got to be worth something.

 

[DAJ]

It's not stage 4 cancer. That's a lot harder to come back from.

 

[Albert Savage]

Burns are unpleasant, especially electrical burns. Even when you recover from them, you are never the same.

 

[DAJ]

Burns are difficult. I gave up glass work after one.

 

[Marcini]

Cat bites anyone?

 

[Albert Savage]

Depends on the size of the cat!

 

[Albert Savage]

 

[amandine]

It's not stage 4 cancer. That's a lot harder to come back from.

Yes my friend has just been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer. This is after 18 months worth of medical treatment which started suddenly with a severe stomach ache. He was rushed to hospital. They diagnosed (after one week and continually losing blood) that he had atrophied stomach and it had gone gangrenous due to lack of oxygen. So they had to take out most of his bowel and he was left with a colostomy bag. He was assured that there was no cancer whatsoever.
Following ion through the year, he had to have a new hip replacement.
Then he had pains in his back and could barely walk. He had continually asked about these pains but told that it was nothing. This went on for another year.
Finally out of the blue, from a simple blood test, it turned out that his PSA levels were too high.
So the doctor drew the curtains round his bed, held his hand and told him that he was very sorry and that he had stage 4 terminal cancer. The prostate cancer that had not been seen and diagnosed in spite of the operations and the multi blood tests etc...that he had endured for over 12 months, had metastisised and was now in his spine (hence the back in his back) and in other places too.
The doc was very sorry and my friend is now suing the NHS for incompetence including his GP.
However he is now on a stage 3 international trial taking a combination of drugs which hopefully will keep the cancer at bay and give him many more years of life. He cannot work and feels not so good most days.
His wife is depressed and on anti depressants and may give up her child minding job next week.
So is this worse than T? Guess it is............
I certainly cannot tell then about my problem............

 

[dan]

Could be worse....you could be dead in hell with tinnitus.

 

[amandine]

Could be worse....you could be dead in hell with tinnitus.

a one liner which means what exactly? cant see any beneficial contribution here? dead in hell? eh?
please explain as i am sure I must be missing something here. thanks

 

[Albert Savage]

Just an observation here: when faced with insurmountable difficulties (such as your friend's cancer) most people attempt to use humor, especially gallows humor, to try and distance themselves from the horrors of that day to day reality. But some times that humor flops.

 

[amandine]

Just an observation here: when faced with insurmountable difficulties (such as your friend's cancer) most people attempt to use humor, especially gallows humor, to try and distance themselves from the horrors of that day to day reality. But some times that humor flops.

Yes I agree......but it flops usually if it is neither witty nor funny....the sentence just didnt make any sense......to me, at least....
maybe it is an american humour which is quite different from english or british humour.
American is more slap stick where as English or British is more of a dry humour based on language....
The writer is however not american but closely linked so maybe his sense of humour is more akin to american humour and across the ocean we simply dont get it...could be the reason...
For example, I have watched many programmes that we have in UK which have then gone on to be produced on the same lines in America. Although the same format, I have found them to be neither funny nor even well produced in comparison to the UK version which had been hilarious and professionally produced. However the american audience seemed to love it.
So maybe this is the reason that I dont understand the above one liner...........just a thought......

 

[Albert Savage]

I truly enjoy British humor. My first real introduction to it was in West Berlin in the early 1970's when we did joint training exercises with units from "the Queens Regiment" (I understand that the regiment was disbanded a while back.) Since then several British and Australian and Canadian produced shows have been showing on subscriptions channels-netflixs and hulu plus--and my Lovely Bride of almost 42 Years and I love watching them because they make us think.

Re: that "above one liner" I didn't understand it either. And I spent my entire adult life working in careers where the possibility of death was our constant companion and gallows humor was how we maintained our sanity.