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Original poster

Risky public health behaviours

29 replies

appleyoudontevenknow · 10/08/2022 22:23

Following on from the thread about sun bathing and mention of skin cancer...

Does anyone have experience of people engaging in risky public health behaviours that has resulted in a cancer diagnosis? So like, sun worshipper getting skin cancer, smoker getting lung / bladder cancer, drinker getting breast cancer etc.

I feel like these are the public health messages: do not expose yourself to the sun, don't smoke, don't drink - yet in my experience it's these people who are perfectly healthy and the least suspecting people get cancer (the bowelbabes of instagram etc).

OP posts:
LadyWithLapdog · 10/08/2022 22:27

I didn’t read the thread you refer to but public health messages would be based on epidemiological data. Sadly, though, there’s lots of randomness as well in who gets ill.

Original poster
appleyoudontevenknow · 10/08/2022 22:30

Yes! And genetics.

OP posts:
XenoBitch · 10/08/2022 22:33

Yes, I knew a chap who died from liver cancer. He was a big drinker.
Not cancer, but I have family members who died as a result of smoking.

The thing is, you can put all the scary warning pics on fag packets all you want... and have all the campaigns in the world about how excessive drinking is dangerous... the people who indulge in such things know about all the risks already.
There is an element of "it wont happen to me". My dad is one of them. Been drinking heavily for years. Any test he has flags up nothing.

Oinkypig · 10/08/2022 22:37

It’s those people who “shouldn’t” have cancer that make the headlines. I think there is also some evidence that cancer as people get older is more due to cells getting tired for want of a better word whereas cancer in younger people is more related to genetic causes rather than smoking for 40 years. That is my very basic take on some journals I have read so any oncology people please feel free to correct me

lljkk · 10/08/2022 22:38

Cancer is mostly an age of old age: most people who get it are age 70+. By age 70, most people have a small pile of other chronic illnesses. I have relatives with many modifiable risk factors who got cancers ~age 60, while their siblings have remained cancer free.

Saz12 · 10/08/2022 22:38

People like to think that if they’re “good” (healthy lifestyle), Ty hen it’ll not happen to them. If your neighbour gets cancer then of course it’s the fags /booze/ fat /suntan /weed killer/ stress / formula feeding / household chemicals/ air freshener / bracken.... to blame. We overstate the risk of other people’s risky behaviour to make ourselves feel immune.

Obviously doggies booze diet exercise etc are Bad, there’s plenty evidence for that.

Hbh17 · 10/08/2022 22:46

50% of us will get cancer, so there isn't much point in worrying about it. If people want to smoke/drink/sunbathe then it's perfectly reasonable for them to do so - it is a free world where we can make our own choices.

Sunnydayz · 10/08/2022 22:47

I work in a hospital and see the alcoholics die of liver failure, the smokers of COPD. The poorly controlled diabetics end up with kidney failure and amputations… then there’s heart disease.
My views are probably skewed as I see the sickest people in society, so there are probably many people who get a away with a poor lifestyle for a long time however,
the impact of “lifestyle” diseases is huge.
I wish everyone could see it, we’d all take better care of ourselves.

ExMex · 10/08/2022 22:49

Yes my uncle was a heavy drinker. His doctor told him that his liver was in Bad shape and he needed to stop. He didn't (or couldn't) and died about six months later of liver failure.

XenoBitch · 10/08/2022 22:53

Oinkypig · 10/08/2022 22:37

It’s those people who “shouldn’t” have cancer that make the headlines. I think there is also some evidence that cancer as people get older is more due to cells getting tired for want of a better word whereas cancer in younger people is more related to genetic causes rather than smoking for 40 years. That is my very basic take on some journals I have read so any oncology people please feel free to correct me

Wasn't there a campaign by Cancer Research or something, about how obesity is a huge risk for a lot of cancers.... it was shot down as "fat shaming".

giffyg · 10/08/2022 22:54

People like to think that if they’re “good” (healthy lifestyle), Ty hen it’ll not happen to them. If your neighbour gets cancer then of course it’s the fags /booze/ fat /suntan /weed killer/ stress / formula feeding / household chemicals/ air freshener / bracken.... to blame. We overstate the risk of other people’s risky behaviour to make ourselves feel immune.

agree

OnlyEverAutumn · 10/08/2022 22:56

I have recurrent BCCs - not the “serious” skin cancer but I’m in my 50s and have already endured multiple operations and been left with unpleasant scars.

i despair of people who don’t take care in the sun 😢

giffyg · 10/08/2022 22:57

@XenoBitch it's only for some & only in adults I believe.

Georgeskitchen · 10/08/2022 22:59

@XenoBitch yes I believe so. I heard that some doctors are too scared to tell people they are morbidly obese and likely looking at an early death, for fear of being accused of fat shaming
There seems be a trend these.days of "glamorising" obesity, "love your body" etc this helps nobody, its dangerous and costs the NHS massively
.....waiting for a flaming...

Startuplife · 10/08/2022 23:02

I know someone who is a cardiologist and he says you wouldn’t believe the number of young people having heart attacks due to drug taking. I think cocaine mainly. I’ve never taken drugs but hadn’t even considered that might be a risk until he told me.

XenoBitch · 10/08/2022 23:06

Georgeskitchen · 10/08/2022 22:59

@XenoBitch yes I believe so. I heard that some doctors are too scared to tell people they are morbidly obese and likely looking at an early death, for fear of being accused of fat shaming
There seems be a trend these.days of "glamorising" obesity, "love your body" etc this helps nobody, its dangerous and costs the NHS massively
.....waiting for a flaming...

A lot of people say they go to their GP for whatever reason, and their weight (often excessive) gets mentioned, and say they are being fat shamed. That is because it is a risk factor for so many issues.

A very big and popular mental health page on FB blocked me because I said my own weight was causing issues with my knees.

Sellie555 · 10/08/2022 23:27

The two close people who I know who died young of cancer (lung and cervical) were both 39 yrs old and completely healthy. The one with lung cancer was a fitness fanatic and travelled the world doing marathons. Never drank or smoked. Sadly the lung cancer she got was genetic and nothing would have prevented her getting it

the 39 yr old who died of cervical cancer was my SIL and she was also very health conscious; very careful of what she put into her body

cancer was extremely cruel to both of them

Ameliarosethistle · 10/08/2022 23:27

A high percentage of each of those cancers will be caused by the risky activities (smoking, tanning, drinking) that you describe.

The press and social media love
stories about otherwise perfectly healthy people developing cancer and plenty of healthy living people do develop cancer but that doesn't mean that for example you are not at much increased risk of lung cancer if you smoke.

Ameliarosethistle · 10/08/2022 23:31

Hbh17 · 10/08/2022 22:46

50% of us will get cancer, so there isn't much point in worrying about it. If people want to smoke/drink/sunbathe then it's perfectly reasonable for them to do so - it is a free world where we can make our own choices.

But it's not entirely random though so there is point in caring for your health.

Original poster
appleyoudontevenknow · 10/08/2022 23:32

Georgeskitchen · 10/08/2022 22:59

@XenoBitch yes I believe so. I heard that some doctors are too scared to tell people they are morbidly obese and likely looking at an early death, for fear of being accused of fat shaming
There seems be a trend these.days of "glamorising" obesity, "love your body" etc this helps nobody, its dangerous and costs the NHS massively
.....waiting for a flaming...

Completely agree. I always think this about celebrating our bodies regardless of the size etc. it's promoting a false sense of security.

OP posts:
XenoBitch · 10/08/2022 23:36

appleyoudontevenknow · 10/08/2022 23:32

Completely agree. I always think this about celebrating our bodies regardless of the size etc. it's promoting a false sense of security.

Show quote history

Absolutely agree! That is a whole different thread though.

Kerrrmieee · 10/08/2022 23:50

It has to be down to genetics / pure bad luck. My best school friend spent 2 years going to her GP (let me add GP to the first sentence!). Finally diagnosed with breast cancer aged 30. After being fobbed off with -you are too young, cancer doesn't hurt for 2 years. She had to have a mastectomy and reconstruction surgery. 5 years later - in the second breast.

Some of my family have smoked like chimney's, drank like fish and died late 80s. One even took a shot of vodka every morning - died at 92.

I'm 48, of course I want to live longer for my kids - but if it's coming, it's coming. We have zero incidents of breast cancer in our family, but do have history of bowel cancer.

My Dd's Dad's best friend - stomach cancer - 3 months to live. Perfectly healthy in every other way until his weight plummeted.

Of course many will get smoking related diseases, liver disease from alcohol.

But I do honestly believe it is an awful lottery.

Otherwise, why would beautiful innocent children succumb?

AlmostAJillSandwich · 10/08/2022 23:51

Yes, my mum was a smoker, mid teens til mid 30's, then quit cold turkey. Aged 48, 11 years after quitting, diagnosed with smoking related lung cancer, that was very advanced and had already spread to her liver, bones, and 2 tumours in her brain, and it was terminal. 2 months after diagnosis, and before there was even an available appointment for any treatment, she was dead. I was 20.

Kerrrmieee · 10/08/2022 23:54

Startuplife · 10/08/2022 23:02

I know someone who is a cardiologist and he says you wouldn’t believe the number of young people having heart attacks due to drug taking. I think cocaine mainly. I’ve never taken drugs but hadn’t even considered that might be a risk until he told me.

Absolutely cocaine would put anybody at risk due to the increased blood pressure and stress on the heart.

However take a look at say D Westbrook or Katona? Ruined themselves with it. Still going. May not see 70 but...

Notcontent · 11/08/2022 00:11

Of course genetics play a large role in cancer - no one is denying the fact that some cancers are directly linked to certain genes and cannot be prevented by a healthy lifestyle.

But it is also a fact that gorging on unhealthy food, smoking, drinking too much, etc do cause health problems. Those people may be ok in their 40s, even early 50s, but then it catches up with them - heart attacks, diabetes, cancer, or even just being unable to go for a long walk.