<p>Can you tell us why do you think your parents or grandparents died young?
Excepting accidents, what kind of disease, diet, and life style did they engage?</p>
<p>My grandfather died of colon cancer at age 58. He never smoked or drank, but he had a typical Southern diet that was high in fat–a known risk factor.</p>
<p>If you’re over age 50, Greenery, be sure to have a colonoscopy!</p>
<p>Cancer and stroke (for two grandparents), one in his 40’s and one in her mid 60’s.</p>
<p>My husband’s paternal grandfather died at 57 of cancer, and his father died at 55 of cancer. At the age of 60 my husband is the longest lived male for 3 generations. He is the oldest, and his brother who is next in line died at the age of 57 of a heart attack.</p>
<p>Father died at 47of complications of oral cancer after much smoking and drinking.</p>
<p>Grandmother died of some weird rare nerve disease at 58.</p>
<p>Grandfather than deliberately drank himself to death, died at 59.</p>
<p>Uncle died at 47 from rare blood disease.</p>
<p>Thank the lord mom’s healthy and hale at 80, or i"d really feel worried.</p>
<p>My dad had colon cancer when he was 25 years old. He had surgery and was fine for 25 more years and got rectal cancer. He died at 53 years. He missed all the important things in my life- my marriage and my kids.</p>
<p>Although he had a cancer gene mutation, he could have survived the rectal cancer if he had gone in for checkups. My brother waited too long and got colon cancer and although they caught it early, he has an ostomy. I had over 100 polyps in my colon when I was 30. Didn’t feel like anything was wrong with me- no symptoms. Was shocked to hear the news from the doctor. Had my colon removed and “j-pouch” created. I am doing great! Plus side- both my kids are not carriers of the gene mutation that causes colon cancer in my family.</p>
<p>As far as the general population- people need to get a colonoscopy at age 50. If you do have polyps they will be removed during the colonscopy. The worst part of the colonoscopy is the prep. You are knocked out during the procedure and won’t feel or remember a thing.</p>
<p>Just remember- by the time you are showing the symptons of colon cancer it it usually too late. It is worth the half day of your life for this procedure in order to enjoy the rest of your life. You can’t be embarassed if you are DEAD.</p>
<p><<off soap=“” box=“”>> :)</off></p>
<p>Super interesting…
Mapesy: Good advice…I understand that a test need to be conducted every ten years. In specific instances every five years.</p>
<p>mapesy, mousegray, silverlady, Garland, ChuckleDoodle, and all:
-what was the favorite food of your family members?</p>
<p>-Can you please also tell what was their profession or type of work?</p>
<p>^^ Both Dad and brother were meat and potatoes type guys. </p>
<p>Dad quit school in the third grade to help out family- there were 15 kids. He worked in a box, cardboard manufacturing company when I was growing up. Brother did the same type jobs and is now on disability.</p>
<p>For our family I don’t think it’s what we eat or what we do. Dad was one of 15 kids and 13 died from colon cancer, along with his grandmother, and great grandmother. I was genetically tested and know the specific gene mutation that causes the colon cancer. Had the kids trested for that mutation and thank God! they don’t have the mutation. So this cancer stops at me.</p>
<p>Good for you Chuckle…</p>
<p>Anyone of those relatives working in the health industry: hospitals…</p>
<p>My mother’s father died at age 45 from leukemia. This was the late 40’s. My mother said he used to go to Dana-Farber on the train and got some kind of gold treatment.
My mother’s mother died young as well. She was only 55. She was a smoker and recently was told she was diabetic. Died suddenly of heart disease.
My father’s father died in his 60’s. Just up and died. His mother died at age 89.
In looking at my father’s family tree is always is surprising to me how many ancestors live very long lives - well into their 80’s.<br>
My MIL lived to be 99 and my FIL died at 84. colon cancer. He was never tested/treated. By the time he was sick enough they did emergency surgery and he was full of gangrene. they closed him and he died that night. My ex’s family history goes back 400 years and a lot of his ancestors lived well into their 70’s and 80’s. They were all farmers, woodsmen or laborers.</p>
<p>Greenery–don’t know their favorite foods, but doubt they had much to do with how they died.</p>
<p>Professions–father–chemical industry market researcher.</p>
<p>Grandmother–phone operator, Macys.</p>
<p>Grandfather–welder in Brooklyn shipyards. Also drove trucks.</p>
<p>Uncle–Loading dock manager, Macys.</p>
<p>Mom–Unemployment office manager.</p>
<p>Not sure that all adds up to anything…</p>
<p>I don’t know my grandfather’s favorite foods because he died when I was so young. I assume he ate whatever my grandmother cooked, which would include: beef and pork cooked for hours to the consistency of old shoe leather; vegetables cooked to mush in ham hock broth; fried chicken and chicken fried steak smothered in gravy; fried eggs cooked in bacon fat; biscuits smothered in milk gravy; country sausage in gravy; cracklin’ cornbread; and every variety of cookie, cake, and candy imaginable.</p>
<p>Grandfather’s occupation: Pharmacist</p>
<p>Nope… no family members who worked in or around hospitals. My family tended to be general labor or military type people.</p>
<p>My mother died of breast cancer at 46 (was 35 when she was diagnosed) and my father died of a heart attack at 52. Just curious – why are you asking?</p>
<p>My FIL died at age 61 of acute lymphocytic leukemia. He had survived bladder cancer and melanoma before that.</p>
<p>My mother died at 52 after a car accident, so what she ate and what she did for a living are irrelevant. Her own mother died at 58, from metastasized breast cancer, and, in fact, did work in hospitals. She was what’s known as a baby nurse in Germany before she was married, and worked as some kind of orderly for a while after she came to the U.S., before she got sick. What that has to do with anything, Greenery, I can’t imagine. Do you have some theory about working in hospitals being bad for your health? If so, I’m extremely dubious!</p>
<p>Donna…I have heard many cases of cancer and when I asked…maybe a coincidence but they are people that worked or are working in hospitals. </p>
<p>Maybe a coincidence…who knows?</p>
<p>^ My uncle died at age 24 from cancer. He was an x-ray tech during World War II. They didn’t know beans about protecting their medical personnel. Greenery, I posted about his brother, my 87 year-old dad, on your other thread. So there you have two siblings, a couple years apart, similar DNA, shared interests, raised in the same home…but at opposite ends of the longevity spectrum.</p>
<p>We all have genetic, environmental, and a combo of genetic+environmental factors to contend with so I think that covers pretty much everyone. Some people are programmed to not live beyond a certain point due to heart defects, early cancer, etc., others get whacked by a truck, and others have a susceptibility that can shorten their lives - examples include genetic obesity, sensitivity to certain foods and substances that can cause cancer in them, etc.</p>
<p>As medical care and knowledge improves we’re fortunately able to mitigate some of this as in the example given by previous posters regarding colon cancer.</p>
<p>Are you just curious or are you attempting to draw some conclusions?</p>
<p>I’m just curious about if you have heard about other cases of cancer in certain professions…</p>