Why is cancer rate so high in Maine? (Portland, Bath: school, income)

[tarragon]

There's so much arsenic in the water and radon in homes. I've always wondered about our drinking water if that is a contributing factor.

[CDusr]

Honestly, food and water is a big source of repeat contamination. Fluoride in water, which isn't for ingestion and is indicated in certain cancers, has been found tainted w/ uranium (likely mined).

Unless you are having these things tested, you certainly have no way of knowing. Any source of radiation to which you are repeatedly being exposed is a major problem. Plus it can increase genetic tendencies.

Who knows what has leaked out of plants (shutdown or not) and nuclear storage facilities, even food that is imported. Be interesting to see some independent testing done of water in many places for such things.

The thing is they often mention w/ nuclear shorter lived isotopes, but knowing about longer lived isotopes is even bigger issue. If you type in things like strontium-90 you may be surprised what was found leaking out of where. That's the known stuff, but what about what isn't tested or reported, publicly anyway.

A nuclear error: Tritium, Maine Yankee, and Vermont | New Maine Times

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by CDusr

...
Who knows what has leaked out of plants (shutdown or not) and nuclear storage facilities, even food that is imported. Be interesting to see some independent testing done of water in many places for such things.

The thing is they often mention w/ nuclear shorter lived isotopes, but knowing about longer lived isotopes is even bigger issue. If you type in things like strontium-90 you may be surprised what was found leaking out of where. That's the known stuff, but what about what isn't tested or reported, publicly anyway.

I think that no one living in Maine is down-wind, nor down-hill, nor subject to; radiation leaked from or released from, any nuclear power plant or weapons.

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by tarragon

Stress is not always a good thing, but how do you get rid of it?!

Lifestyle change, meditation, medication...or some combination of these.

Since being diagnosed and treated for high blood pressure I have been tracking [usually] daily. Certain incidents show correlation with increased pressure. My job is one of the biggest contributors- when I was away from work for a week recently my blood pressure dropped into its 'normal' range (for me), which is somewhat lower than 'normal' for most people...and, coincidentally, I was also off my medication as I had run out and events which were transpiring at that time put refilling the script on the back burner. The relationship is clear, but [unfortunately] I can't really change the job situation in the current economy.

Originally Posted by tarragon

There's so much arsenic in the water and radon in homes. I've always wondered about our drinking water if that is a contributing factor.

Radon is easily mitigated, as has already been discussed. Arsenic can cause poisoning (and builds up in the body over time). If you are worried about it, get your water tested. There are plenty of labs that will do this for you at a reasonable cost. If there is arsenic at unacceptable levels, either filter your source or change it.

[movintime]

Originally Posted by NE Gal coming home

Oops - sorry (I'm a newbie) table did not come through but you can follow the link to the source.

Cancer - United States Cancer Statistics (USCS) Data - 2007 State vs. National Comparisons

ME leads in every cancer, says this site. Not good.

Thanks to all on here so far. I STILL am trying to lobby for ME but my g/f thinks I'm deluding myself, via rationalizing, by saying "things aren't so bad, etc.". I guess I am. lol

But I want to keep evaluating this cancer issue as it is THE stumbling block to ever going to ME to live as of now. How best to concretely make a decision pro or con that makes rational sense? Hmmm...

The ONLY last issue to bring up is the heritage of people that are either Irish, English, Scottish or French as a possible "genetic" link to high rates here. (A researcher theorized that ALL people on ME's eastern & northern borders, & New Brunswick & nearby provinces, are from same ancestors. Anyone see this as a possiblity?)

Since we aren't any of those (we're from all Eastern Euro's) thus we'd skirt the "gene thing", if it really is a possible cause.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by movintime

ME leads in every cancer, says this site. Not good.

Thanks to all on here so far. I STILL am trying to lobby for ME but my g/f thinks I'm deluding myself, via rationalizing, by saying "things aren't so bad, etc.". I guess I am. lol

But I want to keep evaluating this cancer issue as it is THE stumbling block to ever going to ME to live as of now. How best to concretely make a decision pro or con that makes rational sense? Hmmm...

The ONLY last issue to bring up is the heritage of people that are either Irish, English, Scottish or French as a possible "genetic" link to high rates here. (A researcher theorized that ALL people on ME's eastern & northern borders, & New Brunswick & nearby provinces, are from same ancestors. Anyone see this as a possiblity?)

Since we aren't any of those (we're from all Eastern Euro's) thus we'd skirt the "gene thing", if it really is a possible cause.

Not sure about ME.

That link shows that the state of Maine is slightly higher than the national average in most cancers, but Maine is not shown as the 'leader'. It is only slightly higher than the average.

Maine is actually lower than the national average for 'pancreas cancer'.

That link also shows that Maine i slower than the national average when looking at prostate cancer deaths, and liver/bile duct cancer deaths.

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by movintime

ME leads in every cancer, says this site. Not good.

Thanks to all on here so far. I STILL am trying to lobby for ME but my g/f thinks I'm deluding myself, via rationalizing, by saying "things aren't so bad, etc.". I guess I am. lol

But I want to keep evaluating this cancer issue as it is THE stumbling block to ever going to ME to live as of now. How best to concretely make a decision pro or con that makes rational sense? Hmmm...

The ONLY last issue to bring up is the heritage of people that are either Irish, English, Scottish or French as a possible "genetic" link to high rates here. (A researcher theorized that ALL people on ME's eastern & northern borders, & New Brunswick & nearby provinces, are from same ancestors. Anyone see this as a possiblity?)

Since we aren't any of those (we're from all Eastern Euro's) thus we'd skirt the "gene thing", if it really is a possible cause.

I looked up Maine on the link provided. Nowhere in that link did I see any differentiation or statistical data on how many cancer patients were Maine natives or who lived in Maine for their entire lives vs part of their lifetime. Did I miss it? If so, feel free to correct me.

I am always skeptical of statistical data unless it has proven itself to be comprehensive in all areas of study. What did these patients do for work? Were they exposed to chemicals with a known carcinogenic effect? Prostate cancer is a good one for that. Oncologists I've spoken with have informed me that most males (if they live long enough) will get prostate cancer eventually, and most will die of something else before it kills them. On the flipside of that, the aggressive form of prostate cancer often grows quickly and metastisizes to other areas relatively fast and therefore can cause death (as was the case with my family member who was exposed to all sorts of employment-related toxicity throughout his lifetime).


Another example would be a dear childhood friend of mine who was successfully treated for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in his mid to late 30s. Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma is number 6 on this list.

Upon graduation from high school, he went to a four year college in MA, and moved to Washington state (which also lists NHL as #6). He continues to reside there to this day.

So, what truth can I gather from these statistics? Did his exposure to life in Maine from the time he was born until the time he left (18 years) cause his Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, or did his exposure in other states from the time he was 18 until his mid 30s cause his cancer, or was it simply a genetic fluke and would have happened anywhere?


The bottom line to me is that human beings are not designed to live forever. We have a finite time on this earth - somehow we seem to want to forget this little nugget of truth.

Yes, we can (and should) do things to extend that life and enjoy it as much as possible, but in the end, if we are choosing where we wish to live based on statistical data for something that might possibly happen then it's not much of a life at all IMHO.

My MIL's oncologist put it quite succinctly IMHO. He told her "It's all written in a book the day you are born. All you can do is work with what you've got and try your best to stay healthy." So far, she's beaten the big C not once, but twice, and I can't help but wonder if that advice wasn't the best medicine she could have gotten.

[maureenb]

There, reloop! Consider yourself repped!

[animalcrazy]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

I think that no one living in Maine is down-wind, nor down-hill, nor subject to; radiation leaked from or released from, any nuclear power plant or weapons.

It's the fiddleheads, to many fiddleheads! ( I believe it's two servings of fish a week. Can't help it I must eat fish especially those Maine lobsters!)

[animalcrazy]

Thanks for the rep, but I really don't know what that means yet. I'm very very new to computers. And corner guy yells at me all the time.