Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well, isn’t this really the crux of most of our posts on this forum? Only the living post... rarely do the critically ill, and even less, the departed! They have other things on their minds...
The difference is, as many have already pointed out, the occasional passings of our youth vs the larger cumulative passing due to time accumulating conditions as we age. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t think the number of people dying from cancers of seemingly everything is not increasing. What I wonder, is has it REALLY? Or is it simply that social media and age perception make it seem so?
Personally, I think it HAS, due to increased environmental and poor food associations. Most all of the older people/relatives I have known that passed away were NOT from cancer, but actual old age related conditions. Nearly everyone I know that would be a contemporary (say age 72 and younger) have died from cancer. Maybe I can think of 3-4 that died of other “stuff”. I can think of over a dozen from cancers, right off the top of my head, and NONE were abusers of any kind and all ages 40s through early 70s, Ie: didn’t smoke, drink, obese , took drugs, alcoholism, etc. And all kinds : melanoma, throat (3!) blood cancer (had never heard if this one before him), prostate, stomach, pancreatic. It’s as if the percentage just rises, and its simply a luck of the draw/location/occupation/circumstance. I have an irrational fear of cancer, I think.
I ponder this a lot. I sometimes suffer from early AM anxiety, which is pretty common, especially when life events put added daytime stress on you. Things like job changes, moving, marital or SO issues, financial, political etc intrude on my thoughts daily. And like many, I have zero issues falling asleep at 10:30, but then inexplicably wake at 1 or 2, go back to sleep and wake 4-5am with too many things running through my head. Mortality is a big one every time someone passes away, recently it was ERs passing. And I never even met the guy, besides here & via PMs. It is/has bothered me a lot (though not cancer, his was diabetes related, and I am also TypeII, though more mildly, so that bothers me).
It’s 3am right now, and here I am pondering all this. Sometimes, its really inconsequential things, (like my refrigerator isn’t auto defrosing like it should and I figured out what part I need and am waiting for it to arrive on Wed, so I have to manually trigger a Forced Defrost. Why on earth should that keep me awake?) sometimes self promoted, but the triggers are more often based on “Whats my expiration date?”
I literally have to keep telling myself “it’s all in your head, and everything has to be taken one step at a time”.
Like many here, as an alive person, I know of many not alive people where their deaths seem tragic and odd: 2 work friends that were sweet, funny, women, had all kinds of plans, family, etc, each consecutively held the same office manager positions, one died of a blood clot breaking away after a healing broken leg, and the other discovered she had stomach cancer in early November and died by late December. 40 & 50.
A work friend that lived a very rich and fulfilling family, personal, and spiritual life, retired at 64, in less than two years, gone from blood cancer. You see and speak to these people regularly but not even daily or weekly, but aren’t close enough to be part of their lives when tragedy strikes, and it seems like it came out of nowhere. Then there is that whole cadre of abusers that seemingly defy all reason & continue to live well in to old age despite doing everything wrong!
I say it a lot: Life isn’t fair, never has been, never will be. It just IS. All we can hope for is to be on the green side of the grass.
Last edited by Perryinva; 04-03-2018 at 01:21 AM..
Most of my childhood neighbors, are already dead. I am 57 years old.
So much of this boils back to where/how we grew up, and what the health standards for our local community are.
I've always been blessed with good health. Aside from some very minor problems as a teenager, I've never had any chronic medical issues, other than one wrist that is sometimes weak and achy from football and lifting injuries. Not everyone is fortunate to have good health.
Still, a lot of the people I grew up with have aged poorly, even in their early - mid 30s. I'm seeing someone with health issues who is 22. Her birthday is Friday, and mine is in a few weeks. She was recently in the hospital and got a kick out of asking the nurses and PCTs how old they thought I was. Virtually everyone said 23-27. No one thinks I'll be 32 in two weeks. I met a buddy of mine for lunch about two weeks ago. He also doesn't look like he's aged since college. Some of our peers look like they could be our parents, particularly the ones that have had drug problems or smoke.
I'm physically active. I eat a reasonably healthy diet. I've been fortunate in the fact that I've never had serious problems in my life - medical, financial, or personal - that would stress me out and age me quickly.
I had 500+ in my class. Counting them and the ones a year or two older and younger it is no longer surprising when I hear someone died. They have been dying since our high school years. Now I have to get out the yearbook since I remember the names but can't always remember the face.
My partner and companion of 7 years just dropped dead Jan 29 , Ex pro skier , clean eating , health fanatic , 53 yrs old . My health has been long chronically weird and we were sure i would go first . The week before he died I told him we need to do what we are going to do because 5 of my school friends spread out all over had just died . All natural .No accidents/ foul play etc
I have been noticing MANY people dying the last few years , famous , non famous , INfamous , your friends, my friends . Alot of people . One of my oldest girlfriends asked me if I had noticed this recently . told her I thought it was my imagination . As far as my class - they started dropping before senior year was out and we have little get togethers with everyone left about every 5 years . All walks of life,all colors , all lifestyles, because we really don't have many of us left . Plus losing SO MANY has erased all the pettiness that can come with HS get togethers. It just is not there. We are simply glad for each other that we all made it another year .
Since made my last post yesterday ,a babyhood friend of mine lost her husband of 30 years to a heart attack right in the driveway . He was my age also .
So much of this boils back to where/how we grew up, and what the health standards for our local community are.
I've always been blessed with good health. Aside from some very minor problems as a teenager, I've never had any chronic medical issues, other than one wrist that is sometimes weak and achy from football and lifting injuries. Not everyone is fortunate to have good health.
Still, a lot of the people I grew up with have aged poorly, even in their early - mid 30s. I'm seeing someone with health issues who is 22. Her birthday is Friday, and mine is in a few weeks. She was recently in the hospital and got a kick out of asking the nurses and PCTs how old they thought I was. Virtually everyone said 23-27. No one thinks I'll be 32 in two weeks. I met a buddy of mine for lunch about two weeks ago. He also doesn't look like he's aged since college. Some of our peers look like they could be our parents, particularly the ones that have had drug problems or smoke.
I'm physically active. I eat a reasonably healthy diet. I've been fortunate in the fact that I've never had serious problems in my life - medical, financial, or personal - that would stress me out and age me quickly.
Two of them passed away from car accidents and the others heart diseases and cancer.
We used to ride bicycle together, watch tv, play with other kids in the neighborhood, we even built a house on the top of a tree.
:-(
Since made my last post yesterday ,a babyhood friend of mine lost her husband of 30 years to a heart attack right in the driveway . He was my age also .
My sympathies regarding your posts of the double tragedies suffered by you and your friend.
It's surprising what is happening with the baby boomers, given this is the first group that was really into eating organic food and fitness. The people of my parents' generation pre-baby boomer and the greatest generation, many are making it and have made it into their 80s and 90s. Yet, so many of my 60ish baby boomer friends are dying often from cancer. I don't really understand it at all.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
