100 Perks of Having Cancer: Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It (65 page)

Perk #66

Cancer Proved to Me That

Humor Can Be Found in

Pretty Much Any Situation

O
ne of my boyfriend Shawn’s friends, whom I’ve never met, once said

to him, “I read Florence’s blog. She must be hilarious!” To which he

replied, “Naw, she’s not that funny in real life.” And it’s true! Maybe it is

something about having cancer that makes me see that humor can be found

in pretty much any situation, if I look hard enough.

Perhaps the most stoic example I have ever heard about humor in the

face of hardship was told to me by my friend who is a social worker. A man

in his thirties, after being told that he was terminally ill, said to her, “The

doctor told me I only have two weeks left to live. I told him I would take

the first week in July and the last week in August.”

That is a true story and a shining example that laughter and joy come

so naturally to the human spirit. Even on the toughest days, there is always

something to laugh about.

LAUGH!

HEALTH TIP #66

That Clown Is Not Funny

(You Know Who I’m Talkin’ About)

Hurry up!

How many times do you find yourself rushing here or there, late for a

meeting or your kid’s soccer practice? When life squeezes your time into no

time, you may be tempted to hit the drive-through for a quick meal.

I 270 J

Perk #66: Cancer Proved to Me That Humor Can Be Found in Pretty Much Any Situation

271

Eating drive-through once or twice a month is fine, but getting your

dinner in a paper sack as a habit could contribute to you and your

family developing chronic illnesses. It seems that “habitual takeout” can

become a lifestyle, as in 2011 Americans alone spent over $110 billion on

fast food, and every day about one quarter of the U.S. population eats

some form of fast food. Americans spend more money on fast food than

all other forms of media: books, magazines, newspapers, video, and music

. . . combined. Fast food has wormed its way into current society’s habitual

behavior.

What’s the problem with fast food? Plenty!

1.
Nutritional value:
Most menu items have calories, total fat, and sodium

that is off the charts. I took the top three most popular fast-food chains

and averaged the nutritional value of their most popular adult meals. A

meal was a sandwich or main plate (for chicken), fries, and a soft drink.

I did not include condiments or desserts. Here are the results:

Average calories for one meal was 1,453 calories. The average person

should consume approximately 1,800 to 2,400 calories a day based on

their size, age, and activity level. This meal does not leave much wiggle

room for the other two. (Let’s hope breakfast wasn’t fast food either . . .

yikes!)

Average fat for one meal was 66 grams. Fat intake per day should be

below 55 grams. So sorry, no more fat for you today (and you’re 11 grams

in the red for tomorrow). Excess fat not only leads to obesity (which is

at an all-time high, encompassing 30 percent of the entire U.S. adult pop-

ulation) and heart disease but is a risk factor for cancer. And choosing

chicken won’t help as popular fast-food chicken meals are higher in fat

than the popular burger meals.

Average sodium (salt) content for one meal: 1,453 milligrams of

sodium. Daily limit should be 2,300 milligrams. Excess salt in the diet

can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease in some.

Fast food restaurants are now required by law to list the calorie content

on the menu for customers to see.
Hmmm
. . . somehow, I doubt that

hungry customers will be walking out or choosing salads because of the

calorie number next to their favorite burger.

272

100 Perks of Having Cancer

2.
It’s hard to avoid animal products:
Okay, I’m not a dim bulb. I know I’m

not going to find a vegan meal in the drive-through. While some restau-

rants are adding plant-based sides and breakfasts, it’s pretty safe to say that

if you’re eating drive-through, you’re eating animal products: meat,

chicken, cheese, sour cream, bacon, butter, and such. Both the American

Institute for Cancer Research and the National Institutes of Health encour-

age limiting animal products to reduce your risk of all cancers.

3.
Manner of eating:
Hello, it’s
fast
food. It’s not called sit-down-and-relax-

and-eat-like-a-human-being food. Even the décor is stressful as restau-

rants know that eating around the colors red and yellow have been shown

to make diners eat quickly and leave.

Speed eating is unhealthy in general as good digestion relies

on a good blood supply to the stomach and intestines. If you

It’s okay to have

eat and run, which is the idea with fast food, then you are not

fast food once in a

allowing enough time for your food to digest properly, which

while. But try not

can lead to gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and acid indi-

to let it be a habit

gestion. Increased acid production can promote the develop-

and jeopardize your

ment of certain types of colon cancers, and poor bowel habits

overall health.

promoted by fast food reduce the effectiveness of your colon

and liver to detox your whole system.

4.
Kids’ meals:
One of the top fast-food chains estimates that they will serve

one hundred million kids’ meals in 2013. That’s 100,000,000 (in case you

were wondering what that looks like in numbers), and that’s just one

company. (For comparison, one hundred million equals about three

times the entire population of Canada.) Real kids need real food.

Once in a while, fast food is a necessary convenience, but make it a once-

in-a-while thing, not a routine.

Perk #67

Cancer Introduced Me to

Many Phenomenal Women

T
hrough my journey with cancer and my

experiences with blogging, I have had the

privilege of meeting other strong and inspira-

tional women who are living happy and ful-

filling lives while facing cancer. The person

who has most inspired me through my jour-

ney is a former student of mine, nineteen-year-

old Beck. Due to an oversight in reporting her

initial test results, Beck’s cancer has advanced

to stage 4 and is considered incurable. Rather

than become bitter about this unfair twist of

fate, Beck strives to make the most of every day

with her family, friends, and fiancée. She

shared this message with me:

Meet Beck: An amazing young stage-4

I fight because I’m finally happy. I love living

cancer warrior who is inspiring me to

life. . . . A lot of people when they’re diag-

live each day to the fullest.

nosed look at it as “I’m dying,” the way I look

at it, I’m living until the day I die. I’m trying my hardest to stay strong

and keep the people that matter to me happy. You just have to live each

day to the fullest.

Being diagnosed was the best, but worst thing that’s ever happened to

me. It made me open my eyes fully and realize how important the sim-

plicity of life is. It’s not about money or fancy things; it’s the simple things

like watching my brother grow older, teaching him about the things I’ve

learned throughout my lifetime, making my mom smile, and making the

best of every day so that when the day comes that I pass away, my loved

ones are left with the best of memories.

When people say half the battle is your attitude, it’s so true! When a

lot of people are diagnosed, they give up. They’re discouraged, fearful,

I 273 J

274

100 Perks of Having Cancer

and it’s completely understandable. But if you keep a positive attitude, I

believe anyone can beat this, even if the doctors say there’s no chance of

curing the illness. There ARE miracles!

In her book
From Incurable to Incredible: Cancer Survivors Who Beat the

Odds,
Tami Boehmer shares stories of people who created health in the face

of seemingly insurmountable odds. Tami recognized a common group of

attributes among the people she interviewed. These are:

●
refusing to buy into statistics and the death sentences many of them