Re: High Cholesterol? KIM

August 17, 2003

Yes as a matter of fact my husband has been told in the past that he

has high cholesterol. But that was at a time in his life when he was

trying to gain weight and was working out at the gym a lot. He was

eating massive amounts of bad-fat foods. I'm not sure what his

cholesterol is at now as he hasn't been to the doctor in at least 2

years (he's the stubborn " I'm a man, I can handle it " type). n

had suggested I get 's cholesterol re-tested to get a break

down of what's good and bad fats. I will ask Dr.Anbar about that at

our next visit in September. He still goes every month so they can

watch his weight.

Michele B

August 17, 2003

Hi Michele,

Yes, doctors should always request the breakdowns to look at the HDL,

LDL and triglycerides. You want the HDL to be in-range or higher than

the range, and LDL in-range or even lower than range.

I could never remember which was the " good " or " bad " cholesterol until

my mom (a nurse) taught me to think of HDL as HAPPYDL = " good " , so the

other (LDL) is the bad. Whew! That's so easy!

My HDL has always been in-range or higher than normal (that's good),

but at one point my LDL was creeping up (that's bad). Once I started

eating a couple tablespoons of flax seed daily, the LDL went down. Now

it's on the very low end of " normal " range, and my total cholesterol

is around 170, which is pretty good. Since your husband hasn't had his

cholesterol checked in a couple years, just for safety sake maybe he

should add some flax seeds to his daily diet.

And please don't let him get away with that " I'm the man, I can handle

it " attitude. I was married for nearly 21 years, and my children's

father had that same attitude. Thirteen years ago I suggested he get a

spot on his face looked at before it became cancerous. Nope; he

wouldn't do it. ( " Leave it alone, I'm fine. " )

In July 2002, he finally went to a doctor and was diagnosed with

carcinoma. Less than two months and many tests later, he underwent a

13-hour surgery involving a 4 " diameter area near his right sideburn.

The team of doctors (ENT and plastic surgero) even had to remove part

of the nerves and tissue from above his eye, and put gold weights in

his eyelid so it would open and close properly. They had to take skin,

tisses and nerves from his right arm to graft to his face, then

skin, tissue and nerves from his right leg to graft back into his arm,

and they removed a cancerous lymph node. A couple months later he

underwent about seven weeks of 5-days/week radiation.

Seven months later (this past April) he noticed a lump on his upper

left arm, so he went back to the doctor. In less than 48-hours he was

in surgery to remove a melanoma and another lymph node, and endure

more skin grafts.

Just last month a mole on his upper left temple changed, blackened,

started bleeding and within two weeks grew a lump underneath. The

doctor biopsied it; it turned out to be melanoma. In the meantime,

they ran PET scans, CT scans and ultrasounds and found a suspicious

mass in his lower abdomen. They operated (out patient) on the melanoma

on his temple, and sent him home with an appointment for a

colonoscopy. Just this past Friday they removed colon polyps and told

him he has " some " colon cancer.

The kicker? With so many doctors involved, communication fell apart

and no one told him last April he was supposed to follow up with

several weeks of chemotherapy. So now he's facing the prospect of

daily chemotherapy for several weeks.

So please, please... Men can be so stubborn about their own health and

don't want to listen to their wives. Many of my friends' husbands are

this way. You have no idea what it does to me when the father of my

children calls and says, " I should have listened to you years ago. "

There is no satisfaction or glory in knowing I was right, only

heartbreak that this man is slowly being carved away, and may never

live to see any future grandchildren.

Kim

--- " micheleb13827 " <meeshellyb@a...> wrote:

Yes as a matter of fact my husband has been told in the past that he

has high cholesterol. But that was at a time in his life when he was

trying to gain weight and was working out at the gym a lot. He was

eating massive amounts of bad-fat foods. I'm not sure what his

cholesterol is at now as he hasn't been to the doctor in at least 2

years (he's the stubborn " I'm a man, I can handle it " type). n

had suggested I get 's cholesterol re-tested to get a break

down of what's good and bad fats. I will ask Dr.Anbar about that at

our next visit in September. He still goes every month so they can

watch his weight.

Michele B

August 17, 2003

Oh Kim, what a horrible story! You have no idea how close to home

that has hit me! k has a lump just inside of his hairline above

his forehead. It's raised up about 1/4 inch and to me looks like a

tumor. My mother had one on her head for many, many years in the

exact same spot. She had hers removed (after a LOT of badgering from

me and my dad) and thankfully it was benign. I'll have to really

start pestering k more about his and the cholesterol too! He's a

carpenter and I worry about him as it is with breathing in all the

garbage that he works around!

I really appreciate the warning story!

Take care -

Michele B

August 18, 2003

Michele,

Please beg your husband to listen to you. If he won't listen then

send me your phone number and I'll call him -- I'll have the father

of my children call him.

This afternoon my ex called to tell me he saw the oncologist today.

The cancer isn't just in his colon; it's already spread to his liver.

The doctor wants to operate Wednesday but even with surgery and chemo

the doctor gives him only a 30% chance. He's already at Stage 5.

My children's father lives over 700 miles from me, in Oklahoma. My

daughter lives about one hour from her dad. My son and I both live in

Chicago. I had to call both the children at work to break the news

them. I can't get my daughter's sniffles out of my ears. She can't

believer her dad won't have the surgery. I didn't tell her that her

dad told me he thought of getting out his pistol, but said he

wouldn't do that...

Kim

--- " micheleb13827 " <meeshellyb@a...> wrote:

> Oh Kim, what a horrible story! You have no idea how close to home

> that has hit me! k has a lump just inside of his hairline above

> his forehead. It's raised up about 1/4 inch and to me looks like a

> tumor. My mother had one on her head for many, many years in the

> exact same spot. She had hers removed (after a LOT of badgering from

> me and my dad) and thankfully it was benign. I'll have to really

> start pestering k more about his and the cholesterol too! He's a

> carpenter and I worry about him as it is with breathing in all the

> garbage that he works around!

> I really appreciate the warning story!

>

> Take care -

> Michele B

August 18, 2003

I am sorry to hear the awful news concerning your child's father. I

am sure this is terribly hard on you and your children. My thoughts

are with you.

Gale

> > Oh Kim, what a horrible story! You have no idea how close to home

> > that has hit me! k has a lump just inside of his hairline

above

> > his forehead. It's raised up about 1/4 inch and to me looks like

a

> > tumor. My mother had one on her head for many, many years in the

> > exact same spot. She had hers removed (after a LOT of badgering

from

> > me and my dad) and thankfully it was benign. I'll have to really

> > start pestering k more about his and the cholesterol too!

He's a

> > carpenter and I worry about him as it is with breathing in all

the

> > garbage that he works around!

> > I really appreciate the warning story!

> >

> > Take care -

> > Michele B

August 18, 2003

Kim I am SO sorry! I swear if it's not one thing it's another. I

really don't know how we do it. Life just seems to keep throwing

curve balls at us. My father has cancer and he's going through

surgery Thursday with radiation starting next week. I hate the fact

that everyone around me seems to have an easy ride (except for all of

you of course!) and my family is constantly being bombarded with

hardship. My sister just found out that she may have some disease in

her spine and that she may end up in a wheel chair for the rest of

her life. She's only 45. My brother had cancer and luckily they were

able to treat him after about a year of trying. He now has no teeth,

a trach hole in his throat and has a heck of a time trying to eat

anything (the cancer was in his throat). He's only 47. My dad is only

60 and now he's going through it plus he has severe RA. My aunt

(mom's sister) just had a massive heart attack and actually died but

was revived. She's now a little messed up in the head from it. Her

memory is gone and she seems lost in space sometimes. My mother, God

bless her, is still plugging away with the determination to take of

everyone around her. She has severe diabetes and a heart condition

herself. I just want to scream sometimes.

The point in all of this is that I really feel for you and your

family. I hope everything works out for the best and you guys will be

in my thoughts. I've already started in on my husband and I plan to

keep it going until it sinks in.

Take care and sorry to ramble, it felt good to get that all out

though!

Michele B

August 19, 2003

DEAR KIM, I just found your post I don't know why it took so long , BUT , I

am terribly sorry about all this . I know it isn't easy . He wasn't the sick

one???????????I hold you all in my special thoughts you do KNOW that.

Please call if there is anything for you or the kids I can possibly do .

Come down for a get away with them too , whenever............

LOVE & HUGS,

BEV.....call, you know my numbers......anytime!!

grandmomBEv