Oxygen's Bob Kennedy Said To Be Very Ill

[eyefit]

Originally Posted by LynnO

Most cases? How would they even know this? Radon is invisible and has no characteristics, and it has also been on the environmental radar for at least 20 years- we tested places for this back in the olden days when I used to do environmental assessments. It wouldn't leave a marker like cigarette smoke and asbestos.

If radon levels are elevated, the solution is usually to improve ventilation, so having high radon levels in your home can be controlled. I live in an area with high radon and also high natural arsenic levels in our drinking water, and our cancer rates are pretty average. (not to say that you shouldn't test for and remediate high radon.)

My main thought is that there is a very strange and sad stigmatization of people who get lung cancer. The stigmatization seems to be left over from the smoking years. As if people need to point out where there cancer came from. This is just sad. I'm sure even people who smoked may have developed lung cancer for some other reason.

As for natural, cancer is natural. Natural does not necessarily mean good- see arsenic and cyanide.

My deepest sympathies to him and his loved ones. May he go with peace and little pain.

I honestly don't know how they know radon is a culprit. It's just what my family medicine doctor told me. I haven't done any research on it myself.

casey mentioned about asbestos. Sadly, a fellow optometrist in my company died from lung cancer due to asbestos. He was a non smoker and when he was diagnosed they found the teeniest bit of asbestos in his lung. Just that little bit was enough to trigger the mesothelioma in his lung. He wasn't even sure where he was exposed but believed it was probably from a factory job he took while in college (in the 1970's). It's so scary knowing that there are things in the environment we are being exposed to that may someday kill us that we aren't even aware of at the present time. It really makes you pause and appreciate the here and now. I always find it tough to come to grips with the fact that we aren't always in control of our health or destiny. It's still important to do your best to control the things you can though.

[Artist of Eyes]

http://www.radon.com/radon/granite.html

I don't think people need to worry too much. There is a small, very small, population that will get non-smoking related cancers. But then again, a very small population will also die being hit by a bus or choking on their own spit- which is probably how I'll go since I do it often.

[Breezy Trousers]

I feel horrible for this family. Watching a beloved die is beyond words.

[LynnO]

Meh on Dr Oz, he has his own agenda and is very prone to sensationalism. However, no harm in doing your own research and maybe having a radon test or two done. The kits are very cheap- and as always do your research because some labs don't do as good of a job as others. And some people are just out to make a buck.

Radon testing is super simple, but harder to get right. You place a canister in the location where you want to test and leave it for however long the lab tells you- used to be for a week, or so. If you want a worst case scenario, you need to keep outdoor air circulation to minimum. If you want it to reflect the actual usage of the space- then you'd just do business as usual.

A good reference:

http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/citguide.html

As an environmental professional, you learn to find stuff, because you never, ever, ever, search the actual EPA web site itself. Their search engine totally sucks as does their web site set up.

Sorry for the thread hijack.

[beth22]

Originally Posted by LynnO

My main thought is that there is a very strange and sad stigmatization of people who get lung cancer. The stigmatization seems to be left over from the smoking years. As if people need to point out where there cancer came from. This is just sad. I'm sure even people who smoked may have developed lung cancer for some other reason.

Yes, this. I can't stand how everytime people mention lung cancer they feel it's ok to "blame" the person for getting it if they smoked. Very few, if any, people put this stigma on other types of cancer sufferers. I feel so very sorry for Bob and his family. My mother in law is terminally ill with lung cancer right now and its beyond devestating.

I hope any person who suffers with cancer--regardless of the type or "how they got it" (which, do any of us know the real causes? Yes, smoking is one cause, but the increase in cancer diagnoses for those that NEVER smoked is so very alarming) receives the support and understanding they deserve. This disease is beyond horrific.

[suegy3]

Originally Posted by beth22

Yes, this. I can't stand how everytime people mention lung cancer they feel it's ok to "blame" the person for getting it if they smoked. Very few, if any, people put this stigma on other types of cancer sufferers. I feel so very sorry for Bob and his family. My mother in law is terminally ill with lung cancer right now and its beyond devestating.

I hope any person who suffers with cancer--regardless of the type or "how they got it" (which, do any of us know the real causes? Yes, smoking is one cause, but the increase in cancer diagnoses for those that NEVER smoked is so very alarming) receives the support and understanding they deserve. This disease is beyond horrific.

VERY well said.

[Gardengirl]

Smokers have the extra burden of guilt associated with their cancers. And while almost all instances of small cell lung cancer are caused by smoking, NO ONE deserves the suffering that goes along with that disease. Cancer is awful and I hope that they will find a cure one day soon. Right now, the treatment is almost as bad as the disease itself. There isn't much that's worse than watching someone you love suffer and died a little each day.

[dmhammy]

Lynn, I agree about Dr. Oz. However, the show he had on granite was the first time I had heard about radon coming from it.

My sister in law died from lung cancer. It was a painful horrible way to die. She never smoked. My husband was a welder for a long time. A young guy at his shop got lung cancer and died. He was only 34. He never smoked but we assumed it was from the smoke from welding even though my husband smoked and welded and never got it.

I don't think they completely understand why some get lung cancer and others don't even when they have the same risk factors like smoking. Maybe its a gene or a set of genes like breast cancer can be.

[hypnomoon]

Tosca posted this on her blog yesterday:

http://toscareno.blogspot.com/

This is a sad, sad time for our family and for all of us, but I wanted to let you know about Bob’s health. Despite his and all of our greatest efforts to fight lung cancer, it now appears that he will not be successful with his treatments, and unfortunately his condition is terminal. At this point we do not know how long he has, but we don’t think it is very long. He was able to meet with Arnold yesterday for a couple of hours which was an inspiration to Bob in this difficult time. It was nice to see the sparkle in Bob’s blue eyes once again. The two legends even flexed!

We will soon be losing a wonderful person, father, great leader and inspiration for both the Company and this industry at large. However Bob’s life’s work, dedication and impact on bodybuilding, fitness and health and the support and inspiration to 10’s of millions of people will continue through all of you.

Your continued thoughts and prayers are appreciated beyond words,

Tosca Reno

[Kimberly33]

Originally Posted by LynnO

My main thought is that there is a very strange and sad stigmatization of people who get lung cancer. The stigmatization seems to be left over from the smoking years. As if people need to point out where there cancer came from. This is just sad. I'm sure even people who smoked may have developed lung cancer for some other reason.

Lynn, this resonated with me. I don't know Bob Kennedy, but he and his family have my sympathy.

My mom died at age 46 from small cell carcinoma, almost certainly from her choice to smoke. However, she made that choice at age 15, while living in a foster home in which she was molested (I'm not sure whether she started at 12 or 15, or at what age she was in the foster home in which she was sexually molested).

I was 23 when she died (the same age she was when she had me. I'm 42 now. Regardless of whether she "deserved" to get lung cancer because of her behavior, I'm not sure that I deserved to lose my mother when I was that young from a "decision" she made when she was a teen (or pre-teen).

I repeatedly find it difficult to handle how harsh we (as a culture) have become on people. It's as though if we "waste" sympathy or empathy on a person, we somehow threaten the entire social structure.

Smoking sucks. I want to smack my college students who smoke. But they don't deserve to die that way because of it. And their families don't deserve to lose them that way.