Hi,
I'm male and aged 63, height 5'10". I had a double whammy last year. In June 2021, I was diagnosed diabetic with a reading of 50. Then, in August, I was diagnosed with colon cancer (after having two negative bowel screening tests in 2018 and 2021). I finally had an operation to remove the tumour in October. I knew something was very wrong, as I lost 2" off my waist in August! I was placed on a low residue diet prior to my operation and the weight dropped off me even more. I went from a 40" waist to a 36" waist by December 2021, and my last blood test in January 2022 confirmed a reading of 39. In March 2020, at the start of the lockdown, I weighed 104kgs and I'm now 89kgs. I had to throw out all of my clothes (mostly to the Brirtish Heart Foundation) and buy a completely new wardrobe!
I've been on a self-imposed strict diet, which includes no alcohol (since August 2021) and trying to take walks as often as I can. I'm taking chemo tablets for the next 6 months and still at work, full-time. I'm knackered, though! 🙂
My diabetes nurse had told me that I'm now a 'diabetic in remission'. So, I reversed diabetes by getting cancer, basically.
I believe that there is a link between bowel cancer and diabetes, which is no doubt linked to lifestyle? I smoked until I was 60 (I stopped when I had a mini-stroke). I drank too much alcohol and I didn't take any frequent, or meaningful, exercise. I didn't give much thought to what I was eating although I did go pescatarian in 2018. Way too many choc bars and garage butties when I was out on the road - I work in sales. I couldn't tell you how much I spent on a garage butty, a chocolate Boost bar and a packet of Marlboro fags Monday to Friday, all while driving 200 miles a day sometimes! What a bad way to live your life. And stress? Way too much stress. But for years, I just felt too tired to be bothered to do anything about it.
Mind you, you can't live your life in a bubble. I think the key is to manage it all properly, think about what you're doing to yourself. And listen to what the experts tell you. I know so many people who castigate those who won't have the Covid jab, for example, while puffing on a fag and necking 5 pints of beer on a regular basis, before they go home and order a takeaway pizza. You simply can't pick and choose which advice you want to heed. I'm not being judgmental, as I know myself that it's so hard to change your lifestyle.
Oh, more advice - when you get to a certain age, like me, take a look in the pan after a 'movement' to look for blood and if there's a history of bowel cancer in the family (my dad died with bowel cancer at the age of 70 and he was diagnosed with diabetes 10 years previously and lost a leg up to his knee, due to diabetes, when he was 65) ask your GP to arrange a colonoscopy. I had a colonoscopy in September last year and it really wasn't that bad. Don't ignore the medical advice.
Finally, I am a bit confused with the advice for diet while dealing with these issues. I'm on chemo and told to eat 'little and often' after my surgery (I 'joke' that I have a semi-colon now, instead of a colon) and yet the advice for diabetes is to eat three meals a day to avoid 'spiking' too often during the day. I guess cancer 'trumps' diabetes, though.
I'm male and aged 63, height 5'10". I had a double whammy last year. In June 2021, I was diagnosed diabetic with a reading of 50. Then, in August, I was diagnosed with colon cancer (after having two negative bowel screening tests in 2018 and 2021). I finally had an operation to remove the tumour in October. I knew something was very wrong, as I lost 2" off my waist in August! I was placed on a low residue diet prior to my operation and the weight dropped off me even more. I went from a 40" waist to a 36" waist by December 2021, and my last blood test in January 2022 confirmed a reading of 39. In March 2020, at the start of the lockdown, I weighed 104kgs and I'm now 89kgs. I had to throw out all of my clothes (mostly to the Brirtish Heart Foundation) and buy a completely new wardrobe!
I've been on a self-imposed strict diet, which includes no alcohol (since August 2021) and trying to take walks as often as I can. I'm taking chemo tablets for the next 6 months and still at work, full-time. I'm knackered, though! 🙂
My diabetes nurse had told me that I'm now a 'diabetic in remission'. So, I reversed diabetes by getting cancer, basically.
I believe that there is a link between bowel cancer and diabetes, which is no doubt linked to lifestyle? I smoked until I was 60 (I stopped when I had a mini-stroke). I drank too much alcohol and I didn't take any frequent, or meaningful, exercise. I didn't give much thought to what I was eating although I did go pescatarian in 2018. Way too many choc bars and garage butties when I was out on the road - I work in sales. I couldn't tell you how much I spent on a garage butty, a chocolate Boost bar and a packet of Marlboro fags Monday to Friday, all while driving 200 miles a day sometimes! What a bad way to live your life. And stress? Way too much stress. But for years, I just felt too tired to be bothered to do anything about it.
Mind you, you can't live your life in a bubble. I think the key is to manage it all properly, think about what you're doing to yourself. And listen to what the experts tell you. I know so many people who castigate those who won't have the Covid jab, for example, while puffing on a fag and necking 5 pints of beer on a regular basis, before they go home and order a takeaway pizza. You simply can't pick and choose which advice you want to heed. I'm not being judgmental, as I know myself that it's so hard to change your lifestyle.
Oh, more advice - when you get to a certain age, like me, take a look in the pan after a 'movement' to look for blood and if there's a history of bowel cancer in the family (my dad died with bowel cancer at the age of 70 and he was diagnosed with diabetes 10 years previously and lost a leg up to his knee, due to diabetes, when he was 65) ask your GP to arrange a colonoscopy. I had a colonoscopy in September last year and it really wasn't that bad. Don't ignore the medical advice.
Finally, I am a bit confused with the advice for diet while dealing with these issues. I'm on chemo and told to eat 'little and often' after my surgery (I 'joke' that I have a semi-colon now, instead of a colon) and yet the advice for diabetes is to eat three meals a day to avoid 'spiking' too often during the day. I guess cancer 'trumps' diabetes, though.
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