Cancer is no friend of mine!

What have I learned so far from this module? Cancer is everyone's enemy! Hearts need to be taken care of, so to speak. OK now let me explain further.

Cancer is everyone's nightmare, but can be helped if the few steps are taken to overcome it. I am not saying there is a cure for cancer because we all know there is not YET! There are many tests and procedures that may be taken in order to prevent or take care of (lack of a better word) a possible ending of a wonderful life. I have lost many friends and family to all different cancers and am now working on preventing this happening to myself. I quit smoking over two years ago, wishing I would have listened to my parents and never started! I understand that peer pressure is one of the major factors of this and am only hoping my son (18 yr old) would just sit there and think about what his future may or may not be like and stop smoking NOW! I know I never listened when i was smoking for those many years and people tend to say "well you never listened, what makes you think he is going to?" Enough is enough with the he/she is a hippocrit and he/she never listened, and I could keep going...Think of your family, your new wife and your beautiful son. Think Healthy and STOP!! Now that I have ranted about smoking, will I develop lung cancer? Possibilities are there, but who says you have to be a smoker to develop lung cancer? My great grandfather passed away of lung cancer and never smoked a day in his life. I have family memebers that have passed away from different cancers, but that does not say I will. My chances are greater due to many factors, but am I going to work on prevention? Absolutely! Motivation was in our last module and after reading these few chapters I believe I have a full force motivational perk. I have a wonderful family that I would love to spend many years with and I want to see each of them grow. Here is a website that I have only scratched the surface of and have much more to read http://www.preventcancer.org/ The information that it provides will hopefully help in the long run.

Now onto Cardiovascular. Sore subject but a serious subject. My dad(RIP 1-26-05 was 56 yrs young) passed away from a massive heart attack after snow plowing.

He was a heavy smoker (3 packs a day) and an everyday drinker, not excessive drinking (didnt drink until he became drunk and puking), but still didnt go a day without drinking. He was becoming overweight after he had surgery on his neck and spine, which did not help matters to get better. Now am I going to pay attention to what I thought were not "problems" definitely will be taking better care of myself and my family, if I can help it.

I have learned much more than I ever thought I would, but this class has opened my eyes to what needs to be done to become healthy again. Here is a website that determines which is better for you. HIIT vs Long duration. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7953793/heart_disease_prevention_hiit_vs_long.html It was interesting and I only wish I knew all this before bad things have happened.

2 words I did not know:

1. Ischemia - an insufficient supply of blood to the heart. Even after going through high school and different health courses and working in a nursing home I have never heard this word. I have only heard people say an insufficient supply of blood to the heart not its "proper name". How does it affect me...it does not affect me or will make my life better, but it will make documenting things easier by using only the word instead of a sentence.

2. Xenoestrogens - environmental chemicals that mimic the effects of natural estrogen; may cause cancer. I may have  heard this word before but never knew what it meant or what it was. Like the other word I stated it really does not affect me but to learn about what it is interests me. I am not a "science" person just some things catch my eye every now and then.  

One word sums it all up!

If I were to choose one improvement at the half way mark of this class, I would definitely have to say it would be from this past week – Motivational Skills –! In learning that all it takes is for me to say “I need and want this” and then ACTUALLY getting up and moving, has helped me take that giant step. What do I want to accomplish before this class is over – well that’s a lot easier said than done, for sure! I want to leave this class with the knowledge of keeping myself and others aware of how fast obesity is taking over, and how to overcome it. Motivational skills knowledge which will help in the future (which I feel is what most are lacking). This is (in my opinion) the key to our healthy lifestyle. Without the motivation, I do not see how you can go through life as I have witnessed myself. I have improved myself physically, mentally, and even emotionally since the start of this semester. I feel more confident about my choices of questions for mods, and I am learning from others. http://www.selfmotivationskills.com/ here is a website that I have read and enjoyed. I now “believe” motivation speakers in person or even reading articles on the web, which I never thought they would or even could change someone’s life, but here I am – Proof -! The skills will not only be helping me with my health, fitness, or even my diet, but it will also help me finish this class knowing “I will be able to complete each mod successfully, I will be able to learn what has been taught, and I will leave this class with the knowledge of being able to take care of my family and myself properly along with others down the road. When I started this mod, I was going to pick my question about over-the-counter meds, but when I sat there and read about motivation (very little section) it struck home. I knew that motivation is what I was lacking, of course it is not completely there yet, but working on it! I am improving more and more as the mods keep coming. I have learned a tremendous amount of information and I feel overwhelmed, but it is slowly adding up to a better me in the end. I know it will take time to understand everything I have learned so far, but keep it coming, so I may succeed!

This is a great video showing people who, if they didn't have the motivation they would not have become who they are or even were, today. I will be the best that I can be everyday and will not breakdown and lose all that I have learned.

2 words that I did not know before this mod:

1. Creatine - a natural substance in skeletal muscle tissue required for muscle contraction, which can also be purchased at as dietary supplement. I never knew that this was a dietary supplement even though I do know alot of vitamins and minerals that we have in our body may be purchased as a supplement when we are lacking.

2. Double blind - which is when neither the person receiving the drug nor the person administering the drug knows whether it is a placebo or the real drug. I often wondered how most of the tests done with medicines have been able to conclude that it works. I have doubs when it came to this due to thinking the people testing it were just stating it worked so the drug company would be able to get the profits from it being sold throughout the world.