Received sad news today

seadoug

seadoug

Well-known Member
Location
Texas
We've been going to the same dry cleaner for at least 10 years. I always chat with the manager there. She's shared with me stories about her upbringing, how she spends her holidays, her trips and even the fact that she was at her brother's side when he died of AIDS many years ago. She knows I used to travel frequently for my job and remembers when I retired in 2020. She knows my partner and we sometimes go in together on his days off. The last time he was in by himself he said she didn't look well.

Today there was a placard on the counter indicating that she is being treating for colon cancer and a link to her GoFundMe page. She has been with the dry cleaner for over 40 years and doesn't have health insurance. Her assistant said she was just diagnosed and the doctors are trying to figure out if it has spread and how best to treat it. I went on her GoFundMe page and donated. She is at over $18k toward her $20k goal. I know she has so many friends, relatives and customers who value her as I do and I'm hoping for the best.

This does bring me to a question. The woman at our first dry cleaner died of cancer. A woman at our current dry cleaner died of cancer. Now this. I'm wondering if they are exposed to carcinogenic hazards constantly due to being in the dry cleaning business.

In any case, I was happy to do my part and hope she is able to overcome this.
 

seadoug said:
She has been with the dry cleaner for over 40 years and doesn't have health insurance.
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That is such a pity, I wonder why she didn't sign up for Obamacare, she probably had a small enough income to get a substantial subsidy. If she'd had health insurance her doctor would have pestered her to do cologuard or get a colonoscopy. Such a tragedy for a deadly cancer to not be screened for.

That is a good question about the chemicals maybe being carcinogenic. I had a neighbor in Nebraska that died of pancreatic cancer and I wondered if it was from all the pesticides that were put on the fields around us (and I worry about my risks too from those exposures).
 

seadoug said:
We've been going to the same dry cleaner for at least 10 years. I always chat with the manager there. She's shared with me stories about her upbringing, how she spends her holidays, her trips and even the fact that she was at her brother's side when he died of AIDS many years ago. She knows I used to travel frequently for my job and remembers when I retired in 2020. She knows my partner and we sometimes go in together on his days off. The last time he was in by himself he said she didn't look well.

Today there was a placard on the counter indicating that she is being treating for colon cancer and a link to her GoFundMe page. She has been with the dry cleaner for over 40 years and doesn't have health insurance. Her assistant said she was just diagnosed and the doctors are trying to figure out if it has spread and how best to treat it. I went on her GoFundMe page and donated. She is at over $18k toward her $20k goal. I know she has so many friends, relatives and customers who value her as I do and I'm hoping for the best.

This does bring me to a question. The woman at our first dry cleaner died of cancer. A woman at our current dry cleaner died of cancer. Now this. I'm wondering if they are exposed to carcinogenic hazards constantly due to being in the dry cleaning business.

In any case, I was happy to do my part and hope she is able to overcome this.
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Sorry to hear that, I wish her the best.
 
HoneyNut said:
That is such a pity, I wonder why she didn't sign up for Obamacare, she probably had a small enough income to get a substantial subsidy. If she'd had health insurance her doctor would have pestered her to do cologuard or get a colonoscopy. Such a tragedy for a deadly cancer to not be screened for.

That is a good question about the chemicals maybe being carcinogenic. I had a neighbor in Nebraska that died of pancreatic cancer and I wondered if it was from all the pesticides that were put on the fields around us (and I worry about my risks too from those exposures).
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Yes, you raise a good point. I also wonder why she didn't sign up for Obamacare but then I don't know her financial circumstances. For me, preventative health comes before any other expense. I'm just glad she has been able to raise the funds necessary to cover her doctor bills.
 
seadoug said:
We've been going to the same dry cleaner for at least 10 years. I always chat with the manager there. She's shared with me stories about her upbringing, how she spends her holidays, her trips and even the fact that she was at her brother's side when he died of AIDS many years ago. She knows I used to travel frequently for my job and remembers when I retired in 2020. She knows my partner and we sometimes go in together on his days off. The last time he was in by himself he said she didn't look well.

Today there was a placard on the counter indicating that she is being treating for colon cancer and a link to her GoFundMe page. She has been with the dry cleaner for over 40 years and doesn't have health insurance. Her assistant said she was just diagnosed and the doctors are trying to figure out if it has spread and how best to treat it. I went on her GoFundMe page and donated. She is at over $18k toward her $20k goal. I know she has so many friends, relatives and customers who value her as I do and I'm hoping for the best.

This does bring me to a question. The woman at our first dry cleaner died of cancer. A woman at our current dry cleaner died of cancer. Now this. I'm wondering if they are exposed to carcinogenic hazards constantly due to being in the dry cleaning business.

In any case, I was happy to do my part and hope she is able to overcome this.
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Max Lugavere became a researcher when his mother came down with Lewy Body dementia at 55 years old. She ultimately died from cancer. He was very close to his mother and made his life's work to discover how to prevent forms of dementia through food and health.
He had a guest talking about this and that guest talked about the cancer causing chemicals in dry cleaning.. Max shared that his mother worked in the fashion field and was around those chemicals (one was particular, and now banned, I believe).
A light bulb seemed to go off and I assume he would look further into that cause in his mother.
Yes @Gary O' the chemical you mentioned.
Condolences to your friend, seadoug. šŸ˜”
 
seadoug said:
Today there was a placard on the counter indicating that she is being treating for colon cancer and a link to her GoFundMe page. She has been with the dry cleaner for over 40 years and doesn't have health insurance. Her assistant said she was just diagnosed and the doctors are trying to figure out if it has spread and how best to treat it. I went on her GoFundMe page and donated. She is at over $18k toward her $20k goal. I know she has so many friends, relatives and customers who value her as I do and I'm hoping for the best.
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Obvious sympathies from me. However, this paragraph is what really hit home. This is the world we live in. With an estimated 26 million Americans living in the richest country in the world who have no health insurance. So they turn to "GoFundMe", which is nice and all, but ultimately present a band-aid to cover a very big sin. IMO.
 
Sorry to bring up negative news again, but I went to the dry cleaner's yesterday and the manager was there. I gave her a big hug. She does very ill and just didn't have the strength to go to work one day last week.

Her doctor thinks the cancer may have spread from the colon to the lungs, which it apparently frequently does. She also has cirrhocis of the liver, although she has never been a heavy drinker. Lastly, she has an iron deficiency for which she needs to receive infusions before any cancer treatment. She has lots of friends and customers who support her and have donated.

It is just so unfortunate that things had to get to this point due to the lack of healthcare and regular check-ups. As @VaughanJB said...

This is the world we live in. With an estimated 26 million Americans living in the richest country in the world who have no health insurance. So they turn to "GoFundMe", which is nice and all, but ultimately present a band-aid to cover a very big sin.
 

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