From: natashavita@earthlink.net
Date: Wed Sep 26 2001 - 12:22:25 MDT
Extropian friends,
When the doctor returns to the waiting room and says, “I have bad news for you. You have cancer,” an immediate shock hits, hard. The viscosity of these words is overwhelming. Possibly at some point in your life, you have thought about hearing these words, but when it happens, it stuns.
Two days after Extro-5, I was told I have bladder cancer. I knew something had been wrong for a couple of weeks, but it was a few minutes before my presentation at Sunday’s afternoon’s session that I knew it was serious when I saw blood clots in my urine.
I’m healthy. I workout frequently. My motto has been “flex my mind, flex my body” for many years. I do all the routine checkups, and even went to Kronos specifically to check the amount of toxins in my system – which came back “all clear.” I have been told I am the symbol of superlongevity. My love for life and enthusiasm in catalyzing culture to think in new ways about living longer is persistently express in my art. The very issues I raise in “Primo 3M” concerning the necessity of smart technologies such as a whole-body navigational grid or an in vivo fiberoptic communications backbone for immediate and effective communications with our bodies in spotting disease (“20th Century Body: Prone to environmental damage vs. Primo 3M+: Impervious to environmental damage”), were now a reality.
A couple of weeks before Extro-5, I went to the gym almost every day to work exclusively on lower body (abs/quads/hamstrings/gluts). I was almost at my peak, and I determined to get “focused” for upcoming talks. I first notice pinkish urine and went to my general practitioner for a checkup. My GP did a basic urine test and said there was no sign of disease. I continued to workout – hard. This was a good thing.
I can’t be certain, but it seems possible that pushing my lower body muscles to the limit, that I somehow caused the tumor to bleed more aggressively. Because it was bleeding more, I could see clearly see it in my urine. Not all cancerous tumors show themselves, but grow in secret until reaching a stage 3-4, or metastasizing. Mine was at stage 2.
The day after I was told I had cancer, I underwent surgery to have the transitional cell carcinoma removed from my bladder. It had not metastasized. But, as the doctor said, the damage has been done and because of potential return of the malignant cells, I must have my bladder and kidneys checked frequently.
Today, I am in remission. I learned this past Friday, 9/21 - three months after surgery. I can now say, I am cancer free – that I won. But, is it really winning? Bladder cancer, has a 50% risk of returning. Currently, the only way to prevent it from coming back is to drink plenty of water. While the surgeon didn’t have any nutritional advise, thanks to Max's research and Michael Rose’s suggestions, I have put a curve on caffeine drinks and alcohol (except only on very special occasion), and drink non-alcoholic beer (pretty darn good as a matter of fact). I still work out by body sculpting and weight lifting and also restarted my yoga routine. My diet has been extremely healthy for many years, so there have been no changes in cuisine or preparation. The key is to catch the disease early.
These past months, I’ve felt totally in sync with the other cancer patients who were suffering from environmental disease caused by toxins. Bladder Cancer is known to be caused from chemicals and in the environment, such as textile paints, rubber fumes, and cigarettes. Having a finger on the pulse of health advocacy, I closed down my painting and textile studio 20 years ago because of the toxins, and pursued new art forms such as creating videos and other electronic arts.
I feel enormous compassion for those who had to deal with the consequences of toxins in their environments.
Part of the mental program for overcoming any disease and maintaining a positive outlook and vitality is pursuing goals, projects that we enjoy working on, and friends who we love and in turn love us.
Like any and all disease, we've got to recognize it, deal with it and live life as fully as possible.
Thanks to my many friends in the extropian community who have been supportive of me over the years and who continue to collaborate in the memetic engineering of transhumanist ideas across the world.
Long life and know your body!
Natasha
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