Life in a paranoid society

I go to the gym - the new high tech, cool gym, where I don't stand around like an idiot looking at the machines trying to figure out how to use them - and everyone there carries around the sanitary wipes to protect from germs. So I don't look like an idiot, I use them too but I really don't think they do much more than move the germs around... My theory is I wash my hands before I work out and after. A little soap and water goes further than the little wipe things.

If you ride a subway, bus, or any other public transportation (taxi anyone?), think about the germs you touch, breath, etc. Or grocery carriages? Or entrance and exit doors to buildings? Or those wheel chairs at hospitals and airports? Or... and the list goes on.

Then its headlines that a hospital notifies people of TB exposure - that's almost as important as a data breach at a bank. Or you hear about cases of measles, HIV, head lice, or other contagious diseases. And what does it do? Make us all paranoid. We are going to get a germ and DIE! We are doomed! No need to wait for the real Rapture, a germ will get us in the meantime. (Did you scratch your head after I said 'head lice'?)

Personally I don't think a little dirt or germs really hurt us. They allow us to build up some natural immunities which protect us from the really nasty stuff. I mean there is no need to hang out with someone with the flu but there is also no need to go overboard with disinfectants. And they are only building disinfectant resistant germs anyway.

But yes it is all in your head, they are not out to get us. If you don't believe me, I'll cough some cancer cooties in your direction.

Living in the "Its not a headache its a brain tumor" years

Once you are diagnosed with cancer, the doctors usually do a few other tests to make sure there are signs of cancer anywhere else. Then, if you are like most cancer patient, you research the crap out of your diagnosis and start finding out about metastases and recurrences.

Then you get paranoid and decide you are going to die. Cancer is going to get you. You are doomed! Eventually you start to calm down and decide it was all in your head. But its very easy to start going down that road again - especially if your oncologist says you need a few more tests or something.

With most cancers recurrences head for major organs such as liver and lungs and even your brain. If you get brain metastases, the outlook is usually not very good. It is the one that is feared the most I think. But also every little ache and pain makes you think is that a cancer symptom? Over reactions to every little ache or pain are very common. Its not a head ache its a brain tumor. Its not a stomach ache, its stomach cancer. Every pain becomes a cancer symptom. That paranoia again.

But sometimes a head ache can be a brain tumor. This article talks about finding a brain tumor and their symptoms. I personally know someone who is a brain tumor survivor for over 20 years so I can rationally say it can be beaten. But that little paranoid side of me always cringes at the first sign of a headache.