Ken Griffey Sr has mild Prostate Cancer, Jr's Mom is having colon cancer surgery

[redsfan4445]

My heart goes out to Ken.. he has to have had this on his mind and might be a big part of his slump.. it woudl weigh on my shoulders as well..if i was going thru that..

was annouced on WLW sports talk tonight

[justincredible]

Prayers go out to the Griffey family.

[KalDanielsfan]

maybe this is why he hasnt recieved his Dad's usual hands on batting instruction when he goes into slumps.

Sr. usualy takes Ken aside and works with him before games when he is struggling.

so sad :(

[Falls City Beer]

Prostate cancer is very treatable. Colon cancer is much more tricky.

Nevertheless, I wish both of them the best.

[Team Clark]

Sr. has a long family history of Prostate Cancer. 6 of his uncles had it and all passed away. They also had poor or no medical care. JR's Mom will hopefully come through OK. Not sure what stage she is in.

[George Foster]

It can weigh on your mind, I know from personal experience. My mom had a brain tumor removed in July. The weeks leading up to the surgery were brutal on me. Very little sleep, lack of concentration at work etc. I know me playing golf and playing MLB is a sad compairison but I'm a decent golfer, 6 handicap. I would start thinking about the surgery, possible horrible outcome, and pow.....double bogey. I normally have maybe 1 double bogey every 4 rounds. I was having 2 or 3 a round. It's impossible not to think about it and the amount of concentration it takes to hit a 92 mph fastball is incredible. This could be the reason for the prolonged slump at the plate. I could not imagine both parents having cancer. My prayers are with him.

[OnBaseMachine]

Nevertheless, I wish both of them the best.

I second that.

[reds44]

:(

Hopefully they both have a full recovery.

[princeton]

Prostate cancer is very treatable.

surprising news to about 25,000 US men a year, a disproportionate number being African-American.

[toledodan]

:(

Hopefully they both have a full recovery.





amen!:griffey: :pray: :pray: :pray: :pray: :pray:

[Falls City Beer]

surprising news to about 25,000 US men a year, a disproportionate number being African-American.

Insurance does wonders. As do regular checkups.

Incidentally, I'm not diminishing the severity of the disease; but the fact is, it's treatable--far more treatable than most cancers. You just have to have yourself checked starting at age 35.

My uncle is a prostate cancer survivor--20 years.

[princeton]

You just have to have yourself checked starting at age 35.

the number of deaths per capita hasn't declined in years even though the treatments are much more sophisticated. And that's telling.

one way to think about it is that we're just getting good at detecting people that would never have succumbed

[TeamBoone]

the number of deaths per capita hasn't declined in years even though the treatments are much more sophisticated. And that's telling.

one way to think about it is that we're just getting good at detecting people that would never have succumbed

A whole lot of people don't go for annual physicals... they go when they know there's something wrong with them. Early detection is the key... but if people don't go their doctors until it's too late, that's pretty much a moot point.

Best wishes to the Griffeys... I hope all goes well.

[Falls City Beer]

the number of deaths per capita hasn't declined in years even though the treatments are much more sophisticated. And that's telling.

one way to think about it is that we're just getting good at detecting people that would never have succumbed

Genetics sucks. No question.

But the survival rate is high comparable to virtually every other single form of cancer known to man. Even skin cancer, IIRC.

[Ravenlord]

"All men, if they live long enough, will eventually develop prostate cancer."
--Dr. George Phillips (i think that's his first name)

[princeton]

survival rate is high comparable to virtually every other single form of cancer known to man.

it could be a very poor use of statistics. get the tough form, and your survival rate remains very low. perhaps we've just gotten better at IDing a benign form.

my research is on a different cancer with similar features-- we're getting better at IDing it early, so there are more cases and therefore it appears that fewer people are dying from it.

Except-- and this is a very subtle point-- the same number of people are dying of it even as the percentage drops. So we're not actually curing anyone that we weren't curing before

[princeton]

"All men, if they live long enough, will eventually develop prostate cancer."
--Dr. George Phillips (i think that's his first name)

percent likelihood may match your age.

but there's prostate cancer and there's Prostate Cancer

[lo ryder]

This would have to affect his on field performance. Best wishes to the entire family.

[Falls City Beer]

it could be a very poor use of statistics. get the tough form, and your survival rate remains very low. perhaps we've just gotten better at IDing a benign form.

my research is on a different cancer with similar features-- we're getting better at IDing it early, so there are more cases and therefore it appears that fewer people are dying from it.

Except-- and this is a very subtle point-- the same number of people are dying of it even as the percentage drops. So we're not actually curing anyone that we weren't curing before

I do see what you're saying. I'm not arguing that. But even having "mild" pancreatic, brain, or colon cancer is still more deadly than a difficult case of prostate cancer (caught in an early stage).

But I'm just pointing to raw numbers. To a certain extent, I think genetic research will reveal that certain people are all but programmed to die of an intransigent form of a disease--maybe the blood-vessel thing in African-Americans means it will continue to be a death sentence, I don't know.

But if you had to be diagnosed with a cancer, you'd probably want it to be prostate, as insane as that sounds.

[TheBurn]

My uncle is a prostate cancer survivor...

So is my Dad.
Let's hope for the best.

[princeton]

I do see what you're saying. I'm not arguing that. But even having "mild" pancreatic, brain, or colon cancer is still more deadly than a difficult case of prostate cancer (caught in an early stage).

opinions are important, apparently

but more US men die of prostate cancer than die of CRC. And almost twice as many African-American men die of prostate cancer than die of CRC

[cumberlandreds]

My prayers and best wishes go out to the entire Griffey family. I couldn't imagine both of my parents at the same time fighting cancer. It was tough enough when one was going through it. It's got to be really trying times for Junior.

[Falls City Beer]

but more US men die of prostate cancer than die of CRC. And almost twice as many African-American men die of prostate cancer than die of CRC

Could that be because prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in men?

According to the American Cancer Society 189,000 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year; 30,000 deaths as a result of the disease each year.

107,000 diagnosed with colorectal each year; 48,000 die of the disease.

If your point is to say that the most severe form of prostate cancer is more severe than the severe forms of other kinds of cancers, I can't argue that; I don't know. I'm merely looking at the numbers. I admitted as much.

[Ltlabner]

Only on Redszone can a thread wishing well to the Griffey family struggles turn into an argument over which form of cancer is worse.

:rolleyes:

[RichRed]

Only on Redszone can a thread wishing well to the Griffey family struggles turn into an argument over which form of cancer is worse.

:rolleyes:

Seriously.

I am, myself, a cancer survivor, though not to make it sound more dramatic than it is, I was given about a 95+% chance from the beginning. Still, there's nothing scarier than hearing the dreaded "C"-word when it's attached to you or someone you love.

Double scary when both parents are undergoing treatment for it at the same time. My thoughts and best wishes certainly go out to the entire Griffey family.

[BuckWoody]

Only on Redszone can a thread wishing well to the Griffey family struggles turn into an argument over which form of cancer is worse.

...with everyone throwing out statistics to back their view.

It's got to be tough on Jr. and their whole family. My thoughts and prayers are with them all.

[Falls City Beer]

I'd say it's more a discussion than an argument. My only point in even bringing it up in the first place was to say that prostate cancer is survivable, as if to say, it's not a death sentence. So have hope.

[princeton]

Could that be because prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in men?.

high numbers of deaths doesn't have much to do with diagnosis.

like I said, there's some thought to the idea that we're detecting forms that we wouldn't have detected before, but that the vast, vast majority of these never would have progressed.

my objections mostly concern the ideas that prostate cancer is "treatable" especially if "detected early." it sounds good-- many physicians believe it so it surely must be true-- but I haven't seen data that particularly support it. Maybe there is some.

So we've heard two things in this thread. I don't know how true they are, but let's say that they are. 1. Sr's case is "mild". If the doc tells you that you have mild anything, even lung cancer, that's a lot better than the alternative. 2. familial history of death by prostate cancer. That's sobering.

Best of luck to Sr.

[Yachtzee]

Sr. has a long family history of Prostate Cancer. 6 of his uncles had it and all passed away. They also had poor or no medical care. JR's Mom will hopefully come through OK. Not sure what stage she is in.

I hope the best for both of them. Colon cancer has struck my Grandmother (didn't make it) and my father-in-law (in remission and still going strong). Please keep us posted if you hear anything, TC.

[bellhead]

Prostate cancer if detected early is very curable, my father survived porstate cancer because if was detected early. He will most likely undergo a procedure called seeding. Imagine radioactive BB's "the BB gun type" and they will place them around and in the cancerous tissues. They will kill the tissues. Very effective.

[goreds2]

Furman said tonight that Griffey will probably be out of the lineup on Thursday to be with his mother in Florida.

(All the best)