Secondary Primary Cancers Are a Rarity...

Quite an ugly flower, but rare!

I have always known that I was a rare flower; something along the lines of  the rather hideous, but extremely rare, Rafflesia arnoldii (also known as the "corpse flower"). While undertaking a bit of research last night, I discovered that only 1 to 3 percent of cancer survivors develop a secondary primary cancer. Yes, that's how unique I am. 

What is a secondary primary cancer? A secondary primary cancer ("SPC") refers to the presence of a second unrelated cancer occurring in someone who has had another cancer at some time in the past. For example, you could survive prostate cancer and then years later end up with melanoma. One cancer has nothing to do with the other. SPC is different from metastatic cancer which is the spread of the primary cancer to another organ usually through the blood or lymph nodes.

Unfortunately, extensive research has not been carried out on SPCs and why some people have a greater risk in developing a second cancer over other people, but researchers believe that some of the factors may be: the type of initial cancer, patient's age at diagnosis, types of chemotherapy and/or radiation used to cure the first cancer, family history, genetics, and/or lifestyle. SPCs can occur at any time during survivorship, but usually develop in the five to nine years after completion of the first treatment. For the record, my SPC (endometrial cancer) was diagnosed 5 years and 2 months after I finished treatment for breast cancer. Wow! How is that for luck?

Interestingly, not only do I have a secondary primary cancer, but that cancer just happens to be metastatic! I wonder if anyone has come up with a statistic about how often that occurs. I'm guessing it's a fairly low number. You know, thinking about it, I think I'd rather not be quite so sui generis. Where can I sign up for an ordinary, boring life?

Why I am bringing this matter up is to convey the advice of physicians. Think about this advice if you are ever diagnosed with cancer and are concerned over SPCs - Secondary cancers are extremely rare (and even more uncommon for SPCs to be a result of treatment of the first cancer); therefore, listen to your doctor and treat that cancer with whatever treatments available to you. The benefits of treatment outweigh the extremely slim possibility of getting an SPC. Try to not to think about my shitty luck when deciding your treatment options.

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In other news, I decided I was tired of cleaning up tons of hairs around the apartment and seeing them slough off like snakeskin in the shower. Today, I went to my hairdresser and off it went! Why didn't I think to buzz it off before last week's heat wave?!?!  

If you like the photo on the left, please check out my Travel Photo site and view all the photos from my sightseeing tour of Salem, Marblehead and Beverly Farms.