I try not to let my personal opinions (political or otherwise) seep into these posting. But in reality this is ALL my opinion, so I guess I would be fooling myself by claiming that this isn't personal or conspicuously from my point of view. Clearly the opinions expressed here are my own (and ergo endorsed by The Canswerman management), so I guess a certain degree of objectivity has been sacrificed in the course of sharing my perspective.
We've spoken before about the origins of my cancer. It wasn't a result of lifestyle activity, diet or habits which could lead to a predictable or plausible carcinogenic outcome. It was a fluke of nature in the midst of my daily red blood cell production (The rate of blood cell formation varies depending on the individual, but a typical production might average 200,000,000,000 red cells per day; 10,000,000,000 white cells per day; and 400,000,000,000 platelets per day.) My Multiple Myeloma trigger was indeed unusual and unfortunate, but not the result of any external lifestyle choices that I had consciously made - against my better health judgement.
On the return home from a recent business trip, I rode the parking lot shuttle bus back from the airport to the off-site lot. During that brief 5-minute journey, I watched the lone fellow passenger feverishly dig through his luggage and then methodically assemble his vaping device (apparently he was not aware of the all-too-convenient Juul tool). He was locked and loaded (as it were) and ready to fire up the moment he was dropped off at his car.
I wondered loudly with my inside voice, how could a person in this day and age of enlightenment and information (particularly in light of recent revelations about the ravages of vaping) consciously choose to indulge in this activity? From what I could tell (admittedly a rather obvious assessment), he was far from an impressionable teenager seeking social status or succumbing to peer pressure. And I am cognizant that addiction can be a very powerful force - apparently after one has been denied their desires for the duration of even a minimum length plane ride. But this is a habitual and mindful practice which has known potential health risks of the magnitude of cancer. Too much Diet Coke - maybe bad for you in the long run. Too much red meat - maybe bad for you in the long run. Too much unprotected exposure to the sun - maybe bad for you in the long run.
Putting aside the obvious and unintentionally melodramatic proclamation, I would have done anything to avoid going through this cancer journey, it bears noting that I would have done anything to avoid going through this cancer journey. So why wouldn't someone else seek to similarly sidestep the same situation?
