Korean Job Discussion Forums

[biscuit]

I've been paranoid about cancer lately. It seems like everyone I know back in Canada is dealing with it in some way. I looked up some stats on the internet and it seems that the risk is so much lower for Koreans than for North Americans and I'm wondering why. The air is so bad here. Everyone smokes and drinks a lot. Why is the cancer rate so low here? Does it depend on diet alone?

[ajgeddes]

There was a post about it about 3-4 months ago. Korea actually has an extremely high cancer rate, at least among males. Most cases seem to tend to be stomach cancer as well, I believe. When you look at the diet of people, I think it is easy to see why.

[denverdeath]

Might be stress, not their diet. Although I'm sure that too much smoking and drinking may not be too beneficial either.

[Yesterday]

[Captain Corea]

My mom was just diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.

I just got back from a quick two week trip to Canada.

It's an odd thing, once you tell people that someone close to you has cancer, you are flooded with similar stories.

It's a club I'd rather not be in.

[VanIslander]

my father had colon cancer, they caught it early and removed it

regular check-ups and early diagnosis is the key with that kind of cancer, deadlier than breast cancer in women is colon cancer in men

encourage everybody in your family who is 50 or older to get diagnostic tests done, now, waiting for symptoms could be too late

really

[biscuit]

I'm so sorry about your mom Captain Corea.
I'm waiting to hear about my dad. An x-ray found a big mass on his lung so they did a ct scan. I'll hear the results in a few days. I'm very worried.

[Grimalkin]

Both of my father's parents died of cancer. My father at 75 is the youngest of four brothers none of whom (so far) have contracted cancer.
I think this is due to a positive effort on all their parts to avoid getting it, like quitting smoking, and consuming a lot of foods with flavanoids and other anti-oxidents reputed to protect against cancer.

So sorry about your mother Captain Corea.

I hope you get good news Biscuit

And to the OP, cancer runs (at least it's believed that some people have a genetic predisposition) in both sides of my family but I dont worry about it. I try to stack the odds in my favour and then after that it's 'que sera sera'.

I'll probably be runover by a bus!

[biscuit]

ajgeddes, I think it's only for stomach cancer that Korea has a high cancer rate. For the others it seems quite a bit lower. And overall the rate is quite a bit lower. http://www3.who.int/whosis/mort/table1_process.cfm
If you compare all cancers in Korea and Canada for the year 2000 for men the morality rate was 218(C)/155(K) and for women 188(C)/88(K). That's quite a difference...

[biscuit]

VanIslander, your dad was really lucky to have caught it early enough. Thanks for the reminder and I'll definately talk to people I know that are over 50 about getting that test. I know it's a really embarrassing test to get done and nobody wants it but it's so much better than dying...

[joe_doufu]

Perhaps Koreans are particularly susceptible to other forms of death that come before cancer... such as auto accidents, alcohol poisoning, and civil war?

[jazblanc77]

[margaret]

I'm sorry to hear about your mom, Captain Corea. My mom died of cancer of the esophagus at the age of 52. She was a 4 pack a day chain smoker and alcoholic.
Margaret

[Captain Corea]