Self Improvement
How I Cleaned Up My Life and Lowered My Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
The loss of a coworker and uncle changed my attitude towards aging, and living.
Chris was a walking deadman and neither of us knew it. He was a tall and built 43-year-old with slicked back dark hair. He was my project manager and coworker, but also a former homicide detective with amazing stories.
One week, I noticed a raspy cough, like he was clearing his throat in perpetuity. It didn’t go away for weeks. He often complained of being tired. His fatigue worsened over the next two months and, finally, at his wife’s behest, he saw a doctor. Making a long story short, they found cancer all over his body. He was given six months to live and passed away just eight months later. Yet, in his denial of the situation, he kept working for another month. Then, I never saw him again and his story still haunts me.
I learned he hadn’t had blood work or a physical in 10 years. It’s not to say this would have saved him — but it might have. His death put me on the spot, because I also hadn’t had a physical in 10 years.
Cancer is uncommon in my family, but that doesn’t matter because, per some studies, only 5–10% of cancer is inherited, with lifestyle driving the…
