Category: cancer

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Is This Woman a Jerk for Not Caring About Dad’s Cancer Diagnosis? Here’s How People Responded.

Family dynamics can be tricky…and they’re all very different.

What one person thinks is normal can seem outrageous to another person and vice versa.

And people definitely develop strong feelings about their relatives based on how they were raised.

This woman shared her personal story on the “Am I the *sshole?” page on Reddit and asked the readers there for advice.

AITA for not caring about my dad’s cancer diagnosis?

“For context, I (30F) am a product of my dad’s infidelity.

He lied to my mom about being single, they dated, he got my mom pregnant, she was given a heads up about dad’s shadiness by one of her coworkers, my mom confronted him, and that was that. My mom took out a restraining order against my dad before I turned 1 because of his constant threatening to take me away, so I never met him and I’ve never been interested in doing so.

Jump forward to 2018 and my mom told me she’d found my dad on Facebook and that they’d started messaging each other. She said he was looking forward to meeting me and that she’d set up a date for us to have dinner without asking if I was even interested in meeting him.

I didn’t feel comfortable being alone with my dad, but to avoid any drama with my mom, who lives with me, I caved and had dinner with him. It went well at first, but then he started bragging about all his money and his perfect daughters. It made me shut down and feel awful about myself. After dinner, he complained to my mom that I was unresponsive and didn’t seem excited to meet him.

Knowing my mom and her tendency to side with everyone else but her kids, I was given the silent treatment until I apologized. Apparently, I ruined his dream of meeting me by not welcoming him into my life with open arms. It’s now 2021 and in the short time we’ve known each other, my dad has managed to make me feel like sh*t many times.

The last straw was when he tried to guilt me for not contacting him everyday when I’d explained that I sometimes go through low periods where I retreat and have very little contact with anyone. (I know there’s a name for it, but I’ve never been properly diagnosed because I was ridiculed at a young age by my mom for feeling depressed when I had no real problems.)

My dad refused to understand that it’s for the sake of my mental health and said I just don’t want to build a relationship with him. I cut contact with him after that because I don’t feel like I owe him anything and I was tired of all his snide remarks about me. I was fine before we met and I certainly didn’t need one more person in my life to please. I was done.

A few days ago, my mom came to me crying about how my dad had just been diagnosed with cancer. Obviously, I feel bad for him because no one deserves that disease. But my mom now thinks I’m a monster for not crumbling to my knees in sorrow at the thought of possibly losing my dad.

She’s grown very close to him again over the past couple years, so she thinks he’s this great person that was only trying to get close to his long-lost daughter, but she doesn’t know how manipulative he was trying to be with me.

My mom isn’t speaking to me anymore and probably won’t until I contact my dad. I don’t want to invite him back in though. I’m sorry he’s going through this difficult time, but that’s about it. Am I an *sshole for not caring the way I’m “supposed” to?”

Let’s see how folks on Reddit responded.

This person said that the woman is not an *sshole and that she might want to consider cutting off ties with both of her parents.

Photo Credit: Reddit

Another Reddit user made it pretty clear: both of this woman’s parents really SUCK.

Photo Credit: Reddit

This individual agreed that the woman’s mother is also a manipulative person. And the dad just seems downright selfish.

Photo Credit: Reddit

This person said that the woman might want to consider building her own support circle outside of her family and that this really does seem like a nightmare situation.

Photo Credit: Reddit

Finally, this reader argued that just because this is her biological father, it doesn’t mean the woman owes him anything.

Photo Credit: Reddit

What do you think about how this woman is reacting to her father’s cancer diagnosis?

Talk to us in the comments and let us know.

Thanks in advance!

The post Is This Woman a Jerk for Not Caring About Dad’s Cancer Diagnosis? Here’s How People Responded. appeared first on UberFacts.

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This Cancer Doctor Forgives Over $500,000 in Patient Debt

When I feel sick, the last thing I want to think about is bills. But as many Americans know all too well, being sick can be extremely expensive.

According to CNBC over 17% of Americans have defaulted on their medical debt.

In a population of 3.28 million, that’s almost 56 million people who can’t pay their medical bills.

That’s why the story of Dr. Omar Atiq of Pine Bluff, Arkansas is so bittersweet.

Medical expense is familiar concept. We’ve all seen the GoFundMe pages to raise money for treatment.

According to a Time interview with CEO Rob Solomon, 30% of the site’s fundraisers are for medical care.

He even went to Congress to ask for help.

Dr. Omar Atiq has spoken about the same issue, and urged colleagues to contact their government leaders:

But in December 2020, Dr. Atiq, who had been treating cancer patients in Arkansas for three decades, tried to help his patients one last time in the best way that he could.

Forced to close his oncology clinic because of staffing shortages, Dr. Atiq made the decision to forgive all outstanding balances.

After working with his billing company to forgive about $650,000 owed by around 200 patients, he sent an unexpected Christmas card to his patients.

“I hope this note finds you well. The Arkansas Cancer Clinic was proud to serve you as a patient. Although various health insurances pay most of the bills for the majority of patients, even the deductibles and co-pays can be burdensome. Unfortunately, that is the way our health care system currently works.

Arkansas Cancer Clinic is closing its practice after over 29 years of dedicated service to the community. The clinic has decided to forego all balances owed to the clinic by its patients.

Happy Holidays.”

Here’s what the card looked like…

Interviewed by Fox 16, Dr. Atiq explained:

“Being sick is hard, having cancer is harder, and having Cancer in this pandemic is devastating.

I am just a regular physician–a regular person that they have in the neighborhood–it just so happens to be me standing here.

The ones struggling couldn’t pay, so we thought we could just write off the debt.”

What an absolutely amazing human being.

Now a professor at the University of Arkansas Medical School, it is clear that Dr. Atiq’s students won’t just learn how to treat cancer patients, but also how to treat their neighbors.

This story gave me so many feels. What about you? Let us know in the comments.

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Here’s How Alex Trebek Plans to Officially Say Goodbye to “Jeopardy!” Fans

I’m not looking forward to this one bit…

Alex Trebek has hosted the hit TV show Jeopardy! since 1984, and in those three-and-a-half decades, he’s become a beloved figure. His name and face are so synonymous with the television program, it’s hard to imagine anyone else hosting the show.

It was revealed last year that the 79-year-old Trebek has stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and since then the public has been rallying by his side and hoping for a happy outcome as he has gone through multiple rounds of chemotherapy.

Trebek has said he doesn’t have a particular date in mind for his exit from Jeopardy!, but he added that when he leaves it will be “a significant moment for me, but I’ve kind of, in my mind, rehearsed it already. What I would do on that day is tell the director, ‘Time the show down to leave me 30 seconds at the end.’ That’s all I want.”

Trebek continued, “And I will say my goodbyes [and] I will tell people, ‘Don’t ask me who’s going to replace me because I have no say whatsoever. But I’m sure that if you give them the same love and attention, and respect that you have shown me…then they will be a success and the show will continue being a success. And until we meet again, God bless you and goodbye.’”

Here is the video of Trebek’s interview with Michael Strahan where he discusses his farewell.

We’re going to miss you, Mr. Trebek! Thanks for all the great entertainment throughout the years!

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