What Can We Do or Not Do to Better Our Odds in Old Age?

Krystal Shay said:
I think people that live into their 100’s have no clue, as to why they lived as long. I have one great aunt left in my family, and she is 101 years old and still lives in her house. She is sharp as a tack and says she has no clue why she is still living.
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I agree with this. I think it's mostly genetics and luck. My husband's grandfather lived to be within 5 months of his 100th birthday. He lived alone after being widowed many years before, took care of himself, and never gave up driving. In his 80's, he took each of his grandchildren to Europe as a graduation present. He smoked a pipe for 70 years, had a drink every evening, and ate whatever he pleased. He was outgoing and gregarious, and wrote his own autobiography in his early 90's then had it printed and bound. Each adult family member received a copy.

I have said before that when I was going to MD Anderson, so many of the young women in treatment were health-obsessed. Runners, gym rats, vegan, obsessed with diet "macros" and green smoothies, etc. I ate french fries and had an occasional beer, yet we all had the same kind of cancer. Most of those women are dead now, and I'm still here. Who knows why?
 
Beth Gallagher said:
I doubt it, Shirley. I was too busy crying and wondering "why me?" to be optimistic. I was grateful to have all my SOC "cheerleaders" along for the ride, though. ❤️
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Despite the fact that I had been a paramedic for over 20 years, when I was first diagnosed with cancer, I thought my life was over. That was more than twenty years ago, I think. A part of that was that, in my experience, I didn't usually know that someone had cancer until they were in their last days and, as a paramedic, the people I came across with cancer were in bad enough shape that they were being transported to hospitals by ambulance.
 
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Ken Anderson said:
Despite the fact that I had been a paramedic for over 20 years, when I was first diagnosed with cancer, I thought my life was over. That was more than twenty years ago, I think. I think a part of that was that, in my experience, I didn't usually know. that someone had cancer until they were in their last days and, as a paramedic, the people I came across with cancer were in bad enough shape that they were being transported to hospitals by ambulance.
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My problem was that I couldn't stay off of Google, which at best has 5-10 year old data and a lot of gloom and doom. Googling "Inflammatory Breast Cancer" will scare the pants off of anyone; I truly expected to be dead within months.
 
One thing we should do is acknowledge that we're older & need to modify our activities & hobbies so they are age appropriate. This applies mainly to guys.
On my daily walk, a guy asked me how old I was. I said, "73." He said, I've seen you circle the park briskly twice, don't your knees bother you?"
I said, "Not while I'm walking, but a few hours later & sometimes part of the next day they'll hurt. How about you?"
He said, "My knees always hurt really bad & I'm only 62. I'm in a lot of pain, especially after basketball."
I said, "Basketball is fine. but not for older people; it's hard on the knees. Remember, while you're recovering from surgery or injuries, you're not having much fun."
One thing that I find really asinine is that tired comment, "Age is just a state of mind." Or, "Age is just a number."
Really? So....how many Olympic athletes are competing in their 50's, 60's or 70's?
How many NBA, NFL or NHL players are 30 - 60?
 
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