Yeh youuuuu muppet! She only found she had kidney cancer last month, do you think she's going to be fine again within a couple of episodes? Cancer can be a long drawn out battle and these type of storylines need to be truthful in the soaps. Although you may get your wish as Dot's storyline takes a twist this week.

it hasnt even been going on very long has it?

Cancer can last for years it does not go away at the touch of a hat!

exactly, thats why both EE and emmerdale need to take their time with this particular story!
cancer is ongoing! and there is no overnight miracle cure!
it takes time, to get over it, even years!

Between the Den related plots, the Dot cancer storyline and the upcoming unfaithful Martin scenario, I've decided to drop EE until it starts to pick up.. So far I'm not regretting my decision.

I agree totally. I lost my dad to bowel cancer last year and if only it had been as easy as the soaps suggest it would have been great but unfortunately its not. The only thing I am thankful for is that we were ignorant about the nature of the disease and the chances of long term survival otherwise my mum and myself couldnt have coped over the 4 years since the diagnosis. The newspapers are just as bad, every day you see headlines proclaiming ' new cancer cures' then at the end of the article they say something like 'this is only in the research stage and it may take 10 years to develop'. Its cruel raising peoples hopes in this way.

I also have lost a family member to bowel cancer, it was heartbreaking, he was given the all clear, and then it returned .. to kill him!
I remember he was this big guy, full of life, and when I saw him last 2 days before he died, he was half the guy i knew, he was a skeleton!
I remember thinking, that wasn't him - it may of sounded like him, but to me, the last image I have of him, is the skeleton - his skin was so pale, almost grey, and he'd lost loads of weight!

No-one should have to go through that!

I also lost my uncle to bowel cancer, your description brings back so many memories, most bad, but some really good, he was the bravest bloke I've ever had the privilidge of knowing.

Lets not wallow in depression and gloom here. More people are successfully treated for cancer than die from it. Of course nobody can remember about that. Bowel Cancer if caught early is one of the easiest to treat and has a very high success rate. This thread was started as to whether or not EE was milking the story for the sake of it. I think that the main thrust of the soaps should be to encourage people to have check ups.

Oh and before anyone comes back at me and accuses me of being unsympathetic I have lost a sister to Cancer at 31 and my wife has twice been successfully treated for bowl cancer.

I lost my Nan to lung Cancer a few years ago. She was the same age as Dot (68) and she was always running around putting others before herself. Like Dot she also kept her illness a secret even from her family even though she was in tremoundous pain. She didn't want to go to the Doctor's because she was afraid that she wouldn't come back. They said later that if she had gone in for tests earlier, before the Cancer spread, she would have stood a much better chance.

I only hope that the Dot (and Diane) storylines encourage more people in a similar predicament to seek help sooner.

i wouldnt say you were unsympathetic at all. its true check ups are crucial, and if its the only thing people take away form cancer storylines then i feel its worthwhile. most cancers are treatable if caught at an early stage, so it is vital that people recognise the warning signs. modifying risk factors(drinking, smoking, etc) also go a long way in preventing the disease.

Neighbours..madge Bishop

Day one =: felt ill
day two = went to docs
day three = told she had cancer
day six = accepted it
day eight = got septicemia
day ten = died.

think that says it all ray. im glad that EE and emmerdale are trying to do it properly

No, I quite agree with what you are saying, it's true, if my uncle had been caught early it would have probably been a very different story. So far, I think EE is handling it well, if a bit over sentimental on occasions. Cancer isn't something you milk - if they're going to do this storyline right, then its only right they do it properly (which they seem to be generally doing so far).

I think that Soaps should be entertaining. There are enough health problems in real life. Like thousands of people, I have lost very close family members to cancer and when I watch TV I want escapism, not a replay of problems I have already witnessed first hand.

well some of these cancer storylines need to be dropped.

Mate thats exactly the same as my Nan, she was 67 though, an like Dot an your Nan she kept her illness from us and we only found out when she could no longer stand the pain, by then it was too late and she passed away in July. It must be something to do with that generation of men and women who strive to keep illnesses to themselves, I'm sorry about your Nan mate, I know exactly how you feel.

I appreciate what you are saying but its never a consolation for those that have lost anyone when you read of the success rates. My dad was diagnosed with it in 1999 and went through 4 years of chemo to no avail. With bowel cancer it very much depends also where the problem is situated apparently as to whether or not long term treatment will be successful. The tumour spread to my dad's liver and he became jaundiced which was an awful thing for him and for us to watch. In an ideal world we would all get regular frequent check ups and catch these things early, but up here in Scotland as with much of the country, the waiting times are getting longer for consultations and also treatment which impacts on the chances of a successful recovery. The NHS is now a lottery.

Well that could open a hole new can of worms and not maybe something fo this thread. I have to agree with you. When my wife went fo her checkup at our local NHS hospital the surgeon told her she was all clear and not to come back for a year. Within a week she was in a private clinic having a tumor removed.

Yes Alan youre right and I understand your frustration, I guess its something for another time and another place. It's good to share experiences though, unhappy as they can often be. I'll finish by just mentioning that what upset me and my mum almost as much was the lack of humanity we experienced, its the way things are managed in the NHS now. For example these agency nurses that flit in and out all the time, they just watch the clock and have no vocation or intention of establishing a knowledge of their patients. It's a poor return for someone like my dad who worked hard all his life and paid his taxes and when he needed something from the NHS in return, the response was far from satisfactory.