Why Andy Whitfield Scares me:

Charlie003

Here was a man in the greatest shape of his life. You see him in Spartacus? He was the walking embodiment of health and power. Then He is diagnosed with cancer, and dies. There are people who follow the healthy path and still die. While other who do the opposite live. My father was like Andy, At the gym every morning at 5:00 a.m ate perfectly, never sick. Then two years ago, cancer. One year ago, he dies. This is what made me fall off the wagon. What is the point of being super healthy if it means so little to life expectancy. Is it just luck of the draw.

You scare me Andy, Rest in peace.

smtillman2

I think it has to do with the quality of life. Anyone could die in a freak accident or die of some other ailment.

vytamindi

But wouldn't you like for whatever life you may have left to be full of good health and good memories?

I'd rather die younger with a healthier body (and a fluke accident/disease) than to die much later in life obese, unhealthy, and unable to care for myself.

VelociMama

Everyone dies. It's going to happen, and it's usually ugly. That's just how life goes.

Improving your health and fitness significantly reduces your chances of dying prematurely from an assortment of nasty conditions or diseases including various types of cancer, but the real kicker for me is the improvement in my QUALITY of life. I can do SO much more even 21 weeks pregnant coming from a healthier weight than I did when I was obese. I look better, feel better, and no longer feel like a fat lazy bum most of the time. That's worth the work I put into this and the work I'll put into it after my baby is born. When my son arrives in February, I know I'm going to be fit enough to play with him in the yard, take him out for hikes, teach him how to play t-ball, and teach him to ride a bike.

glenner

I understand what you are talking about- when I was at a really good time in my life physically, I was working out, running, eating healthy, not smoking or drinking etc, I was feeling great. I went to the dr. for regular checkup and found out I had stage 4 cancer of a female type. It was fixed fairly easy but I remember thinking how could my body betray me like? How could I be doing all the right things and have cancer cells in my body with no warning? I went haywire for awhile then I realized that I increase my risks alot more by going crazy so I should still do the best I can. Because I could also do everything right and get hit by a car when I am crossing the road. So we all need to live life to it's fullest and be our healthiest and happiest because everyday could be our last one.

GaryRuiz2

Rest in Peace Andy Griffith too

chivalryder

This isn't directed at the OP in anyway, but whenever I hear someone say "Life is too short do do X, Y, or Z. What's the point?" I respond by saying "If that's how you feel about it, what are you still doing here?"

graceylou222

I think the logical way of looking at this is that you have experienced exactly what he went through first hand. Yes your father worked out everyday and was probably very healthy. But we still have no cure for cancer, and unfortunatly it is a horrible thing. Just because there are things like this in life though doesn't mean that we should not strive to be the very best we can for ourselves. Including working out and eating healthy in order for us to feel good! There are so many factors in life that make us stop and question why we do what we do, but you have to be strong. I am very sorry for your loss, and I hope you can find motivation to continue a journey of healthy living. Best wishes.

rml_16

Here was a man in the greatest shape of his life. You see him in Spartacus? He was the walking embodiment of health and power. Then He is diagnosed with cancer, and dies. There are people who follow the healthy path and still die. While other who do the opposite live. My father was like Andy, At the gym every morning at 5:00 a.m ate perfectly, never sick. Then two years ago, cancer. One year ago, he dies. This is what made me fall off the wagon. What is the point of being super healthy if it means so little to life expectancy. Is it just luck of the draw.

You scare me Andy, Rest in peace.

I'm pretty sure 100% of people who are born ... die.

And if you do happen to be one of the lucky people to live to old age, wouldn't you rather do it with healthy organs and working joints?

Enigmatica

To paraphrase a great old song, it's not about the cards you're dealt, it's how you play the game.

There are no guarantees. But I'll do the best I can with what I have, and I know from experience it's made a huge difference in my quality of life in the past few years.

ndfaninaz

Cancer sucks.

chamgiggz

Similar, my dad was pretty healthy, rode his bike for miles every morning, went for walk.jogs, hated fast food and all sort, at this moment he is lying in a hospital in ICU fighting for his life. He was diagnose 3 yrs ago with lung cancer and this year it came back in his brain. at first I wondered why me, and why him, he took care of his body and all sort what could have gone wrong. But I prayed and it took a while to come to deal with it and accept it, but I truly Truly TRULY believe sometime we go through things in life not for ourselves but for others, seeing my dad like this made me stronger and it strenghten my faith in God. I believe that my relationship with God would be non-existence let it had not been the time that I needed him most. No, I did not go to God just because my dad was sick, but it was the times and how much of a better quality my relationship with my dad became and my family that I believe that God truly exist, and sometime it takes something so major to reinforce that in our lives. I am so deeply sorry for your loss and I do not wish anything that happend to you, Andy or what is going on in my family on anyone, however it is time like this that we should not be questioning why but instead just make sure since you are still alive you make the BEST of it. Take from your dad that he took care of his body and he had a goo quality life instead of being obese and sick and not enjoying life.

sc0ttie

You didn't actually expect eating and living healthy to make you invincible did you? We are all going to pass away sooner or later, it is more about having a quality of life while you are living.

I know two men both in their mid 70's one is obese, one is in great shape. Do you want to guess which one has a better quality of life? Do you want to guess which one has an easier time traveling and spending time with family?

suemar74

For every "what's the use?" story, you can find a story of someone who beat the odds by improving their quality of life. It happens both ways.

For me, I'm going to do everything I can to increase my odds of dying peacefully in my sleep. Maybe it won't work. Maybe it will.

And as I'm increasing my odds, my kids are watching me. And they're showing an interest. And if I can get them on the right track, then that alone is a pretty good reason for me to stick with it.

NCchar130

Four deaths in my family very close together and I quit caring about my health and ate whatever I wanted whenever. I thought just like you - what difference does it make anyway? Seventy pounds later, I found I do care very much because I have to live with this body for however long I get to live on this earth. I want to do as much as I can with it and be able to do it well. I'd like to be able to get a good night's sleep at the end of the day and I'd like to not be held back from participating in things I want to try because of my physical condition.

MTBrob

**** Cancer man ..

red1775

Eat right, exercise and die anyway.

dmpizza

Sorry for your loss.
Life is a gift and we should cherish it, you simply never know. Both science and the bible make it clear that we don't know the future.
For many people, taking care of themselves dramatically improves their quality of life, for others it sadly doesn't matter, but to throw it all away for a chance of illness is a waste..

VelociMama

**** Cancer man ..

I want this on a T-shirt.

*kitten* Cancer

boonognog

I reacted to this just the opposite way: I don't want to die tomorrow without living in a way that enhances my life or those who love me, because we shouldn't take this gift for granted.


Five years ago my Dad died in the hospital after a heart catheterization showed a blockage; he had a heart attack while they were performing that procedure. I decided then and there that I needed to get my butt in gear and get in better health myself.

But I kept putting it off. Eventually my health started to decline also, and 3 years ago when I had my annual checkup, my doctor's first reaction was that I had just turned 40 and probably there was nothing to worry about, just the side effects of working behind a desk for 15 years.

Two years ago, after my health declined rapidly within the first few months after that checkup, I was diagnosed with a bad aortic valve in my heart, which was not allowing the blood to be pumped as efficiently. Eventually I would need a new heart valve, which scared the **** out of me because the only way to do that surgery is to crack your chest open...

A year ago, when they did the heart catheterization on me (standard procedure) to check for blockages, the surgeon told me he expected to find one because I was too young and healthy and the heart valve wasn't bad enough to explain all my symptoms. Indeed, he did find one, and immediately after the stent was placed, my health started to improve.

That's when I decided, no more excuses... As soon as I get the green light from my cardiologist, I'm dedicating myself to get in better shape.

So I started by joining a gym and signing up for a personal trainer, which is not cheap. But I'm worth it.

So 6 months later I had lost 40 lbs and am now in better shape than I was in college. And I'm wearing pants with a waist size smaller than when I graduated college.

If I had not gotten that bad news and changed my life accordingly, I might be dead today. In all seriousness, my attitude is what changed my life.

And I know my family is extremely happy that I did not let that happen!

jessilee119

First, I just want to say that I thought Andy was great in that role and my husband and I were SO upset when we heard he passed. I think that's the most "shocked" we were over a celebrity death at that time. I agree with what's been said so far, but remember, you're comparing Andy's life based on his appearance in Spartacus. I don't know how he lived his life before that role. He may have went on a strict diet and exercise routine to prepare himself for that role. Celebrities do it all the time-they go to extremes to either gain or lose weight to fit the role they will play. He looked great in Spartacus, but I didn't live with him so I don't know what other habits he may have had that could have contributed to his health.

And as others said, exercise and eating healhy are things we have control over. We may not have control over when we will die, but we won't go without a fight!!! I'm tired of being the way I am, especially when I haven't been this way my whole life so I know I owe it to myself to be healthier.

lcn1220

Here was a man in the greatest shape of his life. You see him in Spartacus? He was the walking embodiment of health and power. Then He is diagnosed with cancer, and dies. There are people who follow the healthy path and still die. While other who do the opposite live. My father was like Andy, At the gym every morning at 5:00 a.m ate perfectly, never sick. Then two years ago, cancer. One year ago, he dies. This is what made me fall off the wagon. What is the point of being super healthy if it means so little to life expectancy. Is it just luck of the draw.

You scare me Andy, Rest in peace.

Last year I was in the hospital for an agonizing growth. There was a fear that it might have been cancer. Had to wait a couple of days for lab results but during that entire time I thought that if it was cancer, I would have much rather gone into that fight healthy than I what I was: 75 lbs overweight, depressed and fatigued all time. Cancer runs in my dad's side of family so I would not have been at all surprised if the tests came back positive. I got lucky. That particular genetic card did not get pulled on that day. And it may be in future that despite my best efforts, that it might get pulled. When that happens and I do get cancer, you are right there's no telling I may or may not pull through. But I am still going to workout, eat healthy and do the best I can to take care of myself every single day.

While the outcomes may be completely out of my control, I *can* control how I choose to go into this fight. I would much rather go down swinging than strike out looking.

boonognog

Relevant:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/426354716/be-here-now-the-andy-whitfield-story