Goodbye Ken

Canada trip 2007 w/Baby Maddy

Last Thursday we went up to Lake of the Woods, Canada to pay our respects to Brian's Uncle Ken. He battled colon cancer a few years ago and was in remission. A few weeks back he received a clean bill of health and spent the last half of July happily with his grandchildren (Cousins Maddy, Jake and Mac).  Tragically and quickly he and Aunt Laurie were informed on Wednesday that cancer had spread throughout his body and on Friday he passed. The day of his memorial, 7/28/11, would have been his 69th birthday. His memorial was heart-felt and so packed with people that loved and respected him that the church and the tent outside of the church ran out of seats. Ken was a great guy, an avid outdoors-man and a spectacular cook of "shore lunch". We will miss him.

Here is the link to his obituary in our local paper, The Grand Forks Herald.

Check out the American Cancer Society for more information, resources and to donate to research. http://www.cancer.org/

Although the causes of most cancers remain unknown you can take preventative steps to reduce the risk of a malignant tumor by: (from www.nih.gov)

•Eating a healthy diet
•Exercising regularly
•Limiting alcohol
•Maintaining a healthy weight
•Minimizing your exposure to radiation and toxic chemicals
•Not smoking or chewing tobacco
•Reducing sun exposure, especially if you burn easily
Cancer screenings, such as mammography and breast examination for breast cancer and colonoscopy for colon cancer, may help catch these cancers at their early stages when they are most treatable. Some people at high risk for developing certain cancers can take medication to reduce their risk.