Tag Archives: Education

Cure for Cancer Discussion on Quora

Cancer, Health and Wellness, , , , , , , , ,

I recently participated in a discussion on Quora that was framed as a question about the possibility of finding a cure for cancer. The other responses were largely interesting, though it was clear to me that the question itself (and some of the responses) indicate that there is still a lack of understanding with regard to the progress already made in the field(s) of cancer research, as well as a lack of understanding about what a “cure” really means.

Click the link to read my contribution to the discussion and explore some of the other voices that chimed in.

 

Natural Cancer Remedies: What You Don’t Want To Know (But Should)

Cancer, Health and Wellness, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Natural cancer remedies have been around for at least 3,000 years and yet it appears that modern science and Western Medicine either ignore these time-tested solutions or are in a conspiracy to keep them from the public. Why is this the case? The truth is much more insidious. But to understand it fully, we need to explore the history of cancer and how these natural cancer remedies are supposed to work.
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Sympathy: Not Just for the Devil, But Still Bad

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I’ve got to tell you, I hate it when people feel sorry for me. It isn’t that I don’t appreciate a bit of empathy for what I am going through, but I can thoroughly do without the pity. I don’t need it and I certainly don’t want it. There is no “poor me” going on here, I don’t feel bad about my situation or somehow maligned by the universe. That just isn’t me. Maybe it’s because I’m something of a secular humanist at heart, but I find strength in knowing that I can get through whatever I need to and too much sympathy dumped in my path just makes it that much slower for me to move along.
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The Letter to Other Parents

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Today, I realized that it was important to let the parents in my daughter’s class know that I am about to start chemotherapy. Some of them already know about my cancer, but most do not. So I sat down this morning and wrote the following message (with some minor redaction). Tomorrow, my daughter’s teacher (who sent out her own thoughtful letter to the parent community) is going to engage in a brief talk with the class to address any concerns.

Dear fellow parents,

I am writing to update you all on an important issue that will be affecting my family, and which may end up coming home to some of you as a topic of discussion at some point. Continue reading The Letter to Other Parents →

The True Meaning of Christmas, or Don’t Let Religion Ruin the Holidays

Politics, Reason, , , , , , , ,

Christmas is quickly coming upon us — at least those of us who celebrate the holiday. True believers, and by that I do not necessarily mean believers in Truth, will have us know that this is the time when we celebrate the birth of their favorite martyr, Jesus Christ. They will tell you that the focus of this holiday is meant to be upon the deeds and messages of the Christ, and they will occasionally complain about the commercialized nature of the holiday. On that last point, I agree with them wholeheartedly. Too many people seem to believe that Christmas is about celebrating excess consumerism, branded marketing and petty indulgences. Yet the real meaning of the holiday isn’t exactly either of those extremes.
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When Being Unfortunate is Good Fortune

Cancer, Health and Wellness, Politics, Reason, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

People talk about luck all the time. Good luck that this happened, bad luck that that happened. It is spoken of as if “luck” is an actual thing, with a consciousness or purpose. Yet, rationally, we should all understand that luck does not exist. There is “chance.” There are “odds.” But there is no such thing as luck outside of an emotional response to fortune (or lack of it). That is to say, one might feel fortunate if, for instance, one were to be diagnosed with a chronic disease early enough to do something to stem the tide, or live in a country where the survival rates are generally above 50 percent and increasing rather than decreasing.

Of course, there are those who would be in a wealthy country with cutting edge healthcare and an early diagnosis who would still only see their personal misfortune with such a diagnosis. But this isn’t about those pathetically myopic individuals, this is about the reason we should be glad we don’t live in India. And if you happen to be reading this from within the borders of India, my apologies, but hopefully you are a politically motivated activist with the means to make your voice heard.
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The Chemo Diaries: Prologue

Cancer, Health and Wellness, , , , ,

Today the results of my gene sequencing were the topic of discussion with my favorite oncologist. We had hoped that a specifically identifiable mutation would have shown up, qualifying me for targeted therapy, but in the generally disappointing fashion of Things That Don’t Go Your Way, none such mutations came to the party. Not that they were invited in the first place, since I have a tendency to leave the Truly Annoying and Unwelcome off the list, but when there is a fifty/fifty chance that your unwanted guest will be easier to evict, you do find yourself hoping for that loophole. Or at least I did. But really, fifty/fifty is a flip of the coin, and I got tails.

So I am going to start the more traditional chemo. This is inconvenient for a number of reasons. I mean, I will have to be on a strict schedule for, well, possibly the rest of my life, or at least as long as the benefits outweigh the risks (as my doctor put it with appropriate bluntness and a smile). Of course, travel plans will be difficult. And the prospect of being tired or nauseous for up to a third of my life seems kind of stupid. But wait: others have walked this road successfully before me. The path is well worn. While the annoyance factor is way up, is it really so bad?

We all have crappy things to face in life, but that doesn’t make it any less worth living. Not to be crass, but at least I wasn’t hit by a bus or infected with Ebola far from medical help. Sure, those things are occasionally survivable, but my thing has an industry devoted to keeping me alive and a growing number of survival stories each year. So sign me up for treatment. Sign me up for my the week drip. I’ve got good veins (the doc said so, again with that smile).

Rejecting Research Is Never a Good Option

Business, Cancer, Health and Wellness, Reason, , , , , , , , , , ,

As a person living with cancer, I get suggestions all the time to look at non-medical treatments. By this, I mean mainly nutritional or holistic approaches that are meant to directly replace the use of “Western” medicine. Each suggestion comes with an anecdotal reference to someone who was “cured” by these methods, which range from the clearly bizarre to sensible health choices. Digging deeper, of course, reveals that every verifiable success story includes the use of early surgery or extensive chemo and radiation therapies.

And none of them, so far, have applied directly to my particular brand of cancer.

It doesn’t bother me so much to

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Negativity is Positively Not in Your Best Interest

Cancer, Health and Wellness, , , , , , , , , ,

I had a few other titles for this post sliding around in my brain. After getting up and down to move the cat out of my daughter’s bedroom a few times, this is the only one that had stuck, so I’m going to go with it in spite of the cheesy wordplay. Partly, that is because it is also an accurate summation of my perspective.

Today is November 7th, 2014. It’s a Friday. And it is a good day.

Yesterday, after three-odd months of waiting and questions and test after test, I finally received a diagnosis from  my doctor regarding why I haven’t been feeling precisely top-drawer recently. It turns out that, in general terms, I have Stage 4 Lung Cancer. More specifically, I have Adenocarcinoma, which is a non-small cell form of lung cancer, and it has spread from the 3 odd centimeter mass in my left lung to a few lymph nodes and eventually down to my hip bone. And I am so thankful to have this diagnosis. Not because I am pleased to “have cancer,” which would be kind of perverse, but because now I know what I am dealing with and I can get on with it.
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The neglect & trivialization of violence against women is horribly wrong

Fear, Health and Wellness, Reason, , , , , , ,

Native American Women are disproportionately victimized without justice. This is horribly wrong. Domestic issues of victimization through forced prostitution are swept under the rug, with the prostituted frequently being punished when they are often the true victims. Often discussed dispassionately as a “global problem” with the thought that this sort of thing happens only in underdeveloped or backward nations, it is truly happening in every country and in virtually everyone’s backyard. Hyperbolic? Not particularly; it just depends how you define “backyard.” For the sake of this position, I will broaden it to mean “local community,” and challenge you, dear Reader, to find a community in the United States that does not have at least one instance of violence against women. Continue reading The neglect & trivialization of violence against women is horribly wrong →