Bad News, East & West

Our good friend S, who is married to L's cousin, just found out today that she has breast cancer. So she will be starting the MRI-chemo dance. She lives in Marin County, which has a high rate of breast cancer, but no one can figure out why. She lives cleanly, exercises, and is a very light presence. Some day someone will figure out this epidemic, if we haven't blown ourselves up before that. (For possible environmental causes, see links on the right to Breast Cancer Action and Collaborative on Health and the Environment.) In the meantime, I tell myself how lucky I am that I'm here and not trying to get treatment in a hospital in Baghdad. Of course, I wouldn't have been diagnosed yet if I were there or most other places. When I have more time and energy I'm going to find out what a person like me, but without insurance, would be going through now in my fair city. The public hospital is run by the county, and all you hear about is how long people have to wait to get treated there. And the county government is cutting its health care budget. I'll also have links to the health situation in Iraq.