Busy Days Finally Caught Up With Me

Well, it’s been a busy few days around here and its finally caught up with me. Yesterday afternoon, we were watching a movie with the kids and I just couldn’t keep my eyes open so I snuck off to bed for a nap. Oh that was so good. Then we were off shopping again. Tho at about 10 o’clock, I couldn’t keep my eyes open any more so off to bed I went.

This morning once everyone has left to do their vacation stuff, I'm going to have some quiet time. And you know where I’ll be heading … straight to bed for a few zzz’s.

The plan this afternoon is for everyone to meet back here and then head over to Whyte Avenue, get a bite to eat and do some more shopping.

Mesothelioma Surgeries

Physicians employ postoperative procedures in different distance to supply mesothelioma communicating. There are triad coil surgery types that your charlatan may take to fulfill, each for limited reasons and with variant expectations.
Symptomatic mesothelioma surgery is conducted to ascertain the extent and identify of mesothelioma. Oft these surgeries are reasoned secondary, and can be performed with topical anaesthetic. Examples of symptomatic procedures countenance:

Biopsies

Thoracoscopy

Laparoscopy

Other forms of surgery are ofttimes performed to potentially knob the extended of the soul. Additionally, these types of surgery may reason the mesothelioma to go into remittal. The surgery involves removing a malignancy or cancerous growing, and is often composed with separate mesothelioma treatments much as chemotherapy or therapy therapy. Examples of another types of surgery countenance:

Thoracotomy

Pneumonectomy

Secure resection

Lobectomy

Pleurectomy

Alleviator mesothelioma surgery has similarities to curative in that the basic nidus is to remove cancerous paper. Nevertheless, the first adjust of curative mending is to wage succour of debilitative symptoms. Examples of palliative procedures allow:

Paracentesis

Pleurodesis

Thoracentesis

Your mesothelioma theologizer testament transmute with you to cause the physiologist operative process for your mesothelioma. Many of the criteria in making this firmness gift let your type and present of mesothelioma, as symptomless as your overall eudaimonia. Rude designation is essential to provide you to acquire the soul gross mesothelioma communicating, so engaging the resource of a serious physician is acute

Cancer Genomics

I am back in school! I am working on a graduate Oncology Certificate through Loyola University in Chicago. I love going to school, and I love learning, so I'm excited!

I am only taking one class right now, Cancer Genomics. Not many oncology certificate programs offer classes in cancer genomics, it's one of the reasons I decided to pursue the program at Loyola. I've been exposed to much research in cancer genomics attending AACR research conferences, so have a little bit of knowledge. I know cancer genomics will change the future of cancer care.

Cancer genomics is about the genetics of cancer. Cancer is a genetic disease; it is caused by altered genes. Genes that normally control and limit the growth of cells goes awry. Only a small percentage of cancers are caused by genes inherited from our parents, only 5-10% of cancers are inherited. Most cancers are caused by genetic defects/changes that occur over our lifetimes. Recent studies have found that cancers do not arise from a single defective gene, but from a group, or series of genetic defects.

It was also discovered that even in people with the same cancer, say colon or ovarian cancer, the genetic defects in the tumors from two patients with the same cancer can be very different. So even two of us with signet ring appendix cancer may have very different tumors that respond differently to treatment. This may explain why chemotherapy for one patient’s colon cancer is not effective on another patient's colon cancer (or appendix or ovarian cancer).

That may sound like bad news, but it may in fact be good news. A new field is rising from cancer genomics, pharmacogenetics. It is possible that all of our individual tumors will be genetically analyzed in the future. It's possible that based on the genetic findings of our tumors, they will be able to determine which chemotherapy will be most effective for a particular patient's cancer. That means no one would have to suffer the side effects and expense of going through a chemotherapy regime that would not benefit them.

At the presentation, they said it will one day also be possible based on a patient's genetics to determine who will have severe reactions and side effects to a particular chemo, so that they can avoid using the particular chemotherapy for that patient.

It was interesting; one of the presentations I attended spoke of a particular chemotherapy in a clinical trial. The chemotherapy only helped 10% of the patients in the trial, so the drug was not approved by the FDA. The interesting thing was that the 10% who did respond had an overwhelmingly positive response, many went into remission. It could be that particular 10% had common genetic defects, and that the particular chemo was effective for that group. It could be in the future that treatments are tailor made for the genetics of our particular tumor.

Will let you know more when I know more...but it's a brave new world in cancer care!

Healthy Spirits: Midnight Sun Hop Dog

It's too hot NOT to be drinking this today. Come and get it!

cheers,

dave hauslein

beer manager

415-255-0610

Blogger stats

Every so often I read up on what's new with Blogger, the site that hosts my blog. Today I saw that it's now tracking statistics since May. Here are some of the most interesting ones I've found:

There have been 9,621 page views since May 2010.

I have readers in the US, Canada, Hungary, UK, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, France, Iceland and South Korea. You know who you are!

Quite a few people found my blog through bcmets.org, a list for women with metastatic breast cancer. And of course plenty of people find me through Google.

Most people are using Windows (no surprise there) but some are Mac users and a few read my blog through their iPad, iPhone or other mobile device.

A small number of people found my blog by searching for my friend Josh Isaac's z"l blog. Zichrono l'vracha, may his memory be a blessing.

Rebound insomnia

Last night I had a little queasy tummy before bedtime, and eating a dry cracker didn't quite do the trick. I pulled out the Zofran (anti-nausea med) and re-read the label. Sure enough, "may cause drowsiness" is right there in the tiny print. I took one and got into bed thinking I would fall straight asleep. NOT.

Three hours later, I'd been tossing and turning regularly. I was too stubborn to take Ambien or Ativan, and wasn't sure how the meds would mix with each other anyway. At 3 AM Rik got up. At 6 AM the alarm clock went off. I really don't think I slept for more than 30 minutes at a time all night long.

This rebound insomnia comes whenever I've taken a sleep aid for too many nights in a row. I'd been taking Ativan since I've been bandaging my arm at night and it's hard for me to sleep that way. A few nights ago I decided to switch to Ambien when I felt the Ativan wasn't working as well.

Perhaps I should have combined the Decadron high from Monday's chemo with coming off sleep aids. This makes three nights in a row of not-best-quality sleep. I will try to take a nap this afternoon to keep my head on for a meeting tonight.

Oh, and I finally got my made-to-measure JoviPak arm sleeve. It's big and blue, with quilted channels to provide compression, has a special extra pad to control swelling in the back of my hand, and fits perfectly. It should help me sleep better while providing lymphedema compression.

Michael Douglas Talks Cancer with David Letterman

This past Tuesday, Michael Douglas announced on the David Letterman show that he has recently  been diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer. Here is a five minute video of that conversation.