mementomori | September 28, 2006It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.
- Winston Churchill
It goes without saying that oncologists often rely on pictures of tumors to determine whether or not a cancer has responded to treatment. These images of tumors are obtained via x-rays, CT scans, PET/CT scans and other studies. One of the caveats in cataloging pictures of the inside of the human body is that some of us have holes, masses or lumps that we were born with or acquired as a result of a non-malignant event. It behooves the doctor, therefore, to document any…
mementomori | September 27, 2006"Red Wine Slows Brain Cell Damage In Mice"
Why do mice always get to receive the newest advances in medical care? Don't these scientists know that myself and probably several of my fellow ScienceBloggers would gladly volunteer for perilous experiments such as this one? It's reports like these that stir readers like me to ask the tough questions, such as: what if the mice are strictly beer drinkers, or how can they give the mice red wine without a nice plate of le contre filet marchand de vin aux echalottes confites?
Dr. Giulio Maria Pasinetti and his team gave mice cabernet sauvignon or…
mementomori | September 25, 2006When it comes to reading, I am new to the field of medical biography, having specifically avoided it for over 20 years just as the mailman of old eschewed taking long walks on his day off. Mercifully, enough time has passed that I no longer toss my popcorn into the inky depths if a patient of mine says hello to me at the movie theater. I am more comfortable integrating medicine into my personal life than I was during my residency, which we commonly referred to as the "Bataan Death March." I no longer leave the hospital ward via an obscure stairway at a speed that makes jackrabbits green…
mementomori | September 23, 2006One of the delights of growning up in the pre-cable era was when the local station showed a horror film on Saturday nights. As kids we used to love to stay up late and cower under the blankets as we watched one monster after another stalk their hapless victims. "Don't go in there!" we screamed, but the fair-haired burgermeister's daughter never listened to us. Oh, the dreams we had back then. I think it was around this time that sales of nightlights took off.
As teenagers we made it our duty to see every horror movie that was released, if for no other reason to have plenty of material on…
mementomori | September 21, 2006In case you've forgotten, there is a new type of anti-cancer treatment available called targeted therapy, which attacks specific molecular targets on the outside or within the malignant cell. Such agents differ from standard chemotherapy, which disables or destroys cells that happen to be rapidly dividing, whether they are malignant or benign. On the contrary, targeted therapy medications attach themselves to one or more specific receptors that have control over discrete cellular functions vital to the growth, survival, invasion and immortality of the cancer cell. Everyone understand? No…
mementomori | September 18, 2006One of the more curious lectures we ever received in medical school was by a retired family doctor whose job was to interject some real-life medicine into our mind-numbing freshman syllabus. One day he started his talk with these words: "Beware of the hateful patient." As he said this he paused for dramatic effect while we raised our eyebrows or shifted nervously in our seats, all too ready to get back to our cadavers.
"The hateful patient?" we thought. "Oh, great. Now we have to worry about getting chewed out by people that are both sick and angry. What a bunch of ungrateful jerks they…
mementomori | September 15, 2006In our last episode of "The Scintillating World of The Cheerful Oncologist" I unveiled a list of my top ten favorite black and white sci-fi films. I certainly appreciate all those readers who took a moment out of their busy day to leave a cordial comment on my taste in cinema [Editor's note: He's just kidding!]. You know, watching a good science fiction movie is one of the most enjoyable pastimes available to anyone who has ever looked up into the sky at night and asked "Why?," or who gets a vague feeling of trepidation when interrogating a citizen of the animal kingdom.
With your…
mementomori | September 14, 2006Taking vitamin D cut the risk of pancreatic cancer nearly in half, according to a new study that is being called the first to show such a benefit.
Hooray for vitamins! Mom always told us to take a vitamin before toddling off to school, which was her "Plan B" for good health. "Plan A," consisting of requests to eat broccoli, oranges, green beans, apples and other nauseating plant droppings was met with universal scorn. Why sit at the kitchen table, tears streaming down our face as a plate of brussel sprouts wafts its toad-like scent into our delicate snout when we can get the same Jack…
mementomori | September 13, 2006Oncologists have many wishes. Their pockets are crammed with them. They lie awake in the early morning, while trees outside their window slowly shed gray shadows left behind by the fleeing night, wondering who among the many people walking the earth today will not live to see twilight return, and they quietly make wishes.
An old cliché states that doctors don't really want cancer to be cured, because then they would be out of a job. As for me, nothing could be farther from the truth. Every day I pray for someone to unlock the crucial secret of the aberrant cell's immortality, so that it…
mementomori | September 10, 2006[Editor's Note: From time to time the narrator of this blog petitions the board of directors of Cheerful Oncologist Productions, Ltd. to reprint certain posts from his old sites that he finds interesting, although where he comes up with this delusion is beyond us. Anyway, in order to humor him and also keep our payroll for security low we are happy to reproduce this amateurish attempt, complete and without any editing, which first appeared on October 6, 2004. [Sit vis vobiscum!]
Have you ever been diagnosed with a serious illness, or known someone facing such a health crisis? Do you recall…
mementomori | September 9, 2006Perhaps Afarensis and I are the only two bloggers left on Mother Earth who fret over the decline of the intelligent, scary and wonderfully provocative science fiction movie. Thank heavens for DVDs, is all I can say. Because we can now build our own library of great movies we don't feel so mortified when we see the latest newspaper ad for Dark-Grudge-SawMeLegsOff-Descent-Freddy'sDead Part 5.
In honor of classic science fiction movies I would like to present my top ten favorites that were released in black and white. I am deliberately omitting films like The Day the Earth Stood Still and The…
mementomori | September 7, 2006Since there is a nerd contest going on at ScienceBlogs I might as well reveal my score:
What does this mean? Your nerdiness is: Somewhat nerdy. I mean face it, you are nerdier than about half the test takers.
Hey, I just might be the least nerdy of all the ScienceBloggers! Wow! Kinda makes a doc feel good about himself, don't it? I might even update my press photo to reflect my new found status as a normal guy...
mementomori | September 6, 2006Four leading cancer organizations - the Center for Disease Control, cancer registries, the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society have supplied demographic data to once again assemble and produce the "Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2003, Featuring Cancer among U.S. Hispanic/Latino Populations." What is cancer's status in this fair country these days, you ask? Here is their conclusion:
The report includes comprehensive data on trends over the past several decades for all major cancers. It shows that the long-term decline in overall cancer death…
mementomori | September 5, 2006September 5, 2003
Dear [name withheld],
I just found out that you have decided to use a different oncologist for your adjuvant chemotherapy and wanted to let you know that I certainly understand why some patients hit it off with one doctor but not another. I wish you nothing but the best of health and know you will be treated well in Dr. [name withheld]'s office.
I would be dishonest if I did not confess that I am disappointed you chose not to use me - perhaps this simply reflects my pride in my work; perhaps it reveals me to be self-centered. If I failed to reassure you of my abilities as…
mementomori | September 1, 2006[Editor's note: this essay is adapted from a post written on September 7, 2005]
Oh it's a long, long while, from May to December,
But the days grow short when you reach September...
After a dozen weeks of heat, of searching for green canopies of shade, of donning wet bathing suits and dodging buzzing bugs, summer is coming to a close. Now as the earth has done for more cycles than can be fathomed, it will begin to lean away from our sun like a 6th-grader avoiding a kiss and produce the second of the two seasons of change. Now is the time for dreamers to reflect on the annual shedding of…
mementomori | August 30, 2006I read this article in the NRO, and the author actually made some interesting arguments. 'Basically,' he said, 'I am questioning the premise that [global warming] is a problem rather than an opportunity.' Does he have a point?...
While I am no expert in giving out answers to global warming I do know how to ask questions and would therefore like offer readers the chance to digest some views on the subject. Everyone knows that the debate about global warming can be broken down into several headings. In order to spark debate let me pose them as questions, then refer the reader to some…
mementomori | August 29, 2006"The true art of memory is the art of attention." -Samuel Johnson
An Open Letter to All Those Who Love to Read:
Have you ever got involved in a good book, be it a mystery, biography or even a delightful review of the geological history of Mothership Earth, set it aside for a few nights and then realized that you can't recall what is going on?
Pehaps you have forgotten which relative Sir David visited before he was found with a cord tightly woven around his neck, or maybe you lost track of Teddy Roosevelt's activities prior to his election as governor of New York. If you're like me your…
mementomori | August 27, 2006"I am not overweight, I am underheight - My weight is perfect for a man of 7'9"."
-- Victor Buono
The party's over
It's time to call it a day
They've burst your pretty balloon
And taken the moon away
It's time to wind up the masquerade
Just make your mind up the piper must be paid
Being a little overweight can kill you, according to new research that leaves little room for denial that a few extra pounds is harmful. Baby boomers who were even just a tad pudgy were more likely to die prematurely than those who were at a healthy weight, U.S. researchers reported Tuesday.
I try to be a good…
mementomori | August 25, 2006[Editor's Note: the following anecdotes were selected from I Love the Sound of My Own Voice: Twaddle and Bromides from The Cheerful Oncologist, published by Venal Literary Infatuations Press, 2006. The author has asked me to announce that first editions will be available as soon as his secretary is finished with the copy machine.]
I leaned up against the exam table, inspecting a woman who had finished a course of aggressive chemotherapy and chest radiation therapy for limited-stage small cell lung cancer. She still had some areas of increased 18-FDG uptake on her follow-up PET scan, but…
mementomori | August 23, 2006Remember Me: A Lively Tour of the New American Way of Death
by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen
If there is one topic in America that will always be voted "Least Likely to Be the Source of Light-Hearted Banter Around the Dinner Table," it is death. According to the voting, the second-place finisher in this election is funerals. When it comes to politics we may be ready to unsheath our verbal swords and attack everyone, even Grandma, but when it comes to death - mum's the word. Death is taboo to the tongue. This is unfortunate in my opinion because given the likelihood of kicking the bucket on this…