My wife and I will be walking in the Robbinsdale Schools Relay for Life tonight, so I'll have comments NEXT week as well as the transcript of my "speech" as a caregiver! Later!
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Saturday, May 14, 2016
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #45: Marching Against Breast Cancer!
From the first moment my wife discovered
she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even
ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have
received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than
mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started
this blog…
Every month, I’ll be highlighting breast
cancer research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites,
journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and
share them with you. Today: http://www.cityofhope.org/blog/breast-cancer-dramatic-advances-create-revolution-in-treatment
“The move to
precision medicine in breast cancer means being able to match a patient with
the most effective treatment for her specific cancer, Mortimer said.
“‘When you
identify which drugs are best for individual patients, you are likely to find
more effective treatments for each individual,’ she said. ‘That means less
chemotherapy, less surgery and less radiation, which means fewer side effects.
This will also help prevent resistance to existing therapies.’
“The surgical
innovations offer breast cancer patients a better quality of life during and
after treatment, Kruper said. Cryoablation and laser therapy are less invasive
than traditional surgery, so patients recover more quickly and with less pain.’”
Wow.
Simply, “Wow.”
How far breast
cancer treatments have come in even five years was clearly illustrated when my
wife’s best friend, on her diagnosis of breast cancer, had a precise removal of
the tumors followed by radiation therapy. No “radical mastectomy” (How apt are
the words there! How horrifying the procedure!) for her.
That’s how much
things have changed. I’ve written about some of these therapies: the laser
therapy (http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2015/08/breast-cancer-research-right-now-36-low.html),
targeted treatments (just last time, here: http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2016/04/breast-cancer-research-right-now.html),
immunotherapy (http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2016/02/breast-cancer-research-right-now-42.html),
even the possibility of a breast cancer vaccine (http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2015/04/breast-cancer-research-right-now-32.html).
We are creating
more and more ways to fight cancer in general and breast cancer in particular.
It occurs to me –
unfortunately – that I could be angry. I could go on and be offensive. I could
shake my fist at the heavens (or the hells) and shout, “Why did my wife have to
suffer so much? Why her?!?!?”
I could do that –
until I realize that I have a daughter. A daughter-in-law. Nieces.
Nieces-by-marriage. I have a granddaughter. I even have friends. Students. Any
number of women – and LET’S NOT FORGET THAT MEN CAN GET BREAST CANCER, TOO!!!! –
I know are at risk of this disease. BC research can only move us (as Humanity)
forward.
All of them
might well live to see a day when breast cancer is eradicated. Made to
disappear. “Becomes as smallpox”. At this moment, there is only one subcategory
under the Wikipedia entry on “Eradicated diseases”, and that is smallpox.
I would love to
live to the day when “breast cancer” has been added.
How about you?
Saturday, May 7, 2016
ENCORE #36! – 12 Inspiring Quotes From Men Who Care For Women With Breast Cancer – or Who Have Survived Breast Cancer Themselves
From the first moment my wife discovered
she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even
ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have
received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than
mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started
this blog…That was four years ago – as time passed, people searching for answers
stumbled across my blog and checked out what I had to say. The following entry
appeared in June of 2014..
“For people who
don't know me, I practiced medicine in Casper, Wyoming for 25 years as an
orthopedic surgeon, taking care of families in Wyoming. I've been chief of
staff of the largest hospital in our state. My wife is a breast cancer
survivor.” – John Barrasso (US Senator, Wyoming)
“Men are
incredible caregivers when given the opportunity. But they are underserved in
education about support,” – Marc Heyison (Author, Founder – Men Against Breast
Cancer)
“At the clinic
she went to, they said, ‘Here is some information,’ and it was a tri-fold paper
that said what to expect, and to be supportive, he recalled. Well that’s not
really enough. You need more than that. I tried to get help, but there was
nothing there to go to.” – Chris Wrobel (Husband and caregiver of a breast
cancer survivor)
“All of the
reality TV I've done has usually been simultaneously an opportunity to create
awareness or raise funds for my mom's breast cancer organization.” – Stephen
Baldwin (American actor, director, producer and author)
“One of the
things we've always tried to do is help others with our story. Whether it's
with the infertility issues, whether it's with the breast cancer, we said we're
gonna turn these negatives into positives. And if we can help others by sharing
our story, then it's worth it.” – Bill Rancic (Husband and caregiver of
Giuliana Rancic, Italian American television personality and journalist)
“I have
experienced firsthand the tremendous impact breast cancer has on the women who
fight it and the loved ones who support them. This is a disease that catches
you unaware and, without the right resources, leaves you feeling frightened and
alone.”
– Ricardo
Antonio Chavira (American actor, Desperate
Housewives, and son of a breast cancer victim)
“Men get it. I
think us men need you women to help us survive.” – Peter Criss (Drummer from
the heavy metal band KISS)
“I learned that
it is better to tell people what they mean to us now, rather than to save it
for a eulogy at a funeral service.” – David (breast cancer survivor)
“We all know
people – mothers, sisters, daughters, neighbors – who have dealt with breast
cancer, and it’s wonderful when we know people who are really surviving.” – G
Roy Duhé (PhD, breast cancer researcher)
“When we embrace
uncertainty, it can be very liberating. If you can accept the uncertainty, it
allows you to live life every day.” – Victor Gospodinoff (Caregiver and husband
of breast cancer survivor)
+1 “Having cancer
gave me membership in an elite club I'd rather not belong to.” – Gilda Radner
(Founder of Gilda’s Club)
And lastly, something I said that resonated…with me…
“From the first
moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence
from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast
cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and
did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any
known reason, I started this blog…” – Guy Stewart
Saturday, April 30, 2016
GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT #24 “…help finish the fight against cancer once and for all!”
From the first moment my wife discovered
she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even
ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have
received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than
mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started
this blog…
Two years ago,
my wife and I walked for a short time in my school’s Relay For Life event (http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2014/05/guys-gotta-talk-about-2the-relay-for_31.html).
We’re doing it again this year.
Unfortunately,
my wife’s best friend and her husband are also doing it with us this year…as a
breast cancer survivor. Yeah, once again, I get to say what I said here: http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2016/03/guys-gotta-talk-about-23f-cancer.html
At any rate, I
won’t only be walking, I’m gonna see if I can get a few donations by agreeing
to put the name of a person in my current WIP (for those of you who aren’t up on
the writerly lingo, that stands for Work In Progress!) The book itself doesn’t
have anything to do with breast cancer or any other kind of cancer for that
matter. I’ll just add the auction winner’s name into the book as a minor
character. It could be fun (though some people may not think being in an
electronic book is much fun – it’s not exactly like being in a paper book that
you can put on a shelf somewhere and forget but take down whenever you want to
show off a bit! But it’s something I can do that might tickle someone’s fancy
and it’s a unique skill in the overall view of the planetary population.
So, if you’d
like to sign up to support the Robbinsdale RFL (I guess I’ll also be speaking
briefly as a former caregiver, too!), then there’s a link below.
Truth? It feels
good to be doing something this year to support the research against cancer. I
love the way they phrase it on the website below: “…help finish the fight
against cancer once and for all!”
SIGN UP TO
SUPPORT US!: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY16MW?pg=entry&fr_id=71483
Saturday, April 23, 2016
ENCORE #35! – The Death of Cancer Cells…
From the first moment my wife discovered she
had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones
whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a
gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble
about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this
blog…That was four years ago – as time passed, people searching for answers
stumbled across my blog and checked out what I had to say. The following entry
appeared in February of 2013…
My wife had a
checkup this week. No one seemed to be looking for tumors, no one suggested CAT
or PET or bone scans, no one felt for lumps...they took some blood and told her
they’d get back to her...
She got the call
and the doctor said that she was vitamin D deficient and they were prescribing
some MEGA vitamin D pills. NOT to combat bone loss, not against depression, not
for any of the reasons that seemed to ME to be logical. The vitamin D pills
were for MUSCLE PAIN.
We went out to
do a bit of shopping and picked up the prescription and when we got home, she
took the pill (with a few slices of a medium, traditional crust, mushroom and
black olive (plus “go light with the pepperoni”)), and extra cheese pizza).
After watching MASH and the first half of CHESS, she stood up, walked into the
dining room and said, “Could a pill work after taking it two hours ago –
because my legs don’t hurt anymore.”
I blinked in
surprise and said, “I...well...I don’t THINK so.”
Since that day,
her body pain is gone. She started taking capsaicin several weeks ago and that
helped with pain as well.
This got us started
on a nighttime conversation. By the time we were ready for bed, she said, “No
one seems to be worried about me getting cancer again.”
“I know. It’s
weird,” said I.
“What if...” she
paused. Then she continued in a softer voice, “What if it’s gone? What if I
don’t have to worry about a recurrence anymore? No one else seems worried. So,
maybe I don’t have to worry.”
I didn’t know
what to say. Her cancer doctor had prescribed the most aggressive regimen he
knew. She had a double mastectomy. What more could she have done? Maybe the
horror was over. Maybe FOREVER.
What if?
The concept is
STUNNING and I’m pretty sure I’m not done thinking about it…or writing about
it!
Saturday, April 16, 2016
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #44: Approaching Targeted Treatments!
From the first moment my wife discovered
she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even
ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have
received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than
mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started
this blog…
Every month, I’ll be highlighting breast
cancer research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites,
journals, and maybe even podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable
English and share them with you. Today: https://vimeo.com/155722401 (video); http://houstonmethodist.org/1285_houstonmethodist/1315_newsroom/1316_newsroom_newsandevents/newsdetail/?key=%7b03d8d7ae27034b5cb632a6f3fb2c700b%7d
(article); http://cdmrp.army.mil/bcrp/default.shtml
(site where I discovered this)
The thing most
associated with those who suffer from the plethora of cancers that attack
humans, is a person with a bald head – women and children in particular.
Nothing stirs us
like an image of a child who has no hair, because we know perfectly well that
they are sick. Nothing so makes the heart of a man quail as a bald woman.
Nothing drives home the truth of our mortality as the sight of a woman we love
who has lost all of her hair...
Those who have
gone through radiation treatment or chemotherapy know that the death of hair
follicles is one the side effects of the treatment. It happens because doctors
and researchers are unable to precisely target treatments that ONLY destroy
cancer cells: “Due to the body’s own defense mechanisms, most cancer drugs are
absorbed into healthy tissue causing negative side effects, and only a fraction
of the administered drug actually reaches the tumor, making it less effective,
said Mauro Ferrari, PhD, president and CEO of the Houston Methodist Research
Institute.”
Research Right
Now! has been pushing for methods of introducing anti-cancer agents directly to
the cancer cells.
Nanoparticles
are one way researchers are doing this.
What’s a
nanoparticle? Literally, it’s a particle that is one billionth the size of a
meter.
In this line of
research, scientists literally encase a cancer drug like tamoxifen (I’ve
written about it here: http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2015/03/encore-8-take-tamoxifen-for-ten-years.html)
in FAT. The particle can then be covered with a substance that will only attach
to a cell that has a particular “cancer taste” on it. Then it delivers its
death package and gets absorbed into the body.
Sounds simple,
right?
It ain’t!
“The Houston
Methodist team used doxorubicin [which] has adverse side effects to the heart
and is not an effective treatment against metastatic disease…each component has
a specific and essential role in the drug delivery process… [a] nanoporous
silicon material…[plus] a polymer made up of multiple strands that contain
doxorubicin [are taken] inside the tumor, the silicon material degrades,
releasing the strands…these strands curl-up to form nanoparticles that are
taken up by the cancer cells…the acidic pH close to the nucleus causes the drug
to be released from the nanoparticles. Inside the nucleus…”
There is plenty
of room for problems here, but the research grant they have has led to the
point where “Houston Methodist…plans to fast-track the research to obtain
FDA-approval and begin safety and efficacy studies in humans in 2017.”
We haven’t
reached the point of delivering an anti-cancer vaccine (which GUY’S GOTTA TALK
will focus on next time – though I’ll leave you with a teaser: “I Am Legend –
the Movie”) – but we are moving toward a day where maybe my daughter and surely
my granddaughter, will no longer have to dread
a cancer diagnosis.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
ENCORE #34! – Chemo Killed Colds…and Other Weird Thoughts
From the first moment my wife discovered
she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even
ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have
received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than
mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started
this blog…That was four years ago – as time passed, people searching for
answers stumbled across my blog and checked out what I had to say. The
following entry appeared in December of 2012…
My wife’s down
with a coughing, miserable, fever-full something-or-other, most likely the most
recent form of the noravirus...
Working in an
elementary school, she’s usually immune to whatever plague is making its way
through the general population. But when something smacks into the school and
it’s new, and the kids are staying home in droves…well, the staff usually gets
it and it wipes them out, too.
So she’s down
for the last day before Christmas Vacation.
It wasn’t like
that during chemo. We’ve talked about it before. All of the normal illnesses
seemed to give way in front of the onslaught of Taxotere (http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2011/10/whats-it-do.html),
Adriamycin (http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2011/10/adriamycin-whats-it-do.html),
and Cytoxan (http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2011/11/cytoxan-whats-it-do.html),
grouped with Neulasta (http://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2011/11/neulasta-whats-it-do.html).
But was that truth
or only appearance?
Appearance, I
guess (http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/preventinfections/patients.htm);
though the FACT was that my wife got sick with garden-variety colds and
infections less often while she was taking chemo and a reasonable conclusion
would be that her blood would be highly toxic to anything else that got into
her.
BUT…what about
neulasta (the brand name of a compound called PEG-filgrastim)? If white blood cells fight off disease
and neulasta BOOSTS the white blood cell count…
I did a lengthy
search, but can find virtually NOTHING regarding people who have taken neulasta
without having some sort of disease. While one of the side effects of using
neulasta is a decrease in mineral bone density, there don’t seem to be any
other consistent and wide-spread reactions (of course, there are isolated
incidences of nausea, etc. One person even reacted by getting horrible pocks of
dead and dying flesh (called Sweets Syndrome)).
It would be
interesting to find out if there have been instances of people who took
neulasta without having any sort of illness. Would they have a super-immune
system? Would they sail through life without illness? Don’t know. The intent of
neulasta injections coupled with chemotherapy is to boost the immune system’s
response in order to ward of infections during the treatment. That’s what it
did for my wife.
The question I
have is that if it did that during chemotherapy when the immune system was
weak; what would it do for a HEALTHY immune system?
Any anecdotes
and web connections would be appreciated!
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