Comments on: When Cancer Strikes

By: Fiscal sickness | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazine

Fiscal sickness | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazine — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:07:17 +0000

[...] have had a number of lively discussions on CV as of late (e.g., here and here) on the state of health care in the United States. Capitol Hill is at present completely [...]

By: gopher65

gopher65 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:12:13 +0000

I look forward to a day when MRIs (or a similar technology) become cheap and simple enough to be installed in every doctor’s and dentist’s office, like X-Ray machines are today.

By: Welcome 2009! | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazine

Welcome 2009! | Cosmic Variance | Discover Magazine — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 01:27:53 +0000

[...] get a President that can pronounce the word nuclear. Personally, I am bidding good riddance to my Annus Horribilis and refuse to set any New Year’s resolutions. I am unapologetic in my plan to be [...]

By: Count Iblis

Count Iblis — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:50:17 +0000

Typo, this is the correct link

By: Count Iblis

Count Iblis — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:48:52 +0000

I think not being to eat well would be very hard for me if I ever had to undergo chemotherapy

I read here that:

Do not eat your favorite foods during this time. They will no longer be favorite foods if you begin to associate them with nausea and vomiting episodes.

So, perhaps it isn’t a bad idea to eat your favorite junk food during this time

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:47:11 +0000

Count: My doctors warned me about vitamins, and so I didn’t take any during the chemo. And I certainly didn’t eat enough to worry about getting vitamins from food.

By: Count Iblis

Count Iblis — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:58:33 +0000

More potentially bad news for JoAnne:

What vitamin C does is protect the cancer cells from the chemotherapy mainly by protecting their mitochondria

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:10:38 +0000

Estraven: Sorry for the delay in reply – I hope you are still checking the comments. Obviously I am not a medical doctor and am no substitute for a long talk with your doctor -which you clearly should have. However, from my vantage point, every pre-menopausal woman with a family history of breast cancer should be getting MRIs for screening. Insurance doesn’t like to pay for it, and it may lead to false positives, but the insurance does bend once family history is mentioned, and false positives are a small price to pay for the real positives.

All: I read an article today which stated that the chemical folks are recently concerned about in plastic bottles is not only carcinogenic, but specifically results in resistance to chemotherapy for breast cancer. Now, the chemo makes you **extremely** thristy, and so I drank cases of bottled water from Costco….I never drink anything from plastic normally, except for this water during the chemo! And now tonight, I’m in tears thinking that I screwed myself and went through the chemo for nothing…..

By: Jean D.

Jean D. — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 06:54:28 +0000

JoAnne, Glad to hear that you’ve made it through to the other side of your ordeal — and thanks for sharing what you’ve been through and what you’ve learned. (I agree with Sili — it seems like cancer is a “when” and not an “if” proposition for us all these days…)

By: Ron

Ron — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:40:01 +0000

I discovered this blog some weeks ago when looking for info on the Large Haldon Collider…and discovered something quite different. Most of the physics alludes me, but I read it none the less…and your piece touched me at a place that no sub atomic particle can.

I know it makes no sense and may seem trivial, but one of my beloved cats was just diagnosed with cancer…and as I watch him sitting across the room, under a warm antique panel lamp, I consider how precious life is to all of us.

Ron

By: estraven

estraven — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:26:50 +0000

I do get mammogram + ultrasound once a year. Nobody ever mentioned MRIs. How would I know if I need one? Any pointers you can share would be helpful.

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:49:43 +0000

Estraven: You (and all high risk women) absolutely must be screened with at least an ultra-sound if not an MRI in addition to mammography. Be forceful with your doctor! My cousin Margie had small breasts and by the time she could feel the lump it was too late.

By: estraven

estraven — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:24:47 +0000

JoAnne, I’m a lurker here. I just want to wish you the best of luck for the journey ahead. Both my mother and mother-in-law survived breast cancer (13 and 30+ years respectively) with no longterm effects. My grandmother didn’t, but that was 50+ years ago.
I count as high risk and am being screened regularly, but as you said, X-rays only tell you so much. I hope my doctor will be as good as yours (she claims even small lumps would be easy to feel as my breasts are tiny). A reminder to everybody else out there in a high risk category: smoke = bad. Excess fat = bad (raises post-menopausal estrogen level). Pregnancy and breastfeeding = good.

By: Alexey Petrov

Alexey Petrov — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:07:13 +0000

Hi JoAnne, thanks for posting this. I admire your courage and resolve! Get well soon — remember, we have to write many more charm physics papers!

By: Neil B. ?

Neil B. ? — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:00:57 +0000

JoAnne, my mother got breast cancer about 25 years ago (her name is also Joanne). She was operated on and survived thus far. I hope you avoid recurrence. I have seen decent looking studies that say almonds help (not per the specific claims of controversial laetrile, just in general) as well as selenium and garlic. Exercise and good diet in general are of course helpful. Good luck, good health, and cheers to your optimistic and “philosophical” attitude.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:44:03 +0000

JoAnne, very very helpful post, both emotionally and logistically…for some reason, I like very much what you said towards the end…looking forward to growing old…not being scared as body parts start to show their age…I like this. I really get it too.

I am wondering if this lump was not easy to feel because you knew there was a cyst there already? Or are there some lumps that just fit in with the other breast tissue, so are not easily felt? Or are some lumps actually soft lumps? I do my exams like a clock…but if something had been growing for 5 years I wouldn’t notice it, that is when I began self-exams.

If you will allow me to be superficial for a moment – when I saw the LHC party video you posted, and saw you with the shorty short hair – you do realize that even though it doesn’t matter in the larger scheme of things you are strikingly beautiful with that hairdo?? Your features and the cropped hair go very well together.

Anyway, thanks again for this post…

By: nirnaeth

nirnaeth — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:18:20 +0000

Good luck. Be strong.

A huge hug.

By: Speedy Gonzalez

Speedy Gonzalez — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:06:29 +0000

JoAnne, thanks for sharing your story. And remember – every day is one step closer to victory. My mother was diagnosed colorectal cancer about 2 years ago. It was discovered after I, more or less, had to "drag" her to the doctor. She was diagnosed colorectal cancer, classification Dukes C (involvement of lymph nodes). Now, she has got her hair back and is happy and up and running, 75 years old! For me who lives in Europe, it’s shocking to hear that the insurance company decides what are the proper methods for finding cancer, and not the doctors!? You all better vote for Obama on November 4... JoAnne, as a scientist I’m sure you have read everything there is to read. But just in case – you MUST INSIST on getting a very simple blood test for tumor markers as CEA, CA19-9 or CA125 – if you not already have. If this test is OK there is nothing to worry about. You just have to wait for Sean, Mark and the other guys to throw a BIG party for you! Good Luck – Stay Strong – I’m sure you gonna make it!

By: Ron Campbell

Ron Campbell — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 14:30:15 +0000

Joanne,
After finding your post, I can’t help but reply, despite having very little or nothing new to add. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, with a significant number of lymph nodes and other numbers that I did not commit to memory, but seemed ominous then. The most important number now is 20, which is how many years since then she is a survivor.

I remember how hard it was for her going through all the treatments. She never gave up, and faithfully gets screened every since. She never gave up, and has stayed in touch with other survivors, including regular participation in the Relay for Life, in which now she is one of the longest survivors. One visit to that event will convert anyone.

In a family already familiar with this, I’m sure you have many contacts and the best physicians, if you do not or want more, I will put you in touch.

I wish you all the luck, strength, and support I can from across this wi-fi connection.

By: Blake

Blake — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 10:22:28 +0000

Because T1 spin relaxation times for H in the body after exposure to an RF pulse in a 2 Tesla magnetic field are on order of seconds and thus movements during spin relaxation detection and image acquisition produce artifacts, thus high quality 2D image plane acquisition takes some time, thus full 3D reconstruction using image plane summing takes more time, thus highly trained technicians must be paid for their time, thus MRIs are expensive, thus they are used only when cheaper methods not requiring the use of exotic cryogenically bathed superconducting magnets have proven inadequate, thus there is insufficient time and money for everyone to get an MRI every year.