Why should care needed at a second cancer diagnosis need to be debated?

Last week or so the British Parliament debated whether additional care is needed for patients undergoing a second breast cancer diagnosis. Why should this be any  different than any other cancer diagnosis?

As far as I am concerned, if a patient is diagnosed with a second cancer, it doesn't matter if its the same cancer or a new cancer, the patient needs to have access to all available resources. Why should this even be a discussion? Well it seems that in the UK National Health Service, the patient with the secondary cancer doesn't usually get access to the clinical nurse specialist that was available at their first diagnosis.

When you are faced with a big diagnosis such as cancer, it is important to have as many resources as possible. And it should be up to the patient to decide which resources they want to utilize - and that may be later as opposed to sooner. however the resources should be there. Please do not make the decision for the patient and let them make it for themselves.

Progress in Breast Cancer Treatment Shows in Recurrence Rates

A new study looked at survival of moderate or advanced breast cancer patients between the 1980s and 2000s. During those two decades new treatments and advancements, greatly decreased the recurrence rates.

I read the attached and two areas were of great interest. During that time Herceptin was made available and Her2 positive cancers became much easier to treat. Also, estrogen driven cancers used to have a consistentlyhigh recurrence rate but now it is much lower.

While the rate changes vary, overall the recurrence rate has fallen by 50% in those twenty years. This makes me wonder what can happen in the next twenty years in terms of cancer treatment progress.

While breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, we must not forget about other cancers and their recurrence rates.

But in the meantime, I will call this progress.

Inflammation and me

A few weeks ago I had my evil toe infection and was on antibiotics which meant I was off  Methotrexate for three weeks. Methotrexate keeps my RA and its inflammation in check. But antibiotics and MX don't work together. Or if I feel I am getting a cold, I am not supposed to take my MX either.

So week one I felt like I was getting a cold so I skipped it. Week two my stupid toe started and I was on antibiotics so I skipped it. Week three I was still on antibiotics for my stupid toe so I skipped it. Then I had two weeks of my MX injections. Then I went for my regular blood work on Tuesday to check my blood for evil things related to RA and its treatment. No big deal.

Then Wednesday I am happily cooking away, having fun, enjoying myself, and I missed a phone call. I checked my voice mail a few minutes later to find one of  'those' messages.

"Hi this is Debbie from Dr. K's office calling about your blood work yesterday. Can you please call us when you can? We are here today till 430 and then back on Friday. Its not urgent (hah!) but please call."

Of course, I called immediately. I hate those messages with so much subtext behind them. Debbie answered and said she had the results of my blood work and wanted to talk to me about them.

Apparently my inflammation levels were up and she wanted to know if I was in the middle of a bad flare up. I said no, more of the usual but nothing bad. But then I told her I had been off MX for three weeks and only back on it for two weeks. She felt that would account for the increased levels but to be sure to keep my appointment with Dr K next week.

So its only inflammation but it would make sense that I have been feeling like crap. And yes I'll keep my appointment.

Lung Cancer Doesnt Get Its Fair Share

Lung cancer affects half as many women as breast cancer does each year but kills twice as many women. And its five year survival rate is 16% or for Stage IV, 4%. To put it another way:

"An indiscriminate killer, lung cancer takes more lives annually than breast, prostate, colon and pancreatic cancers combined. The disease has not generally received the public attention or research dollars in proportion to its devastating lethality. Lung cancer receives just $1,442 in federal research funds per death, compared with $26,398 for breast cancer and $13,419 for prostate cancer according to an NIH study. Factor in private donations, and the funding gap becomes even more staggering."

Lung cancer is not the only one that is indiscriminate. All cancers are indiscriminate but its time that other cancers get the notice that go to the headline cancers - breast, pancreatic, and prostate. I call them headline cancers because they grab the headlines. But there are millions of Americans dealing with a lifetime in cancerland which is not the same as life without cancer.

November is lung cancer month. Did you even know that? You couldn't miss the pinkification of October..... Lung cancer, and other non-headline cancers, need their fair share of funding, research, and awareness.

I failed the unhealthy quiz!

So in my prowls around the internet, I came across a list/quiz of ten signs you are unhealthy. I thought, that MUST describe me. I was so happy to find out it did not describe me. Which means there are plenty of people who are less healthy than me out there. And here are the ten signs:

1. Your sleep pattern is not what it should be.
2. You have become an apple
3. You suffer from fatigue
4. Your urine is dark yellow
5. You snore louder and more often
6. You have to scratch all the time
7. You get cracks in your lips at the corners.
8. The quality of your skin is poor.
9. You always have a cold or the flu.
10. Your bowels are not regular.

Now I am not claiming that my sleep is perfect or I never get fatigued because I do. The list claims that one of the key reasons for fatigue are thyroid problems but since I don't have a thyroid that is a moot point for me. I also have RA and fibromyalgia which cause fatigue.

I also may not be the skinniest I have ever been but I don't suffer from the rest of these really at all. I also get plenty of exercise (believe it or not I do 60 minutes of cardio 3 times each week followed by weights and stretching).

But I digress. I am not all that healthy but I failed the unhealthy quiz!

Generic drug prices going up

Brand name prescription drug prices are sky rocketing. The silver lining for all of us patients is that generic drugs would become available at a much lower price. But now those prices are going up as well.

In the US, the government does not negotiate drug prices or mandate generic drug prices - which have been priced based on the cost of key ingredients - the smart way to do pricing instead of basing it on how much it is worth for the patients life (which is another blog post).

But now, a Senate panel is looking at generic prices and how much they have gone up in the past year. Hmmm..... I smell a rat.

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of generic drugs and most of my affordable prescriptions are generics. But my brand name prescriptions cost me anywhere from $35-$105/month. Ouch. And that's mail order prices. Which means I have to keep my chemo brain/fibro fog focus on refilling prescriptions before I run out.

I also am not a fan of too much government regulation. I do prefer when market forces run prices. While I am jealous of drug pricing overseas, I find it unfortunate that certain industries make their huge profits on the backs of American patients.

Now back to that rat that I smell.I suspect that something more is afoot than just market forces on the generic prices. Maybe some collusion somewhere. I don't know what that rat is but I am suspicious. Call me a concerned patient for now but I will keep digging around on this one.

I find it annoying!

Why, oh why, do we have to have stupid pink ribbons everywhere???? Seriously? I knit and crochet and have tables at craft shows locally in November and December each year. Yesterday I was at a show and there were pink ribbons up in the bathroom. Do we need them? Why?

Every craft show also seems to have someone who decides to plaster pink ribbons on at least half their crafts. I don't think I would mind it if they were equal opportunity ribbons for all the different types of cancer and not just the pink ones.

I don't mind the informative posters you see here and there, its just the stupid pink ribbons that annoy me.

Its not October any more. And I really find them annoying in October. Can't we just get rid of them all? The world doesn't need more pink (ribbons)!

Okay, its Monday morning and I am in a 'mood'. I don't have to work but have to take my father to the doctor today. I want to go to the gym first and a friend may stop by later and the house is a MESS!

And then tomorrow I take my father back to the hospital for another adventure. Meanwhile my husband is threatening to clean while I am gone. The problem with him cleaning is he throws everything he doesn't know what to do with in a bag or box and sticks it in the basement and then I hunt for it for six months as he has forgotten what he put where.

Then the Thanksgiving cooking starts.... which is the fun part.

Maybe I'll be cranky today. Don't tell anyone.