Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Thanksgiving Toast



For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful.

Here's to the blessing of the year,
Here's to the friends we hold so dear,
To peace on earth, both far and near.

The American eagle and the Thanksgiving turkey­
May one give us peace in all our states,
And the other a piece for all our plates.

Here's to the turkey I'm about to eat and the turkeys I'll eat it with!

My Gratitude List this Thanksgiving

"If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough." ~ Meister Eckhart

As one of the most difficult years in my life is coming to a close, I have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. Sometimes it's hard to see the good that exists amidst our troubles. However, by being more grateful for what I have, I feel happy. I must give thanks to those of you who supported me during my breast cancer diagnosis, surgery and post-op period. Thanks much from the bottom of my heart - I couldn't have gotten through this traumatic experience without your help. My breast cancer was a blessing in the sense that it has made me stronger, more resilient, and happier.

Everyday when I wake up I recite a gratitude list to myself. Today's list:

1) My family, 2) my friends, 3) a warm bed, 4) a roof over my head, 5) Gypsy, 6) a good job, 7) Dr. Frazier & my Nurse Navigator, Sarah, 8) Dr. Gupta, 9) NED (No Evidence of Disease), and last but not least ... 10) not having to wear the hospital gowns that open in the back and leave much to be desired (you know the ones - your back and ass are visible to everyone!)

I have learned to change ordinary opportunities into blessings. I have also learned to enjoy the small things in life that sometimes I had taken for granted. I have a new lease on life - a second chance - and it feels wonderful.

Life is good!

Thank you for each day. I am filled with feelings of hope, peace and happiness. Each day is a gift and for that I am grateful.

I will end this post with a beautiful poem by Charles Reznikoff called "Te Deum":

Not because of victories
I sing,
having none,
but for the common sunshine,
the breeze,
the largess of the spring.

Not for victory
but for the day’s work done
as well as I was able;
not for a seat upon the dais
but at the common table.


Κοίτα μια νύχτα



Κοίτα μια νύχτα

Στίχοι: Λίνα Νικολακοπύλου
Μουσική: Θάνο; Μικρούτσικος
Τραγούδι: Χάρις Αέξίου

Κοίτα μια νύχτα
έξω που κάνει
κι ότι κι αν λέμε
κάπου μας πιάνει

Δες φεγγάρια
δες μπαλκόνια
και ζευγάρια
που΄ναι χρόνια μαζί

Μάτια μου η Ελλάδα
την πάει την φεγγαράδα
κι αν είσαι και ξενύχτης
σε πάει και μια βαρκάδα

Μάτια μου, η Ελλάδα
το λέει γη φιλενάδα
μου το΄παν κι οι θεοί της
τους είχε δωδεκάδα

Κοίτα μια νύχτα
έξω που αντέχει
κι ότι κι αν παίζει
κόσμο θα έχει

Βάλε κι αστέρια
Βάλε και πρίμα
κι άσε τα χέρια
να΄χουν το κύμα κορμί


Sunday, November 23, 2014

Consumption of Soy and Cancer

Soy may promote overexpression of breast cancer genes in some women.

Soy and products made from it, like soy milk and tofu, could have an effect on genes involved in breast cancer growth. Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering have recently uncovered evidence that addresses soy.

In a controlled, randomized study of women with newly diagnosed, early-stage breast cancer, MSK scientists found that, in a subset of participants, adding a moderate amount of soy to the diet led to an increase in the expression of genes associated with cancer growth.

In a small portion of the women in the study, there was evidence that genes that promote proliferation were overexpressed.

The study was not long enough to address the question of whether these changes in gene expression would lead to enhanced tumor growth. Although the genes were being expressed, it is not clear that this will translate into actual tumor growth, but the concern is that there may be the potential.

The findings were published in the September 4 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Study participants had recently undergone breast biopsies and were diagnosed with stage 1 or 2 breast cancer and scheduled to have a mastectomy or lumpectomy two to three weeks later. During the time between their diagnosis and surgery, the women were randomized to receive either soy protein or a placebo as part of the study.

From the original pool of participants, those in the soy group who had high levels of genistein, a component of soy, were evaluated along with patients in the control group who did not take soy to look for signs of changes in gene expression or molecular changes in their tumors.

Not everyone who took the soy had high levels of genistein - and changes in gene expression were seen only in patients who did experience an increase. 20 percent of those patients who took the soy had really high levels of the genistein metabolite.

Of the women with high genistein levels, a few of them experienced changes in a specified set of genes that are established to be involved in breast cancer cell growth, death, or some aspect of breast cancer pathology.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

RIP Mike Nichols

One of my favorite directors has passed away. Mike Nichols won the highest honors in the arts for his work as a director, writer, producer and comic and was one of a tiny few to win the EGOT-an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony in his lifetime. In an old post, I wrote about Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf, my all-time favorite movie based on Edward Albee's brilliant play.

The director of The Graduate and Death of a Salesman started as a performer, but quickly built a career offstage as one of entertainment's most-honored creative leaders.

On a movie set or Broadway stage, Mike Nichols excelled at building iconic dramatic scenes. In the 1971 film Carnal Knowledge, he bounced reluctant boyfriend Jack Nicholson off needy lover Ann-Margret.

Nichols' skills made instant classics of plays like Neil Simon's The Odd Couple and films such as The Graduate and Silkwood. He started as a performer with actress/writer Elaine May, but Nichols greatest work was as a director.

Martha: I swear if you existed I'd divorece you.

Busting a gut!

Fracking

The oil and gas industry insists that hydraulic fracturing of natural gas and oil wells does not threaten America’s water supplies. But a new report by Environmental Working Group finds that hundreds of 'monster wells' across the country were fracked with 10 to 25 million gallons of water each - and many that used the most water were in drought-stricken areas.

The report, titled Monster Wells, found that between April 2010 and December 2013, a total of more than 3.3 billion gallons of water were used to drill 261 such wells, with the greatest number in Texas, Pennsylvania and Colorado. About two-thirds were drilled in areas suffering from drought, depleting scarce freshwater resources and threatening to pollute groundwater.

"The amount of water used in these wells is staggering," said Bill Walker, coauthor of the report and EWG consultant. "The water used to frack a single monster well could meet the water needs of a drought-stricken county in Texas twice over."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the average amount of water used to frack a well is 50,000 to 5 million gallons. But EWG’s analysis found that is hardly the upper limit.

The industry typically downplays the amount of water used, the resource depletion it causes in drought areas and the risk of polluting groundwater. Since drilling companies often are not required to reporting their water use, there are likely an unknown number of other undisclosed monster wells across the country.

"It’s time we give towns, cities and counties the right to make decisions about how their resources are used, especially in drought areas," Soren Rundquist, EWG’s landscape and remote sensing analyst, who coauthored the report, said. "That means the industry must be required to report – for every well – how much water was used, the source of the water and how it was disposed of."

The impact on water supplies does not end once a well is fracked. When millions of gallons of water laced with chemicals and sand are injected into underground rock formations to free trapped gas or oil, huge quantities of contaminated water come back up. Because of the high costs and technological challenges of treating this water, most of it is re-injected into deep disposal wells, which can leak and pollute groundwater.

The report recommends:

State or local authorities should require oil and gas companies to obtain water use permits for each well they drill. Applications for permits should disclose not only the amount of water to be used but its source and type and how it will be recycled or disposed of. State and local authorities should have authority to deny or limit permits for wells they judge to require excessive amounts of water. In times of officially declared drought, oil and gas drilling operations should be subject to the same kind of water use restrictions imposed on citizens, farmers, communities, recreational activities and other industries. Ensuring access to clean, safe, affordable drinking water should always be the top priority. To improve reporting and tracking of water use, the industry-operated FracFocus website must be replaced with an independent database, overseen by the EPA and modeled on its Toxics Release Inventory.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Welcome to Buffalo!





Welcome to Buffalo!

A record-breaking snow storm smashed records as it poured southwards over the eastern two-thirds of the United States, with temperatures 15 - 35°F below average across much of the country. Freezing temperatures pushed all the south into the Florida Panhandle, where Pensacola hit 28°F. The cold air flowing over the unfrozen waters of the Great Lakes has unleashed an epic lake effect snow storm around Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, where the west-southwesterly winds of the storm have aligned with the long axis of these lakes, allowing the air to pick up large amounts of moisture.

Lake effect snow storm over Buffalo, New York. Image credit: Mark T. Branden via Twitter.



Radar image of lake effect snow affecting all five Great Lake counties. Image credit: Wundermap.



Hardest hit: Buffalo, New York

A Lake Effect Snow Warning is in effect for Buffalo, New York, where areas just south and east of the city had received over three feet of snow by Tuesday morning. As of 10:15 am EST Tuesday, the Buffalo suburb of Lancaster on the city's east side had received an amazing four feet of snow in 24 hours, with snowfall rates of 4" per hour and occasional rumbles of thunder. With the band of heavy lake effect snow responsible not expected to move much through Tuesday night, the NWS is forecasting that Lancaster will receive a total of nearly six feet of snow before the winds shift by Wednesday morning. A state of emergency has been declared in Erie County, New York, which includes Buffalo. All travel except for emergency vehicles is banned, and a 13-mile section of the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90) was closed from the east side of Buffalo southward. To avoid traffic backups, a 37-mile stretch of the Niagara Thruway (I-90) southbound from Niagara Falls to the I-90 interchange was also shut down on Tuesday morning.

Heavy snow is still piling up in Watertown, New York, where over three feet of snow is expected. Lesser snow amounts are expected in the lees of the other Great Lakes, where the wind will not be blowing over such long stretches of open water. Up to 15" had fallen in northern Lower Michigan at Boyne Falls by Tuesday morning.


Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Myriad Genetics and their patent



Myriad's patent on parts of naturally occurring human genes is a disgrace. Millions of women suffering from breast and ovarian cancer are affected by Myriad's patents. The fight is not over!

The patent system, as currently designed, imposes untold social costs, and also fails to maximize innovation - as Myriad’s gene patents demonstrate. After all, Myriad did not invent the technologies used to analyze the genes. If these technologies had been patented, Myriad might not have made its discoveries. And its tight control of the use of its patents has inhibited the development by others of better and more accurate tests for the presence of the gene. The point is a simple one: All research is based on prior research. A poorly designed patent system - like the one we have now - can inhibit follow-up research.

That is why we do not allow patents for basic insights in mathematics. And it is why research shows that patenting genes actually reduces the production of new knowledge about genes: The most important input in the production of new knowledge is prior knowledge, to which patents inhibit access.

Fortunately, what motivates most significant advances in knowledge is not profit, but the pursuit of knowledge itself. This has been true of all of the transformative discoveries and innovations - DNA, transistors, lasers, the Internet, and so on.

A separate legal case has underscored one of the main dangers of patent-driven monopoly power: corruption. With prices far in excess of the cost of production, there are, for example, huge profits to be gained by persuading pharmacies, hospitals, or doctors to shift sales to your products.

The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York recently accused the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis of doing exactly this by providing illegal kickbacks, honoraria, and other benefits to doctors - exactly what it promised not to do when it settled a similar case three years earlier. Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, has calculated that, in the United States alone, the pharmaceutical industry has paid out billions of dollars as a result of court judgments and financial settlements between pharmaceutical manufacturers and federal and state governments.

Money talks ...

Sadly, the U.S. and other advanced countries have been pressing for stronger intellectual-property regimes around the world. Such regimes would limit poor countries’ access to the knowledge that they need for their development and would deny life-saving generic drugs to the hundreds of millions of people who cannot afford the drug companies’ monopoly prices.

The issue is coming to a head in ongoing World Trade Organization negotiations. The WTO’s intellectual-property agreement, called TRIPS, originally foresaw the extension of 'flexibilities' to the 48 least-developed countries, where average annual per capita income is below $800. The original agreement seems remarkably clear: The WTO shall extend these 'flexibilities' upon the request of the least-developed countries. While these countries have now made such a request, the U.S. and Europe appear hesitant to oblige.

Intellectual property rights are rules that we create that are supposed to improve social well-being. But unbalanced intellectual-property regimes result in inefficiencies -including monopoly profits and a failure to maximize the use of knowledge - that impede the pace of innovation. As the Myriad case shows, they can even result in unnecessary loss of life.

America’s intellectual property regime - and the regime that the US has helped to foist upon the rest of the world through the TRIPS agreement - is unbalanced.

The Supreme Court Case in which Myriad Genetics was challenged because they had a patent on our human BRCA genes should have never gotten that far in our courts. This patent allowed them to be the only ones to do this gene test which kept other researchers and companies from conducting research for better tests that would help women with treatment decisions by knowing if they are at high risk of developing this genetic form of breast and ovarian cancer. While Myriad held the monopoly on the test, other companies were prevented from developing better and less expensive tests and more research into other genes.

The case originally in 2009 brought together many diverse plaintiffs in New York Federal Court that included the ACLU, the Association for Molecular Pathology, the American College of Medical Genetics, individual researchers; women’s health and breast cancer advocacy groups, including Breast Cancer Action and Our Bodies Ourselves; and women who have breast and ovarian cancer. Originally they ruled against Myriad but the case was overturned a year later in an appellate court. Absent from the list of plaintiffs was the Susan G. Komen Foundation who lists Myriad Genetics as a donor to their organization.

One of the plaintiffs, Breast Cancer Action is a national grassroots education and advocacy organization working to end breast cancer. They do not accept any donations from companies, corporations or anyone who profits from breast cancer.

The Supreme Court got it right when it ruled against Myriad Genetics by ruling that companies cannot patent parts of naturally occurring human genes. The ruling was complex and at the heart of it was the patent, which would help doctors, pathology labs, research, breast and ovarian cancer patients and those at high risk for the disease and would have also made the test more affordable. The test was very expensive (over $4000.00) and many women were uninsured, and those who carried insurance while doing the test were sometimes denied payment or had very high co-pays for the test. There is already a genetics testing company based in Houston that said it would offer the test for $995.00 called DNATraits. To see the decision go to: The Association for Molecular Pathology et al. vs. Myriad Genetics .

Breast cancer and ovarian cancer patients cheered the decision of the Supreme Court. Thank you to the breast cancer patients, patient advocates, doctors, legislators, organizations, bloggers that are working every day to help other patients, make the public aware about the realities of this disease, get more funding for research especially for patients who are metastatic and doing difficult treatments every day to stay alive, and finally work to develop a vaccine that will prevent this horrible disease in the first place.

The Supreme Court's ruling which was overturned by an appellate court:

Human genes may not be patented, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously. The decision had the potential to reduce the cost of genetic testing for some health risks, and it would have discouraged investment in some forms of genetic research.

The case concerned patents held by Myriad Genetics, a Utah company, on genes that correlate with an increased risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. The patents were challenged by scientists and doctors who said their research and ability to help patients had been frustrated.

After the ruling, at least three companies and two university labs said that they would begin offering genetic testing in the field of breast cancer.

"Myriad did not create anything," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the court. "To be sure, it found an important and useful gene, but separating that gene from its surrounding genetic material is not an act of invention."

The course of scientific research and medical testing in other fields would have been shaped by the court’s ruling, which drew a sharp distinction between DNA that appears in nature and synthetic DNA created in the laboratory. That distinction would have altered the sort of research and development conducted by the businesses that invest in the expensive work of understanding genetic material.

The decision tracked the position of the Obama administration, which had urged the justices to rule that isolated DNA could not be patented, but that synthetic DNA created in the laboratory - complementary DNA, or cDNA - should be protected under the patent laws. In accepting that second argument, the ruling on provided a partial victory to Myriad and other companies that invest in genetic research.

The particular genes at issue received public attention after the actress Angelina Jolie revealed in May that she had had a preventive double mastectomy after learning that she had inherited a faulty copy of a gene that put her at high risk for breast cancer.

The price of the test, often more than $3,000, was partly a product of Myriad’s patent, putting it out of reach for some women.

That price "should come down significantly," said Dr. Harry Ostrer, one of the plaintiffs in the case, as competitors wanted to offer their own tests. The ruling, he said, "will have an immediate impact on people’s health."

In a statement, Myriad’s president, Peter D. Meldrum, said the company still had "strong intellectual property protection" for its gene testing.

The central question for the justices in the case, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, No. 12-398, was whether isolated genes are "products of nature" that may not be patented or "human-made inventions" eligible for patent protection.

Myriad’s discovery of the precise location and sequence of the genes at issue, BRCA1 and BRCA2, did not qualify, Justice Thomas wrote. "A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated," he said. "It is undisputed that Myriad did not create or alter any of the genetic information encoded in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes."

"Groundbreaking, innovative or even brilliant discovery does not by itself satisfy the criteria" for patent eligibility, he said.

Mutations in the two genes significantly increase the risk of cancer. Knowing the location of the genes enabled Myriad to develop tests to detect the mutations. The company blocked others from conducting tests based on its discovery, filing patent infringement suits against some of them.

"Myriad thus solidified its position as the only entity providing BRCA testing," Justice Thomas wrote.

Even as the court ruled that merely isolating a gene is not enough, it said that manipulating a gene to create something not found in nature is an invention eligible for patent protection.

"The lab technician unquestionably creates something new when cDNA is made," Justice Thomas wrote.

He also left the door open for other ways for companies to profit from their research.

They may patent the methods of isolating genes, he said. "But the processes used by Myriad to isolate DNA were well understood by geneticists," Justice Thomas wrote. He added that companies may also obtain patents on new applications of knowledge gained from genetic research.

Last year, a divided three-judge panel of a federal appeals court in Washington ruled for the company on both aspects of the case. All of the judges agreed that synthesized DNA could be patented, but they split over whether isolated but unaltered genes were sufficiently different from ones in the body to allow them to be protected. The majority, in a part of its decision reversed by the Supreme Court, said that merely removing DNA from the human body is an invention worthy of protection.

"The isolated DNA molecules before us are not found in nature," Judge Alan D. Lourie wrote. "They are obtained in the laboratory and are man-made, the product of human ingenuity."

Long passages of Justice Thomas’s opinion read like a science textbook, prompting Justice Antonin Scalia to issue a brief concurrence. He said the court had reached the right result but had gone astray in "going into fine details of molecular biology."

How sad that the Supreme Court's ruling was overturned by an appellate court.



Monday, November 17, 2014

Metastatic Breast Cancer

Around the world every 23 seconds someone is diagnosed with breast cancer and every 69 seconds someone dies. That’s 1 death from MBC (Metastatic Breast Cancer) every minute and nine seconds.

This is not enough progress in finding a cure for Breast Cancer. The National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) has set a deadline to end breast cancer in 2020. As patient advocates we must also do every thing we can to help patients with MBC & see and end to MBC. 30% of all patients who get breast cancer will end up getting MBC no matter what their pathology was or how far along their primary disease in the breast and lymph nodes was. These are horrible statistics of real people with real stories dying every day from breast cancer. Only 2% of money used for research goes to MBC research. More money needs to be allocated to MBC research to sop these deaths.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Electroacupuncture

Just finished reading the following article on joint pain associated with Aromatase Inhibitors (Arimidex, Aromasin, Femara). It really is not surprising that many women stop taking the pills. The joint and muscle pain is constant and the thought of having this pain for 5 or 10 years can be overwhelming.

I massage my legs and feet and apply moist heat to the areas.

~~~~~~~~

Electroacupuncture Helps Ease Joint Pain From Aromatase Inhibitors

Published on November 6, 2014 at 11:16 AM, Breastcancer.org

TOPIC: Diagnosis, Complementary and Holistic Therapies, Hormonal Therapy, and Side Effects

TAGS: Postmenopausal, Estrogen-Receptor Positive, Progesterone-Receptor Positive, Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, Invasive or Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma, Invasive or Infiltrating Lobular Carcinoma, Luminal A Breast Cancer, Luminal B Breast Cancer, Early-stage: Stage 0 -- DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma in Situ), Early-stage: Stage IA, Early-stage: Stage IB, Early-stage: Stage IIA, Early-stage: Stage IIB, Early-stage: Stage IIIA, Acupuncture, Postmenopausal, Preparing for/Undergoing Hormonal Therapy, Hormonal Therapy After Surgery (Adjuvant), Arimidex (chemical name: anastrozole), Aromasin (chemical name: exemestane), Femara (chemical name: letrozole), Aromatase Inhibitors, and Joint Pain


After surgery, women diagnosed with hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer usually take hormonal therapy medicine to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back (recurrence). Hormonal therapy medicines work in two ways:

● by lowering the amount of estrogen in the body
● by blocking the action of estrogen on breast cancer cells

There are several types of hormonal therapy medicines. Tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), is one of the most well-known. Tamoxifen can be used to treat both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. In 2005, the aromatase inhibitors:

● Arimidex (chemical name: anastrozole)
● Aromasin (chemical name: exemestane)
● Femara (chemical name: letrozole)

were shown to be more effective at reducing recurrence risk in postmenopausal women and are now used more often than tamoxifen to treat women who’ve gone through menopause. Aromatase inhibitors aren’t used to reduce recurrence risk in premenopausal women.

Both tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors can cause side effects. Tamoxifen may cause hot flashes and increase the risk of blood clots and stroke. Aromatase inhibitors may cause muscle and joint aches and pains, as well as hot flashes. Less common but more severe side effects of aromatase inhibitors are heart problems, osteoporosis, and broken bones. Research has shown that about 25% of women who are prescribed hormonal therapy to reduce the risk of recurrence after surgery either don’t start taking the medicine or stop taking it early.

If doctors can find a way to ease these side effects, more women might stick to their treatment plans.

Studies have shown that both real and placebo (also called sham) electroacupuncture can help ease joint pain that may be a side effect of the aromatase inhibitors.

Electroacupuncture is a type of acupuncture where a small electric current passes between pairs of acupuncture needles.

Sham electroacupuncture is non-electric and done with needles that retract and don’t penetrate the skin. The retracting needles do produce a pricking sensation, so women in studies can’t tell if they’re getting real electroacupuncture or sham electroacupuncture.

Because both real and electroacupuncture have eased pain, researchers have wondered how to interpret the results. Does electroacupuncture truly help ease pain? Is it possible that sham electroacupuncture is acting in a different way than real electroacupuncture to ease pain?

A study trying to answer these questions has found that women who expect electroacupuncture to work get better pain relief than women who expect the treatment to work and get real electroacupuncture.

The research was published in issue 50 of a special monograph of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Read “Expectancy in Real and Sham Electroacupuncture: Does Believing Make It So?”

In the study, 67 postmenopausal women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer who were taking an aromatase inhibitor and having joint pain were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups:

● Electroacupuncture: Women in this group had 14 electroacupuncture sessions that lasted 20 minutes for the 8 weeks of the study.

● Sham electroacupuncture: Women in this group had the exact same treatment schedule as the women getting real electroacupuncture.

● No intervention: The women in this group received no special care for their joint pain.

The researchers asked the women getting real and sham electroacupuncture about their expectations of the treatment four times during the study:

● just before the first treatment
● at week two
● at week four
● at the end of the treatments

At the end of the study, the researchers also asked the women about how much change, if any, there was in the amount of joint pain they were having. Women who said their pain was much improved or very much improved were considered to have a response to the acupuncture. The rest of the women were considered to have no response to the treatment.

The researchers found that women who got sham electroacupuncture and expected it to work before the first treatment were more likely to have a response to the treatment than women who didn’t expect the treatment to work. Women who had high expectations that the treatment would work reported up to an 80% reduction in joint pain by the end of the study.

In contrast, women who got real electroacupuncture and had a response to the treatment were no more likely to expect it to work than women who didn’t have a response to the treatment. Real electroacupuncture reduced joint pain by as much as 40%, whether or not the women expected it to work.

"These findings certainly challenge the notion held by some that acupuncture is 'all placebo,'" said Joshua Bauml, M.D., assistant professor of medicine in the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania and lead author of the study. "If it were all placebo, patients receiving real acupuncture who had low expectations that it would work would report little or no reductions in pain. But that's not the case."

According to the researchers, the high level of pain relief reported by women who had high expectations that the sham electroacupuncture would work raises the question of whether these women would benefit from sham acupuncture with no electric stimulation.

If you’re having joint pain as a side effect of taking an aromatase inhibitor, you may want to talk to your doctor about this study.

Electroacupuncture is one of several complementary and holistic medicine techniques that have been shown to help women deal with breast cancer treatment side effects such as joint pain. Other techniques include hypnosis, massage, music therapy, Reiki, and Shiatsu.

Charlie Horse

The pain I experienced from the cramp in my right calf is nothing like the cramps I experienced years ago from exercising too much. The awful gripping pain in my muscle kept me up the last few nights. It has gotten better but now my toes are cramping up on my right foot. Why is it always the right side of my body? Right knee, right forearm, right ankle, breast, calf, and now my toes.

I tried to stretch my calf muscle and I even tried to walk it off.

The last time I had a 'charlie horse' in my calf was when I worked at United Natl. I developed a cramp that came on suddenly. I stretched the muscle and was able to walk it off. At the time, I had lost 60 lbs and was deficient in potassium and calcium. My electrolyte balance was off big time.

I tried two remedies:

I stood about two feet away from a wall. I bent my arms at the elbow and placed my forearms against the wall so that my body was tilting towards the wall and my knees and back were straight. Made sure my heels were on the floor and did not bend my back. This was supposed to extend my calf muscles providing relief.

I know I am not suffering from vitamin deficiency. I eat well and everyday I take my vitamins including a multi, B-complex, calcium, D3, fish oil and vitamin C.

This too shall pass ...

I can't go around walking like a duck much longer!

The Waste Land

Nothing like T.S. Elliot to start the day off. It is brutally cold outside. It's so cold, your spit freezes before it hits the ground!

~~~~~~~~

The Waste Land ~ T.S. Elliot

"Nam Sibyllam quidem Cumis ego ipse oculis meis
Vidi in ampulla pendere, et cum illi pueri dicerent: Σιβυλλα τι θελεις; respondebat illa: αποθανειν θελω.”

For Ezra Pound

I. THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD

April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee
With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade
And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten,
And drank coffee, and talked for an hour.
Bin gar keine Russin, stamm' aus Litauen, echt deutsch.
And when we were children, staying at the archduke's,
My cousin's, he took me out on a sled
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter.

What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.
Frisch weht der Wind
Der Heimat zu
Mein Irisch Kind
Wo weilest du?
"You gave me hyacinths first a year ago;
"They called me the hyacinth girl."
––Yet when we came back, late, from the Hyacinth garden
Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not
Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither
Living nor dead, and I knew nothing
Looking into the heart of light, the silence.
Oed' und leer das Meer.

Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante,
Had a bad cold, nevertheless
Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe,
With a wicked pack of cards. Here, said she,
Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor.
(Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)
Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks,
The lady of situations.
Here is the man with three staves, and here the Wheel,
And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card,
Which is blank, is something he carries on his back
Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find
The Hanged Man. Fear death by water.
I see crowds of people, walking round in a ring.
Thank you. If you see dear Mrs. Equitone,
Tell her I bring the horoscope myself:
One must be so careful these days.

Unreal City,
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled,
And each man fixed his eyes before his feet,
Flowed up the hill and down King William Street,
To where Saint Mary Woolnoth kept the hours
With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine.
There I saw one I knew, and stopped him, crying "Stetson!
"You who were with me in the ships at Mylae!
"That corpse you planted last year in your garden
"Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year?
"Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed?
"Oh keep the Dog far hence, that's friend to men,
"Or with his nails he'll dig it up again!
"You! hypocrite lecteur! - mon semblable, - mon frere!"

II. A GAME OF CHESS

The Chair she sat in, like a burnished throne,
Glowed on the marble, where the glass
Held up by standards wrought with fruited vines
From which a golden Cupidon peeped out
(Another hid his eyes behind his wing,)
Doubled the flames of sevenbranched candelabra
Reflecting light upon the table as
The glitter of her jewels rose to meet it
From satin cases poured in rich profusion;
In vials of ivory and coloured glass
Unstoppered, lurked her strange synthetic perfumes
Unguent, powdered, or liquid - troubled, confused,
And drowned the sense in odours; stirred by the air
That freshened from the window, these ascended
In fattening the prolonged candle-flames
Flung their smoke into the laquearia
Stirring the pattern on the coffered ceiling
Huge sea-wood fed with copper
Burned green and orange, framed by the coloured stone
In which sad light a carved dolphin swam.
Above the antique mantel was displayed
As though a window gave upon the sylvan scene
The change of Philomel, by the barbarous king
So rudely forced; yet there the nightingale
Filled all the desert with inviolable voice
And still she cried, and still the world pursues,
"Jug Jug" to dirty ears.
And other withered stumps of time
Were told upon the walls; staring forms
Leaned out, leaning, hushing the room enclosed.
Footsteps shuffled on the stair,
Under the firelight, under the brush, her hair
Spread out in fiery points
Glowed into words, then would be savagely still.

"My nerves are bad to-night. Yes, bad. Stay with me
"Speak to me. Why do you never speak. Speak
"What are you thinking of? What thinking? What?
"I never know what you are thinking. Think."

I think we are in rats' alley
Where the dead men lost their bones.

"What is that noise?"
The wind under the door.
"What is that noise now? What is the wind doing?"
Nothing again nothing.
"Do
"You know nothing? Do you see nothing? Do you remember
"Nothing?"

I remember
Those are pearls that were his eyes.
"Are you alive, or not? Is there nothing in your head?"
But
that Shakespeherian Rag -
It's so elegant
So intelligent
"What shall I do now? What shall I do?"
I shall rush out as I am, and walk the street
"With my hair down, so. What shall we do to-morrow?
"What shall we ever do?"
The hot water at ten.
And if it rains, a closed car at four.
And we shall play a game of chess
Pressing lidless eyes and waiting for a knock upon the door.

When Lil's husband got demobbed, I said -
I didn't mince my words, I said to her myself,
HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME
Now Albert's coming back, make yourself a bit smart.
He'll want to know what you done with that money he gave you
To get yourself some teeth. He did, I was there.
You have them all out, Lil, and get a nice set,
He said, I swear, I can't bear to look at you.
And no more can't I, I said, and think of poor Albert,
He's been in the army four years, he wants a good time,
And if you don't give it him, there's others will, I said.
Oh is there, she said. Something o' that, I said.
Then I'll know who to thank, she said, and give me a straight look.
HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME
If you don't like it you can get on with it, I said,
Others can pick and choose if you can't.
But if Albert makes off, it won't be for lack of telling.
You ought to be ashamed, I said, to look so antique.
(And her only thirty-one.)
I can't help it, she said, pulling a long face.
It's them pills I took, to bring it off, she said.
(She's had five already, and nearly died of young George.)
The chemist said it would be alright, but I've never been the same.
You are a proper fool, I said.
Well, if Albert won't leave you alone, there it is, I said,
What you get married for if you don't want children?
HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME
Well, that Sunday Albert was home, they had a hot gammon,
And they asked me in to dinner, to get the beauty of it hot—
HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME
HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME
Goonight Bill. Goonight Lou. Goonight May. Goonight.
Ta ta. Goonight. Goonight.
Good night, ladies, good night, sweet ladies, good night, good night.

III. THE FIRE SERMON

The river's tent is broken: the last fingers of leaf
Clutch and sink into the wet bank. The wind
Crosses the brown land, unheard. The nymphs are departed.
Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song.
The river bears no empty bottles, sandwich papers,
Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends
Or other testimony of summer nights. The nymphs are departed.
And their friends, the loitering heirs of city directors;
Departed, have left no addresses.
By the waters of Leman I sat down and wept...
Sweet Thames, run softly till I end my song,
Sweet Thames, run softly, for I speak not loud or long.
But at my back in a cold blast I hear
The rattle of the bones, and chuckle spread from ear to ear.

A rat crept softly through the vegetation
Dragging its slimy belly on the bank
While I was fishing in the dull canal
On a winter evening round behind the gashouse.
Musing upon the king my brother's wreck
And on the king my father's death before him.
White bodies naked on the low damp ground
And bones cast in a little low dry garret,
Rattled by the rat's foot only, year to year.
But at my back from time to time I hear
The sound of horns and motors, which shall bring
Sweeney to Mrs. Porter in the spring.
O the moon shone bright on Mrs. Porter
And on her daughter
They wash their feet in soda water
Et, O ces voix d'enfants, chantant dans la coupole!

Twit twit twit
Jug jug jug jug jug jug
So rudely forc'd
Tereu

Unreal City
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn
Mr. Eugenides, the Smyrna merchant
Unshaven, with a pocket full of currants
C.i.f. London: documents at sight
Asked me in demotic French
To luncheon at the Cannon Street Hotel
Followed by a weekend at the Metropole.

At the violet hour, when the eyes and back
Turn upward from the desk, when the human engine waits
Like a taxi throbbing waiting,
I Tiresias, though blind, throbbing between two lives,
Old man with wrinkled female breasts, can see
At the violet hour, the evening hour that strives
Homeward, and brings the sailor home from sea,
The typist home at teatime, clears her breakfast, lights
Her stove, and lays out food in tins.
Out of the window perilously spread
Her drying combinations touched by the sun's last rays.
On the divan are piled (at night her bed)
Stockings, slippers, camisoles, and stays.
I Tiresias, old man with wrinkled dugs
Perceived the scene, and foretold the rest -
I too awaited the expected guest.
He, the young man carbuncular, arrives,
A small house agent's clerk, with one bold stare,
One of the low on whom assurance sits
As a silk hat on a Bradford millionaire.
The time is now propitious, as he guesses,
The meal is ended, she is bored and tired,
Endeavours to engage her in caresses
Which still are unreproved, if undesired.
Flushed and decided, he assaults at once;
Exploring hands encounter no defence;
His vanity requires no response,
And makes a welcome of indifference.
(And I Tiresias have foresuffered all
Enacted on this same divan or bed;
I who have sat by Thebes below the wall
And walked among the lowest of the dead.)
Bestows one final patronising kiss
And gropes his way, finding the stairs unlit...

She turns and looks a moment in the glass
Hardly aware of her departed lover;
Her brain allows one half-formed thought to pass:
"Well now that's done: and I'm glad it's over."
When lovely woman stoops to folly and
Paces about her room again, alone,
She smoothes her hair with automatic hand
And puts a record on the gramophone.

"This music crept by me upon the waters"
And along the Strand, up Queen Victoria Street
O City city, I can sometimes hear
Beside a public bar in Lower Thames Street
The pleasant whining of a mandoline
And a clatter and a chatter from within
Where fishmen lounge at noon: where the walls
Of Magnus Martyr hold
Inexplicable splendour of Ionian white and gold.

The river sweats
Oil and tar
The barges drift
With the turning tide
Red sails
Wide
To leeward, swing on the heavy spar
The barges wash
Drifting logs
Down Greenwich reach
Past the Isle of Dogs
Weialala leia
Wallala leialala

Elizabeth and Leicester
Beating oars
The stern was formed
A gilded shell
Red and gold
The brisk swell
Rippled both shores
Southwest wind
Carried down stream
The peal of bells
White towers
Weialala leia
Wallala leialala

"Trams and dusty trees
Highbury bore me. Richmond and Kew
Undid me. By Richmond I raised my knees
Supine on the floor of a narrow canoe."

"My feet are at Moorgate, and my heart
Under my feet. After the event
He wept. He promised 'a new start'
I made no comment. What should I resent?"

"On Margate Sands
I can connect
Nothing with nothing
The broken fingernails of dirty hands
My people humble people who expect
Nothing."

la la

To Carthage then I came

Burning burning burning burning
O Lord Thou pluckest me out
O Lord Thou pluckest

burning

IV. DEATH BY WATER

Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead,
Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swell
And the profit and loss.
A current under sea
Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell
He passed the stages of his age and youth
Entering the whirlpool.
Gentile or Jew
O you who turn the wheel and look to windward,
Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you.

V. WHAT THE THUNDER SAID

After the torchlight red on sweaty faces
After the frosty silence in the gardens
After the agony in stony places
The shouting and the crying
Prison and palace and reverberation
Of thunder of spring over distant mountains
He who was living is now dead
We who were living are now dying
With a little patience

Here is no water but only rock
Rock and no water and the sandy road
The road winding above among the mountains
Which are mountains of rock without water
If there were water we should stop and drink
Amongst the rock one cannot stop or think
Sweat is dry and feet are in the sand
If there were only water amongst the rock
Dead mountain mouth of carious teeth that cannot spit
Here one can neither stand nor lie nor sit
There is not even silence in the mountains
But dry sterile thunder without rain
There is not even solitude in the mountains
But red sullen faces sneer and snarl
From doors of mudcracked houses
If there were water
And no rock
If there were rock
And also water
And water
A spring
A pool among the rock
If there were the sound of water only
Not the cicada
And dry grass singing
But sound of water over a rock
Where the hermit-thrush sings in the pine trees
Drip drop drip drop drop drop drop
But there is no water

Who is the third who walks always beside you?
When I count, there are only you and I together
But when I look ahead up the white road
There is always another one walking beside you
Gliding wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded
I do not know whether a man or a woman
—But who is that on the other side of you?

What is that sound high in the air
Murmur of maternal lamentation
Who are those hooded hordes swarming
Over endless plains, stumbling in cracked earth
Ringed by the flat horizon only
What is the city over the mountains
Cracks and reforms and bursts in the violet air
Falling towers
Jerusalem Athens Alexandria
Vienna London
Unreal

A woman drew her long black hair out tight
And fiddled whisper music on those strings
And bats with baby faces in the violet light
Whistled, and beat their wings
And crawled head downward down a blackened wall
And upside down in air were towers
Tolling reminiscent bells, that kept the hours
And voices singing out of empty cisterns and exhausted wells.

In this decayed hole among the mountains
In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing
Over the tumbled graves, about the chapel
There is the empty chapel, only the wind's home.
It has no windows, and the door swings
Dry bones can harm no one
Only a cock stood on the rooftree
Co co rico co co rico
In a flash of lightning. Then a damp gust
Bringing rain

Ganga was sunken, and the limp leaves
Waited for rain, while the black clouds
Gathered far distant, over Himavant.
The jungle crouched, humped in silence.
Then spoke the thunder
DA
Datta: what have we given?
My friend, blood shaking my heart
The awful daring of a moment's surrender
Which an age of prudence can never retract
By this, and this only, we have existed
Which is not to be found in our obituaries
Or in memories draped by the beneficent spider
Or under seals broken by the lean solicitor
In our empty rooms
DA
Dayadhvam: I have heard the key
Turn in the door once and turn once only
We think of the key, each in his prison
Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison
Only at nightfall, aetherial rumours
Revive for a moment a broken Coriolanus
DA
Damyata: The boat responded
Gaily, to the hand expert with sail and oar
The sea was calm, your heart would have responded
Gaily, when invited, beating obedient
To controlling hands

I sat upon the shore
Fishing, with the arid plain behind me
Shall I at least set my lands in order?
London Bridge is falling down falling down falling down

Repulsion



I just finished watching 'Repulsion' - Roman Polanski's first English-language movie. What an incredible psychological thriller.

Catherine Deneuve plays a sex-repressed French girl sharing an apartment with her sister in London. She is mentally disturbed.

Polanski takes us into Deneuve's brain where we discover her demons lurking beneath the surface. Deneuve plays a young manicurist who is hostile towards men.

Polanski reveals her hostility by showing us first the tortured nature of his heroine - how she holds off a young suitor, how she fiercely resents and hates the lustful lover of her older sister with whom she shares the apartment, and then he continues the exposure with a gruesome account of the crumbling of her mind while she is staying in the apartment alone. She murders her innocent suitor and then the disgusting landlord when they enter the depressing apartment.

The final scene in the movie shocked me. Polanski focuses on an old family photograph which shows the two sisters when they were children. You can see her mental state even as a young child.

There are symbols throughout the movie. Cracks in the walls of the apartment reveal Deneuve's crumbling mind. She is mentally deranged and somehow I wound up feeling sorry for her even though she killed the men who entered the apartment.

Catherine Deneuve is brilliant in this film. I can't imagine anyone else playing the deranged schizophrenic girl named Carol, who is repulsed by men.




Saturday, November 15, 2014

Love

One of my favorite books is "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Too bad she never wrote another book but how could she top Mockingbird. She wrote essays and one in particular, on love, "Love-In Other Words" is beautifully written.

Harper Lee was, and will always be, a force for compassion, good and understanding in the world.

Love-In Other Words

What is love? Many things are love–indeed, love is present in pity, compassion, romance, affection. What made the Duke of Kent’s statement a declaration of love, and what makes us perform without second thought small acts of love every day of our lives, is an element conspicuous by its absence. Were it present, the Duke of Kent would have left his mistress without a pang; the sound barrier breaking over her head would not rouse the mother; sinking his putt would be the primary aim of the golfer; the housewife would go straight to the store with no thought of her neighbor. One thing identifies love and isolates it from kindred emotions: love admits not of self.

Few of us achieve compassion; to some of us romance is a word; in many of us the ability to feel affection has long since died; but all of us at one time or another - be it for an instant or for our lives - have departed from ourselves: we have loved something or someone. Love, then is a paradox: to have it, we must give it. Love is not an intransitive thing – ­love is a direct action of mind and body.

Without love, life is pointless and dangerous. Man is on his way to Venus, but he still hasn’t learned to live with his wife. Man has succeeded in increasing his life span, yet he exterminates his brothers six million at a whack. Man now has the power to destroy himself and his planet: depend upon it, he will – should he cease to love ...

Love purifies. Suffering never purified anybody; suffering merely intensifies the self-directed drives within us. Any act of love, however – no matter how small – lessens anxiety’s grip, gives us a taste of tomorrow, and eases the yoke of our fears. Love, unlike virtue, is not its own reward. The reward of love is peace of mind, and peace of mind is the end of man’s desiring.

~~~~~~~~

Harper Lee captures the true meaning of love perfectly: that to love someone is to be willing to sacrifice your own well-being for them. And that love, in the end, has the power to purge mankind of its sin and its suffering.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Depression

Dear sister, my other half, a deep depression has taken hold of me. I can't remember the last time I felt this horrible. I think it was when you came over to my apartment and talked me into going to A. C. Moore with you. We bought 'sea' stencils and redecorated my bathroom. A sea theme.

My three favorite things in life: the sun, the sea and the creatures in the sea ...

My tumor was caught in time, my mastectomy went well, and I'm on my way. I reached a milestone today - 50 days 'cancer free' and I feel like shit. I feel empty. The depth of my hollowness grows. As I write this post my inner flame grows quieter, and I'm so afraid it will continue to dim until it eventually ceases to shine.

Cancer, and its physical and emotional scars, has swallowed me; whatever fire, spark, I have left inside of me is dying, and shadows grow in great stillness as my mask of humanity slips. This joyless twilight blends each passing moment into a despondent land of forlorn memories.

Oh to be young and carefree again. Everyday I wake up and try to keep moving forward. I struggle to maintain the facade - that all is well. All is not well sis ...

I feel nauseous and the muscles in my legs hurt. The Arimidex will help protect me from having a recurrence of cancer. It's like a jail sentence without the possibility of parole for at least 5 years.

I am fading into a timeless anguish brought on by meds designed to protect me.

Protect, reject ... pardon my unapologetic attempt at a pun. Like all puns, it contains, in the brevity of its form, the twin potentials of greatness and ridiculousness. Self-indulgent as a dozen showers a day during a drought.

Showers ... warm heat, compresses for the edema. It's normal they tell me. I know, I know, this is my new normal and I'm still adjusting. It takes time they tell me.

Pain is inevitable. 

Surrender myself to God they tell me.

All I can think of is Henry Miller and his brilliant book, Tropic of Cancer.

No man is great enough or wise enough for any of us to surrender our destiny to. The only way in which anyone can lead us is to restore to us the belief in our own guidance. ~ Henry Miller

Surrender, dislocate ... If I could you know I would let it go.

Night eyes staring at nothing in my room, a sea of blackness (yes, a sea), and only the solitary beating of my heart reminds me I'm alive. Deafening solitude and only the company of my tired thoughts reminds me that tomorrow I will have another mountain to climb.

I am tired to my bones and beyond and my swollen eyes no longer see.

See, sea ...

In my dreams, I stand before the sea staring at the sea staring back at me.

Remember when we would go down at the shore when we were kids. I would spend hours by the water's edge building sand castles.

All castles made of sand fall into the sea eventually.

Daily pain is a part of my world, my new normal. I have learned to take a personal inventory of all that I have left. I mean I'm alive and kicking. I don't know why I am feeling so despondent. I can't breathe. I feel like I'm being pushed and pulled at the same time.

But even within the dark side and strife, there is a seed of renewal called life.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

"The Dance"

I like some country music, especially songs that get me through tough times. I love 'old' country music (Patsy Cline is my favorite), but there are some 'new' singers that hold a special place in my heart. Garth Brooks is keeping me company tonight.

"The Dance"

Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared 'neath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

Holding you I held everything
For a moment wasn't I a king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Hey who's to say you know I might have changed it all

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

Yes my life is better left to chance
I could have missed the pain but I'd have had to miss the dance

Health

When you have your health, you have everything. When you do not have your health, nothing else matters at all.


Hypocrisy

The hypocrisy of those holier-than-thou priests, in which you have sanctimonious old farts telling us how to live our lives (while they bang alter boys), is making me sick. I try to tune the bullshit out but it's hard at times.

The negative side of humanity is depressing, and priests, at least for me, are negative do-gooders who never practice what they preach.

If they want to know what it's like to be human they need to spend more time outside of the church.

Started Arimidex

I saw Dr. Gupta on Monday. Very nice doctor. He spent an hour examining me and explaining the Arimidex I will have to take for at least 5 years.

Most common side effects are hot flashes, loss of bone density and aches & pains in my hands, ankles and knees. He gave me a script for a Dexa Scan to measure my bone density (a baseline) and I scheduled that test for December 22nd at 11:00 am. I will follow up with Dr. Gupta on that same day at 9:30 so that he can see how I am tolerating the Arimidex.

I also need to have a colonoscopy with Dr. Colozzo because three of my dad's brothers died of colon cancer. I had two done in my 40s - this will be my third procedure.

Dr. Gupta told me to eat very small meals and to space them out during the course of the day to help alleviate any nausea from the Arimidex. Today is my third day on the pill.

I felt ok Monday. Yesterday and today I felt nauseous. Today I also developed a cramp in my right leg (calf). As soon as I got home from work I walked for an hour around the block. I'm trying to walk the cramp off.

PT this morning went well. My range of motion around my shoulder is getting better.

Another day, another battle.

I hope the nausea goes away.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Joni Ernst

We must come together to give thanks to our assorted heathen gods for Joni Ernst.

She cackled during her victory speech:

"Well, Iowa, we did it, We did it!" she told her supporters. "It’s a long way from Red Oak to Washington, from the biscuit line at Hardee’s to the United States Senate. But, thanks to all of you we are heading to Washington. And we are going to make ‘em squeal."

She was referencing the political ad about her experience castrating hogs that launched her campaign.

In the ad, Ernst had said that her knowledge about removing piglet testicles would help her cut spending in Washington. And it was clear from her words on Tuesday that she would also be taking her figurative castration knife to more than just the budget.

The language from her victory speech was disturbingly similar to a rape scene in the 1972 thriller Deliverance.

In the movie, two Atlanta businessmen are captured by two armed men in the mountains of Georgia. One of the businessmen is forced to 'squeal like a pig' before he is raped by one of the two mountain men.

I can't wait until the Republican candidates visit Iowa during their run for the white house. With this bimbo at their side we're bound to have a few laughs. I can see Tina Fey playing Joni on Saturday Night Live!

Joni Ernst is an anchor for us to cling to in the midst of a turbulent midterm election that saw our electoral expectations decimated all across the country. Kansans, the majority of whom had been demonstrably screwed by Sam Brownback’s interpretive dance of conservative budgeting, at first seemed poised to sensibly fire him but then rewarded him with another term in office. Massachusetts, having apparently forgotten the hideous ordeal of getting gay marriage and socialized health care under Mittens Romnington, decided to roll the dice with another Republican governor.

Joni Ernst alone among the Republican winners last night bolstered our faith in one of our most cherished beliefs: that the forces of nature and politics can cohere in any electoral climate to propel a folksy, anti-intellectual, bomb-throwing pitbull of a midwestern Republican lady to Washington to keep rational discourse from occurring uninterrupted in congress.

When the platonic ideal of this concept, Michele Bachmann, told us she was leaving us, we tried not to take it personally. Sure, she had to do it to get out from under the House Ethics Committee, but it felt like there was almost no point in going on, especially when we’d based our master’s thesis on the cumulative snark-related economic activity her career had generated.

That is why we are so happy to welcome a new bimbo to congress. Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of Bachmannlessness, we will fear no lack of material; the sound of Joni Ernst castrating hogs while she laughs about her hours slaving on the biscuit line will comfort us. We are certain that, despite all appearances, her Cruella de Vil laughter during her victory speech was not prompted by fond memories of secretly killing and feeding the fryer guy to her Hardee’s customers all those years ago.


Thursday, November 6, 2014

Oh Woe is Me



A cousin left me a message on my cell phone. His long, winded message:

"I got the flu shot a few days ago, I'm feeling so sick, I feel so depressed, my joints ache, my diverticulitis is acting up, my stomach hurts, I saw my psychiatrist yesterday, it was really intense, I have a couple of doctor appointments next week, can I stop by and visit you tomorrow night ..."

I don't appreciate messages loaded with 'me, myself and my trials and tribulations' ... Ask me how things are going. Breathe while you're spewing off about your 'aches and pains'.

I cherish the times when my family and friends visit me. Those visits give me courage, motivation, strength, and brighten my life. But to spend time with someone who is always 'sick' is too much for me. It's exhausting. This is someone who has no serious disability that prevents him from working (he hasn't worked in over 15 years). Must be nice sitting around the house all day drinking and watching soap operas. I love him big time - he has a great heart, but I tire very easily.

An old friend, Tina, stopped by a few weeks after my surgery and she made me laugh when she described what she had been through the last two years. She asked me how I was feeling and wished me well. We remembered the 'olden days' when we were young, healthy and carefree. We laughed a lot.

Some friends who didn't feel comfortable seeing me in person, called me. I got several short calls from people and they all made me feel better.

Rhoda has sent me a card every week. In her most recent card she described a series of who-done-it mystery books that she completed reading. After her neighbor finishes reading these three books she will loan them to me. We're always loaning books to each other. Rhoda even reminded me to vote - "Dems of course!" (we're die-hard Democrats.) It's great opening up a card to find it filled with caring thoughts, mini book reviews and a reminder to vote.

I received quite a few emails as well. I loved the emails I got that expressed interest in my health but touched on broader issues. And every day I received text messages.

People recuperating from surgery still like to get out and they still eat. My lunch dates with Nicole, Janice and Betty were so much fun.

I also enjoyed the aroma of fresh coffee when I met Nicole at Starbuck's. It was a gorgeous day and we sat outside enjoying our coffee-talk.

I received many flowers and chocolates with 'get well soon' notes, and a fruit basket, which were a cheerful surprise when I was at my worst. I still have the cacti, succulents and orchids, and they make me smile and think of my wonderful friends and relatives every time I see them.

I especially appreciate the people who act normal, who don't act like I am broken, who try for as much normalcy as they can muster.

I will eventually get together with my 'sick' cousin. For now, I have to save my energy.


Wednesday, November 5, 2014

What's in Your Cup?



Just got done reading Dr. Weiss' Caffeine: Drink (Moderately) to Your Health. So grateful I can continue to enjoy a few cups of coffee during the course of the day.

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By Dr. Marisa Weiss, October 22, 2014, Breastcancer.org, Think Pink / Live Green

When it comes to staying healthy, we hear the words “don’t” and “avoid” a lot. “Avoid alcohol.” “Don’t smoke.” “Don’t eat trans fats.”

More than 50% of American adults drink coffee daily — around 3 cups per day. My day officially starts with my one and only caffeinated drink: a big, strong cup of coffee ...

Caffeine and breast health

Coffee:

Some of the encouraging findings on coffee and breast cancer suggest that coffee raises levels of compounds that reduce the risk of hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer. Drinking moderate to large amounts of coffee also was found to help prevent breast cancer recurrence in people taking tamoxifen. In that study, women who drank a lot of coffee had breast cancer recurrence rates that were less than half the rate of women who drank one or fewer cups daily. Some early research also suggests that coffee drinkers with an abnormal BRCA1 gene have a lower risk of developing breast cancer.

Tea:

There are three main types of tea: black, green, and oolong. Each is grown and processed differently. Growers let the leaves dry and absorb oxygen from the air (called oxidation) for different amounts of time. Black tea is fully oxidized, oolong is partially oxidized, and green tea is hardly oxidized at all. The more oxidized your tea, the more caffeine it contains. Black tea has about 70 mg of caffeine per 8-oz. cup (about half the amount in coffee), while the same size cup of green tea has up to 45 mg of caffeine.

All teas contain antioxidants called polyphenols, plant chemicals that have health benefits. Polyphenols help fix cell damage caused by free radicals. (Free radical molecules increase inflammation in the body.) These plant chemicals also affect the color and taste of the tea.

Research suggests that tea polyphenols and tea itself have powerful protective effects against cancer. Besides fighting free radicals, they help keep cells healthy and prevent mutations, abnormal changes in cells that can lead to disease. Certain polyphenols in tea seem to act like vitamin C by stopping harmful reactions in the body.

Tea also contains an amino acid called theanine. Research suggests that theanine may promote anti-cancer mechanisms in the body. The highest levels of theanine are found in black tea and the lowest in green. Theanine also contributes to tea’s soothing effect.

Research results on tea-drinking and breast cancer have been inconsistent. Some studies show benefits, but much research shows no relationship between tea and reduced risk.

Cocoa: 

When I say “cocoa,” I’m talking about the ground seeds of the cacao tree. People began using cocoa about 3,000 years ago in the Amazon, where it was a big part of Maya and Aztec culture. Many people, including me, crave chocolate, and we may be on to something!

Besides the methylxanthines caffeine and theobromine, cocoa contains many antioxidants that can help prevent cell damage and may even lower the risk of cancer starting. Compounds in cocoa also have been shown to protect against inflammation and there is also evidence that certain cocoa compounds help reduce the risk of heart disease. Still, this doesn’t mean you should start chugging Swiss Miss. While the research on cocoa seems to have positive health benefits, there’s no clear impact on breast cancer risk. I take this as good news: another wonderfully delicious “vegetable” (it comes from a bean, right?!) for us to enjoy. Still I have to watch the calories, because there is direct proof that extra weight is unhealthy and can increase the risk of breast cancer risk and recurrence.

Are you a coffee, tea, or cocoa drinker?



(Marisa Weiss, M.D. is the founder, president and guiding force behind Breastcancer.org, the world's most trafficked online resource for medically reviewed breast health and breast cancer information, reaching over 8 million visitors per year. A breast cancer oncologist with over twenty years of active practice in the Philadelphia region, Dr. Weiss is regarded as a visionary advocate for her innovative and steadfast approach to informing, empowering, and treating patients with breast cancer.)

One Term Tom



Tom Wolf trounced Governor Tom Corbett Tuesday after a campaign in which the Democrat promised to restore funding to public education, extract more revenue from the state's natural gas fields and restructure the state's personal income tax.

One Term Tom (Corbett) made history - he is the first governor in Pennsylvania not to win reelection.

There is a new 'Tom' in town: Tom Wolf ... he will have to clean up Corbett's mess.

According to data for all the states released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Pennsylvania’s rank for percent job growth since January 2011 has fallen to last place among states (50th). We were ranked 4th when Rendell was governor.

Today’s numbers drive home emphatically that you can’t cut your way to prosperity.

Then tens of thousands of layoffs in education, and the state’s postponed investment in infrastructure and delayed acceptance of Medicaid expansion dollars delivered a body blow to Pennsylvania’s recovery, the effects of which are still being felt.  

In recession and recovery, Pennsylvania needs a balanced, creative policy and state budget approach that fuels the state’s economic engine, not an unbalanced one that slams on the brakes.

Let's hear it for education!


Yes We Cannabis! (D.C. and Alaska)

Notice a pattern when it comes to recreational use of marijuana ...

Democrats may have lost majority of the senate but when it comes to progressive initiatives, they won.

District of Columbia residents embraced marijuana legalization Tuesday, overwhelmingly approving a ballot measure called Initiative 71.



The initiative allows residents age 21 and older to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana and cultivate six plants at home – three of which may be mature and flowering – and has provisions for the noncommercial transfer of marijuana.

Alaska becomes the 4th state to legalize marijuana.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Sedaris

One of my favorite guests on NPR is the writer / comedian David Sedaris. Every so often he also writes guest articles in the New Yorker Magazine. He has written numerous books - I have them all with the exception of his latest release.

His memoir, Me Talk Pretty One Day, is one of the funniest books I have ever read. Sedaris' description of his five siblings and his parents and paternal grandmother had me laughing so hard, I had tears running down my cheeks.



When a hurricane damaged my father's house, my brother rushed over with a gas grill, three coolers of beer, and an enormous Fuck-It Bucket - a plastic pail filled with jawbreakers and bite-size candy bars. ("When shit brings you down, just say 'fuck it,' and eat yourself some motherfucking candy.") ~ David Sedaris

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Arimidex - 2 weeks until I see Dr. Gupta

I have been looking at posts related to Arimidex (see below comments).

I am hoping after taking Arimidex for 2-3 weeks, any possible side effects will become less intense. It takes about 3 weeks for your body to get used to maintenance medication.

Some women were switched to Aromasin as a result of Arimidex's side effects.

I have already increased my calcium and D3 to protect my bone density. I'm on an anti-depressant. I already have fine / thin hair. I have always had insomnia. I use lotion after I shower every day. With regard to weight gain or loss, I'll have to wait and see. I have a prescription for nausea - Ondansetron ODT (4 mg) - that I took after my surgery. I can't remember the last time I vomited.

If the Arimidex prevents a recurrence of my cancer, I'll have to learn to live with the side effects.

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SIDE EFFECTS:

Pain and swelling in hands, feet, hips, lower back; loss of bone density, osteopenia, trigger finger, frozen shoulder; insomnia; hot flashes and sweating; migraines; fatigue; dry skin; nail breakage, hair breakage, hair loss, eyebrow loss; anxiety, panic attacks; depression; high blood pressure; shortness of breath; weight gain; vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and weight loss.

Nynyer (taken for 6 months to 1 year):

Have been on this medicine since February following a lumpectomy. After reading the other posts I now realize the stiffness and soreness in my hands might be a side effect. Happens every morning. Also have severe flushing and sweating which is new with me. The worst is the swelling in my feet and legs..severe at times. I am now aware all of the above started after February. I will discuss it with my oncologist. Very thankful for this forum.

SusanMorris64 (taken for 2 to 5 years):

Arimidex (anastrozole): Recurrence of HER2 cancer. Hip and hand problems. Horrible insomnia and memory problems. But does help hold the cancer back.

Kim in Madison:

I am new at taking anastrozle (30 days). For the past week or so I found it impossible to get up and around for work because I was so sleepy. I think it has increased my lower back pain and it has been hard getting up from bed due to pain and stiffness. My oncologist advised me to quit today until we can discuss alternatives. I am 59 and had a partial mastectomy and radiation.

Sugarbee333333 (taken for 2 to 5 years):

Arimidex (anastrozole): Taking this after care of breast cancer! Hasn't caused any problems at all and almost done taking it! Evidently it's great in the help of my breast cancer.

gratefulgal:

I have been taking anastrazole 1 mg daily since 2/2011 for the treatment of breast cancer. I have not received chemotherapy or radiation. This is truly a dreadful disease that imposes a life sentence on you. I too can attest to some very uncomfortable side effects but, I also accept that there is really no medicine which is side effect free. I feel stiff most of the time, my muscles ache and I am weary. For the most part I walk very slow and has problems ascending the stairs. My migraines had subsided as I age but they have started to hit me up again. Nevertheless, I am truly grateful to this medicine and intend to take it for the duration. I am glad it has assisted in the arrest of the disease. I am 60 years old.

WV lady:

Arimidex (anastrozole): I've been on Arimidex for 10 weeks. Although I had arthritis prior to taking Arimidex, my joint discomfort has increased substantially and now I find that my joints (especially my hands and hips) are swollen and always painful. My fingernails have thinned and continually split and tear off, often below the quick (ouch!). I'm also disheartened to notice that my eyebrows and eyelashes, which had just grown back after my last chemo session, have started to either break or fall out again. Bone and muscle pain are always with me now.

Frenchgirl52 (taken for 5 years):

Arimidex (anastrozole): I took Arimidex for 5 years and only recently stopped. I had quite a few side effects, however, the joint pain and stiffness was the hardest. I heard about something called Ubiquinol, which is apparently something that is naturally produced in your body, but slows down quite a bit as you age. I've been taking it daily now for a few months and I have to say, the stiffness and joint pain has mostly subsided. I say mostly because I forget to take it some days. I'm trying to get better about taking it daily with a multivitamin. It's kind of expensive but it's way cheaper and better than any of the medicine alternatives I was offered by my doctors. I don't like taking medicine for every little thing. Plus there's a hundred side effects to worry about.

Lealmck (taken for 5 to 10 years):

Arimidex (anastrozole): I took it for 5 yrs. and 2 months. I cannot say if the changes were from chemo or from Arimidex. Changes in taste and smell persist. Frontal headache, blurred vision, cough, calcium loss - osteopenia. Stiff joints, long bone pain, sciatica pain of right leg, fatigue, wicked insomnia, hot flushes & flashes. Neuropathy in hands and feet, specially balls of feet and very sensitive tips of toes. Very dry skin, aged face, hair is very thin and breaking easily. Never got back full eyebrows, very SAD! I loved my eyebrows.

Tinkerwoman (taken for 1 to 2 years):

Prescribed after Lumpectomy for breast cancer and taking this medication for 1 year, I've experienced extreme panic attacks, anxiety that often prevents me from wanting to leave the house, and insomnia. My symptoms were so severe, I could not function at work and took early retirement. I have discussed these side effects with my oncologist; his concern was more with flushing side effects than anxiety. I have 4 more years of taking this medication and honestly don't know if I'll be able to keep it up. I find myself having extremely blue feelings and without taking anti anxiety meds I truly would not be able to function as all.

Jacklink (taken for 2 to 5 years):

Arimidex (anastrozole): I've been on Arimidex for 4 years. Side effects are insomnia, joint pain, painful sex or no interest in sex, forgetfulness, anxiety and depression. One year to go and hopefully I will not have to take it. Maybe still on it because of a family history of breast cancer.

emajean:

I have been taking Anastrozole for 1 and half years now for breast cancer. I have been having problems with my hands, stiffness of legs, short of breath, insomnia, thinning hair, weight gain and really bad hot flashes. I am going to ask my doctor about my chances of returning breast cancer if I stop taking this or try something else.

sissy:

Arimidex (anastrozole): Took tamoxifen 9 months. Extreme bruising. Switched to Arimidex. After 4 weeks, extreme pain in hand. Next severe headaches. Each month brought increased pain in thumbs, hand, feet, long leg bones. Joints hurt, wrists weaken every month. After 10 months became depressed and had insomnia. Finally, had enough and stopped. Within, 2 weeks long bone pain went away. I still have some knee pain, trigger finger, and wrist weakness and its been 3 months. Doctor switching to Aromasin next month.

macats (taken for 1 to 6 months):

I have been on Anastrozole since August/2012 and things had been going pretty well. It is now the end of February and I now have high blood pressure, shortness of breath, hand pain especially at night and in the morning when I can barely hold a comb to my hair. Also, I feel "pins and needles" in both hands. I am confused as to why the side effects are occuring now. At least I feel better knowing that others are going through the same thing.

pttyglnd:

Arimidex (anastrozole): I took Arimidex for 5 years and I've been cancer free for over 6 years now.

McD333:

Arimidex (anastrozole): Started taking Arimidex in June and have lost 45 lbs. Vomiting and diarrhea have left me homebound. I keep starting and stopping this pill. Oncologist thinks I'm crazy, but when I stop the pill the vomiting and diarrhea stop. Just stopped taking it before Christmas and I'm feeling so much better. Have had two lumpectomies and a mastectomy. Don't want the cancer to return, but the side effects are too much for me.

Anonymous:

Arimidex (anastrozole): I've been on Arimidex 4 years and 1 month, prior to which I took Tamoxifen for 5 months. During the first year I developed a frozen shoulder, which my oncologist said could be due to the Armidex, extreme joint stiffness which gradually subsidized and ended after 9-12 months, intense hot flashes which as of this year are lessening, insomnia, vision issues (detached retina - but am also very myopic), pronounced facial aging, dry skin (am 57 years old) and thinning hair. I also experienced depression and mood swings beginning 3 months after the start of Arimidex. I never took medication for it but am finding that it has also gradually lessened over the last 1 1/2 yrs.

Anonymous:

Arimidex (anastrozole): 7 months in severe hand pain wakes me up at night. Hands weakening grip ibuprofen doesn't help using phone and computer mouse horrible. Just switched to Aromasin.

Trick (taken for 2 to 5 years):

Arimidex (anastrozole): I have been on Arimidex for 4 years 4 months. I have had the hot flashes, vision issues, bone density weakening, joint pain and stiffness, depression, mood changes, insomnia, back and bone pain, thinning nails (of already thin nails), weakness in hands and now, my hair in breaking off and drying out. My doctor wants me to hold on to the end of the 5 years. Not sure I can.

Solitude



There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you ... In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself. ~ Ruth Stout