Barb73
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Maryanne and Joel,
It's really WONDERFUL to be able to congratulate you both, and here's to many, many more to come.
Barbara
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi- ... rint.story
ARTICLE:
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When Markley Noel lost his wife to lung cancer, the southwest Michigan carpenter comforted himself the best way he knew how: by working the wood.
It took him eight years to do it, but he has finished carving what could be a record-breaking chain of wood.
Noel, 56, of Kalamazoo County's Ross Township, said the 3,000 hours that he spent making the 487.5-foot chain helped him get through the death of his wife Anne in 2003.
"Mark went into his workshop and put on his earphones and just carved," his sister, Melinda Scott, recently told the Battle Creek Enquirer. "It was his solace."
Noel said he also had a longtime urge "to do something artistic."
The chain has 1,993 links, each of which is 4 inches long and 1.5 inches wide.
There are no seams or glue joints. Noel carved it from a single plank of silver maple taken from a wooded lot owned by his father, Lester, also a carpenter.
The chain is on display at the Art Council of Greater Kalamazoo's Epic Center.
"It's the planning part that is really phenomenal," Scott said. "The fact that he knew it would be 500 feet before he started blows my mind."
The longest continuous wooden chain recognized by Guinness World Records measures just under 440 feet long. Noel said he hopes the organization will declare him to be the new record holder.
"It's all one continuous piece of wood," Noel said of his creation. "That was one of the guidelines set forth by Guinness. They want to make sure it's legitimate."
If his chain sets a new world record, he said anything could happen.
"We don't know what's next," he said. "Maybe Letterman."
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(Chicago Tribune, Ross Township, Mich., October 18, 2009)
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http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNe ... 1HR2009101
ARTICLE:
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Cancer drug crosses key hurdle in brain: study
Sun Oct 18, 2009 1:08pm EDT
By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) - An experimental drug appears to cross a protective barrier in the brain that screens out most chemicals, offering potentially better ways to treat brain tumors, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.
The drug, made by privately held Angiochem Inc of Montreal was safe and showed evidence it could shrink tumors in two separate early phase studies totaling more than 100 people with a brain cancer called glioblastoma.
It also worked among people whose cancers had spread or metastasized to the brain, the researchers reported at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Chicago.
In both studies, tumors shrank in patients who got a higher dose of the drug, called ANG1005. The drug also showed signs of working in patients whose cancers resisted the chemotherapy drug taxane.
"It is highly encouraging to see that ANG1005 has shown the potential to be effective in metastatic brain cancers and against drug-resistant tumors," Dr. Jan Drappatz of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who is studying the drug, said in a statement.
Drappatz said tumors shrank significantly in some patients and some neurological problems were reversed in several.
Studies of brain tumor samples showed concentrations of the drug in the tumors, proving it successfully crossed the blood-brain barrier and accumulated.
Made up of a network of blood vessels, the blood-brain barrier prevents 95 percent of all chemicals from leaving the bloodstream and entering the brain.
It protects the brain from harmful chemicals, bacteria and other substances. But it also presents major challenges for treating disease in the brain, such as Alzheimer's or cancers -- which must typically be treated by surgery and radiation.
To cross this barrier, the Angiochem drug hijacks a protein called low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein that is commonly found on the surface of the blood-brain barrier.
"The development of novel ways to cross the blood-brain barrier has considerable potential for treating a host of debilitating and prevalent diseases and disorders," Dr. John Kessler of Northwestern University said in a statement.
(Editing by Maggie Fox and Eric Walsh)
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(Reuters, Health News, October 19, 2009)
Disclaimer:
The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not being posted with the intention of being medical advice of any kind.
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(((Denise))),
I have both you and Tom in my prayers.
Barbara
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Michele,
I am just reading this now. Please forgive the delay in offering my condolences.
Hospice came to our home on October 12, and people arrived for gathering information and setting up the bed, wheelchair, meds, and establishing a healthcare aide.
One day after they arrived, on his b.d., Bill slid downhill from what I suspect was due to a heavy dose of meds (a boost in the patch to a higher dose, and suggested a morphine sublingual until the patch kicked in). He didn't respond well. It took him two days to be able to retain food, and he kept falling asleep.
Your beautiful story of your love is an inspiration, Michele.
Forgive me, but I am numb this week. Some of my actions are becoming robotic. I know I haven't seen all the postings. I'm walking in a fog.
You have given me an example of how to show love, and I thank you.
Barbara
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Katie,
Thank you so much for your support and particularly, the prayers. You know how I feel about them.
Just the knowing that in the ethers there are people responding, caring, and praying gives me courage to get through.
As I was typing that last paragraph, a woman from the hospice called me. She asked what Bill's most important issue might be. I answered that it was the pain. She is sending a nurse over this afternoon to see what they can do about that.
Things are moving in a new direction, but hopefully, Katie, I will be up to it all. I never realized at the start of all of this that I might become jelly. My resolve is to be strong, and if I can believe that it may turn out to be so.
For the most part, I am strong like bull, but inbetween, there are those moments.
Barbara
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This is to update on the possible rfa for Bill's shoulder.
First, let me thank Randy for his offer of help in research. My brain must be on overload and I missed responding to you, Randy. Your suggestion about Dr. West was excellent.
However, with all the visits to and from doctors this past week and the week prior, we wound up with the option of going back to the rfa doctor and that procedure may be in the offing for Bill.
We spoke of quadramet, Susan, and he said that Bill's platelets seemed to have gone back to normal.
He wondered whether the quadramet might sink them a bit, but also and more importantly, that the tumor growing out from the bone in the shoulder is large when considering quadramet. Bill's tumor on the scapula is 2 inches.
He told us that he would be speaking to the radiologist about the radiofrequency ablation.
The radiologist, when we spoke with him was concerned not to take anything away from the use of Bill's arm. In the interim, Bill's use of that arm has necessitated increasingly more assistance when showering, dressing, and mobility in general. The cancer has invaded the nerves in that area.
So, today I will call the radiologist who does the rfa, and see if we can opt for that as a "go."
Just wanted to update everyone. I know how important pieces of information can help. Being here helped me to know what has been used, what could be successful, and finally grab onto your support while doing the footwork.
In closing, the oncologist did offer a hospice on a needs basis for us. I said OK to that. He said that it might be good for Bill's physical therapy for the shoulder and in other ways.
(Know that we are taking this step-by-step and not giving up.) We are trying to get Bill's pain bearable.
Thanks to all of you,
Barbara
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Give me a NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING every single time, HOORAY, HOORAY, HOORAY.
Doing the HAPPY DANCE for you, girl.
What a relief.
Barbara
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The update on the blood clots is that all seems to be going well, so far.
The GP (family doctor) took the initiative to increase the water pill 12mg (Bill had been taking 12mg for a few years already as part of his regimen for BP). That, and the stockings seems to have taken the swelling away completely. The legs look fine. Although walking very slowly, he is "getting around" pretty well.
As for the coumadin numbers, they get checked weekly, and at the Cancer Center, requiring a trip through that venue. The numbers last week approached closer to the mark - 2.2 but we are aiming for (2.5 - 3.0) a higher number.
I know this is boring stuff, but there may be someone out there who might benefit from the info, and that things can improve.
Barbara
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Susan,
It's good that they have lowered the dosage and that it seems to be tolerated better. Bill was on Alimta for almost a year, and it was one of the better ones for holding things steady for him. He did well on it, and I hope the same for your Mom.
Barbara
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Marisa,
I am sorry that you are going through this. My respect goes out to you on any decision you make, but because of experience, my instincts tell me to encourage a second opinion (most definitely).
In the meanwhile, try to keep as positive in thought as you are able.
The week will pass before you realize it.
Barbara
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Comment: This technology is for lung cancer and other cancers. Since the original type of imaging was a crucial component in the delayed diagnosis of my husband, this caught my eye.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167044.php
ARTICLE:
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A new technique in Magnetic Resonance Imaging dubbed "Hyper-SAGE" has the potential to detect ultra low concentrations of clincal targets, such as lung and other cancers. Development of Hyper-SAGE was led by one of the world's foremost authorities on MRI technology, Alexander Pines, a chemist who holds joint appointments with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California, Berkeley. The key to this technique is xenon gas that has been zapped with laser light to "hyperpolarize" the spins of its atomic nuclei so that most are pointing in the same direction.
"By detecting the MRI signal of dissolved hyperpolarized xenon after the xenon has been extracted back into the gas phase, we can boost the signal's strength up to 10,000 times," Pines says. "It is absolutely amazing because we're looking at pure gas and can reconstruct the whole image of our target. With this degree of sensitivity, Hyper-SAGE becomes a highly promising tool for in vivo diagnostics and molecular imaging."
MRI is a painless and radiation-free means of obtaining high quality three-dimensional tomographical images of internal tissue and organs. It is especially valuable for optically opaque samples, such as blood. However, the application of MRI to biomedical samples has been limited by sensitivity issues. For the past three decades, Pines has led an on-going effort to find ways of enhancing the sensitivity of MRI and its sister technology, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Hyper-SAGE, the latest development, represents a significant new advance for both technologies, according to Xin Zhou, a member of Pines' research group.
"Hyper-SAGE is a totally novel way to amplify a solvated xenon MRI/NMR signal in that instead of a chemical process, which is what previous signal enhancement techniques relied upon, it is a physical process," says Zhou. "Because gas can be physically compressed, the density of information-carrying polarized gas in our detection chamber can be much greater than the density of an information-carrying solution. This means we can detect MRI signals from concentrations of molecules many thousands of times smaller than can be detected with conventional MRI."
Zhou is the first author on a paper that is now available online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The paper is entitled: "Hyperpolarized Xenon NMR and MRI Signal Amplification by Gas Extraction." Co-authoring the paper with Zhou and Pines was Dominic Graziani. All hold joint appointments with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and UC Berkeley's Chemistry Department, where Pines serves as the Glenn T. Seaborg Professor of Chemistry.
So Powerful and Yet so Weak
The great contradiction about MRI/NMR spectroscopy is that for being two of the most powerful tools we have today for studying the chemical composition and structure of a sample, they are based on a stunningly weak signal. Both depend upon atomic nuclei that have an unpaired proton or neutron. Such nuclei spin on an axis like miniature tops, giving rise to a magnetic moment - meaning the nuclei act like magnets with a north and south pole. When exposed to an external magnetic field, these spinning "bar magnets" attempt to align their axes along the lines of magnetic force. Since the alignment is not exact, the result is a wobbling rotation, or "precession," that's unique to each type of atom.
If, while exposed to the magnetic field, the precessing nuclei are also hit with a radiofrequency pulse, they will absorb and re-emit energy at specific frequencies according to their rate of precession (NMR). When the rf pulse is combined with magnetic field gradients a spatially encoded signal is produced that can be detected and translated into three-dimensional images (MRI).
Obtaining an MRI signal from a sample depends upon the spins of its precessing nuclei being polarized so that an excess point either "up" or "down." MRI's inherent weakness stems from the fact that the natural excess of up versus down spins for any typical population of atomic nuclei in a sample is only about one in 100,000. For this reason, conventional MRI techniques are designed to detect nuclei that are highly abundant in tissue, usually the protons in water. In addition, clinicians use contrasting agents to induce detectable changes in the MRI signal from a sample that can reveal the presence of anomalies. However, the sensitivity is usually too low for molecular imaging, which is needed in cancer detection, for example, where the earliest detections generally produce the most favorable outcomes.
Enter Hyper-SAGE
Pines and his research group have developed numerous ways of increasing the sensitivity of MRI technology and expanding its applicability. Previous work showed that xenon, an inert gas whose nuclei naturally feature a tiny degree of spin polarization, can be hyperpolarized with laser light to produce a population of xenon atoms in which nearly five out of every 10 nuclei - instead of one out of every 100,000 - produce an MRI signal. Pines and his group also showed that xenon can be incorporated into a biosensor and linked to specific proteins or other biological molecules to produce spatial images of a chosen molecular or cellular target.
The new technique, Hyper-SAGE, for "hyperpolarized xenon signal amplification by gas extraction," offers other major advantages over conventional MRI/NMR techniques in addition to a signal that is up to 10,000 times stronger than previous signals, according to Zhou.
"Xenon gas has an intrinsically long relaxation time, greater than 45 minutes, which means the signal lasts long enough for us to collect all the encoded information, which in turn can enable us to detect specific targets, such as cancer-related proteins, at micromolar or parts per million concentrations," he says. "Also, Hyper-SAGE utilizes remote detection, meaning the signal encoding and detection processes are physically separated and carried out independently. This is a plus for imaging the lung, for example, where the signal of interest would occupy only a small portion of the traditional MRI signal receiver."
In their PNAS paper, Zhou, Graziani and Pines describe the successful testing of the Hyper-SAGE technique on a pair of membranes that mimicked the function of the lungs. Hyper-polarized xenon was dissolved in solution in one membrane to mimic inhalation, and was then extracted as a gas for detection from the other membrane to represent exhalation.
Explains Zhou, "In a clinical setting, a patient would inhale the hyperpolarized xenon gas which would be dissolved in the blood and allowed to flow into the body and brain. The exhaled xenon gas would then be collected and its MRI signal would be detected. Used in combination with a target-specific xenon biomolecular sensor, we should be able to study the gas-exchange in the lung and detect cancerous cells at their earliest stage of development."
This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, through its Basic Energy Sciences programs.
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(Medical News Today, Source: Lynn Yarris DOE/ Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Main Category: MRI/PET/Ultrasound, Also: Lung Cancer/Oncology/Medical Devices/Diagnostics, October 12, 2009)
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Disclaimer:
The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not being posted with the intention of being medical advice of any kind.
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Denise,
He is soooo cute. Ah, yes, being a grandmother is a great blessing!
Barbara
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Michele,
Just a note to say that you and your husband continue in my daily prayers. May you get some rest, dear Michele, and keep yourself well.
Sending warm wishes for you both,
Barbara
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You are not being a baby. You are sorely missing the warm, loving touch of your dovoted Mom.
I am going to be 75 (and a great grandmother soon
) and still think of my mother, who has been gone for many years. She was my fortress. I could call her, see her, and get advice. She knew how to calm the waters of doubt, anxiety, and could just plain listened. She was a very strong woman.
May you have your Mom for many, many years, and text messaging is still "being there" in a sense. Technology can help us give and receive support.
This online community is a wonderful example of that. I have never met one of members here
, and yet, I know they are family .Sending you a (((BIG HUG))),
Barbara
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Tova,
My husband, Bill, had WBR over two years ago. The initial side effects were, as you say, short-term- memory-loss oriented.
He did get over the majority of that. There are residual effects now, with mostly asking me what day and date it is, but once shown the calendar, he puts it all together.
We, of course, are talking two years and four motnhs later. That, and the fact that Bill is, after all, going to be 79 this week, puts a different slant on things.
I say all this, and it might or might not help, but we saw a neurologist for Bill's symptoms. Bill had a sliver of fluid on the right periphery of his brain (from WBR) and that needed to be watched. Still watching.
Our concentration was on nutrition. We were fearful because, as Randy noted, loss of weight/nutrition was something to be avoided.
Bill, to this day, eats well. He has lost his original weight through more recent chemotherapy, but is maintaining 165, or so, and is active, albeit, not the man he once was. He was quite a bit heavier before dx. Chemo has given him some side effects.
For extra nutrients, we bought shakes (sugarless), and gave him choices of things to eat.
Sorry to go on like this, but wanted to say also do not be hesitant to ask questions of the doctors. It's important for them to be on the same page - all of them (the team).
Sending you good thoughts and hoping your Mom's symptoms subside,
Barbara
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http://www.people.com/people/article/0, ... 39,00.html
ARTICLE:
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Emmy Award-winning Desperate Housewives actress Kathryn Joosten, 69, underwent surgery Monday morning in Los Angeles to remove a cancerous growth on her lung, PEOPLE has learned.
According to Joosten's rep, the actress's doctors believe the cancer was well contained – and that the surgery was a complete success.
"She's doing great," her rep says. "She'll be in the hospital recovering for a few days. And she'll need to go in for proactive CAT Scans every few months. But there will be no [need for] chemo, no radiation."
Joosten, who plays feisty neighbor Mrs. McCluskey on the ABC show, had already survived a bout with lung cancer in 2001. She learned she had cancer again just last month – after doctors discovered a spot on her left lung during a routine chest X-ray Sept. 9. "I've got a little hang-up here," Joosten told PEOPLE at the time, "but we're going to handle it and move forward."
According to her rep, that's exactly what she's done.
"She'll be back to her feisty old self, chasing her old man down the street any day now," he adds.
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(People.vom, Article by Mark Dagostino, October 5, 2009)
Disclaimer:
The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not being posted with the intention of being medical advice of any kind.
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Thank you, Maryanne, for the great article.
Barbara
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Susan,
God bless you. Yes, this might be very helpful for Bill. His met in the shoulder has become entertwined with his nerves, and into the bone of the scapula.
When our original (good doctor who took care of radiating Bill's shoulder three years ago, and also his neck) mentioned the possibility of the quadramet treatment.
I asked him more about it. He told me that he knew it could be used as a viable option, but didn't say much more than that.
Bill will be seeing his chemotherapy oncologist next week, October 13. Maybe, Susan, Bill will be able to have a resolution (as your Mom did). We can only hope.
Thank you, Susan, so very much for your generous attention to the posting. My heart feels a bit lighter today.
Even if it is not for Bill, I want to say that this board, and its members are awesome.
You and your special intentions are remembered by me in my daily prayers - always.
Barbara
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http://lungcancer.about.com/b/2009/10/0 ... ention.htm
BLOG ARTICLE:
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It seems everyplace I go lately I am offered hand sanitizer. The airport, the entrance to University buildings, the grocery store; even strategically placed at the top of friend's purses. The H1N1 (swine) flu has us scared. While emerging infectious diseases can strike our panic button, the "old" infectious diseases - bacteria and viruses that have been with us throughout history - remain of greater concern for those living with lung cancer.
A new study looked at people with lung cancer going through chemotherapy, and analyzed the cost of neutropenia (a low white count) following treatment. (Neutropenia can raise the risk of developing an infection.) The cost was substantial. Even with all of the talk about healthcare reform, it's not the issue of cost that caught my eye. We are talking about living after all. My brain translated those costs to the bedside, and the physical and emotional anguish that those infections cause for individual people I care about.
Sometimes infections after chemotherapy are unavoidable. Sometimes you may need medications or a delay before your next treatment. The precautions being broadcast to prevent the flu, are good to keep in mind as well.
Most important in preventing infections is what we keep hearing. "Wash your hands, stay away from sick people, and avoid large crowds." But having an awareness of other ways to help prevent infections during chemo may help as well. Should you skip that manicure? Switch to an electric shaver? Have someone else clean the litter box? Avoid sushi? Decline that plea to hold your grandson's iguana? Ask your oncologist what you can do to help prevent infections, and check out Coping With Neutropenia for other tips on staying infection-free.
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(About.com, Health/Lung Cancer, Blog Article by Lynn Eldridge MD, October 7, 2009)
Disclaimer:
The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not being posted with the intention of being medical advice of any kind.
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Once again, hello to all,
Bud, Patti, Kasey, Sue and Connie, you guys are the greatest!
Yes, Kasey, doing the circle wagon bit again.
Wouldn't you think by now we would have that scenario down to a science.
Spoke with the new radiologist this afternoon, and he said that he was concerned with doing more harm than good. The thing is that the tumor is wrapped around nerves in the scapula area on the right side.
Bottom line is that he would do it, but would rather we look for another even less invasive route to solving the pain problem. He said that there would be no guarantee with rfa that the pain would be resolved. It would be iffy.
He gave us the name of an orthopedic specialist from Columbia Presbyterian in New York. He has an office in New Jersey.
Am also looking for information on the quadramet treatment. It might do the trick for Bill, and would appreciate anyone here who knows about that.
The prayers are working because we are still in the researching arena. That is a good thing.
Love you all,
Barbara
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Hello Everyone,
Just updating on today. We had seen the radiologist oncologist for Bill's shoulder (very painful now) last week. He said that the radiation would be prohibitive due to the area having been radiated prior. Mainly, one area had been twice - considering an overlap. Too much and paralysis could be a result.
He suggested either radiofrequency ablation, or quadramet to resolve the pain.
Today, depending on what the doctor assesses from the CT scans taken recently, we will know better.
The quadramet is only for pain and is an IV injection into the area in question. It is used for bone pain. The growth has permeated some bone.
What I would very much love to have are your prayers. Whatever spiritual bent, all would be very much appreciated.
I ask that the outcome will give Bill some comfort. He deserves to be able to not be so worn down by pain. This is a guy who is used to "getting things done."
Barbara
, and yet, I know they are family 
Happy Birthday Wendy
in GRIEF
Posted
Wishing Wendy a Heavenly Happy Birthday, and sending prayers to her family during this time.
Barbara