There's an article over at the New Yorker website that some people here may be interested in reading. It's written by an oncologist, and he writes about the last year or so of his wife's fight with breast cancer, and how he faced it given his training as a physician. Ultimately, his wife lost her battle with cancer.
The article is titled "The Day I Started Lying to Ruth". Here's the link: http://nymag.com/news/features/cancer-peter-bach-2014-5/
It's a long article, and it will be an emotionally difficult to read for many people here. But it gives some useful insights into the physician perspective on treating cancer in its end stages, and there has some medical insights here and there.
(I wasn't quite sure if I should post this in this section of the forum, or over in the "Burgundy Cafe". Feel free to move the posting, Beacon Staff, if you feel it belongs somewhere else.)
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Re: Article: A cancer doctor on losing his wife to cancer
Heartbreaking. But also really, really well written. Here are some excerpts:
"PET scans are like that, radioactive tracers that travel around the body and measure how much work different cells are doing. And cancer cells are very active workers. The scans are like the ground seen from the air at night. When there is no cancer they look like Idaho, all quiet. Really bad news looks like downtown Chicago or Phoenix."
"The spine is like a pile of those cheap plastic poker chips with the little ridges. Perfectly stacked, they’re strong enough to hold enormous weight. But if cancer eats away in just the right place, it can cause a small kink, and then pressure leads to collapse."
"PET scans are like that, radioactive tracers that travel around the body and measure how much work different cells are doing. And cancer cells are very active workers. The scans are like the ground seen from the air at night. When there is no cancer they look like Idaho, all quiet. Really bad news looks like downtown Chicago or Phoenix."
"The spine is like a pile of those cheap plastic poker chips with the little ridges. Perfectly stacked, they’re strong enough to hold enormous weight. But if cancer eats away in just the right place, it can cause a small kink, and then pressure leads to collapse."
Re: Article: A cancer doctor on losing his wife to cancer
Thank you for sharing. Very hard to read, but it gives voice to the fears of all caretakers and patients.
Lyn
Lyn
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Christa's Mom - Name: Christa's Mom
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Husband
- When were you/they diagnosed?: September, 2010
- Age at diagnosis: 53
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