She doesn't know yet that she's joined a community of about 40,000; in fact, as I remember the surgery and its aftermath, she doesn't know much of anything at this point.
The chatter on the pancreatic cancer discussion boards shows our biases and our specialized knowledge. We are interested in the technical details and discuss:
Why did she choose Sloan-Kettering? Johns Hopkins is closer and is one of the two top pc facilities in the US. (Maybe she has family in NY? Maybe her colon cancer was treated at Sloan-Kettering?)(But on the other hand, some posters recognize the name of her surgeon and assure us that he's tops.)
Did she have a Whipple or a distal? (And everyone who had either the Whipple or the alternate procedure chimes in to discuss the implications.)
Is a week in the hospital reasonable? (General consensus is probably not, but on the other hand she can probably get skilled nursing at home, and who wouldn't rather recover at home?) What about post-hospital recovery time? (Stories from people who went back to work two weeks post-surgery and from others who never quite got their oomph back.)
And many, many wistful posts about her early diagnosis. No one begrudges her the top-quality medical care that gave her a CAT scan as part of her post-colon cancer checkup, but all of us in the pc community wish that our cancers had been discovered in a routine workup, before the symptoms started, before the statistics got so bad.
Coincidentally, another bill has been introduced in Congress by someone whose husband died of pc last year. And at the same time the Senate is about to take up a bill that would add money for pc research (not much compared to what Wall Street and the car manufacturers are getting, but some, at least).
I've asked you before to go to the site and sign the petition. Now is a good time to do it again, while Bader Ginsburg is in the public consciousness and the representatives might realize that even the powerful are not immune to this disease.
http://www.pancan.org/Public/congressional.html
Thanks.
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3 comments:
Naturally, we all wish Bader-Ginsburg the best, but if for any reason she has to step down from the bench, I think it would be great if Obama appointed Anita Hill to fill her seat.
Jerry
Dear Lucie----I thought this blog was one of your best--and that is saying something, since most of them have been quite stellar.
Regarding RBG---I listened to the whole report on NHP the other day and also noticed that she was diagnosed early. And I wondered if she'd had a whipple. I also wondered why, if they found her tiny tumor during the post colon cancer screen, they couldn't do full body scans on every person who has ever had a maglignant tumor, such as breast cancer.
I went to web site and signed the petition. BTW, I have had a rotten cold for two days--hope to be feeling like socializing soon.
Hi Lucie! I hope Bader-Ginsburg helps raise awareness of the need for funding in research. I've followed the news about her and thought about you.
I remember when I first met you after I'd just moved to the States. I felt so foreign and out-of-place (it took a few years to shake the feeling:) but you made the effort to talk to me and take interest. Anyway I think you're pretty great and interesting to talk to!! I sure enjoy reading your blog!
Love, Severine
PS: Anita Hill would be a great pick!!! (I love it when I get a joke...)
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