January 6th, 2012 by Steve Novella, M.D. in Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Alternative Medicine, Anecdote, CAM, Cancer, Cancer Cure, Claims, Diet, Dr. Ian Gawler, Evidence Based Medicine, Meditation, Science, Treatment
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Dr. Ian Gawler, a veterinarian, suffered from osteogenic sarcoma (a form of bone cancer) of the right leg when he was 24 in 1975. Treatment of the cancer required amputation of the right leg. After completing treatment he was found to have lumps in his groin. His oncologist at the time was confident this was local spread from the original cancer, which is highly aggressive. Gawler later developed lung and other lesions as well, and was given 6 months to live due to his metastatic disease.
Gawler decided to embark on an alternative treatment regimen, involving coffee enemas, a vegetarian diet, and meditation. Eventually he was completely cured of his terminal metastatic cancer. He has since become Australia’s most famous cancer survivor, promoting his alternative approach to cancer treatment, has published five books, and now runs the Gawler Foundation.
At least, that is the story he believes. There is one major problem with this medical tale, however – while the original cancer was confirmed by biopsy, the subsequent lesions were not. His oncologist at the time, Dr. John Doyle, assumed the new lesions were metastatic disease and never performed a biopsy. It was highly probable Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
January 4th, 2012 by KerriSparling in Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Blood Sugar, Bolus, Dexcom, Diabetes, Glucose Monitors, Highs, Hydration, Injection, Insulin Pump, Ketones, symptoms, Thirsty, Type 1
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High blood sugars come in three different tiers for me: No Big Deal (NBD), Tricky Little Sucker (TLS), and What The Eff (WTE).
No Big Deal (NBD) highs are the ones I see when I first hear the Dexcom BEEEEEEEP!ing. They are the 180 – 240 mg/dL highs, where I’m cruising out of range, but not so far outside that it takes hours to correct. The NBD highs are usually mild in their symptoms (kind of thirsty, sort of tired, maybe wouldn’t have noticed if the Dex hadn’t hollered) are thankfully short in their duration, so long as I’m on the ball about keeping tabs on my blood sugars.
Tricky Little Sucker (TLS) highs are obnoxious pieces of garbage that hang on for hours. These highs are the ones where you hit anything over 200 mg/dL and just ride there for hours. HOURS. Like you can undecorate the Christmas tree and pack up all the holiday nonsense back into the attic and STILL find yourself rolling outside the threshold. They’re the ones that Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
January 3rd, 2012 by DrWes in Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Call, Concerned Patients, Life, Medicine, Operator, Rule-Breaker, Rules
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The call never should have been made.
It broke every proscribed rule.
After all, I was not on call. Thanks to the wonders of computer technology, it was very clear that I was being covered by my colleague. And yet, despite this, it came.
“Dr. Fisher, I’m so sorry for calling you at home, but I received a call from Ms. X, the wife of your patient Mr. Y. who said she really needed to speak to you about her husband… she seemed quite concerned and insisted I call you…. I told her I’d see if I could reach you at home… I’m so sorry, but it sounded urgent… I have her number, could I connect you?” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
December 28th, 2011 by Berci in True Stories
Tags: Children, Diabetes, E-Patient, Fun, Glucose, Insulin Pump, Juvenile Diabetes, Medicine, Tattoo, Type 1
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I was just making preparations for the top 2011 posts I’m planning to write in the upcoming days when I bumped into this cute story about a diabetic kid who felt ashamed to wear the insulin pump so his parents got insulin pump tattoos.
Some parents get tattoos of their child’s name, but Philippe Aumond and Camille Boivin went one better.
In a show of solidarity, they each have an image of an insulin pump tattooed on their abdomens, declaring that they are “forever linked” to their son Jacob.
“It is a great thing for him, and we were thrilled just to see his smile when he saw those pumps. It made our day, that’s for sure,” said Boivin, 36, from the family’s home in La Sarre, Que.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
December 15th, 2011 by Jessie Gruman, Ph.D. in Opinion, True Stories
Tags: Atul Gawande, Cancer, End Of Life Care, Jessie Gruman, LinkedIn, News, Palliative Care, Remission, Time, Waiting
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That old Tom Petty song, “The Waiting is the Hardest Part,” keeps running through my mind. Four of my friends are waiting to hear the results of medical tests taken last week.
- Lucas has exhausted all of the standard cancer therapies for rectal cancer and is waiting to hear if he is a candidate for any experimental treatments.
- Sam, who has lived through aggressive treatment for multiple cancers, is waiting to hear results from a test that will tell him if the fact that he is so very, very sick is due to one of them recurring.
- Lucy just had major abdominal surgery and is waiting to hear the results of the pathology report that will determine whether or not her cancer can be treated at all.
- Phil, who has been in remission from two different leukemias, had Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Prepared Patient Forum: What It Takes Blog*
