Search results matching tags 'Cancer' and 'Brett Singer'

Finish Line - Creepy Cakes, Sesame Street, And Much More

brettsinger — Sat, 30 May 2009 02:56:00 GMT

It was a short week for some, but on Strollerderby we were wicked busy, as they say in Beantown.

Here's a bit of what went on here the past few days:

Shannon called this one the "Post Most Likely to Send You Running for the Tissues This Week." Check out Paper Girl Delivers Food and Shelter to Haitian Family and see if you agree.
On a much lighter note is Jeanne's handy travel guide for the Big Bird lover in your life: Three Ways To Get to Sesame Street This Summer.
Sunny's post Creepiest Baby Shower Cake Ever is self-explanatory. But it still has to be seen to be believed. (Warning: it will take you a long time to UN-see this thing.)
Madeline wins the "title of the week" award with her post Sonogram Cufflinks for Father's Day ... or a Pro-Life March.
Speaking of breast milk (how's that for a transition?), Cole told us about a guy who actually said, "If I have a lactating daughter, why not take advantage of her?" He has cancer and is using the mommy milk as treatment. But I do question his choice of phrasing. Decide for yourself at WATCH: Man Drinks Daughter's Breast Milk to Cure Cancer.
As for me, I was astounded at the number of people who watched the season premiere of that reality show about the people who have all those kids. Share my amazement at Jon & Kate Plus 8 Premiere Snags 9.8 Million Viewers.
Finally, a plug for Babble Talk Radio, which this week featured myself and Famecrawler's Karl Erikson. You can listen to the whole show right here, and we'll be back live again next Friday.

Morning News - Rush Angers His Own People

brettsinger — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Rush Limbaugh angers a lot of people, but usually hunters are not in that group. But not anymore. The Washington Times reports that Rush has several groups of "sportsmen", specifically hunters (isn't "sportsmen" too generic a term?) all fired up because he's been working with the Humane Society. Why? Well, because gun owners hate puppies! OK, OK, I'm being silly. The real reason is because the Humane Society "is in fact an organization that opposes hunting, fishing, and trapping." So by hanging with them, Rush is now in the dog house with groups like Ducks Unlimited. (Better hope they're unlimited since you keep shooting at them! Get it? G'night, ladies and germs.)

We hear a lot about taxes. Ever wonder which companies pay the most -- or the least? Business Week has a surprising list. Some companies pay next to nothing. Yes -- almost NOTHING. Here's the list of those who pay the least, and the poor schnooks who pay the most.

Speaking of Republicans, Jeb Bush (remember him?) and of his fellow Republicans think that it's "time to leave Reagan behind." That would be interesting, since Reagan has kind of been the patron saint of all things Conservative and Republican since, like, forever. Or at least the last twenty or thirty years. Maybe the next guru of the past will be Nixon?

And speaking of Republicans and taxes, Jack Kemp died. I always thought Kemp got kind of a raw deal when he ran for Vice-President with Bob Dole. I guess it wasn't that bad, but that race was against Bill Clinton at the height of his popularity, and whoever ran on the Republican ticket was probably destined for failure. His legacy appears to be not as a Vice-Presidential loser but as an early champion of "supply-side" economics and Republican tax cuts. (I'm over-simplifying both for space and because I don't really understand economics. So if anyone wants to fill in the gaps, feel free to do so. You even have my permission to call me a dummy. It's OK. My kids do it all the time.) Kemp was 73 and died of cancer. Sad.

This isn't that new a story, but its pretty funny. Two people were caught, um, doing it, on the lawn in front of Windsor Castle. Yep -- that's the Queen's lawn. This sentence is as clasically British and Shakespeare: "Ignoring signs asking visitors to Please Keep Off The Grass, the man and woman, said to be in their early 30, selected a spot near the castle's Garter Tower and stripped off in full view of hotels, pubs and shops." Yes, because the real problem is that they were on the grass.

Oh, and let's not forget swine flu. Apparently there have been more cases reported, but it's not exactly Bubonic Plague. Yet. Here are some stats to scare ya into sanitizing your hands and those of your children. In the U.S. of A., 30 states are reporting swine flu cases. 19 countries. 800 people total, mostly in North America, with Colombia being the first in South America. (What an honor.) In Europe, Spain has the most cases, with 44. 30 people have been hospitalized. Yeah, it's a real party in the world these days.

If you'll excuse me, I have to go wash my hands. Again. See you tomorrow.

Image: s0rethumbs

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Designer Baby Born Without Cancer Gene

brettsinger — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:00:00 GMT

Pop quiz: you have a history of cancer in your family. You want to have children. Science has progressed to the point where you can alter your unborn child's genetics so that they will be born without the particular gene that causes the particular type of cancer in your bloodline. What do you do?

This is no longer a hypothetical question. A baby girl was just born in Britain without the defective BRCA1 gene, which causes cancer in 50 to 85 percent of girls, according to London's Daily Mail. That gene is rampant in this particular London family, who wisely chose to remain anonymous. (No reality TV show for those two.)

When the unborn are mucked with, controversy follows. Various Pro-Life/Anti-Choice advocates, such as James Dowson of LifeLeague, are against the practice, calling it a "slippery slope…It is designer babies. Screening for cancer is an emotive issue - my own father and grandfather both had cancer, so I know - but it is a dangerous road to go down. Today it is cancer, next year it will be IQ, and the year after that blue eyes and blonde hair."

I don't like the term "designer baby". It sounds like something you create in a lab. But isn't that what doctors are doing? I realize that I'm not offering a good analysis of the science involved here. The Daily Mail article is decent, and there is lots of information online if you want to read up on it. I'm going to stick with the more parenting-related issues that come up with this story.

I'm somewhat ambivalent about the idea of genetic screening, and even more hesitant to agree with genetic manipulation. Although I'm not a scientist (I even graduated college without passing a single science class, for what that's worth) I feel strongly that doctors can't possibly know what the long-term effects are of adding and removing genes from anyone, in utero or fully-grown. Like most Jewish parents, my wife and I went through the genetic screening process when she was pregnant, but declined to know all of the information that they found. It's one thing to check and see if you are a carrier for a horrible and incurable disease such as Tay-Sachs. It's something else to find out what the chances are that your child will contract various types of cancers. We decided that we'd rather not know.

And therein lies the core of the issue – choice. If a technique is available and medically possible, it shouldn't be up to me or anyone else to decide whether or not it can be used.

My ambivalence comes from the idea of trying to create a baby with traits that you pick off of a menu of human characteristics – "I'll have the blue eyes with a hint of hazel, and a boy with a strong right leg so he can grow up to be an NFL punter like Jeff Feagles." (Hey, Jeff Feagles is one of the best punters in football. And punters can play longer than any other position in the game because they don't get hit much.) This may sound silly, but I've read enough comic books and seen enough movies to know that messing around with genetics rarely ends well. Eventually some lunatic – Hitler, perhaps – decides to create a Master Race of Super Soldiers and starts World War III. Hm, maybe it's not just a comic book thing.

As with abortion, this is a religious issue. Conservative British politician Ann Widdecombe said, "'A lot of embryos have genes in them that could lead to nothing but them turning into perfectly healthy humans. Once again this shows a worrying precedent that man wants to play God."

This is the argument that nobody ever makes when it comes to the death penalty. But that's a different story.

What do you think? Is this just another issue of personal choice and women's reproductive freedom? Or is it more dangerous? And even if it is more dangerous, does anyone have the right to tell someone not to do it?

Source: Daily Mail

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Most Tasteless Tree Ornament Ever

Tell Obama to Overturn the Global Gag Rule Sooner Rather Than Later

Woman Arrested For Breast Feeding At A Bar

Red eye? Nope, eye cancer

brettsinger — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:00:00 GMT

You know those people you've befriended online? Never met them, but you trade baby pictures? It's all just a little casual thing, right? A way to connect with people who are experiencing the same things that you are.

For one woman, that seemingly casual connection actually saved her baby's life.

Megan Santos of Riverview, Fla. and Madeleine Robb, of London, were online buddies. They gave birth the same day and swapped photos of their bundles of joy. The U.K. mom noticed something odd about one of little Rowan Santos' eyes.

It wasn’t easy for Madeleine Robb to send an e-mail to another mom warning that her baby might have a deadly form of eye cancer. But she’s glad she did it — and so is the mother of 1-year-old Rowan Santos.
…
Just hours after reading the e-mail, Megan Santos of Riverview, Fla., learned from a doctor that Rowan has a potentially deadly form of childhood cancer called retinoblastoma.

WOW.

(For what it's worth, "retinoblastoma" isn't on my spell-check.)

Here's a video report from the Today Show:

source: NBC

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Christina Applegate has double mastectomy

brettsinger — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:30:00 GMT

MSNBC is reporting that Christina Applegate had a double mastectomy three weeks ago. She was diagnosed with cancer in one of her breasts earlier this month. She decided to have both breasts removed because, "Her mother battled breast cancer, and she tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation linked to breast and ovarian cancer."

She plans to have reconstructive surgery, "over the next eight months," and seems to be dealing with the whole thing fairly well, all things considered: "I’m going to have cute boobs 'til I'm 90, so there’s that…I'll have the best boobs in the nursing home. I’ll be the envy of all the ladies around the bridge table."

Applegate has had an amazing career, especially if you consider where she started – as bimbo Kelly Bundy on "Married With Children" way back in 1987 on some new network called Fox. Her film appearances include "Anchorman" and "The Sweetest Thing", and she was the main draw for the sitcoms "Jesse" (42 episodes) and "Samantha Who?" (15 episodes and counting, currently nominated for an Emmy). She also appeared on Broadway in "Sweet Charity." Not bad for someone who began as a pure lust object for a whole bunch of boys (myself included). I'm glad to hear she's cancer free (I'm glad to hear anyone is cancer free, frankly), and that she sounds like she's dealing with what must be a very traumatic medical procedure as well as she can.

One side note: "Applegate’s cancer was detected early through a doctor-ordered MRI. She said she’s starting a program to help women at high risk for breast cancer to meet the costs of an MRI, which is not always covered by insurance." I didn't realize MRIs weren't always covered by health insurance; if that's true, that is a very bad thing.

Source/image: MSNBC

When Granite Attacks

brettsinger — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Those shiny granite countertops in your kitchen may be emitting harmful radiation, as well as radon, a radioactive gas.

Yes, you read that correctly. According to a piece in today's New York Times, "there have been…reports of 'hot' or potentially hazardous countertops" in recent years. Granite countertops have become extremely popular in homes across the country.

Now, before you grab your sledgehammer, it needs to be pointed out that not all granite emits nasty, invisible, and difficult to detect radiation. (Anyone seeing why this is freaking me out a little bit?) The Times says that "the more exotic and striated varieties from Brazil and Namibia" are more likely to contain the bad stuff than other types of stone.

Then again, who knows? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that radon gas levels higher than "4 picocuries per liter of air" is potentially hazardous – "about the same risk for cancer as smoking a half a pack of cigarettes per day." HALF A PACK PER DAY. (Sorry, but like I said, this freaks me out more than stories like this usually do.) One former granite-kitchened individual in the article had readings of "100 picocuries per liter". So that would be, what, 250 cigarettes per day? (Math isn't my strong suit; sorry if that's incorrect.) And Lou Witt from the EPA is quoted in the Times as saying, "There is no known safe level of radon or radiation…any exposure increases your health risk."

What to do? The article says that you can hire a tester from the American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists. If you want to test for radon yourself (note that this doesn't test for radiation) you can visit http://epa.gov/radon or http://epa.gov/iaq/whereyoulive.html. Something tells me that the testers may get a few calls after people read today's Times.

Source/image: NYTimes.com

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Kylie to Doctors: Get it right

brettsinger — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:30:00 GMT

Kylie Minogue is a huge star in England and Australia, and while she's popular here as well, she has had trouble breaking through into the ranks of mega-uber-American stardom. I think I've figured out why: she's too smart.

During an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, the 39-year-old singer and cancer survivor said that when she visited her doctor in 2005, she was told that everything was fine and that she should go back out on tour. A few weeks later, she found a lump in her breast during a self-examination, and then spent a year in treatment. Although Kylie is fine now, she might not be if she hadn't taken charge of her own health care. Ellen said that she too found a lump in her breast recently and had it removed -- two weeks after getting a mammogram and being told there was nothing there.

Minogue stressed that she didn't want to "frighten people," but did want people to realize that just because "someone is in a white coat and using big medical instruments doesn't necessarily mean they're right." She said that she knows of four other women who had similar experiences. In a recent appearance on the Howard Stern Show, Senator Arlen Specter discussed the time a doctor informed him that he had 3-6 weeks to live because of a malignant brain tumor; when the doctor then said he should go on a scheduled vacation, he decided to get a second opinion since that advice was a bit, shall we say, odd. Specter was also wrongly told that he had Lou Gehrig's disease (methinks the senator should switch doctors), and has since survived a bout with Hodgkin's disease, which he chronicles in his new book Never Give In: Battling Cancer in the Senate.

On a personal note, I had emergency surgery to remove my gall bladder several years ago; I found out later that I had been sick for at least six months, and despite worsening symptoms, my doctor didn't do x-rays until it was clear that I was in real trouble. Another time I was put through a battery of tests for stomach issues and it turned out I was lactose intolerant and just needed to stop eating dairy. Everything worked out fine, but there are numerous cases with more serious medical problems that don't end as happily.

Even though it can be difficult to question doctors, they don't know everything, and some of them are even lousy at their jobs. This doesn't mean that you should charge into every appointment armed with your own copy of the PDR and a massive chip on your shoulder, but it does mean that you shouldn't be afraid to ask questions and if something doesn't feel right, seek a second opinion. Finding that balance can be even more difficult when it comes to your kids and their health care, but it's no less important. If you don't want your child to get 6 vaccines at the same time, you have to find a way to tell your doctor.

Kylie has since backed off her statement slightly, saying that she has "great respect for the medical profession." Someone must have pressured her to say that, since it seems to me that it was pretty clear in her initial comments that she didn't think ALL doctors were ninnies.

On a less serious note, Kylie's song "Your Disco Needs You" is really much better than it should be with a title like that. Check out the video here.

image: Kylie.com