LIVING WITH MCL

There is lots of excitement over at The Medical Blog Network . Dmitry has just unveiled his manifesto for promoting the power of the internet to transform the way we view and provide health care in the US. Lots of important people with impressive credentials have signed on, and if you look down the list, you'll even see my name listed there also. So does that make me an important person with impressive credentials also? You decide! Check it out by clicking here , or on the widget to the right!

And they're not encouraging, at least not from my stand point. Of 40 votes cast (which is another disappointment), in the poll I posted on October 20, 2006, 25 people believe health care should be treated as a commodity, and only distributed to those who can pay. The results would be even more disheartening, if I truly thought they were representative of US society as a whole. I don't believe that to be the case. I refuse to accept that anyone, with the exception of maybe Rush Limbaugh , who thinks Michael J. Fox is faking his disease, and maybe a few others, has so little compassion for their fellow man, and is so self centered, they would put health care on the same plain as purchasing a car. Of course when you combine this with the fact that daylight savings time is over, and winter is upon us, the Steelers lost to the Oakland Raiders, and Mercury is in retrograde , it can be a little discouraging!

I know, you're probably wondering what has gotten into me. Why can't he just make up his mind already? Well, I don't know. I got tired of the theme before the last one, and I really didn't like the previous theme (too much green), so I decided it was time for a change. It's a winter thing. They actually have a name for it, Seasonal Affected Disorder. SAD for short. But I think I like this one. I do have some more work to do, to get it looking perfect, but I think this may just be a keeper, and besides, it's very close to my high school colors, maroon and gray. Maybe it is true, the older you get, the more nostalgic you get, and hopefully I won't get bored of this one. Comments or suggestions on improving the design are welcome!

Besides the fact that the days are shorter, the temperatures cooler, I can't (don't) ride my bike, or play golf as much as I might like, it seems all my frustrations and disappointments get accentuated this time of year. Dealing with customers at work becomes increasingly more difficult, not to mention the fact that it's dark when I drive to work in the morning, and dark for the drive home. Even this morning, a simple thing like no water in the Sparklets water fountain, when I went to fill my tea pot, seemed to take on added significance. And even worse, I lost one advertiser on my blog. But my biggest disappointment has been with the poll I have been conducting on this website and three others. But I'm not sure which is more disappointing, the fact that only 26 people have voted, or the fact that 16 of those who did vote, think health care should be treated like any other commodity, and distributed according to the ability to pay. Where's the compassion? Why d...

There has been an interesting discussion , even a little heated at one point, over at InsureBlog which started out discussing a recent poll conducted by ABC News, USA Today and the Kaiser Family Foundation purported to show that in general people in the US were very satisfied with their health care . The discussion soon digressed into comparing the purchase of health care/insurance to the purchase of groceries, auto insurance, loans and a few other analogies. I didn't think the analogies were appropriate (actually I called them stupid, which is what created some animosity), but it seemed everyone else thought they were good analogies. I believe, like every other industrialized country in the world believes, health care is not a commodity distributed according to the ability to pay rather it is a social service distributed according to medical need. Unlike the ability to get a loan or buy gasoline or a car, we don't have nearly as much control over our health. Even when you ...

She was very personable and forthcoming. Not sure how much that had to do with the fact that Jackie (her nurse) likes me, but she did make it a point to let me know that Jackie was glad I was now under both their wings. Not sure how much she knows about MCL in particular either, but I will help as needed with her training. At least she did take the time to read my file, and even perused much of the literature I had provided my first two (actually three if you count the Fellow, who initially diagnosed my MCL) hematologists. We talked about the diagnosis, plus a number of other things both related and unrelated to my MCL, and then she proceeded to give the obligatory physical exam, looking for enlarged lymphnodes, and other signs of disease advancement. At the end, I asked a question regarding new tests to see if my MCL had evolved in the 4+ years since my diagnosis. I got the pat answer, which was since nothing is likely to change, as far as treatment plans go, she didn't think...

I managed to sleep until 6:50 AM. I know, to some, that may sound early, but for me it's late. In fact it's barely enough time to make and eat breakfast (actually Edie makes breakfast), before I have to start getting ready, to meet some friends, for my morning bike ride at 7:30 AM. As it was, I didn't even have enough time to finish my morning tea. Anywaze, hopefully this means I have finally recovered from my trip to Italy . Things can only get better from now. Now if only I could manage to stop or put a hold on the approach of my least favorite time of the year (winter, and the end of daylight savings time), I could really start celebrating.

I hear those terms all the time when discussing medicine, i.e. doctors practice medicine, a doctors practice and going for a second opinion. Those and similar statements should be the first indication that something may be amiss in the field of medicine. Maybe medicine isn't an exact science, and that doctors aren't gods that know everything there is to know about treating diseases. But a recent discussion on an MCL message board I frequent, seems to indicate that, at least a few out there still believe that to be the case. One person stated It is my opinion that the patient must choose a doctor after obtaining all information available and even checking with several doctors ---- then after choosing a doctor in whom the patient has confidence, he or she must then submit to that doctor's recommended treatment Another says The saying is that if you're going to be your own d[octor] you have an idiot for a patient. ... I was introduced to a young (32, who looked 22)...

Just when you think things maybe aren't that bad, life throws you that unexpected curve ball. Not only that, but I've been thrown that curve ball three times in the past month. First my highly anticipated trip to Italy , turned out not to be as expected. Then when I get back from Italy, an email arrives from the person that typically audits the company I work for, informing me that she will no longer be auditing the company for compliance to AS9100 . (BTW, I happen to be the Director of Quality and Metallurgy for my company, and the AS9100 representative.) And then to top it off, just now when I called to schedule my wife's car for servicing, I discovered the auto mechanic, I have been going to for the past 17 years, sold his business. And to think, two months ago, I thought I was leading a charmed life (sorta) , and all I had to worry about was my MCL! Boy did I ever get hit with a great big dose of reality.

I know I said I was going to give a complete report on our trip to Italy, with lots of pictures, but I just can't seem to get motivated. And when I tried, all I could motivate myself to do, was change my blogs appearance. (Comments would be appreciated!) Besides, I think I've already given a pretty good account of the trip in my previous 4 posts. Instead I uploaded all the pictures to my Picasa web page, and captioned all the pictures. It does a good job of chronicling our trip through Italy, and it was definitely a lot easier to finish. So just click here , and you'll be transported to Italy. You can view it as a slide show, and the pictures will advance automatically at what ever interval you desire, or just click on the first picture, and advance them manually. Enjoy! :)

Ever since my diagnosis, I feel as though I need to accomplish so much before it is too late. There was even an old television series starring Ben Gazzara, called Run for Your Life , which dealt with the issue of a successful lawyer diagnosed with a terminal illness, setting out to do everything he never had time to do before. I didn't realize at the time, just how much I would be able to relate to his situation, but my recent trip to Italy put that entire perspective into reality . It was a hectic and tiring trip , and now even after being at home, I have still not managed to get my body clock in order. And we even flew business class. I can't even begin to imagine what it would have been like had we flow coach! Now the trip was not a total downer, and I am glad I went, but had I known what I know now, I doubt I would have gone, or at least I would have done it a lot differently. I would have skipped all the tourist attractions, not made any reservations ahead of time, exce...