Dear Physicians, Please Won't You Share?

Allow me to somewhat knowingly decipher this article below for you...

In a nutshell, not every physician is a good sharer.  Meaning that, unfortunately, some Moms slacked off and never taught the important "sharing virtue" to their children and some of those children grew up and became doctors.

Current awareness of "end of life care" including hospice, palliative care, supportive care, etc. should FOREMOST be the personal responsibility of EVERY PHYSICIAN to inform EVERY ONE of their patients of and with.  

Patients go to physicians that they trust with their VERY LIVES, thus if there is any information that may even somewhat be beneficial to any patient (regardless of the physicians own personal opinions and experiences) their physician OWES IT TO THEIR PATIENTS LIVES to clearly share these resources!

Countless people, organizations, political groups, advocates, etc. and so on STRUGGLE to come up with additional ways to get End of Life and Palliative Care information to each and every patient, exceedingly high amounts of money and resources are used and spent in order to do so.

Why are all of these efforts to spread End of Life and Palliative Care Awareness necessary to begin with?!!

It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, relaying this information should not be difficult!  All each physician needs to do is personally and notedly hand one of those fliers/books/dvds/resources that they are constantly gifted with to their patients!  That's it!  

Do we really need to pass a law requiring physicians to "share"?

End-of-life care differs by race: study

January 30, 2009

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The way that older adults with advanced cancer live out their last days seems to vary based on race, a US study suggests.

But the reasons for the discrepancies remain unclear, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Alexander K. Smith of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

"Improved understanding," they write, "will hopefully lead to interventions that improve end-of-life care for all patients with advanced cancer."

SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, January 2009.

Cherishing the Now, Begging for More

This is the letter that I wrote to my Dad very early on New Years Day, 2009...11 days prior to his, PapAmores', death...

You gathered us around you this night, the last one of this year. All these anxious faces, all these pleading eyes, looking up to you, like we always do, drinking in your presence even more than we did before.

We're scared, we try to hide it, but it really shows, I'm afraid we're not doing that great a job...well, okay...I am, I'm the one aimless and lost, incredibly scared, terrified, devastated, crushed...pretty much praying for the end of the world.

Papa, my Daddy, you love without end, you're the rock, the beacon of light, the fixer, the healer, the widsom, the strength, you're rational and wise and smart as the universe, yet funny and silly, you're cool Papa, why...you're Papamore!

And I still run home to you...and now my girls do too, so you see...well, maybe that's the problem? Is it because He wants us to only run to Him?

And if that's true, and I'm sorry I don't think it is, but if it is, then that is just really stupid! Why, if God would be that freaking mean, well then, then it wouldn't be Him. Because the God I know, the God you've shown us in everything you do, He knew we needed someone very special to be able to run to, He knew no one else could ever do, but you.

So, when we run to you, He smiles, because He sees how very much more we love Him, through you...

Anna stayed up to watch the ball drop, "it's a brand new year" she said, then she smiled and told me that she was thinking, God has a ton of stuff to remember, so she understands that He might have forgotten that Papa needs to get better because, with all that He has going on, maybe she just needs to remind Him more that she really needs her real Daddy around for a really long time, her real Daddy, her Papa.

"And God listens to our prayers, He really does," she peacefully told me with a smile...

Of course, she's right...she's Papa's little mustard seed.

We love you, with all our hearts...and then some...

And we are okay, we're okay! I promise...xoxoxoxo

Potential effective treatment of refractory and relapsed AML

Chemotherapy for Relapsed AML: Making the Best Out of a Bad Situation

Current Clinical Trials

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with recurrent adult acute myeloid leukemia.

Look for Therapy

Pulmonary leukostasis in hyperleukocytotic AML is an oncologic emergency demanding rapid intervention. The combined treatment with chemotherapy and radiation appears useful.

Effective treatment of refractory and relapsed AML with the triple combination of mitoxantrone, topotecan and cytosin-arabinoside (MTC)

Patients (pts) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and mutant RAS benefit from high-dose cytarabine (HDAC) intensification: a Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) study

Studies of Voreloxin in AML  "We are extremely pleased by these interim results for both of our AML studies."

These data show that the combination of Mylotarg and Cytosar has significant activity with acceptable toxicities in children with relapsed AML.

Mylotarg®, Cytosar®, and Novantrone® Effective for Relapsed Adult AML (10/23/2008)

Mylotarg® May Decrease Relapse Rate in Patients with Newly Diagnosed AML (01/16/2007)

Mylotarg® and Vidaza® Effective for Elderly with AML or MDS (01/03/2007)

LOR-2040...including an advanced Phase II clinical trial with LOR-2040 and high dose Ara-C (HiDAC) in refractory and relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

Nevertheless, within the limits discussed earlier, the cases described here illustrate that tyrosine kinase inhibition of c-kit and/or PDGFR using imatinib may have potential therapeutic use in AML.

Uplifting Reply from Congressman Pete Hoekstra

Dear Ms. Huizenga-Lubbers:

 

Thank you for contacting me about palliative care.  I am sorry to hear of your father's passing and am disheartened to learn of the difficulties that you have experienced.

 

I appreciate hearing of your support for palliative care.  President Obama has prioritized health care reform in the early days of his administration.  I look forward to the debate over ensuring that patients have access to the types of care that they need.

 

Please know that I will remain mindful of your support for the expanded use of palliative care as Congress continues to deliberate over the matter.  I hope Congress and our new president will work in a spirit of bipartisanship in developing solutions to such an important issue.

 

Again, thank you for sharing your views with me.

 

Sincerely,

Pete Hoekstra
Member of Congress

We Lost our Haven in the Middle of the Storm

Who will protect us now?

Who will provide shelter from the elements outside?

Where will we run to now?

What will bring us refuge?

We are so exposed...out here...in the rain...in the cold...in the sleet, hail and lightening...

We've lost our protection...the very essence of our being has been ripped from our souls...

There is a violent storm around us, it's destructive power is increasing...but, we have no where to run to...no haven in which to abide...

For You, our Forever Safe Place...have died

And it's so hard to look up, when your face is being smashed into the ground.