Patrick Swayze has five weeks to live? - Enquirer Story- Page 3

[Mamie]

Posted: 3/8/08 at 6:55pm

Thank you for your input, sl.

My G0d how I hate that vile word CANCER. It doesn't matter the kind or who the victim is - be it your friend, Patrick, Abba's grandma, my brother in law, my dad, so many friends and family... it's a hateful, despicable, vile blight on humanity. When I think of the millions (billions?) of dollars that people have spent to fight wars and that could have been spent to eliminate this nightmare, I become not a little ashamed. I just don't understand it.

[Kasie]

Posted: 3/8/08 at 7:09pm

It's true that he has Pancreatic Cancer, however according to this article, he is responding well to the treatment. It says that the article stating that he has five weeks to live is unfounded....I wish him the best. He is a brilliant actor.


FOX NEWS Updated On: 3/8/08 at 07:09 PM

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 3/8/08 at 9:23pm

"He is a brilliant actor."

Lets not go overboard, now.

You really have to wonder just how hard "they" are trying to find a cure. I have not done research on this, but doesn't' it seem odd that "they" still can't cure this disease, yet every year seems that more and more people are being diagnosed?
What would happen if they DID find a cure? More money would be lost than lives. I know it has been said before, but it just makes me sick.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/8/08 at 10:05pm

It also bothers me. I think about how many decades we have been donating to cancer charities, and how many millions or billions have gone towards research and a cure. Is it unreasonable to ask how long it takes, or to question the progress so far? I don't know.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/9/08 at 10:16am

We should definitely question the progress. And billions of dollars have been spent on cancer research and cures.

Where are the progress reports? Where has all that money gone?

[sabrelady]

Posted: 3/9/08 at 10:55am

OH dear. So who do these reports go to? Congress? Oh wait- the U.S. is NOT the only one doing research. An international science board? Oh wait- since ther are over 27 MAJOR forms of cancer how do we break it down into who is responsible for what? Progress HAS been made. Ca Cervix now has a vaccine almost 90% effective. Prostate Ca if not 100% curable is treatable to the point of being a chronic condition. Ca Breast huge numers of women are being assessed and dx and tx'd w commesirate increases in survival.
Even Ca Lung- one of the highest # in deaths has tx's available to reduce symptoms and increase quality of life for up to 5 years. Brain tumours- an oral chemo and Gamma knife radiation are increasing the length of survival time by 50- 100%. Every cancer is different requiring different tx's. AND those treatments have to be arrived @ ethically to which means attracting appropriate subjects into investigational protocols and then presenting/publishing the data for peer review to integrate them into standard tx protocols. ALL this takes time. Seriously guys "they" ( the medical/pharmacutical) are not Hiding a cure so they can make more money. Their family members get Cancer too and die. This is a complicated issue on many levels - don't reduce it to oversimplifications of $$$=cure now.
Sorry for the digression but this is a sore point w me.

[best12bars]

Posted: 3/9/08 at 11:14am

The sore spot with me is when people ask me repeatedly to open my wallet in the name of compassion and won't tell me exactly where the money's going.

They have an obligation, particularly if they try to tell me that I have one.

And X number of dollars on an annual financial report that's labeled "research" doesn't cut it. I'm not saying we should stop private funding. I AM saying they should start talking. Clearly and in detail about where the money's going.

[Mamie]

Posted: 3/9/08 at 11:36am

I'm not saying that anyone is 'hiding' research money. I am saying that too much money and too much time has passed and we seem to be inching our way to higher survival rates or longer lives before the cancer reappears. This isn't enough. People are still getting cancers - in every part of the body. Pancreatic, bone, liver - are killing way too many people and I still hear 'no cure'. Maybe we're missing the boat on this. Maybe we should be finding out why so many are getting cancers. Maybe we should be looking at DNA and gene therapy for stopping it. I don't know - I just know I've just about reached the breaking point with it. My dad died from bone cancer and now my brother in law has it. Right now he's laying on his living room floor - in terrible pain - because the insurance provided by his employer won't pay for hospice care. His wife has a day labor job and it doesn't pay enough to cover the rent on their house, let alone any additional medical costs for him. Last night she talked about suicide because she knew that if they both died at least the state would provide a home for their 3 children. With cancer being as prevalent as it is I know they can't be the only people in this situation. It's got to be cheaper to find a way to end this crap than to put people through this hell.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/9/08 at 12:21pm

sabrelady-your post is the first time I've seen that information, so yes, it should be reported any way possible. How about a tv documentary for one example? How about a mass mailing to donors? Is it ever reported in major newspapers? Anything. Although I posted questions, I"m not that surprised because I don't think the US citizenry is kept up to date or up to truth in a lot of areas, not just about medical research.

thanks for the info, though.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 3/9/08 at 1:54pm

An EXcellent resource is EntrezPubMed. a major info clearing house w multiple links to research and treatment publications. while about 75% may be too technical for any one wout a STRONG background in science there are many other references that can be understood by lay people. The only cavaet is sometimes u are redirected to online pub services that require a sunscription- as my facility subscribes to just about everything I can usually access anything .
mamie- I am sorry to hear about your brother in law. Is there no scoial work dept in the hospital he was dx/tx in who can helpw resources? Volunteer hospice is oftn the only option but you need to know what there is and how to get it. Check w any religious affilations ( if they have them) some churches.temples have programs. Who is managing his pain? Is ther a palliative care service involved? There are things that can be done.

Cancer is a lousy disease but the truth is we are all living longer and the longer u live the more the statistical odds increase that the organisim will develop some failing be it cardiac, endocrine, respiratory or oncologic in nature. We were not meant to remain in perfect health until we stop. And that is also a problem w Western Society. I mean I am presently treating a 91 yr old female w dementia, contractures, totally unable to care for herself . Is this tx really going improve her quality of life or extend it in any statistically relevant manner? Sigh. Just cos we can treat does not always mean we should.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 3/9/08 at 2:16pm

Of course, when the quality of life has been diminished to an extent that the treatment is worse than the alternative, some questions must be answered. However, I don’t feel it is the medical provider who should be making those decisions; it is the patient and his or her family.

We are not talking about a 90 year old with dementia who cannot care for herself. We are talking about otherwise healthy and productive individuals who just happen to come down with a horrible disease that has been in the forefront of the medical news for decades if not a century, not some new and unheard of strain that is affecting a few isolated individuals.

I know a lot of research is being done, but as Best 12 implied, every time we turn around we are being asked for more money but it seems to me more people are being diagnosed each year.

When I see breakfast cereal or toilet paper with a pink ribbon on it all I can think of is the profit that SOMEONE is making off of this disease. Like the AIDS bike rides, yes, some money makes its way to the proper agencies, but what percentage is actually finding its way into the pockets of the executives?

I don’t mean any disrespect to you, Sabre, or to the thousands of good people who ARE trying to make a difference, but you must understand where we “lay” people are coming from.