Andrew Griffith's Blog, page 11

Cancer and Foggy Thinking: Is Chemotherapy Really the Cause? | TIME.com

Another study on chemo brain, noting that some of the effects attributed to chemo are actually pre-chemo and post-cancer diagnosis related anxiety. Should be read in conjunction with Evidence of ‘chemo brain’ verified by researchers, which demonstrates that chemo brain, as narrowly understood as a chemo side effect, also exists. Not surprising. When we have [...]

Comfort for doctors and patients alike – The Globe and Mail

A good piece laying out the issues on the Hassan Rasouli case (a man in vegetative state that doctors wish to move to palliative care while the family wishes to maintain the hope that Rasouli will bounce back). Never easy to codify these cases, even from a process perspective, and hard for families to know [...]

Internet use can reduce fatalistic view of cancer

Interesting observations; while watching TV increases cancer fatalism (no breakdown by network), use of internet can reduce it, even when broken by education and socioeconomic levels. Perhaps TV is inherently passive, internet is more active, which may have something to do with it. Quote: The findings suggested that people who use the Internet frequently to [...]

What's a "paraprosdokian"?

Reblogged from The Ethical Nag: Sir Winston Churchill apparently loved a good paraprosdokian. Do you know what that is? First, the word’s definition: “A figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected”   Here’s a classic example of a paraprosdokian from Sir Winston: “If you are [...]

Year 1, Week 17: A Short Getaway

It has been a settling-in week for my Mother-in-law at the ‘centre de récupération’ that she moved into earlier. While her recovery takes time, she has the physio and other support she needs, and it is close enough (20 minutes by train, with a lovely 20 minute walk through Swiss countryside) that we have been [...]

A Lament for the Photo Album – NYTimes.com

Some good reflections by Lucinda Rosenfeld on the mixed blessings of digital photography. Having gone through our old family albums, going back a few generations, as well as my slide collection from about 25 years ago, and then trying to put order into our more recent digital photos, can only agree with some of the [...]

Losing The Last Chapter – The Daily Beast

A nice reflection by Joan Acocella on why we want our novels (and other forms of art) to tidy up the loose ends: Art, whether fiction or not, is a challenge to entropy, a bumping up of something that must be flattened down again. When you think about it, it’s surprising that art is allowed [...]

Psychotherapy’s Image Problem Pushes Some Therapists to Become ‘Brands’ – NYTimes.com

Our fast food, self-help and consumer culture in therapy. Another reflection of the shallowness of our time. Quote: It’s precisely this double bind in which many of my colleagues and I feel caught. If we give modern consumers the efficiency and convenience they want, we also have to silence our nagging sense that we may [...]

Soins palliatifs – La meilleure façon de mourir… | Le Devoir

A good piece on palliative care in Quebec, with many of the same challenges (lack of space, lack of awareness as elsewhere). And a reminder that good palliative care helps remove the wish or need for doctor-assisted suicide, given pain control. With the usual patient horror stories that underline the point: « Récemment, dit-elle [Dr. [...]

Debunking 8 persistent health myths

A good summary list, and explanations of why they are myths. Does not change the fundamental advice of exercise, healthy eating choices, abstain from smoking, and drink in moderation. The list: You can catch a cold from being too cold. You will get blind if you read in low light. In order to tan, you [...]