Andrew Griffith's Blog, page 9

In challenge to personalized cancer care, DNA isn’t all-powerful | Reuters

A good note of caution on some of the promises of genetic-based personalized medicine, and a reminder of the complexity of cancer and the human body. Quote: If DNA is not the sole driver of tumors’ behavior, said molecular geneticist John Dick of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, who led the study, it [...]

People Living Longer but Not Healthier Lives

Sobering stats on quality of life, rather than just longevity. Not too surprising, and a number of these issues are not limited to the USA. The numbers: 26.2% of the entire population doesn’t exercise 36% of adults don’t exercise 21% still smoke tobacco 1,000 people take up smoking every day By 2030, half the country [...]

RNA-based therapy brings new hope for MCL

Still at the early stages, yet another promising treatment for MCL, using ‘RNA interference sequences’ to stop the over-production of a protein, in turn stopping the over-proliferation of B Lymphocytes. A bit technical in nature (even if in press release form), and a number of years away. American Friends of Tel Aviv University – RNA-based [...]

How to talk to someone with cancer – Salon.com

Timed for the holidays, another in a series of articles on how to talk to people living with cancer. Similar messages to other pieces (my own Supporting someone with cancer and Deborah Orr’s excellent 10 things not to say to someone when they’re ill). The list: This is a bad time to be emotionally needy. It’s a very [...]

I work at clarifying obscurity about the human condition daily

Nice piece on doctoring, humility and patient partnership. Quote: Over thirty years of doctoring in the midst of the mystery of medicine — learning, unlearning, listening, discerning, explaining, guessing, hoping, along with a little silent praying — has taught me the humility that any good clinician must have when making decisions with and about patients. [...]

‘Highest response rate ever reported’ in relapsed mantle cell lymphoma

A good summary if a bit technical of recent findings on new mantle cell lymphoma treatments from the American Society of Hematology annual meeting. Two new treatments for relapsed MCL with encouraging results: Ibrutinib Bortezomib (Velcade) – updating on longer-term outcomes No sense from the article how this success rate compares to other approaches (e.g., [...]

Life, Interrupted: My Mother’s Cooking – NYTimes.com

Not bad observations by Suleika Jaouad on food and chemo/cancer treatment, and just how complex and hard it is at times. Most of us learn by trial and error (mostly error) what works and what doesn’t, and this evolves over time and phases of treatment and recovery. One of the best advice from one of [...]

Why your DNA is a goldmine for marketers – The Globe and Mail

Further to the earlier Would you make your DNA and health data public if it may help cure disease? on some of the genetic research initiatives underway, the less positive side of genetic ‘marketing’. While my sense is that the exact mix of genetics, epigenetics, and environmental factors is more complex than some of the advocates and [...]

Fatherhood is no degree in management – FT.com

Nice piece on parenthood and management by Lucy Kellaway, debunking some of the myths and suggesting further areas for research, provoked by Will and Kate’s recent announcement: As well as making managers more grasping, I can think of three other effects parenthood may have, none of them especially good. Again, there seem to be no [...]

I do not require perfect health to be happy

Good reflections on what ‘cure’ means from both the patient and medical perspective, and the realization that good health is relative, not absolute, for people living with cancer (and other chronic conditions). Quote: I’ve learned that compromise is not same as giving in or giving up. Though the periods between treatments have not signified a [...]