Antioxidants Bad?

Dr. James Watson, winner of the Nobel Prize for his co-discovery of the structure of DNA, thinks antioxidants are bad.

He mostly thinks they're bad when they are taken with chemotherapy, and can actually do the opposite of what they are supposed to do. We think of antioxidants as good things, of course. Antioxidants work by eliminating substances that mess with the DNA of healthy cells, which would otherwise cause problems. However, says Dr. Watson, chemo is often one of those substances. in other words, antioxidants can't distinguish between substances that might damage healthy cells and substances (like chemo) that might damage cancer cells.

This doesn't mean that we need to stop eating fruits and vegetables when we're taking chemo. It does mean, says Watson, that maybe a conversation with an oncologist is in order if you're taking lots of extra vitamin E or some other known antioxidant.

This isn't a new idea. I've written about it before. What is new -- at least, it's probably never been suggested by someone of Dr. Watson's stature -- is the idea that antioxidants might actually cause cancer. Wouldn't that be a kick in the head? Popping all those pills to stay healthy, and it does the opposite? I know it wasn't until I was taking fish oil and drinking green tea for a year that I was diagnosed.....

Ok, ok, let's not get carried away. There's no evidence right now to suggest that antioxidants in and of themselves cause cancer. But Watson is calling for researchers to at least start looking into it. He's made a career out of shaking things up in the Biology/Cancer/Genetics community, and he's certainly earned it. (My high school Biology teacher, a Christian Brother, used to genuflect when he said Watson's name, so I've kind of had a lot of respect for him since I was 14.)

Maybe a little shake up is what we need?

Math

Interesting, short piece on the healthcare blog at Forbes.com. The title is great -- "What Homer Simpson Can Teach Oncologists about Math" -- though it's a little bit misleading. The Homer thing is kind of tossed in at the end, but the larger point is more important.

Read the article, especially the first part, which involves a little bit of math. I confess: I got it wrong the first time, and right the second time, when I went back and looked at it a little more slowly and deliberately.

Which is the point, I think. Oncologists throw numbers around (especially numbers involving things like success and survival rates) in ways that make them difficult to understand. Partly, it's because our math education is so poor in this country; it's impractical and hasn't changed in decades. That problem gets worse when people don't pay attention, which is often. And it's worse still when people are dealing with an emotional issue; it's hard to be slow, thoughtful, and rational when some one says the word cancer; everything that comes after that word will be filtered through something like the Oh dear God I'm going to die that runs through our heads.

So it's important that oncologists are the ones who slow down.

Almost every time I've been depressed -- truly, deeply depressed, not just sad -- about cancer, it's been triggered by numbers. Having a trusted authority say to us, "Here's a number. Now here's what it means" would go a long way toward making us feel just a little better.

Of course, it's not entirely on them. We need to educate ourselves a little, and understand what numbers mean on a basic level. if we're going to obsess and do internet searches for statistics that affect us, then it's only fair that we take some responsibility for figuring out what they mean, isn't it?

Start with Stephen Jay Gould's "The Median Isn't the Message." If you read carefully, you might be able to end there, too.

Videos

Several cancer-related videos have come across my screen over the last few days. I thought they were worth sharing.

The first is a profile of Tig Notaro, the comedian who found out she had double breast cancer and went on with her show that same night, opening with "Good evening, hello, I have cancer." It was a brave act, as I have written before, particularly when one considers that, not all that long ago, people didn't talk about cancer, especially breast cancer. Yahoo! Shine featured her in their "Secrets to Your Success" series. She talks about her cancer (which is currently in remission) and how she dealt with it through humor. A happy update.

The second is a post-match speech from Scottish tennis great Andy Murray. After winning the Brisbane International, Murray thanks everyone, and then dedicates the trophy to his friend and fellow tennis star Ross Hutchins, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma just a few days ago. The lymphoma caught my eye and ear, but I also have a soft spot for great competitive athletes who can put their competitiveness aside when the game is over.

Finally, a woman in Pennsylvania, who had detected her dog Tinkerbell's breast cancer three years earlier, had the favor returned when Tinkerbell clawed at her chest incessantly. She went to the doctor, and found that she, too, had breast cancer. Coincidence? Maybe. But there are trained cancer-detecting dogs out there, including George, the standard schnauzer.

This is a good time to remind everyone that my own beloved dog Strudel is also a standard schnauzer, though she did nothing to help find my own cancer. Not that I'm bitter. I'm just saying, it would have been nice for her to earn her keep a little. Instead, as I write this, sitting on the couch, she is putting her heavy head on my hand, keeping me from typing. I doubt I have cancer of the hand. More likely a little leftover dinner on my shirt that she's trying to get closer to.

Visit with Dr. R

Had my 4 month check-up with Dr. R today. Not much to tell -- things look good.

Blood work is "perfect."

He asked if I had any symptoms to report, so I gave him a couple. My asthma has been acting up (irrelevant), and I've noticed a couple of bumps on the underside of my upper arm. He examined them, and thinks, given their location, that they are unlikely to be lymph nodes. It's possible that they are lymphoma-related, a presentation of the disease under the skin (which is certainly not unheard of). They are more likely to be small fat deposits. (The only surprise there would be that my fat deposits are small.) It's nothing he is concerned about. If more bumps show up, maybe we'll do a scan. But nothing to do for now. Just more watching and waiting, which I am very sued to doing.

Small swelling in my lower abdomen/hip bone, where my original problem was, but that hasn't changed in a year at least.

So, the upshot is, everything continues to be stable.

And stable is good.

Four more months and we'll have another look....

Patient Power

Patient Power, the excellent cancer patient advocate organization, has an ASH follow-up that focuses on RadioImmunoTherapy.

 The video features Dr. Ajay Gopal of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, who oversaw a study that used RadioImmunoTherapy as a conditioning agent for transplants. In other words, a bone marrow or stem cell transplant needs some treatment to wipe out cancer cells before healthy cells are reintroduced into the patient's body. This study used a combination of chemotherapy (which is traditional) and RIT (which is not) to condition.

The trial involved 107 patients, and had side effects comparable to previous regiments. But the results were an improvement -- 2 years after transplant, almost 80% of patients had survived.

The results are very preliminary, but, as Dr. Gopal describes, are very encouraging for a number of reasons.

The video is available at Patient Power.

PAL report

Patients Against Lymphoma (PAL) published their 2012 annual report a few days ago.  It's worth reading.

PAL is the nonprofit that sponsors Lymphomation.org, a web site that I have described before as the first place any lymphoma patient should visit if they want information. It has information about different types of lymphoma, treatments, and research, as well as links to patient experiences, support groups, information for caregivers, and lists of lymphoma specialists. It's an incredible resource, one we're lucky to have.

The annual report provides evidence of its popularity and effectiveness: more than half a million different visitors last year, with just under 11 million hits. I'm glad people have found this resource.

PAL's missions include encouraging research and supporting patients, and as the annual report makes clear, those missions overlap when it comes to clinical trials. Encouraging participation in trials helps meet the aims of lymphoma research, helps current patients find new treatments that aren't yet widely available, and of course helps future patients by ensuring that new treatments are safe and effective. PAL is very big on clinical trials, and they rightly refer to patients who agree to be a part of trials as "Heroes." They take risks to help people they don't even know. (Which is pretty much what Superman and Wonder Woman do, isn't it?)

The link above will take you to part I of the annual report, where you'll find a focus on clinical trials: PAL's support of them, and even links to some of the lymphoma-related trials going on. It's certainly worth a look. And its worth considering whether or not a trial would be beneficial (see the link in the report for whether or not it's something to consider).

I'll try to link to part II when it's available.

Indolent Lymphomas

Another nice entry from Dr. Jeff Sharman's blog on CLL and NHL. I've linked to Dr. Sharman before; he does a great job of providing very patient-friendly explanations about lots of NHL-related topics.

His most recent entry focuses on Indolent (slow-growing) Lymphomas and the similarities and differences among them.  Dr. Sharman discusses Follicular Lymphoma first, it being the bestest of all the lymphomas. (And the most common indolent lymphoma.) He then devotes some time to Marginal Zone Lymphoma, Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (and its close cousin, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia), Mantle Cell Lymphoma, and Waldenstrom's Lymphoma. As his descriptions make clear, they all have some similarities, but some differences as well.

I especially like his description of how Follicular Lymphoma arises. Doing its job and something goes wrong. See the link for a full explanation.

I enjoy reading his blog and look forward to many more of his clear explanations.

****************************

Today is my 20th wedding anniversary, so I want to give an "I love you" to my wife, who embodies the whole idea of "for better or for worse, in sickness and in health" in the way she has loved and supported me through all of this. (And for the way she puts up with some of the methods I use to deal with it....)

I look forward to another 20 wonderful years with you, darlin'.