Today I encountered a 33 y/o patient with incurable cancer.  This unfortunate lady, so young, was accompanied by her father to the doctor’s office.  They were obviously devastated to learn the bad news.  Although I have not and likely will never meet this patient, I am touched by this sadness just the same. 

As a pathologist, I do not regularly deal directly with patients.  But as I gaze at cancer cells through my microscope, I am cognizant of the human suffering that comes with this disease.  All too often I am the bearer of bad news.  Although I don’t know or meet these patients, I am quite aware that every one is somebody’s cherished daughter, son, sister, brother, father, mother, cousin or friend.

I do not expect life to be free of pain and suffering.  Rather, I expect the opposite, as this is a natural and necessary part of life itself.  But on this Thanksgiving, like every other, I am thankful for every breath that I get to breathe.  Life is so fragile. In my job I am regularly reminded of this.  Every day is precious – every moment. 

During the past three years, I have had left shoulder surgery, back surgery, and a second torn Achilles tendon.  In three weeks I am going to have carpal tunnel surgery and right shoulder surgery.  But I do not feel unlucky.  Rather, I am thankful.  I am thankful that I live in a time where broken parts can be fixed.  I am thankful that I have had broken parts that can be fixed.  I am thankful for skilled doctors and modern anesthesia.  I am thankful for the best medical system in the history of the world.  I am thankful that I can have all this done without being put on a waiting list, or requiring prior approval by some mindless government official.  I am very thankful I tore my Achilles in the fall –  so I could get in a whole season of golf and gardening, and hopefully not miss a beat next spring - Impeccable timing!  I am thankful that I have a caring wife that waited on me hand and foot and drove me where I needed to be (although eventually I figured out how to drive with my left leg).  And I am thankful that I haven’t rear ended another car while driving with my left leg!

Just think of all the other places and times we could have been born.  How is it that we ended up here, now?  Imagine being born even a couple hundred years earlier – no modern anesthesia, surgery, pain medication, or even penicillin!  Imagine a world without modern plumbing or refrigeration! I don’t know how they did it.  I know everything is relative but for God's sake,  I could not live without at least one hot shower a day.  Thank you God for putting me on this earth after Sir Thomas Crapper invented the modern toilet.  And thank you for taking care of me and my family!

                                                  HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!

Who Will Win the NFC?

A number of years ago, some computer guys did an in depth analysis of NFL statistics to determine the best predictor of who will go to the Super Bowl.  The result:  Teams with the greatest differential between yards/pass play gained on offense minus yards/pass play given up on defense is the best predictor of who will go all the way.  We are ten games into the season and let's see how the Packers stack up in the NFC.  These are the current differentials and the number of wins:

7 wins:  Green Bay +1.2, Chicago +1.2,  Philadelphia + 1.1, New Orleans +0.7, 
             and Tampa Bay +0.6
6 wins:  NY Giants +0.6
5 wins:  Washington -0.1, Seattle -1.1

Once again the # of wins correlates with the differential.  At this point the Packers are looking good.  However, there is an anomaly that I left out.  Atlanta has 8 wins but a differential of -0.8 (6.7 yards per pass on offense while giving up 7.5 on defense) So this system doesn't work?  Well, for one, we are only ten games in and things can change alot between now and the end of the season.  Secondly, if you look at Atlanta's games, they have been winning close ones and their schedule has been somewhat easy.  And they don't turn the ball over.  But this is all good news for the Packers.  If they take care of the ball, they should beat Atlanta this Sunday.  (On the other hand, with Michael Vick at QB, the Eagles are on the rise).

This system is not perfect, primarily because of the turnover factor and that things change throughout the year.  In fact, I bet it works better if you only look at the last 8 games of the year (as teams can change dramatically because of injuries, etc).  It also depends on who you play and when.  However, if they played 100 games, I bet the correlation would be almost perfect.  The  bottom line is that winning in the NFL requires great quarterback play and great pass defense.  If you complete long pass plays, and don't give up long pass plays, and don't turn it over, you win.

By the way, in the AFC it should be Pittsburgh and San Diego in the finals (but I will have to recalculate after another 4-5 games and see where they stand).

They Need to Try This in Wisconsin

Scientists Release Genetically Modified Mosquitoes To Tackle Dengue Fever.

The AP (11/11, Cheng) reported, "Scientists have released genetically modified mosquitoes in an experiment to fight dengue fever in the Cayman Islands, British experts said Thursday." Notably, "it is the first time genetically altered mosquitoes have been set loose in the wild, after years of laboratory experiments and hypothetical calculations." 

Meanwhile, "British scientists today said a small-scale trial of the strategy, which was carried out in the Cayman Islands, had cut mosquito numbers by 80% in six months," reports the UK's Guardian (11/12, Sample). Scientists "at the Oxford-based firm Oxitec modified male mosquitoes to carry a gene that means they can only survive if they get regular feeds of an antibiotic called tetracycline. ... When the mosquitoes are released into the wild, they mate with females but produce offspring that inherit the gene and so die almost immediately."   They need to try this in Wisconsin!

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO CLUB GITMO?
Recall that during the latter days of the Bush presidency, the media was relentless in covering all the evils of the prison at Guantanamo Bay (affectionately referred to as "Club Gitmo" by Rush Limbaugh)? Recall one of Obama's major campaign promises was to shut down Gitmo and move the prisoners to the USA? Well the club is still open for business and Obama has not followed through on his promise. But even more striking is that the media coverage on this has virtually disappeared.

This is a classic example of liberal hypocrisy and media bias in action. The liberals don't really care about the prisoners at Gitmo.  Rather, it was a convenient political tool for them to hammer our then president Bush. And the biased liberal media was equally complicit in this folly. Gitmo is a perfect location for these prisoners - a military prison on an island close to but not in the USA. Obama wants to move these prisoners to the continental USA, but nobody wants them living next door. The media bias is so blatant, not only in how they report stories, but perhaps more importantly what they choose to put in or leave out.

Packers Luck Continues

In a previous post, I commented how lady luck has finally found the Packers.  Although they were going to beat the Cowboys regardless, luck was again on their side.  The Cowboys fumbled a kickoff with 2:04 left in the first half.  The ball popped right into the hands of a Packer (Collins) who returned it for a touchdown.  Not only was it a lucky bounce, but it wasn't a fumble at all.  Replay showed that the guy was clearly down before the fumble.  However, 2 plays earlier the Cowboys used their last time out so they could not challenge the call.  Furthermore, if this would have happened 5 seconds later, at 1:59, the officials would have reviewed the play and reversed it (inside 2 minutes in either half, only the refs can call for a replay). 

Other luck?  How about the fumbled punt that just barely stayed in bounce before being recovered by Jared Bush?  Or the fumble by James Jones that was recovered by Nelson?  Speaking of Jones, recall in my earlier post that I was tired of his dropped passes and fumbles.  Well he fumbled again and dropped an easy touchdown pass. If he makes those mistakes next game against the ViQueens, we will lose.

In the NFL, luck doesn't necessarily even out during a game, but over the course of a season it usually does.  Rarely, however, a team can ride a wave of luck the whole season.  I think that is what happened to Favre and the Vikings last year.  I sure hope that Packers luck continues at least for one more game.

Odds and Sods

1.  Scientists at the University of Arizona have unveiled holographic technology to transmit and view moving three-dimensional images, a la Obi-wan Kenobi.  They call it holographic telepresence which means they can record a three dimensional image in one location and show it "real time" in any other location in the world.  They claim the new technology combines motion with an impression of genuine solidity. 

One of the most interesting things I remember from studying physics eons ago is holographic technology.  A number of years ago I made the following prediction, and it now appears to be closer to reality.  Some day we will be able to watch holographic football games in our homes.  I envision a bowl shaped "stadium" in my living room or basement, perhaps the size of a pool table, where people can watch an actual live football game in solid 3D, flying football and all.  The technology could be used for virtually any sport - basketball, auto racing, hockey - even rock concerts! It sounds so strange that it is a bit hard to visualize.  But mark my words, it will happen!  (I am only smart enough to come up with ideas - I wish I could figure out how to make them happen).

2.  An elderly couple in Canada won $11.2 million from a lottery ticket - and gave it all away!  That's right, every penny.  They must be wealthy, right?  NOT!  He is a retired welder.  They live a simple life and claim they have no particular use for the money. 

3.  A woman in North Carolina called the police on her husband - because he wouldn't stop snoring.  Now why didn't Marilyn ever think of that?

4.  A nutrition professor at Kansas State University ate a Twinkie every 3 hours for 10 weeks - and lost 27 pounds.  He even supplmented his Twinkie diet with Oreos, Doritos, and sugary cereals.  In addition to weight loss, his bad cholesterol dropped 20%, his good cholesterol went up 20%, and his triglyderides dropped 37%.  This diet worked because he limited his calorie intake to 1800 per day, 800 less than what a man his size would normally burn off.  The bottom line is that losing weight is simple mathemtics - calories consumed need to be less than calories burned.  And eating fatty foods may not matter much.  In fact, my dad's parents ate the greasiest foods - bacon and eggs daily - and lived past 90. 

THIS JUST IN:  The "NANNY STATE" assault on what restaurants should be allowed to serve (like banning trans fats in NYC, or outlawing fast food restaurants in poor sections of Los Angeles) is really not going to solve the obesity problem in this country.  But common sense should tell us that!

Wasps, antibiotics, and "The Crutch Force"

Last week, a lady in Lakeland, Florida was stung over 1,000 times by yellow jacket wasps when she stumbled upon their underground nest in her backyard.  She was covered with so many wasps that they had to clear out part of the emergency room as they continued to fly out of her hair.  She remains in critical condition with liver and kidney failure.  Once they sting, wasps release a pheromone which tells other members of the colony to attack.  And unlike bees, a single wasp can sting multiple times. 

Speaking of wasps, about a month ago I was spraying a small yellow jacket nest attached to my house.  When a couple of them came at me, I did two sudden leaps backwards and snapped my Achilles tendon.  I lamented afterwards that I would rather have been stung multiple times.  But this brings up an interesting question - How many stings would I have taken in exchange or a torn Achilles?  Certainly more than 10.  Perhaps 100 or more, if I could be assured that I would only suffer the pain and no other serious consequences.  But this brings me to another couple of interesting points about my injury - antibiotics and the "crutch force".

• Six weeks before my popped Achilles, I took a short course of Ciprofloxacin for an elbow infection I got from a thorn injury.  When I heard that this antibiotic was known to cause spontaneous rupture of the Achilles tendon, I asked my doctor for something else.  Since I only took it for 2.5 days, my doctor doubts this had anything to do with it.  However, in one study, 10 of 38 patients had symptoms within 3 days of starting the drug, and tendon rupture occurred as late as 90 days after treatment.  The drug apparently causes mucinous degeneration which explains why the rupture can occur many weeks after treatment.  My Achilles wasn't healthy, but I believe the drug was the final straw.
• During the course of my injury, I have made a most remarkable discovery.  Until now, scientists have been aware of only 3 fundamental types of force - gravity, electromagnetic, and nuclear forces that hold atoms together.  But I have "stumbled" across another.  You see, whenever I lean my crutches up against a wall or counter, they eventually fall - always.  In fact, it is such a certainty that our dog is afraid to walk past them.  I make a point to stand them perfectly level but they still fall, sometimes 15 minutes or more after I set them there.  Newton's laws of physics tell me that there has to be another force acting, as objects at rest cannot begin to move without one.  This force, whatever it is, seems to only act on crutches.