Very creative comic strip format to deal with his mom's cancer
My mother was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer.
http://www.momscancer.com/
Mom's Cancer" tells the story of my mother's battle with metastatic lung cancer. It's not a "how-to" manual about treating the disease. If I've learned anything, it is that every cancer, patient, physician, and outcome is unique. Rather, "Mom's Cancer" focuses on how a serious illness can affect patient and family, both practically and emotionally, in ways that I've discovered are very common. Many readers have written to tell me how surprised and gratified they were to learn they weren't alone.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Lance, the greatest athlete of all time.
Armstrong the best ever
AFTER CANCER, CYCLIST WOULDN'T DREAM OF USING STEROIDS,
ANYONE WHO believes that Lance Armstrong, the record-breaking six-time winner of the 3,685-km Tour de France bicycle race, is on performance-enhancing drugs like steroids, should read his autobiography. Although many (especially in France) are adamant that no one could do what he has done without the benefit of illicit medication, the more you learn about Armstrong's story, the less credible the allegations.
The world knows his greatest triumph was not winning the Tour de France, but conquering cancer. Just how great a triumph is fuzzy -- until you read his book It's Not About the Bike, written in 2000 with the help of a sensitive and perceptive sportswriter, Sally Jenkins.
At the time Armstrong had just won his first Tour de France (a chapter was added the following year after his second Tour de France win, when the French media were in full-throat drugs-innuendo against Armstrong.
Every year scandals erupt about cyclists caught using steroids. But not Armstrong.
His account of coming down with testicular cancer at age 25 that had spread to his lungs and brain is harrowing and persuasive.
He was given a 40% chance of surviving -- not a 40% chance of competing in bicycle races again, but merely surviving. Repeated chemotherapy devastated his body, killing live cells as well as cancerous ones, making him so sick that he could barely function. Even during chemotherapy, after surgery, Armstrong cycled 30 to 50 miles a day.
$2.5M CONTRACT
When cancer was discovered, he had a $2.5-million contract with the Cofidis cycling team, but had never distinguished himself in a Tour de France race. He was all potential -- enormously strong, with incredible endurance. His was an aggressive personality that overshadowed any tactical sense of not "attacking" whenever a cyclist sprinted or challenged him.
Armstrong recalls that as a teenager he was tested at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, "birthplace of the aerobic exercise revolution," and his lung capacity and efficient use of oxygen has never been matched.
Also, he apparently produced less lactic acid than normal -- the chemical the body produces when a person is winded or fatigued. Lactic acid is "what makes your lungs burn and your body ache."
Until he was 25, when the testicular cancer hit, Armstrong was a bit of a wild man -- partying and training hard, a great competitor, but not quite world class.
Surviving cancer, he became a diet fanatic. Previous junk food consumption ceased, he was determined never to ingest food (or drugs) that might affect his hormones or chemical balance.
Always there is a concern that cancer might return, and Armstrong understandably is unwilling to put anything into his body that might risk a return of cancer.
With this attitude, it verges on the inconceivable that he would risk steroids. More than winning races, Armstrong is determined to survive.
As well as his superior mental and physical condition, Armstrong was and is blessed with a loyal support team -- starting with his mother, with whom he has a strong bond, and an agent who is more friend than business colleague, and a network of medical specialists and friends who want to be at his side when either adversity or victory beckon.
He must have some personality to engender such loyalty. Certainly, his book is a candid, honest and immensely moving testament that is inspiring for any who believe life should be lived at its fullest.
Prior to cancer, Armstrong excelled at sprinting. His endurance was always spectacular, but he was weakest on the hill climbs. After cancer, he "attacked" hills, and today is arguably the greatest cyclist when it comes to mountains.
His accounts of his first Tour de France win is gripping. Even non-cyclists feel the suspense, drama, fatigue. Terrifically tactical, the Tour de France was intended to be the world's toughest sporting event -- and is.
GREATEST ATHLETE
Arguably, Lance Armstrong is not only the greatest living athlete, but may well be the greatest athlete of all time.
According to my source of sport wisdom, George Gross, others who have dominated their sport as Armstrong dominates his include Sonja Henie, who won 10 world figure skating championships in a row, and Edwin Moses, the great Jamaican middle distance runner who for 20 years has not lost a race.
But they didn't have to conquer cancer first.
AFTER CANCER, CYCLIST WOULDN'T DREAM OF USING STEROIDS,
ANYONE WHO believes that Lance Armstrong, the record-breaking six-time winner of the 3,685-km Tour de France bicycle race, is on performance-enhancing drugs like steroids, should read his autobiography. Although many (especially in France) are adamant that no one could do what he has done without the benefit of illicit medication, the more you learn about Armstrong's story, the less credible the allegations.
The world knows his greatest triumph was not winning the Tour de France, but conquering cancer. Just how great a triumph is fuzzy -- until you read his book It's Not About the Bike, written in 2000 with the help of a sensitive and perceptive sportswriter, Sally Jenkins.
At the time Armstrong had just won his first Tour de France (a chapter was added the following year after his second Tour de France win, when the French media were in full-throat drugs-innuendo against Armstrong.
Every year scandals erupt about cyclists caught using steroids. But not Armstrong.
His account of coming down with testicular cancer at age 25 that had spread to his lungs and brain is harrowing and persuasive.
He was given a 40% chance of surviving -- not a 40% chance of competing in bicycle races again, but merely surviving. Repeated chemotherapy devastated his body, killing live cells as well as cancerous ones, making him so sick that he could barely function. Even during chemotherapy, after surgery, Armstrong cycled 30 to 50 miles a day.
$2.5M CONTRACT
When cancer was discovered, he had a $2.5-million contract with the Cofidis cycling team, but had never distinguished himself in a Tour de France race. He was all potential -- enormously strong, with incredible endurance. His was an aggressive personality that overshadowed any tactical sense of not "attacking" whenever a cyclist sprinted or challenged him.
Armstrong recalls that as a teenager he was tested at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, "birthplace of the aerobic exercise revolution," and his lung capacity and efficient use of oxygen has never been matched.
Also, he apparently produced less lactic acid than normal -- the chemical the body produces when a person is winded or fatigued. Lactic acid is "what makes your lungs burn and your body ache."
Until he was 25, when the testicular cancer hit, Armstrong was a bit of a wild man -- partying and training hard, a great competitor, but not quite world class.
Surviving cancer, he became a diet fanatic. Previous junk food consumption ceased, he was determined never to ingest food (or drugs) that might affect his hormones or chemical balance.
Always there is a concern that cancer might return, and Armstrong understandably is unwilling to put anything into his body that might risk a return of cancer.
With this attitude, it verges on the inconceivable that he would risk steroids. More than winning races, Armstrong is determined to survive.
As well as his superior mental and physical condition, Armstrong was and is blessed with a loyal support team -- starting with his mother, with whom he has a strong bond, and an agent who is more friend than business colleague, and a network of medical specialists and friends who want to be at his side when either adversity or victory beckon.
He must have some personality to engender such loyalty. Certainly, his book is a candid, honest and immensely moving testament that is inspiring for any who believe life should be lived at its fullest.
Prior to cancer, Armstrong excelled at sprinting. His endurance was always spectacular, but he was weakest on the hill climbs. After cancer, he "attacked" hills, and today is arguably the greatest cyclist when it comes to mountains.
His accounts of his first Tour de France win is gripping. Even non-cyclists feel the suspense, drama, fatigue. Terrifically tactical, the Tour de France was intended to be the world's toughest sporting event -- and is.
GREATEST ATHLETE
Arguably, Lance Armstrong is not only the greatest living athlete, but may well be the greatest athlete of all time.
According to my source of sport wisdom, George Gross, others who have dominated their sport as Armstrong dominates his include Sonja Henie, who won 10 world figure skating championships in a row, and Edwin Moses, the great Jamaican middle distance runner who for 20 years has not lost a race.
But they didn't have to conquer cancer first.
Sunday, July 25, 2004
Lance ,our hero!
Lance Armstrong rode into history Sunday by winning the Tour de France for a record sixth time, an achievement that confirmed him as one of the greatest sportsmen of all time. His sixth crown in six dominant years elevated Armstrong above four champions who won five times.
And never in its 101-year-old history has the Tour had a winner like Armstrong - a Texan who just eight years ago was given less than a 50 percent chance of overcoming testicular cancer that spread to his lungs and brain.
Armstrong's unbeaten streak since 1999 has helped reinvigorate the greatest race in cycling, steering it into the 21st century. And the Tour, as much a part of French summers as languid meals over chilled rose, molded Armstrong into a sporting superstar.
LanceArmstrong.com
see LanceArmstrong.com, the great one,is about to prove he not only can beat cancer,but win the tour de france 6 times in a row!
Saturday, July 03, 2004
Cancer crisis looming in GTA,predicts 46% increase
Cancer crisis looming in GTA
Report predicts 46% increase in next 10 years
Agency estimates cost will be in the `tens of millions'
The Greater Toronto region faces a 46 per cent increase in cancer cases in the next decade and will need a massive injection of health resources to cope with it, a report warns.
By 2014, the region will have 33,544 new cases of cancer a year, up from 23,023 this year, because of its growing and aging population, says the report by Cancer Care Ontario, obtained by the Star. The region also faces an 18 per cent increase in the number of people living with cancer.
"This slow glacier of cancer growth is absolutely certain," Dr. Terry Sullivan, chief operating officer of the cancer agency, said in an interview.
In the most comprehensive look yet at the state of cancer care in the region, the agency lays out a picture of a system characterized by "wide variations in activity, duplications, perceived gaps, unco-ordinated care and the lack of consistent quality and safety standards. These problems will become more severe in the face of continuing demands for cancer services." The GTA 2014 Cancer Report presents 76 recommendations in a wide-ranging plan to regionalize cancer services across the GTA, improve prevention and screening as well as diagnostic services, and increase the number of specialized doctors, nurses, technicians and therapists to cope with the growing load.
"This document gives us a plan and highlights where we need to improve," Sullivan said.
It's a plan that will cost tens of millions of dollars to implement, at a time when the provincial Liberal government is cutting back. But both the provincial and federal governments have vowed to tackle health care.
"The Premier (Dalton McGuinty) and the Prime Minister (Paul Martin) have both put a huge stake in the ground on waiting times," said Alan Hudson, CEO and president of the cancer agency. "They ran on it. This is a very significant promise they've made.
"But wait times are not a switch you're going to turn up or down," he said. "This is an extremely complicated business."
Waiting lists for cancer treatment first became a problem in the early 1990s. A decade later, there is a median five-week wait for radiation and chemotherapy across the province, with surgery waits of four to nine weeks.
Cancer is growing more rapidly than other diseases because the population is aging and growing.
The report, given to Health Minister George Smitherman this week, is the first in a series of 12 regional cancer plans that will be pulled together into an overall provincial plan to be completed in October.
Until then, the agency says it can't attach dollar figures to the needs in the system, but "we're talking about monumental costs, tens of millions over the next few years, multiple tens of millions, but not hundreds of millions," said Dr. Bob Bell, a surgical oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital and member of Cancer Care Ontario's steering committee.
"It's a question of more effectively provided care, not just about more. We can do better without more, but more is critical," he said.
Ontario spends about $2 billion a year on cancer care.
"How much more is needed is a shot in the dark,
Report predicts 46% increase in next 10 years
Agency estimates cost will be in the `tens of millions'
The Greater Toronto region faces a 46 per cent increase in cancer cases in the next decade and will need a massive injection of health resources to cope with it, a report warns.
By 2014, the region will have 33,544 new cases of cancer a year, up from 23,023 this year, because of its growing and aging population, says the report by Cancer Care Ontario, obtained by the Star. The region also faces an 18 per cent increase in the number of people living with cancer.
"This slow glacier of cancer growth is absolutely certain," Dr. Terry Sullivan, chief operating officer of the cancer agency, said in an interview.
In the most comprehensive look yet at the state of cancer care in the region, the agency lays out a picture of a system characterized by "wide variations in activity, duplications, perceived gaps, unco-ordinated care and the lack of consistent quality and safety standards. These problems will become more severe in the face of continuing demands for cancer services." The GTA 2014 Cancer Report presents 76 recommendations in a wide-ranging plan to regionalize cancer services across the GTA, improve prevention and screening as well as diagnostic services, and increase the number of specialized doctors, nurses, technicians and therapists to cope with the growing load.
"This document gives us a plan and highlights where we need to improve," Sullivan said.
It's a plan that will cost tens of millions of dollars to implement, at a time when the provincial Liberal government is cutting back. But both the provincial and federal governments have vowed to tackle health care.
"The Premier (Dalton McGuinty) and the Prime Minister (Paul Martin) have both put a huge stake in the ground on waiting times," said Alan Hudson, CEO and president of the cancer agency. "They ran on it. This is a very significant promise they've made.
"But wait times are not a switch you're going to turn up or down," he said. "This is an extremely complicated business."
Waiting lists for cancer treatment first became a problem in the early 1990s. A decade later, there is a median five-week wait for radiation and chemotherapy across the province, with surgery waits of four to nine weeks.
Cancer is growing more rapidly than other diseases because the population is aging and growing.
The report, given to Health Minister George Smitherman this week, is the first in a series of 12 regional cancer plans that will be pulled together into an overall provincial plan to be completed in October.
Until then, the agency says it can't attach dollar figures to the needs in the system, but "we're talking about monumental costs, tens of millions over the next few years, multiple tens of millions, but not hundreds of millions," said Dr. Bob Bell, a surgical oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital and member of Cancer Care Ontario's steering committee.
"It's a question of more effectively provided care, not just about more. We can do better without more, but more is critical," he said.
Ontario spends about $2 billion a year on cancer care.
"How much more is needed is a shot in the dark,
Cancer crisis looming in GTA,predicts 46% increase
Cancer crisis looming in GTA
Report predicts 46% increase in next 10 years
Agency estimates cost will be in the `tens of millions'
The Greater Toronto region faces a 46 per cent increase in cancer cases in the next decade and will need a massive injection of health resources to cope with it, a report warns.
By 2014, the region will have 33,544 new cases of cancer a year, up from 23,023 this year, because of its growing and aging population, says the report by Cancer Care Ontario, obtained by the Star. The region also faces an 18 per cent increase in the number of people living with cancer.
"This slow glacier of cancer growth is absolutely certain," Dr. Terry Sullivan, chief operating officer of the cancer agency, said in an interview.
In the most comprehensive look yet at the state of cancer care in the region, the agency lays out a picture of a system characterized by "wide variations in activity, duplications, perceived gaps, unco-ordinated care and the lack of consistent quality and safety standards. These problems will become more severe in the face of continuing demands for cancer services." The GTA 2014 Cancer Report presents 76 recommendations in a wide-ranging plan to regionalize cancer services across the GTA, improve prevention and screening as well as diagnostic services, and increase the number of specialized doctors, nurses, technicians and therapists to cope with the growing load.
"This document gives us a plan and highlights where we need to improve," Sullivan said.
It's a plan that will cost tens of millions of dollars to implement, at a time when the provincial Liberal government is cutting back. But both the provincial and federal governments have vowed to tackle health care.
"The Premier (Dalton McGuinty) and the Prime Minister (Paul Martin) have both put a huge stake in the ground on waiting times," said Alan Hudson, CEO and president of the cancer agency. "They ran on it. This is a very significant promise they've made.
"But wait times are not a switch you're going to turn up or down," he said. "This is an extremely complicated business."
Waiting lists for cancer treatment first became a problem in the early 1990s. A decade later, there is a median five-week wait for radiation and chemotherapy across the province, with surgery waits of four to nine weeks.
Cancer is growing more rapidly than other diseases because the population is aging and growing.
The report, given to Health Minister George Smitherman this week, is the first in a series of 12 regional cancer plans that will be pulled together into an overall provincial plan to be completed in October.
Until then, the agency says it can't attach dollar figures to the needs in the system, but "we're talking about monumental costs, tens of millions over the next few years, multiple tens of millions, but not hundreds of millions," said Dr. Bob Bell, a surgical oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital and member of Cancer Care Ontario's steering committee.
"It's a question of more effectively provided care, not just about more. We can do better without more, but more is critical," he said.
Ontario spends about $2 billion a year on cancer care.
"How much more is needed is a shot in the dark,
Report predicts 46% increase in next 10 years
Agency estimates cost will be in the `tens of millions'
The Greater Toronto region faces a 46 per cent increase in cancer cases in the next decade and will need a massive injection of health resources to cope with it, a report warns.
By 2014, the region will have 33,544 new cases of cancer a year, up from 23,023 this year, because of its growing and aging population, says the report by Cancer Care Ontario, obtained by the Star. The region also faces an 18 per cent increase in the number of people living with cancer.
"This slow glacier of cancer growth is absolutely certain," Dr. Terry Sullivan, chief operating officer of the cancer agency, said in an interview.
In the most comprehensive look yet at the state of cancer care in the region, the agency lays out a picture of a system characterized by "wide variations in activity, duplications, perceived gaps, unco-ordinated care and the lack of consistent quality and safety standards. These problems will become more severe in the face of continuing demands for cancer services." The GTA 2014 Cancer Report presents 76 recommendations in a wide-ranging plan to regionalize cancer services across the GTA, improve prevention and screening as well as diagnostic services, and increase the number of specialized doctors, nurses, technicians and therapists to cope with the growing load.
"This document gives us a plan and highlights where we need to improve," Sullivan said.
It's a plan that will cost tens of millions of dollars to implement, at a time when the provincial Liberal government is cutting back. But both the provincial and federal governments have vowed to tackle health care.
"The Premier (Dalton McGuinty) and the Prime Minister (Paul Martin) have both put a huge stake in the ground on waiting times," said Alan Hudson, CEO and president of the cancer agency. "They ran on it. This is a very significant promise they've made.
"But wait times are not a switch you're going to turn up or down," he said. "This is an extremely complicated business."
Waiting lists for cancer treatment first became a problem in the early 1990s. A decade later, there is a median five-week wait for radiation and chemotherapy across the province, with surgery waits of four to nine weeks.
Cancer is growing more rapidly than other diseases because the population is aging and growing.
The report, given to Health Minister George Smitherman this week, is the first in a series of 12 regional cancer plans that will be pulled together into an overall provincial plan to be completed in October.
Until then, the agency says it can't attach dollar figures to the needs in the system, but "we're talking about monumental costs, tens of millions over the next few years, multiple tens of millions, but not hundreds of millions," said Dr. Bob Bell, a surgical oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital and member of Cancer Care Ontario's steering committee.
"It's a question of more effectively provided care, not just about more. We can do better without more, but more is critical," he said.
Ontario spends about $2 billion a year on cancer care.
"How much more is needed is a shot in the dark,