Angioplasty is of course a common procedure for people who’ve had heart attacks or are at risk of one. Here’s a surprising study that is a bit counter-intuitive. Study Says Late Angioplasty Seems Futile – washingtonpost.com New research has overturned one of the most fundamental beliefs among doctors treating heart attacks: that opening a blocked … Read more
Wow. Here’s really interesting study, reported on by AP. The average American with AIDS has about a 24 year life expectancy. A big advance in the past two decades http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/average-american-with-hiv-lives-24-years/n20061110163909990011 An American diagnosed with the AIDS virus can expect to live for about 24 years on average, and the cost of health care over those … Read more
As previously mentioned Tom Faranda’s Folly: Health update, I had a bone marrow biopsy done (two weeks ago today). I finally spoke with Dr. Zelenetz about the results yesterday (he’s a difficult guy to catch up with). The results aren’t all in, but what is available is inconclusive. I’m a little bit low on platelet … Read more
I had my long-awaited appointment with Dr. Zelenetz this afternoon. I expected a clean report and I got one – but only sort of… First, my CAT scan from a few days ago revealed no evidence of lymphoma. It also showed that I had no respiratory problems that might be causing my mild but chronic … Read more
Got to Sloan Kettering on York Ave. a little late, and then found out the scan was scheduled at the Third Ave and 64th St. satellite building, and not at the 67 St. main building. I had trouble actually finding the office (it’s between 2nd and 3rd Ave. and takes up the whole basement of … Read more
I will have my first scan since December tomorrow, in anticipation of my appointment next week with the lymphoma guru, Dr. Zelenetz. This is a routine follow-up and I anticipate a negative scan. My appointment with Zelenetz is next Werdnesday, the 25th. It will be intersting to see if my blood counts are any higher … Read more
This involves electrical stimulation to areas of the brain of a person in a semiconscious state. So far it has only been tried on one patient. Technique May Help Revive Head-Injury Victims – washingtonpost.com Although the findings are promising, the researchers stressed that they needed to be confirmed by studying additional patients. "We need to … Read more
The Washington Post this morning has a news feature article about Patricia Dunn, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard, who is facing serious charges in California for spying on reporters and HP board members. She has a very interesting life story. Dunn seems to have faced adversity – including four seperate bouts of cancer – … Read more
I saw my internist, Dr. Al Sheehy today. I’d had the labs and all the other tests last week, and it seems that except for the white blood cell count everything is fine. He assured me that while th WBC was low it wasn’t dangerously low – would have to be about 0.5 – and … Read more
Saw Dr. Chia today at Sloan Kettering in Sleepy Hollow. The white blood cell count continues (very stubbornly) to stay low. So I had a shot of neulasta, the white cell booster. I asked her how long after chemo ends before the counts get back to normal and she said "It depends." So I said … Read more