From hacker to hospice in seven weeks • Hacker News Board

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#151

Post by vonseel » Mon, Dec 01, 2014, 7:35 PM UTC

In 2000 my mother was diagnosed with malignant brain tumors after experiencing similar symptoms (nausea, vomiting, fatigue, "vertigo" like dizziness). She had surgery within days and began radiation treatment within a few weeks... but lost the battle no more than 6 weeks after first discovering the tumors. I was 10 at the time with brothers age 14 and 18.

Very sorry to hear about your friend. Brain cancer is a terrible, tragic condition that can steal your loved ones when you least expect it.

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#152

Post by andrewhillman » Mon, Dec 01, 2014, 7:40 PM UTC

"If you’re uncomfortable donating directly to an individual, please consider making a donation to Cancer Society of New Zealand in Steven’s name."

They will need way more money than this. If uncomfortable giving to an individual, you shouldn't feel this way because this is about giving money to a family in need. This money needs to cover a lot of personal expenses and a soon to be born child.

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#153

Post by paulornothing » Mon, Dec 01, 2014, 7:42 PM UTC

madaxe_again wrote: post #50

I don't have a brain tumour, but I have had, and am still having, an experience which has made me think seriously about my mortality. I'm 31. About three years ago I started having three/four day long bouts of total delirium, roasting fever, extreme nausea, can't even keep sips of water down when it happens - by day three or four, I'm usually too weak to move, totally dehydrated. Two years on, my GP is still going "c…

I'm really sorry to hear about your situation. For me I kind of had the opposite experience with my gallstones. I was just having general issues in the morning (heartburn, urgent diarrhea, and just discomfort) and I couldn't pin it down on my diet. Eating worse made me feel better than eating well. Doctor says it can be multiple things, let's just go and do an ultrasound on your stomach. Within five minutes, yes you have gallstones. Schedule surgery, in surgery and out two hours later then an hour after that I'm at home chilling for two days. Then my doctor explains why eating crappy made me feel better, because the stones were keeping the duct open and bile was coming out all the time, so fatty foods used it up. When I ate well there was always extra bile. Of course fast forward to now and if I eat terrible I will be on the toilet asap.

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#154

Post by paulornothing » Mon, Dec 01, 2014, 7:46 PM UTC

researcher88 wrote: post #139

gadders wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As the joke goes: Q: What do you call someone who finishes bottom of their class in medical school? A: Doctor.

I've been to my GP three times before I realized I've never even met him. I've been seeing a nurse practitioner.

My GP is a Certified Nurse Practitioner and I'm ok with that because she actually talks to me about my life and what is going on to try and get the whole picture.

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#155

Post by jkaunisv1 » Mon, Dec 01, 2014, 7:51 PM UTC

randallsquared wrote: post #144

bentcorner wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worry that a victory over aging would be opening a pandora's box on humanity's progress on social change. It is my personal opinion that a person's opinions of social norms, cultures, and traditions are largely fixed throughout one's lifetimes, and it is death (and birth!) that allows a society to shift its morals.

Even if that were true, and progress on social matters slowed somewhat, might it not be worth it to save many tens of millions of lives every year?

I disagree. There is an obsession with preserving life in our culture, at any cost. But everywhere else in the world (ie. for other animals) there is abundant evidence that death is crucial to life. Without a tree dying, what would mushrooms feed on, where would insects make their homes, etc.? Didn't you watch the Lion King?

Would you rather have tens of billions living forever in socially stagnant, oppressive conditions, or a few billion living in gradually-improving conditions? Doesn't the quality of the life matter as much as the quantity?

To take the argument to an extreme, I would certainly rather live a hundred years of average contentment than a thousand years of being tortured by a sadist every day.

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#156

Post by sbhere » Mon, Dec 01, 2014, 7:52 PM UTC

turnip1979 wrote: post #147

danielweber wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope I don't derail by telling everyone: if you have someone who depends on you, get life insurance.

Good comment. For people in their mid-30s and young kids, I assume term life is a good option?

Term life insurance is a great option. One way I've heard it said: "For the price of pizza-for-4 each month, you can have ~10x your annual salary in coverage for a 15 year term."

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#157

Post by jkaunisv1 » Mon, Dec 01, 2014, 7:58 PM UTC

johnaspden wrote: post #56

edw519 wrote: post #41

I am so sorry to hear this and also so glad you posted it here, Ben. Thank you. We all get so busy in our daily details, it's nice to be reminded what's really important. Just some quick, well intentioned feedback from someone who has lost almost every important loved one... Please don't be angry. That may seem like a natural response, but it is wasted output, serving as input into no productive process. Life is not…

Death is a bad thing. Anger is appropriate. We can probably fix it. If not in time to save ourselves, we might be able to save our children. We need to start now and spend a fortune. People need to stop pretending that it's ok.

I don't want my children to grow up in a world where you have to work at McDonald's for 100 years to afford buying a small house on the outskirts of a city. All because old wealthy people just keep accruing more wealth and never returning it to the cycle of the economy.

When I look at the power structures of the modern world and the control that corporations have over our governments, I don't extrapolate positive changes should the powerful also start living forever.

Death is part of life. People need to stop pretending it's bad. If you feel it is such a bad thing, will you also cure death for every spider, every frog, every crow, every ant, every tree? What do you think will happen then? Or is life only important when it's a human?

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#158

Post by lomnakkus » Mon, Dec 01, 2014, 8:01 PM UTC

qt7 wrote: post #126

onewaystreet wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People aren't worrying over a false positive. They don't know it's a false positive. In that moment their worry is just as genuine as yours is.

Of course you're right, but there's a misunderstanding there. My point is people who went through the experience of having test results compatible with cancer and then discover it is just a false positive (which technically it's not even true, there's no cancer diagnosis before a biopsy, it just can't be excluded), well, these very people seem to speak out against screening, or adopting more extensive screening polic…

I think you're misunderstanding something. This has nothing to do with selfishness -- you're only really considering the upside.

The harm/good ratio of screening depends crucially of the false positive/negative ratio vs. the actual prevalence of the condition or disease being screened for. (Plus, obviously the psychological/medical "cost" of a false negative/positive.) I would recommend the talk at [1]. This particular issue is brought up about midway through the video, but I recommend watching the whole thing.

[1] http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_donnelly_shows_how_stats_fool...

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#159

Post by byuu » Mon, Dec 01, 2014, 8:04 PM UTC

mingmecca wrote: post #148

byuu wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have strong upper chest pains (constant pressure), regardless of position. Went to first doctor, was told "it's just bruised ribs", even though I don't play any sports or do any serious workouts. Went to a second doctor recently after a few months as it started getting worse. "It's just heartburn", even though I told him I already take a PPI, H2 blocker and calcium. I've had heartburn for 12 years and know this was…

I can relate to this. A few years ago I was a 30 year old guy who felt like a feeble 70 year old. I was tired, depressed, and just didn't feel well at all. I had a blood test and the doc was flabbergasted at how low my Vitamin D levels were. Technically I had rickets! But then I started taking 10-15k of D3 a day and in a couple of weeks I felt great. Now I take 5k in the summer and 10k in the winter and haven't a had…

Exactly how I felt! I'm 31 now myself. I'm really hoping my experience is like yours, because I'm still not 100% myself again. Currently 2.5 weeks in.

I can't even imagine what my levels were prior to taking the 500% RDV supplement I was on before having my blood checked. But at All doctors will only prescribe D2 (ergocalciferol); so you really need to go and get D3 (cholecalciferol). Your body naturally produces D3, and the latter is much more bioavailable. Because of this, you will also want to scale down your dose and not take as much. It's possible to go too far and end up with hypervitaminosis, which ironically can also cause random bone pains, and calcification of your arteries.

It's important to test your 25(OH)-D levels every few months when taking extreme supplements.

Also, be sure you are getting enough calcium and magnesium. These are the chemicals needed to maintain healthy bones. Doctors do not prescribe the magnesium, and large vitamin D supplements will deplete this, also leading to calcification and other problems.

Finally, for anyone living north of South Carolina, you will not receive enough UVB radiation from the sun to produce sufficient levels of vitamin D during the winter months, and milk really has very little vitamin D. So you might want to test and possibly supplement if you are experiencing random musculoskeletal pains. Low levels are fairly common, and usually not a huge deal. But at my level, it was fairly severe.

Re: From hacker to hospice in seven weeks

#160

Post by fnordfnordfnord » Mon, Dec 01, 2014, 8:07 PM UTC

mingmecca wrote: post #148

byuu wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have strong upper chest pains (constant pressure), regardless of position. Went to first doctor, was told "it's just bruised ribs", even though I don't play any sports or do any serious workouts. Went to a second doctor recently after a few months as it started getting worse. "It's just heartburn", even though I told him I already take a PPI, H2 blocker and calcium. I've had heartburn for 12 years and know this was…

I can relate to this. A few years ago I was a 30 year old guy who felt like a feeble 70 year old. I was tired, depressed, and just didn't feel well at all. I had a blood test and the doc was flabbergasted at how low my Vitamin D levels were. Technically I had rickets! But then I started taking 10-15k of D3 a day and in a couple of weeks I felt great. Now I take 5k in the summer and 10k in the winter and haven't a had…

Same here, add poor circulation to the list of symptoms. I no longer have perpetually cold feet. I had to have my GP refer me to an endocrinologist though. The endocrinologist spotted it right away. Super cheap to treat. Been taking it for about ~6 mos.

>So, moral of the story: get your Vitamin D levels checked. And take D3, not D2.

Especially if you work indoors or otherwise avoid sunlight. (I don't take special pains to avoid the sun. I like the sun, but I do avoid outdoors when it is too hot, which is most of the time in my area.)