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Leukemia Has Won

alex.blog

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Re: Leukemia Has Won

#81

Post by TomMarius »

ljm wrote: post #72
waynecochran wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps calling it a “battle” or naming cancer the “enemy” gives some a cathartic way to cope with it. Gives one energy so to speak. My parents died of cancer and I have lost several friends to it, and none of them used this terminology, but I imagine I will if it comes to it.

It makes cancer an identity, and the cancer status subsumes their life as well as their body. Everything is about the cancer and how they deal with it.

Doesn't that simply reflect their life and thoughts?

Re: Leukemia Has Won

#82

Post by 1_over_n »

omegaworks wrote: post #9
Bucephalus355 wrote: post #6

Whenever I’m studying a given topic, I like to buy maybe 6 or 7 books on it to skim-read from someplace where that’s afforable like HPB or Thriftbooks. Gives you a good overview of field and also each of the books fills in the holes of the other books. Recently did this on the topic of “cancer”. All recent books published in the last 15 years by Big 5 Publishers. Every single book had intense criticism for the NIH. I…

>their singular focus on only funding “hypothesis based research” What is the alternative to "hypothesis-based research?"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_skies_research

You would be surprised how much real-world utility comes from poking around things with no clear up-front goal.

Re: Leukemia Has Won

#83

Post by ridgeguy »

ergothus wrote: post #22
joshgel wrote: post #15

As a human it makes me so sad to read this post. I hope the rest of his life is meaningful, comfortable and pain-free. As a doctor it makes me so mad. We talk about winning and losing against cancer like its some game or some foe personified. Just because there aren't any more chemo therapy options doesn't mean there aren't treatment options. Just because he'll be home and not in the hospital doesn't mean his doctors…

> ...some foe personified. > ...make sure he doesn't think he lost anything While I have vast respect for those that can have a different viewpoint, I'm not sure I'd be able to look on it as anything but an intensely personal attack from the universe that definitely takes things - notably, a future - away from me. With time I might find the wisdom to feel otherwise. But time is what would be taken away.

It's not personal, but it's no less an attack for that.

I hope death ultimately resolves to an engineering problem.

Re: Leukemia Has Won

#84

Post by Kluny »

Thanks for the top notch torrents and the plugins that make my life easier. I've never known who you were, Alex, but it turns out you've been a part of my life for years.

Re: Leukemia Has Won

#85

Post by CryptoPunk »

iandanforth wrote: post #45
joshgel wrote: post #15

As a human it makes me so sad to read this post. I hope the rest of his life is meaningful, comfortable and pain-free. As a doctor it makes me so mad. We talk about winning and losing against cancer like its some game or some foe personified. Just because there aren't any more chemo therapy options doesn't mean there aren't treatment options. Just because he'll be home and not in the hospital doesn't mean his doctors…

No. Everything about that article is infuriating. We are fighting an enemy. Again and again we lose. The patient loses, the care team loses, the doctors lose, the family loses, the whole of humanity loses. You have to believe you can win to continue to fight and you do have to fight quite literally with family, with friends, with yourself. But more generally we as a society have to be able to recognize an enemy and a…

I'm not sure winning/losing and 'enemy' are the right terms to use. I fully agree that all resources should be mobilized towards making terminal illnesses like cancer a thing of the past, but a term like 'enemy' can give a misleading impression of what cancer is. It is not the presence of a consciously malevant force. It is the inability of the body to maintain proper function amidst the chaos of change. Having the correct conceptual framework is important for solving the problem.

Re: Leukemia Has Won

#87

Post by driverdan »

carlospwk wrote: post #51

It's 2:40 AM, I open Hacker News because I couldn't sleep and notice this is on top of the page. I have no words. I didn't really know Alex from his work at Automattic, I knew him as the guy who ran the fan website for "Top Gear". I don't have any numbers how many people he helped to get access to the episodes, but I'm absolutely certain the show would have never gotten as popular without his contribution. Thanks and…

I hadn't looked at Final Gear in years but that really brings back memories. I didn't know who ran it until now. When TG was on the air I would refresh FG until the episode was released.

I'm glad I got to know about one of the people who contributed to making my life a little better, even if it was close to the end of his. Thanks Alex for all of your contributions.

Re: Leukemia Has Won

#88

Post by 1_over_n »

working on a project in this space now. Definitely hits home - trying to solve problems in this space is important when you read things like this. At times it can be a very demotivating space to tackle because trying to do anything new in this domain is a real slog and for good reason. There are some smart founders and VCs out there, it would be great if more of them decided to spend their time working on more healthcare issues.

Re: Leukemia Has Won

#89

Post by specialist »

iooi wrote: post #26
joshgel wrote: post #15

As a human it makes me so sad to read this post. I hope the rest of his life is meaningful, comfortable and pain-free. As a doctor it makes me so mad. We talk about winning and losing against cancer like its some game or some foe personified. Just because there aren't any more chemo therapy options doesn't mean there aren't treatment options. Just because he'll be home and not in the hospital doesn't mean his doctors…

On the same note, highly recommend "Being Mortal", which talks a lot about that mindset and palliative care. It can be really damaging to think in terms of winners and losers since you might end up going through a lot more pain than necessary. It can be really beneficial for everyone involved to readjust goals and make the best out of the situation. Dying is part of life, and we need to be better at accepting and dea…

Life is a celebration. Every day a gift.

I have a chronic life threatening disease. Side effects from a bone marrow transplant when I was kid.

I recognize the stages of bereavement in others (patients, caregivers, family, friends). The only difference between me and them is I had decades to process my mortality, to learn how to cope. Sort of.

Surviving is a strange gift. Live long enough and you'll see that you're not special, you weren't unlucky. It just happens. None of us get out alive.

The trick is figuring out how to press on, despite the foreknowledge, the futility.

Maybe I'm finally becoming buddhist in my old age.

Re: Leukemia Has Won

#90

Post by caymanjim »

waynecochran wrote: post #63
schoen wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My stepmother died of cancer last year and asked that her obituary refer to her "long negotiation with cancer" instead of "long battle with cancer", I think because she also disliked the "battle" and "struggle" notion for similar reasons.

Perhaps calling it a “battle” or naming cancer the “enemy” gives some a cathartic way to cope with it. Gives one energy so to speak. My parents died of cancer and I have lost several friends to it, and none of them used this terminology, but I imagine I will if it comes to it.

If someone with cancer gains strength or comfort from using that terminology, I support them. I should have clarified that my beef is with others using those words to describe me or an abstract other.
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