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This morning, my daughter, Rachel, told me that her Nanna was speciality. I asked Rachel what she meant by that word and where she had heard it. She told me that it was a word on her “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” show. I played along and asked her why she was speciality. Rachel explained that she couldn’t wait to eat popsicles by the pool with her Nanna when it got warm. Obviously eating a popsicle and dangling your feet in the water with your grandmother is a special kind of special that could only be expressed with a new word. Now, I admit, that most grandmothers are special to a four-year old . It is probably not worth a whole column on the subject. But, in this case, it may be.Two years ago, my mom finished six months of chemotherapy for colon cancer. Being cancer free for these two years has allowed my daughter to establish a bond and, apparently, some very good memories. None of this may have been possible 15 years ago. I notice Rachel’s mannerisms, both the good and the bad and wonder what she would be like without my mom’s influence. I wonder if some of those things that shaped me were products of my grandmothers. I wonder if something Rachel learns from my mom might be the spark that motivates Rachel to cure cancer. I hope the irony of my expression selection is not lost on you.
My mom seemed to have the best and worst of what our country has to offer in healthcare. I won’t go into the worst details here because they are still raw and painful. Both, physically for my mom and mentally for myself. I will say that she received some of the most prudent, insightful and compassionate care available, at times, during the ordeal. Her oncologist did research and made calls to the famous M. D. Anderson clinic in Houston, Texas. We had heard that a new drug was available and the oncologist was going to make it available to mom in my small town. It turns out that the drug would not have helped mom. But, I was still amazed at the attempt.
In the coming columns, I may seem to be a little hard on the state of healthcare in the United states. But, I want to preface all my remarks by saying that I would not like to even imagine a Rachel without my mom’s influence. I am convinced that her life was saved by the very people I will be hard on for the next few columns.
Most everyone has a story like mine. 15 years or so ago, a diagnosis of a “T-4 M-1″ tumor in your colon would be a death sentence. Detection of cancer is better. Pathological testing at surgery is better. Diagnostic post-surgery testing is better. Chemotherapy is more potent to cancer and less potent to the patient. In general, life expectancy is better.
My daughter will reap the benefits of these life-saving advances. I get emotional just thinking about my mom and my child. The emotional issues surrounding health care is part of the problem. At the end of the day, medicine is life or death. Emotionally, health care takes a back seat only to religion. In the simplest terms, the question may be how much would you spend to save a life. I know I can’t be rational about that kind of a question.
I may seem to be a little too critical of our healthcare system in the following articles. However, I understand the magnitude of our healthcare miracle everyday.