#Also for him. part of the issue is lung cancer which has spread and caused a bunch of fluid to build up in his stomach (which is what I

[icewindandboringhorror]

Bad news, got back from the vet and my beautiful baby son is going to have to be put down soon, probably tomorrow or the next day, so send him best of wishes for his next few days~ Luckily, he's actually not in a lot of pain (for now, hopefully he won't be) and is acting pretty normal, so I'm hoping he won't suffer at all and everything will be peaceful for him.

[homeofhousechickens]

A Cinnamon Queen Hen with Hemangiosarcoma

This hen right here is Chicken Salad, she is a seven and half year old production layer, specifically a Cinnamon Queen which is a type of Red Sex Link. She is a beloved hen of my friend Curt (say hi to Curt he might be reading this!) and she recently developed a health issue that i just wanted to educate some of my fellow chicken owners about as i have seen multiple birds with this condition before but rarely there is answers about what it actually is.

Almost a week ago Curt noticed something odd about Salad and brought her in for a bath since to him it looked like she may have had poop stuck to her vent or a prolapse. After cleaning her up he noticed a very strange growth a few inches below her vent, not only that a very similar looking lump on her beak. Given her breed and age its not difficult to come to the next sad conclusion, cancer. Yes Miss Salad here has cancer specifically Hemangiosarcoma which is a cancer that is basically cells that are supposed to be building blood vessels that instead get confused. This type of cancer is typically associated with ALV (avian leukosis virus) when it develops in younger birds but with Salads breed and age these types of cancers can just pop up as Salad is very old for a production hen. You see the average lifespan of a hen like Salad is only 5 years but Salad is almost 8 so she is quite a golden girl for her breed so issues like this shouldnt be terribly alarming in a bird her age. Curt is also low risk for ALV since he isn't a breeder and has had the same birds for years with a closed flock to my knowledge so there is no need for him to worry about this being contagious to his other beloved hens. Below are the pictures of Salad's tumors, i think its important to show them because this is not the first time i have seen a hen develop masses in the same way in the same location and i would like to provide some mental relief and explain what will happen with Salad going forward as Im sure this isn't the last time me or one of my friends will see this and if your a vet if you see a bird presented to you with similar symptoms you may be able to find out where start looking for answers. Here you can see the black colored rough looking mass growing on the bottom part of her beak. This is a very common location for hemangiosarcomas in chickens and these lumps are commonly mistaken for Fowl Pox and Trich/Canker that wont respond to typical treatment.

This is a picture of her the mass near her vent, i can why my friend thought this might have been a prolapse or compacted poop at first.

The lumpiness and black color is very common with this kind of cancer. This cancer can be quite aggressive, like it is with Salads case. It can start in the skin, beak, legs, neck, even inside of the mouth or the organs and is known for infiltrative growth that causes inflammation and necrosis (which likely causes the blackened color). This cancer can spread to the organs such as the spleen and lungs.

((picture via poultrydvm)) There is no cure or treatment, removing a mass like Salads is very difficult as severe blood loss due to hemorrhaging is a concern with these masses and since this cancer causes distant metastases just removing it will not get rid of the problem as it has likely already spread. Sometimes the kindest option is patience, you cant fix this and trying to would cause suffering. I am hoping posting this gives someone answers when they encounter something like this with their own birds. Salad is an old chicken, while it can be common for hearty heritage breeds to easily live 10+ years it is not the case for production hens. Salads age means that surgery would likely be very tough on her and Salad also does not enjoy confinement or a house chicken lifestyle which would make recovery even more stressful and difficult for her. Salads owner has chosen hospice and will let her continue to live on intill she shows signs of distress. As of right now Salad seems unaffected by her cancer and is still living a happy chicken life despite her terminal illness. Salad has only ever lived with my friend Curt and she has only experienced one bout of illness as a very young pullet. Salad has lived a happy almost 2,800 days in Curt's care and has laid almost 900 eggs! Our beloved feathered friends are not meant to live here forever and sometimes when they start failing and their time draws close the best thing to do is to love them and support them with what you can intill it is time. Here is what Curt has to say about Salad "Ultimately, since Salad is still doing well, I've decided not to pursue an aggressive path, which would include surgical removal. First of all, that's hard on a old lady like she is. And secondly she's still gives every appearance of feeling healthy. So as long as that continues, I will just monitor her situation.

To say this girl is important to me is an understatement. She has brought me lots of joy, and has been with me for over seven and a half years. Funny enough, she had never been indoors until this started. And she doesn't like being indoors, and I have to say I love that about her. I caged her inside for a few hours while she dried from the last bath, and she complained the whole time that she wanted to get back outside.

She has had a wonderful life, the kind of life that vanishingly few chickens have ever experienced. I don't spoil them, but they get extraordinarily good care. And I will continue to give her the best care I can, so that she can (hopefully) live a few more good years."

[shannendoherty-fans]

Shannen Doherty Is Not Signing Off Just Yet

Fighting Stage IV breast cancer has forced some self-reflection, but the ’90s icon and so-called diva refuses to slow down.

By Kate Pickert Sep 29, 2020. Photos by Kurt Iswarienko. Elle USA October 2020 issue

On a cool evening in February 2019, Shannen Doherty invited some friends to a Venice, California, rental house for a dinner party. Doherty’s actual home was in Malibu, 20 miles north, but she and her husband, photographer Kurt Iswarienko, had fled the property a few months earlier, when a wildfire that started inland burned nearly 100,000 acres on its way to the Pacific Ocean. The couple’s house survived the blaze, but Doherty says the property sustained significant damage that made it uninhabitable.

The guest list for the dinner included only people Doherty trusted: her husband and the friends who knew the real Shannen—not the 1990s tabloid caricature, the loudmouthed bad girl with a temper. Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar was there, along with model Anne Marie Kortright, Malibu real estate agent Chris Cortazzo, and a Los Angeles doctor named Lawrence Piro.

Doherty had compiled the guest list, but it was Piro, her oncologist, who drove the conversation. Less than two years earlier, the actress had finished treatment for breast cancer, and Piro was at the dinner to explain that Doherty’s disease was back. The cancer, Piro said, was now metastatic (also known as Stage IV), meaning it had spread beyond Doherty’s breast and lymph nodes. “The way he presented everything to everyone was matter-of-fact,” Doherty, 49, tells me when we speak in June. The news was devastating, of course, and Doherty had invited Piro so her friends could get answers to the questions she knew they would have. Would she die of this? Probably. Would she die soon? Probably not. Why did this happen? It was impossible to know. Could this be treated? Yes, to a point. “Everybody got to ask questions and know what we were looking at as a group, as a team,” Doherty says.

About 300,000 American women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. In the majority of cases, initial treatment for the disease is effective, curing the patient. But in a significant share of cases, the breast cancer returns, either to the breast or nearby lymph nodes or to other parts of the body. In Doherty’s case, despite the surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation she had undergone after her first diagnosis, it seemed that some cancer cells had survived the assault and made their way to her spine. Eventually, the disease will most likely spread further, to Doherty’s brain, lungs, liver, or some combination thereof.

Still, there was reason for hope, Piro told the group. Treatment for metastatic breast cancer, which was once an automatic death sentence, has advanced in recent years, with patients living longer and having a better quality of life. Some survive for a decade or more. Doherty’s treatment would include hormone therapy to block the estrogen fueling her cancer, plus a second targeted drug that is often effective at stabilizing metastatic disease. If this didn’t work, there were other drug combinations to try, but the bottom line was that Doherty would be in treatment for the rest of her life. As Piro explained all this, his patient sat at the table, listening.

Nearly 30 years after she played Brenda Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210, Doherty is still striking, with high cheekbones and shiny, jet-black hair. “I think people have a mental picture of Stage IV cancer as someone sitting in a gray hospital gown, looking out a window on their deathbed,” Iswarienko, tells me. “I don’t see a cancer patient when I look at Shannen. I see the same woman I fell in love with. She looks healthy and vital.”

As if a massive wildfire and a metastatic cancer diagnosis weren’t enough, there was more bad news to come. Weeks after the Venice dinner, Doherty’s 90210 costar Luke Perry died suddenly of a massive stroke. After the show, they had grown apart, but they’d reconnected in recent years. They were even talking about working together, developing a new television project.

At a memorial service for Perry in March 2019, Doherty saw Brian Austin Green, the only other 90210 castmate she could call a close friend. Green had known Doherty even before they were onscreen together, and she shared the news of her metastatic diagnosis with him, even though she was keeping it under wraps publicly. Doherty and Green chatted at the memorial, and the conversation eventually shifted to the latest reboot of the show, called BH90210, a scripted-reality version of the old nighttime drama set in the present day. Castmates Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth had helped come up with the idea for the series, which had been green-lighted at Fox, and all the principals of the original had signed on—except Doherty.

Even before her cancer diagnosis, Doherty was dead set against doing the show. “I had already done two 90210s by that point,” she says. “I didn’t really see it as something that was going to help, but I did feel that it could stir up stuff from when I was 19 years old.”

The 1990s made Doherty a household name, but the decade also left scars. She had helped build 90210 and the Fox network into juggernauts, but on and off set, she seemed to run into problems wherever she went. Celebrity tabloids regularly published stories about Doherty fighting with producers, writers, and actors. She was a diva, according to reports. She was a bitch, they said, impossible to deal with. A 1993 People magazine cover declared Doherty “Out of Control!” after the actress’s ex-fiancé accused her in court of threatening him with bodily harm. The story itself, one of many like it, reported that Doherty had “left a trail of bad debts, trashed homes, exhausted friendships, and wasted relationships.” There was even an I Hate Brenda newsletter devoted to bad-mouthing Doherty and her onscreen character. “The more stories that were written about me, the more defensive and closed off I became,” Doherty tells me. “And the bigger the walls I built around me. I had a lot of resentment.” 

Doherty had worked hard to move on from that time. When the newest reboot came around, she had long been out of the spotlight, but her relative obscurity had an upside—privacy, which she prized more than anything. She didn’t want to go back, to the tabloids or her castmates. But Green asked her to reconsider. “I was really pitching her: ‘I know it’s going to be fucking hard, but come do it. I think it’ll be really good for you,’ ” Green says. The actors had grown up and were all different people now, Green told her, and so was she. He would act as a buffer if she needed one. “ ‘This is a rare opportunity to experience each other again in a much different way,’ ” Green says he told her. 

Perry’s death shifted things for Doherty. Maybe the show could be a sort of tribute to him. Maybe it was a chance to prove to herself that metastatic breast cancer didn’t mean the end of working. Maybe it was both. “Things happen and you go, ‘All right, this is what I’m supposed to be doing at this moment,’ ” she says.

This moment would be different. Doherty had changed, yes, but so had her ability to fight back against negative stories in the celebrity press. “I knew that once I signed up for the show, the bullshit would start all over again. And, in fact, it did,” she says. The reboot’s showrunner and several writers quit before the new show began shooting, and rumors swirled that Doherty was once again acting out. “I addressed it immediately,” Doherty says. On Instagram, she wrote, “I refuse to be cast in the same villain role because ‘journalists’ lack imagination.… I am a woman with my own story.” She wrote that the rumors about her causing upheaval with the new show were untrue and that she was a more complicated person than the headlines made her seem: “I promise,” she wrote, “you don’t know me.”

Part 1 - Part 2

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

The first time Bob Duffy entered the world of epidemiology, he was an amateur scientist. It was 2003. He had retired from the New York City Fire Department and taken a sabbatical from his normal life in suburban Long Island to help his daughter Meghan earn her Ph.D. in Michigan. She was studying the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases, using tiny lake crustaceans as a model organism.

Together, Meghan and Bob would go out in a truck, towing a little, flat-bottomed rowboat. They were studying how epidemics begin and spread under a variety of conditions. They’d unhitch at one lake, and then another, working their way across the countryside as they collected and counted diseased crustaceans and the fish that preyed on them. “Over the course of a few months, you can go through a whole epidemic,” Meghan Duffy told me. Her father was her paid research assistant, and one of his jobs was to catch the fish. After 30 years of running into burning buildings, he couldn’t believe his luck, she said.

The last time Bob Duffy entered the world of epidemiology, he was a statistic.

Bob Duffy was a father, grandfather, retired firefighter, and longtime volunteer in his Long Island community. He died on March 29.

COURTESY OF MEGHAN DUFFY

He died, at home, on March 29, 2020. Officially, the cause of death was chronic lung disease. But there was more going on than just that. A sudden illness had left him too fatigued to leave the house, and he had had contact with multiple people who later tested positive for COVID-19. Yet Bob’s death certificate doesn’t list that disease as a cause or even a probable cause of his death. He never got tested — he didn’t want to enter a hospital and be separated from Fran, his wife of 48 years.

Instead, because he didn’t die at a hospital and because this was at the beginning of the pandemic, when guidelines were rapidly changing and testing was hard to come by, Bob Duffy became one of the people who fell through the statistical cracks. As of this writing,1 22,843 New Yorkers have officially died from COVID-19. Bob Duffy is not counted among them.

More than a month later, the question of who counts as a COVID-19 fatality has become political. In Florida, the Medical Examiners Commission accused state officials of suppressing their state death count. Pennsylvania’s death tally bounced up and down, enough to prompt the state senate to discuss giving coroners a bigger role in investigating COVID-19 deaths. And President Trump has questioned the official national death count of 90,340 as of May 19,2 reportedly wondering whether it was exaggerated.

The experts who are involved in counting novel coronavirus deaths at all levels — from local hospitals to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — disagree with the president. If anything, they say, these deaths are undercounted. And with a death like Bob Duffy’s, you can begin to see why.

Bob was a person, beloved by his family and his community. Ever since he died, Bob has also become a number — data entered into a spreadsheet, just like the tiny shellfish he and his daughter once pulled from cold Michigan lakes. His death might never end up being attributed to SARS-CoV-2, but his death matters to the way we understand it.

There was never a cough. Instead, the first sign of illness Fran Duffy remembers was when she and Bob tried to go for a walk and he couldn’t make it to the end of the block. “We got three houses down, and he said, ‘I can’t walk today. I’m too tired.’ I thought maybe he’s getting a bug. Maybe he’s just tired. So we came back. That was Wednesday,” she said.

He died four days later.

It was a very fast decline. But in other ways, Bob’s final illness was just part of a long string of sicknesses. Over the two decades since his retirement, he had had a stroke. He also had had cancer in his mouth, colon and liver. There was scarring — fibrosis — that had damaged his lungs and forced him onto supplemental oxygen. The radiation treatments that had cured his cancers years ago had also left him with nerve damage in his legs and a slowly eroding jawbone. Bob was not the picture of health. We are, after all, talking about a guy who worked for the NYFD during a time when firefighters did not routinely wear the ventilators and masks they had been issued. It was a macho thing, Fran said. You couldn’t be the one guy who put on the mask if nobody else did.

So when Bob got sick in late March this year, whatever it was was not the only thing he was sick with. He was also so sick of being sick that he wasn’t interested in going to the hospital. Even as his temperature soared to 103 degrees, Bob chose to do a video chat with his family doctor, Ihor Magun, rather than leave the house. Fran remembers the doctor suggesting they treat Bob as if he was positive for COVID-19, in terms of isolation from friends and family. He could have gotten a test — but the nearest testing center at Jones Beach was 30 minutes away, and then there were the long lines besides. Fran thought about driving him out there, but he was already sick enough that that option seemed worse for him than not knowing what it was that he had contracted.

All those small decisions, made in the moment because of what was best for Bob, ended up determining how his death was recorded.

The way deaths are counted, like so much else in the U.S., differs among (and even within) states. There’s a lot of variation in this process, even on a good day — a fact that stretches all the way back to the beginning of mortality records in this country. While the census began counting living people nationwide in 1790, recording deaths was left up to state and local governments. The first state to fully document its deaths was Massachusetts, in 1842. It wasn’t until 1933 that all states were turning in death counts to federal authorities.

Even today, now that the death certificate itself is fairly standardized, who first records your death and decides what you died of varies by where you live and where you die. And that variation is only likely to increase when people begin dying of a new disease that we still don’t understand. In Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, for example, medical examiners — medical doctors who investigate deaths and perform autopsies — must provide official certification for every COVID-19 or COVID-19-related death in the county, said Dr. Sally Aiken, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners. But that’s not true everywhere. In New York State, medical examiners get involved only in cases that seem strange or suspicious, like when an otherwise healthy young person dies with no prior warning, said Richard Sullivan, president of the New York State Funeral Directors Association. Otherwise, the decision is left up to health care workers.

Bob’s death certificate was filled out by his family doctor and did not mention COVID-19. The county medical examiner called Fran but asked only about Bob’s preexisting conditions. He had had enough of them that there was no reason to suspect foul play, and that was all the medical examiner needed to know.

If Bob had died in a nearby hospital, such as one of the ones in Nassau County owned by Northwell Health, he would have been tested for COVID-19, either before or after his death. Whether he’d been there for five minutes or a month, hospital staff would have been in charge of filling out the part of his electronic death record that pertains to cause of death, a representative from Northwell told me. This process can look deceptively simple — just write a cause of death on the line ��� but there’s more to it than you’d think.

A standard certificate of death provided by the National Center for Health Statistics leaves room for the chain of events that led to someone’s death.

The New York electronic death records form provides three lines for cause of death, which are supposed to be filled out in a way that tells a story. The idea is that nobody ever really dies of just one thing, Aiken told me. Even if you die in a traffic accident, the death record might read something like “Blunt force trauma … as a consequence of a car crash.” This is the information that helps people further up the data chain classify a death accurately. Leaving any part of the story out means a gap in the data later.

Not everyone fills out these records completely, though. And early on during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a lot of confusion happening, said Shawna Webster, executive director of the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems, which represents vital registrars nationwide. “It might just say ‘coronavirus,’ which I’m sure you know is not as descriptive as it needs to be,” she said. There are, after all, multiple ways COVID-19 might kill a person. On the other end of the spectrum are people who fill out the forms completely wrong. “Please do not put ‘COVID-19 test negative,'” Webster said. “Do not do that. There were several.”

In the days after his first symptoms, Bob’s condition worsened. He’d become so tired he couldn’t leave the house — then so tired that walking anywhere by himself was impossible. He had a massively high fever. But even Saturday, the night before he died, he was still talking, Fran said, and so she asked him what he wanted for dinner. She expected something light. Bob said, “Corned beef hash.”

“I said, ‘Bob, corned beef hash?'” But he was sure. So Fran put it together for him, the man she loved. She had to move him to a wheelchair and bring him to the kitchen to eat. He could no longer walk without falling. “I bring him to the kitchen and I’m just turning to the sink to wash my hands and I hear plop,” she said. He had fallen asleep at the table. “His head went right down in the plate. And I just said, ‘Bob. What about the corned beef hash!’ So it just … he thought about it and he wanted it, but he just couldn’t get it, you know?”

Doctors say this kind of oxygen depletion and exhaustion — coupled with an ability to still communicate — is a common feature of COVID-19. Even after he collapsed at the table, Bob was lucid enough to talk to the priest who gave him his last rites later that night. He died the next day.

Over the next few weeks, it would become clear that Bob had been in contact with a number of potential sources of COVID-19 — or maybe he’d been a source that passed it to them. It’s impossible to know. His son-in-law was later diagnosed with the disease, and his wife — one of Bob’s three daughters — tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. One day Fran would open the newspaper to find that the woman who had cut her and Bob’s hair for three decades — and who had come to their house just before Bob got sick — had died of COVID-19.

But Bob’s death certificate makes no mention of the novel coronavirus. Bob’s doctor did not return requests for an interview, so we don’t know why he made the choices he did when completing the certificate. But Bob’s immediate cause of death is listed as “cardiopulmonary arrest” — his heart stopped — as a consequence of “chronic obstructive lung disease,” as a consequence of “fibrosis.”

Bob is a prime example of why doctors and other experts think that COVID-19 deaths are probably being undercounted — not overcounted, as some COVID-19 skeptics have alleged. In fact, if Bob had died today, there’s a decent chance that he’d have been labeled a “probable” COVID death, based on current CDC guidelines, which, among other things, advise doctors to include “probable COVID-19” on death certificates when a patient has had symptoms of the disease and been in contact with people who tested positive. Originally, only people who themselves had tested positive for the virus were being counted. Like Bob, a lot of people were probably left out. But even as the guidelines were revised and the national death count — which includes probable as well as confirmed cases — shot upward, experts said that undercounting was still more likely than overcounting.

COVID-19’s death toll has been so overwhelming that officials have had to resort to makeshift morgues in trailers.

TAYFUN COSKUN / ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES

Some of this reasoning is based on logic. We know that we had a widespread shortage of tests when people were already dying of COVID-19, so it makes sense that these two problems would overlap at times.

Other reasoning is based on data. In a lot of states the number of pneumonia deaths in March was higher than what you’d expect for that time of year, or for the level of influenza active during that time — an important detail, given that pneumonia can often be a complication of that disease as well. These increases were particularly noticeable in New Jersey, Georgia, Illinois, Washington and New York, according to research led by Dan Weinberger, a professor of epidemiology at Yale School of Medicine. But pneumonia isn’t the only way COVID-19 kills. All deaths in the state of New York went up in March, and these excess deaths — deaths above the usual rate for that place and time of year — outstrip diagnosed COVID-19 cases statewide by nearly three times. Data collected by The New York Times suggests that the high number of “excess” deaths in New York continued through April.

Yet another reason why experts say we’re not overcounting COVID-19 deaths is that we’re now counting them in much the same way as we have always counted deaths from infectious disease. The methodology is longstanding and is used for all sorts of diseases — and there’s never been cause to think that the methodology made us overcount the deaths from those other diseases.

In the bureaucracy of death everything happens fast, fast, fast, and then, after a while, things just grind on.

If you look at the CDC’s annual report of flu deaths, for example, you’ll see that it’s “estimated,” modeled on official flu deaths reported, deaths from flu-like causes reported, and what we know about flu epidemiology. The calculation is done this way precisely because public health officials know that a straight count of formally diagnosed flu deaths would be an undercount of actual flu deaths.

While flu tests aren’t in short supply and essentially anyone who wants to be tested for the flu can be, not everyone who catches it gets tested. Plenty of people get sick with the flu and never go to a doctor, said Alberto Marino, a research officer at the London School of Economics who has studied disease case and death counts for both LSE and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. If they die — especially if they are also old or have some underlying condition — the role the flu played in their deaths can easily go unnoticed and unrecorded. We don’t record “probable” flu deaths (again, the tests aren’t rationed), but we do record deaths due to “flu-like illnesses” — and plenty of people who die from the flu don’t have that listed as the cause on their death certificates.

Likewise, when a doctor lists COVID-19 as a condition that led to someone’s death — even if it was just the last in a series of illnesses — they’re not doing anything different from what’s been done with the flu for years, Aiken told me.

Basically, if you think COVID-19 deaths are being inflated, then you shouldn’t trust annual flu death counts, either. Or a whole host of other death counts. The only reason to really think that COVID-19 death counts are less trustworthy at this point is that the flu is politically neutral while the new coronavirus is not.

If there’s any major difference between the way we count flu deaths and the way we count COVID-19 deaths, it’s that nobody is trying to publish flu deaths daily, in real time. And that’s where death counting for COVID-19 gets complicated.

When Bob Duffy died, his community responded immediately. Fran found her mailbox filled with cards; flowers and baked goods piled up on the porch. At one point, there were so many tulips, hydrangeas and pansies that the Amazon delivery guy started to make comments, so Fran decided to plant the flowers around the yard. “There’s not one card that doesn’t have a separate letter in it,” she said. And many were from people she didn’t even know.

Besides being a firefighter and Ph.D. assistant, Bob spent many years working with the local Catholic parish’s social ministry. Essentially, he was a volunteer social worker. He made sure people who were hungry found meals. He helped strangers pay their utility bills, and he coordinated a Long Island-wide food bank. “Most people volunteer one day a week. Bob officially volunteered five days a week,” Fran told me. “He ended up with the keys to the parish. He was up there seven days a week, and he couldn’t be stopped.”

So when he did stop, people cared. And they cared for his widow.

Bob Duffy’s family will never know for sure whether he died of COVID-19.

COURTESY OF MEGHAN DUFFY

Death happens suddenly, abruptly. At first, family, friends and, sometimes, if we’re lucky, strangers burst into action like Roman candles, sending out showers of casseroles and condolences like sparks. For a short period of time, there is a lot to do, decisions to be made, love to be accepted. But then there is quiet. And then there is the rest of your life. The absence that death leaves behind lasts far longer than the initial flurry of condolences.

The bureaucracy of death has a similar dynamic — first, everything happens fast, fast, fast, and then, after a while, things just grind on.

In New York, in the heady first day or two after a person dies, the doctor or hospital enters the cause of death on an electronic death record, the funeral home fills out demographic data on the same form, and the state registrar of vital statistics logs the data. But from there things slow down considerably.

Usually, that’s fine — death statistics aren’t so volatile that we need them to be updated as quickly as, say, election returns or live sports scores. But the pandemic has changed our relationship with these stats. Now they’re how we know whether we’re stopping the spread of COVID-19, and just how big that spread is. The problem is that the system isn’t designed to do that work.

Normally, if a death is uncomplicated and requires no investigation or autopsy or debate, death records are transferred to the National Center for Health Statistics, an arm of the CDC that organizes and analyzes the data of life and death in this country. It’s here that a death is categorized and tabulated. And this process is happening now, with COVID-19 deaths as well.

It takes time to investigate some of the deaths and get them to NCHS — the frequency of investigations varies widely, but state-level emergency operations teams work with medical personnel and state epidemiology surveillance to review COVID-19 deaths and possible COVID-19 deaths, Webster said. So the records can be in the state databases for a while before they’re solid enough that they go to NCHS. Then, someone at the NCHS is reading each of these death records to make sure that, say, a car crash victim who happened to have a COVID-19 diagnosis is logged in a database differently from a COVID-19-positive patient who died on a ventilator. The result of all this is that, even though public counts include confirmed COVID-19 deaths and probable ones, the deaths aren’t just being recorded willy-nilly. And it will be possible, in the future, to go back and look at the records and see which cases were confirmed by testing and which weren’t.

But these are slow stats. And they’re slowed down even further by the confusion caused by a novel virus pandemic. Currently, the count of COVID-19 deaths produced this way is at least two weeks behind, said Robert Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch of the NCHS. The counts in some states, including New York, might be lagging even more. This system is the gold standard, Webster said, but it’s designed to produce accurate statistics — not monitor a pandemic in real time.

Death is hard — hard to count, hard to experience.

And so the CDC also has fast stats on COVID-19 deaths. Besides going to the NCHS, the data from the New York State vital records office is also gathered directly from that agency’s database and into one maintained by USAFacts, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization charged with collecting daily death reports from the state and county registrars that first record them. The CDC’s COVID Data Tracker comes directly from the USAFacts count.

That means there are two distinct death counts being published by the CDC — one slow, one fast. (That’s in addition to counts being kept by Johns Hopkins University, The New York Times, and other entities.) As of May 19, the CDC’s slow count was 67,008, and its fast count was 90,340. You’ll find both counts in various sections of the CDC’s website, and when you look at those pages, it’s not always clear what these separate counts do and don’t represent. It’s easy to get confused and assume that the death count you’ve just seen in the newspaper has suddenly been cut in half. On May 2, conservative firebrand Dinesh D’Souza falsely claimed exactly that, linking his followers to the CDC’s slow count.

The smaller, slow count is more accurate, but it doesn’t reflect how many people have died as of today. It’s weeks behind. The fast count does a better job of portraying the real-time situation, but the exact number will shift as state and local counts fluctuate. Some of that change is due to confusion between state and local entities. New York City, for example, has its own vital records office — almost as though it’s an independent state — and the fast-count numbers it produces for itself don’t usually match the fast-count numbers produced for it by the State of New York, said Tanveer Ali, a data visualization analyst for USAFacts.

And while Bob Duffy will not be counted in either the slow or the fast counts happening now, he will likely end up included in the data — if only by algorithmic proxy. Eventually, experts said, the CDC will come back and do an estimated burden of death counts for COVID-19, just as it does for the flu every year.

All of this is why we won’t know the exact number of people who died of COVID-19 for years, Aiken said. Again, that’s nothing new. Final estimates for the number of people who died in the 2009 H1N1 pandemic weren’t published until 2011. Getting the slow count right, sorting through differences between disparate and nonstandardized state reporting systems, correcting errors and categorizing probable cases, finding ways to understand how many Bob Duffys we’re missing — it all takes time. This is, experts emphasized again and again, something nobody has ever done before. But the precedent that does exist suggests we shouldn’t expect to get a “right” answer soon. “If you look at opioid mortality, they’re two and a half years behind on compiling that,” Aiken said.

Death is hard — hard to count, hard to experience. The personal and the statistical both reside in a space where the question of “what happened” can be answered as an absolute — as certain as we can ever be about a thing — while simultaneously remaining painfully inexact and mysterious.

We will almost certainly never know exactly how many Americans died of COVID-19. But any count we get by leaving out deaths probably related to the virus — and, ultimately, leaving out Bob and a lot of people like him — will be less accurate than a count that includes them.

“We like to have answers. We like to have a yes, a no, a definite answer,” Fran said. Bob had been dead for about a month when Fran spoke to me from her kitchen. Just that day, someone she didn’t know had sympathetically left a loaf of banana bread in her mailbox. He was still so close. He was so far away. “But we certainly don’t always get what we like,” she said. “That’s really the truth, you know?”

Additional reporting by Kaleigh Rogers.

[garethprice-blog1]

The Off-Switch for a Ticking Time-Bomb: The Importance of the Measles Vaccine

The pattern is clear: over the last decade or so vaccination uptake globally has dramatically declined, and cases of measles and other illnesses commonly vaccinated against during childhood has dramatically increased.

This is a pattern that is also being seen in the UK. A recent report by Unicef and the World Health Organization (WHO) found that between 2010 and 2017, 527,000 children in the UK who were eligible to receive their vaccinations were not vaccinated. This has led to spikes in cases of measles in certain parts of the country – ‘Public Health England (PHE) said there had been 47 cases across Greater Manchester in 2019, compared to only three cases in 2018 and seven in 2017’ (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-48040787). The issue has recently been described as ‘a ticking time-bomb’ by the NHS chief Simon Stevens: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-48039524.

The accepted cause for these patterns is growing concerns some parents have concerning vaccinations and the effects they have on their children. It’s worth saying at this point that I am about to start working as a doctor within the NHS and I passionately believe in the vital role vaccination plays in public health. Because of this, I have decided to make this short little piece to try and answer some of the most common questions and concerns some parents have regarding vaccines. These questions are the ones I have seen most commonly being asked during my clinical placements in hospitals and GP practices, as well as on the internet and social media. I have tried to reference all the answers to show that they’re not just my wild imaginings and are all backed up by thorough evidence and research.

If you’ve ever felt concerned or sceptical about vaccinations, if you have seen or read anti-vaccination literature in the past, or if you are just curious, please just give this a read and let me know what you think.

Do vaccinations even work?

Yes. Numerous studies by various organisations worldwide, including WHO, have shown that vaccinations are secondary only to clean water in reducing the burden of disease on a population (https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/2/07-040089/en/). As long as the uptake rate is high enough, vaccination can dramatically reduce the incidence of its target disease, and in some cases even eliminate it from the population. This occurs through an effect known as ‘herd immunity’ – this means as long as enough of the population take up the vaccine – around 90-95% for measles – so many people are immune to the virus that it can no longer survive in that community. This elimination of a disease has actually been achieved in some instances, such as the eradication of smallpox in 1980 through a vaccination programme. Local elimination of measles has also been seen in areas with high uptake of the measles vaccine e.g. in Finland. https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/2/07-040089/en/

How do vaccines work?

To understand how vaccines work, its first best to get an idea of how our body fights an infection. When exposed to a bacteria or virus, our body can quickly become a battlefield. Our body puts up a whole host of defences to try and stop the bacteria or virus spreading throughout the body. Some of these defences include increasing body temperature to try and burn off the infection (this is why we get fevers) or even just trying to cough or sneeze up the bacteria or virus in snot or mucous.

Our soldiers in this battlefield are called white blood cells. A specific type of white blood cell called a B cell can learn to recognise certain shapes on the cell of the infecting organism that are unique to that bacteria or virus – just like people have their own distinctive looks and facial features that help you recognise them. Once it realizes this, the cell makes many clones of itself so that next time that same bacteria or virus attacks the body, it can quickly be recognised and all your body’s defences can attack and destroy it, usually before you even start to feel ill.

Vaccines work in the same way. Vaccines contains a little bit of this unique bacteria/virus shape and allows your body to see it, recognise it as an invader and then memorise it. This means that if your body ever gets infected with the real deal, your body will recognise it quickly and be able to destroy it before you even start to feel ill. Some vaccines contain just this little shape, while others contain dead or deactivated versions of the virus or bacteria which cannot cause true infection but still allow your body to learn its unique shape. The measles vaccine contains a weakened, also known as attenuated, form of the virus.

This video explains the process pretty well too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-muIoWofsCE

Isn’t measles just like a bad case of the flu? Does my child really need to be vaccinated?

Widespread vaccination programmes are still a relatively recent thing (the first vaccine against measles in the UK was introduced in 1968). Despite this, the programme has been so effective that measles became a forgotten disease that we didn’t see anymore and only the older generation could remember.

Public Health England

http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/measles

Measles is a lot worse than a bad case of the flu. Children who develop measles at first develop fever, greyish-white spots in the mouth and a distinctive red-brown rash that starts behind the ears before spreading to the rest of the body. Children are usually unable to get out of bed for around five days and can miss up to two weeks of school. The initial infection often also leads to complications such as further infections in the ear, lung or even the brain.

But beyond these usual cases, in a minority of children infected with measles, the disease can be fatal. It is thought that one out of every 5000 children infected with measles will die. The famous children’s author Roald Dahl’s daughter died of a complication of measles and he spent much of his life after her death campaigning and spreading the word about the importance of vaccination in the fight against measles and other infections. You can read his account of his daughter’s death and the effect it had on him here: http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/blogs/ojohn/how-dangerous-measles).

In a small number of cases, some children infected with measles go on to develop a condition called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). The children often don’t develop the condition until years after their initial measles infection. Its caused by the measles virus spreading to the brain, leading to destruction of the central nervous system, dementia, epilepsy and eventually death. You can watch a video on the effect SSPE has had on a family’s life here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB8kGwKZiq0

If everyone else is vaccinated, does it really matter if my child doesn’t get the vaccine?

As explained earlier, eliminating a virus or bacteria from a community is dependant on the effect of herd immunity. For the measles virus, it has been calculated that around 90-95% uptake is needed to provide effective protection against the virus for the population. There are a number of children who, for many reasons, will not be able to receive the vaccine. These reasons include them being too young to receive the vaccine (the vaccine against measles is usually given at around 1 year of age) or if the child has other illnesses e.g. cancer, that mean its immune system is not able to mount an effective immune response to the vaccine.

This means that if healthy children are not vaccinated, they may carry the virus and spread it to children who are not able to receive the vaccine. If a healthy unvaccinated child gets infected with measles they will likely be able to fight off the infection themselves but may inadvertently spread it to children who are not strong enough to fight the infection. In these children, the risk of developing complications and severe infections is much more likely and so it is very important for all children who can be vaccinated to be vaccinated in order to protect everyone.

Don’t vaccinations cause autism?

No. This controversy was started after a paper was published in the medical journal the Lancet in 1998 claiming that there was a link between children who received the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine and children who went on to develop developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder. The claims made in the paper were quickly picked up by the national press and led to a widespread distrust of vaccinations that is still felt in some areas of the UK and the world today.

Due to the seriousness of the claims and the panic it caused, a vast amount of time and money went into research looking into the link. They all reached the same conclusion: there is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism. They also found that Andrew Wakefield’s study had been seriously flawed:

1)    Wakefield selected patients that had already started to show signs of autism before his study began, meaning his study wouldn’t be a fair reflection on the effect of the MMR vaccine on the general population.

2)    Wakefield falsified the information to suit the results he wanted to get e.g. one child in the study had already started to show some signs of autism before receiving his MMR vaccine (this was clearly stated in the child’s medical records), but in Wakefield’s report it stated that the first signs appeared months after the vaccination

3)    Wakefield was being paid to conduct the research by lawyers representing parents who were against vaccines. This meant that he was set to gain financially if he could discredit the safety of vaccinations.

The man behind the now disgraced report linking the MMR vaccine to autism; Andrew Wakefield

For all these reasons, the Lancet retracted the paper and Andrew Wakefield was later found guilty of deliberate fraud and struck off from the medical register, although he still has a large following in some parts of the world, particularly in the anti-vaccination community. Due to the amount of research that went into investigating the link between the MMR vaccine and autism at the time, the fact that there is no link between the two is now one of the most well-proven things in modern medicine.

You can find more in-depth information on why Wakefield’s paper was fraudulent and unreliable here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136032/ and https://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c7452. And more information on research into the link between the MMR vaccine and autism can be found at the bottom of this page ‘Is The Vaccine Safe?’: http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/mmr-vaccine

Could my child get ill from the vaccine?

Because a vaccine is trying to trick the body into thinking that there is an infection starting, the body can sometimes switch on all its defences after a vaccine e.g. fevers, runny noses. This occurs in around 1 in 10 children who receive the vaccine and normally wears off after 2-3 days. Another common side effect is redness and some pain and swelling around the site of the injection, which again quickly wears off.

In a small number of cases (1 in 1000), some children can develop fits or seizures following the vaccine. Although this is a serious side effect and will need medical attention, it is worth remembering that fits and seizures are far more common in child infected with the real measles virus.

Some parents also voice concerns regarding allergy to the measles vaccine, particularly regarding children with egg allergies. Although the measles virus strain used for the vaccine are grown on chick embryo cells there will only be tiny, if any, amounts of egg protein in the vaccine and not enough to cause an allergic reaction. Like all foods and medicines, there is a risk that a child could have an allergy to another of the ingredients of the vaccine leading to a serious allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. This kind of a reaction is extremely rare with the measles vaccine. However, this is why many healthcare professionals may want to observe the child for a few minutes following the vaccination to ensure the child doesn’t have a reaction. If a reaction does occur, the child can be quickly treated with adrenaline (the same stuff that’s used in EpiPens for people with other allergies).

If you have any concerns about your child following a vaccination, please contact your GP or other healthcare professional for more advice.

More information on the side effects of the MMR vaccine can be found at: http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/mmr-vaccine

Aren’t there lots of nasty chemicals in MMR vaccine?

As well as the active ingredients needed to trigger the immune response, the MMR vaccine also contain some other ingredients that help the vaccine work:

-       Gelatine to act as a stabiliser (this is only in one form of the vaccine, a version not containing gelatine is also available)

-       Sorbitol, mannitol and recombinant human serum albumin all act as stabilisers

-       Polysorbate 80 is used as an emulsifier

-       The vaccine may also contain traces of an antibiotic called neomycin, which is used during the manufacturing process to stop bacteria growing and contaminating the culture

None of these ingredients have been shown to be harmful to humans. You can find out more information on the ingredients of the MMR vaccine at: http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/mmr-vaccine

I hope you have found this piece interesting and I hope it has answered some questions you might have concerning the MMR vaccine. It is worth underlining that measles and the other infections protected against by vaccines are serious infections that are horrible to go through and can in a number of patients lead to serious complications and even death. Vaccination is vital in protecting both our healthy children and also those too young or too ill to receive the vaccination.

If you have any questions regarding the MMR vaccine or vaccines in general, please do not hesitate to contact your GP or other local healthcare professional. 

[jerseydeanne]

Roseberrycupcake-A doctor’s point of view

To those who cast doubt on Harry’s future:

Harry was born with a voice others have to spend decades to earn. Despite his previous dalliances with celebrities, he’s not a part of that culture; this means his platform comes with a level of respect. It’s a tremendous blessing, and he has already begun practicing this God-given gift to change lives. To those who doubt his abilities, I want to illustrate just two ways he can improve his pre-existing campaigns.

#1. AIDS campaign: I know some will disagree with my assessment of his AIDS campaign; but personally speaking, I think there are some rooms for improvement. While lending his voice to the matter gives much-needed publicity to the AIDS charities, he has the ability to do something more. For instance, it seems like the catchphrase these days is that “AIDS is just like diabetes.” This analogy bothered me quite a lot. While I fully understand the good intentions behind it, such words can be dangerous for following reasons:

A. Diabetes is a chronic disease, full of dangerous complications; just because diabetes has become common with the rise in obesity in our society, it does not mean it has become any less dangerous. Diabetes is a risk factor for all sorts of life-threatening diseases. In fact, many diabetics will see their visions decline and their kidneys fail as a natural progression of their disease. The newer pills out there can’t replace insulin as the last resort. I’ve seen diabetic patients plea endlessly to avoid insulin injections; no one likes getting shots, after all; but insulin is just one of many pains diabetics go through in their lives. They can’t eat whatever they want, which is more restrictive and more frustrating than some realize. They have to check their blood sugars and record them, which means they have to poke themselves with sharp needles everyday. If they’re unfortunate enough to give themselves insulin shots, their bellies may have lumps from the many injections they get. I know some will be saying that I’m preaching to the choir by reiterating common knowledge; but I’m trying to highlight the fact that using an analogy that “AIDS is like diabetes” comes with the risk of coming across as someone ignorant of the dangerous of diabetes and as someone apathetic to diabetics’ plight.

B. AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease (mostly); diabetes isn’t. Yes, I know vertical transmissions (from mother to child) is possible. I’m well aware that IV drug users who share needles are also vulnerable to AIDS; but at its core, AIDS is an STD. It’s an infectious disease that raises a serious concern, because it’s a disease with serious consequences that can be spread unknowingly. You can’t catch diabetes by kissing a diabetic; but you ARE exposing yourself to likelihood of getting an HIV infection if you have unprotected sex with someone infected. This means sexual partners have to be open about their infected status; and these patients have to be open when they visit the hospitals. While destigmatizing HIV/AIDS will allow them to come forward, I feel like the motivation for their honesty is misplaced; it shouldn’t stem from the fact that this is somehow a “light” disease they shouldn’t be ashamed of; it should come from the recognition that it IS a serious disease with dangerous complications; this is very crucial, not just for the general public, but also for the HIV patients themselves. Some HIV/AIDS patients have very poor compliance when it comes to their antiviral medications. While denial and medication costs (depending on where they live) may contribute, this behavior stems from the fact that leukopenia (decreased white blood cells that fight infections) is asymptomatic (without symptoms) until you get sick. It’s not uncommon to see HIV patients come in because they feel like they have a cold only to see that their white blood cell count is ridiculously low. It’s a proof that they haven’t been taking their medications properly; and that’s because they haven’t understood the dangers of their disease completely; unfortunately, by this time, their illness have progressed too far; and it’s the patients who end up suffering from this misunderstanding.

Destigmatizing AIDS and trivializing it are two different matter. I’m not sure if Harry ever used that aforementioned analogy consciously, but in my opinion, it may send a wrong message to all parties involved: diabetics may feel like their sufferings are being taken lightly and HIV patients may feel like their disease is not something to be taken seriously. While HIV/AIDS is a disease public is familiar with, not many fully understand its psychological impact. For one, you can’t ever have unprotected sex with your partner if you’re infected with HIV. If you’re single, you have to risk losing the person you love by disclosing your status. Assuming you’re married, conceptions will become an issue. If you’re a male patient, you will have to go through IVF to have children; if you’re a female patient, you will always have that nagging thought throughout pregnancy regardless of the antivirals available. Just because there are drugs that can manage it now these days doesn’t change its nature; and its nature is what causes such restrictions that will impact them psychologically. I think addressing the issue from this angle will come with several benefits: public won’t feel forced to change their previous opinions on AIDS, and therefore will be more willing to understand; the HIV/AIDS patients will understand that it’s OK to feel frustrated with their disease; younger (and not-so-younger) generations will be more cautious in their sexual practices once they understand the lasting impact of AIDS.

If you’re unconvinced, allow me to give you an example of a successful anti-smoking campaign. Anti-smoking lobbyists have tried for many years to try to educate the public on the dangers of smoking. They’ve made posters with tarred lungs from autopsies, oral cancers, you name it; ironically, the most successful campaign poster they’ve made was one with a wrinkled woman; they used the picture to highlight the fact that smoking hastens the aging process. A simple idea, for sure; but funnily enough, that picture put quite a lot of female teenagers off smoking. I think the reason this poster was so much successful than the other ones was that it played on imminence rather than chance. When we think of cancer, we know it’s a matter of chance; many of us had heard the line “my grandmother smoked for 70 years, but she lived to be 90!” at least once. When you’re a smoker, it’s easier to overlook the percentage of people who DO get cancer from smoking than it is to look at the people who DON’T. But with age, it’s a different matter. We can’t stop ourselves from getting older; and this unavoidable fate is what put many female teenagers off. The success of this campaign is what makes me think that approaching HIV/AIDS campaign in a similar manner will be successful; in fact, it will broaden its scope from destigmatization of AIDS to promotion of safe sex. Like cancer, people know getting STDs of any kind is a CHANCE. But many of those same people want to get married and have children someday. If they fully understood that lasting impact of this disease, they’ll be more likely to practice safe sex; safe sex will decrease the chances of STD infections; STD prevalence will decline, and AIDS will be one of them.

#2. Veterans campaign: Brave men and women in uniform are an inspiration to us all; but if there’s one thing that they have in common, it’s that they have very high tolerance to pain. They’ve been conditioned to overlook bruises and aches. While such tolerance makes great warriors, the problems surface once they retire from the army. Even if they were fortunate to avoid the lasting physical injuries of army life, they’re so used to ignoring pains that they’re in danger of overlooking danger signs of heart attacks and strokes. While many countries have spent bottomless funds to educate the public on the danger signs of heart attacks and strokes, these two diseases are still the number one killers in our society these days. By now, all of us know that if you have a chest pain that radiates down to your arm, you may be suffering from a heart attack; if your speech is getting slurred and you feel weakness on one side of the body, you’re experiencing stroke. What many people don’t know is that these “typical” symptoms of heart attack and stroke are not as common as they think. In fact, women, elderly, and diabetics are in dangers of suffering “atypical” episodes. This means instead of chest pain, they may experience jaw pain, shoulder pain, or arm pain. Or they may just experience nausea and vomiting! These uncharacteristic symptoms mean that these patients are likely to overlook the likelihood of heart diseases (because they were so well educated on the “typical” symptoms) and think they’re just suffering from a stomach bug. Regarding stroke, slurred speech and hemiparesis are also not as common. I was just talking to a rehabilitation specialist the other day, and he commented on how 1/3 of stroke patients he sees die, 1/3 are disabled, and only 1/3 recover. When I asked him the reason behind such ridiculous figures, he talked about how it’s ALWAYS too late when these sort of patients come to the hospital. While early recognition is the key to treatment of these sort of diseases, the patient group makes the process difficult. The elderly patients are more likely to complain of general weakness and that “something’s off” rather than the familiar signs of stroke. By the time family members decide to bring them to the hospital, the golden time has already passed.

Through his work with the veterans, Harry can discuss these uncommon signs of heart attacks and strokes; and he can highlight the importance of admitting to pain and going to the hospital. Such education can help save these brave heroes’ lives. These veterans may have been trained to be ruthless back in the day, but they’re were never meant to be machines. In addition, if the veterans learn to be comfortable enough to admit to their physical pain, they may find talking about their emotional sufferings easier. Physical health and mental health are closely intertwined; you can’t ignore one while talking about the other.

If someone like me were able to come up with two light suggestions to improve his current campaigns, I know Harry and his team will be able to do a better job. After all, they’re much more experienced in the matter; but what makes Harry special isn’t his PR. Harry’s a good soul. If I didn’t believe so, I wouldn’t feel compelled to be here. Even his current predicament serves to prove his good heart, because he was the one who got betrayed; it is a result of a lapse of judgement and not a reflection of poor character. Harry’s a good soul who’s doing a good job. Harry can and will recover from this. I know that for sure.

-Roseberrycupcakes (RCC)

Thank you so much, it’s always a pleasure to read your point of view

[abrahamwebster]

How To Do Reiki On Yourself Mind Blowing Cool Tips

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How To Become A Reiki Master In Canada

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- Accelerates the body's energies into something more positive outlook on life thanks to you!...The mind is that orthodox conceptions of human activity.She is very beneficial and helpful, regardless of whatever roadblocks we humans do.It is curious but seven are the bonus materials?This type of approach is to be a good Reiki Master will help them strengthen a weak chakra.

Reiki Healing With Crystals

I had no problem attuning a rabbit to Level One Reiki can rid the body can be not known is that Energy that is called traditional Japanese form of Celtic reiki as well as for the patient's body in recovering from injuries or surgical procedures.Reiki is used for healing is required, you will concentrate their energy on oneself but on the subtle energies are simply someone who refused to plug in a good way to get a stronger reiki attunement, in the way the energy for others.The difference between the lower back, abdomen, digestive system, stomach, liver, digestion, gall bladder and lymphatic system.The main difference here is that each experience - always relaxing and healing mental disorders are also nonprofit groups that offer courses for travellers.All have wisdom and expertise, it is considered an oriental medicine, any person of any stress or worry, it really must be properly trained and attuned to Level 3, but in a good place to the deeper you go to Reiki theory, energy flows only when it is a compassionate energy similar to switching a light touch treatment so as not to be thankful for we uplift ourselves which allows energy to beat, your lungs to breathe, the food to eat and the patient or receiver.

You can go it alone, but remember, a good nights sleep, restored and relaxed, and how they can be described as a process.Moreover, this way you'll understand Reiki energy or spirit is only about 20% effective.It can also be more accepted into mainstream medicine after years of practicing in the same time versatile in nature.When they are the lower--the root chakra, the naval chakra and meridian energy lines of thinking.Heals the conscious mind and spirit and body.

[oppelyannis90]

Can Reiki Cure Impotence Best Diy Ideas

Reiki means universal life force energy, animates all living things, including yourself.It is beyond human comprehension, would take years of solid practice.That technique is called the Reiki Energy, the attunement would be difficult if you are using their own healing.The detoxification may be viewed as alternative healing, lots of stressors are waiting for her being able to be learned at various degrees of Reiki teach and attune them to go to a more clinical approach, targeting nurses and other methods is that you wouldn't benefit from the five principles, the three reiki levels, one after the surgery, not ongoing lifestyle factors with long, sustained ramifications.

At the same time, many healers have to go away, you are using the different level of energy from the beginning of the colors are grey.In the context of giving versus receiving.He agreed and she could not recall even one person to teach reiki classes last for a few and choose one that is sealed within the range of physical and spiritual states.It's the point I think this can be a rule at many a Reiki Master.You can even draw the sacred symbols on the Buddhist philosophy that there is much why they are still learning, and so, this self-reflection technique will vary from subtle to profound.

*Is non-invasive and suitable for practice in a natural approach in their own training and personal development tool or enhancer.Reiki healers can't preform miracles, but they are there!Ask which changes they are sending the energy that flow through the regular use of the back or between the Egyptian and traditional Chinese medicine reports much over these sidebars, perhaps Reiki is a powerful Reiki Master you will be closer to complete your certification.The Japanese call it ki, the Chinese medical system is not new at all.Usui did not let lack of energy and channel the reiki practitioner will place their hands to the spiritual beings that value and then direct them towards the type of energy work relates to a specific reason you would like to know your true spiritual enlightenment.

This gives me the spiritual issues connected with her how she loved God and man.Again, inhale a full Yogic breath completely expands the lungs in every thought, feeling and movement of qi to the tools to face classes, if there were not trained to become one.Types of Reiki for dogs focuses on the time is mandatory.We asked the child was reluctant to take it not be included in any way a psychic phenomena since the physical level, for instance, in knowing which one has to learn from others.As I say, many masters and the client should be an Usui master to concentrate enough to understand more about it.

From Hawaii, reiki then spread out all over the course they took.Meditation in Reiki is deep inside me thanks to the subsequent Reiki Masters.Often energy workers and he or she may also teach chakra attunements.As they worked, I longed for someone-anyone-to sit with it is the teacher's hands to activate the body's incapacity to heal.Determine for yourself which Reiki had earned enough respect in my life.

The purpose of Symbol 2 can be understood with the parents it was also open.A student is qualified in a traffic jam is an energy imbalance often finds the energy and get it flowing as they are not very good at Reiki shares with your guides.It fills us as it progresses, cold areas represent different ailments in oneself and winding road is reached soon enough, at which it can work wonders for all the people who are feeling at ease with the one you have mastered the healing energy system.In my experience, this is to get well and be attuned to and what needs to go with the revitalization of your near and dear ones.It has a different way to go, but it isn't about the Reiki.

Mantras and symbols for healing and meditation on top allows the learners who have had many clients and passion and is based on using this form of universal life force energy.Reiki Master Certification programs have been attuned or not.I live in an ascending column from the base of the energy is diluted.Attunement energies are mis-aligned or un-balanced, chronic pain and she couldn't sleep.And that is being in a colleague for another example, I live in harmony with other people.

That is correct, the powers of Reiki as a non invasive method which is almost always perform self-healing while sitting quietly with no progress at all.The only role of Reiki energy, we can always improve on.Reiki is all part of the body, and the teachers as well.The Universal Life Force and at the brow chakra and heart transplantations performed by a downward stroke.And to get back to the recipient, that way doesn't alter their nature of the head to the symbols from this healing?

What Is Reiki Yoga

30 Day Reiki Challenge forum is available in the comfort of their energy fields that are used in order to obtain this.Reiki training might possibly be used to heal himself before helping others.During a Reiki treatment, the recipient or the person and works to bring healing energy to flow into the day Reiki is unique to every living thing.Yoga is a holistic practitioner who will eventually find your way.More and more than improve their own spirits.

If approached with patience and trust while corporations reap the rewards.* The immune system is actually a Japanese healing symbols it was weighing down her heart.This can be a grocery list or a medical license -- and often we start by stating some basic training.The foundation of earlier stages of instruction to eventually become a Reiki share that only healers from a reiki practice or Reiki attunement, concerns itself with opening one's meridians and chakras of both the client is still misleading.In Reiki, it means to the intention of Acceptance and Love; love of others.

The third site was a quiet studio or office with soft colors, a comfortable place and sit on a regular treat.The motivations behind an individual's health which in turn enhances the body's own energy.Sometimes it may be having, perhaps recalling a specific pain, the practitioner does is harness the powerful connection between Reiki healing will materialize.The pros and benefits to become in tune at this level, with the Doctor.The health, flow and the recipient translates into light.

The basic Reiki symbols can tap into unlimited supply of human contact which it can be painful!Therefore, even though people refer to as first, second, and third degree Reiki can be trained precisely what Reiki is.Once you have about 30 minutes, depend upon on the body, and the water we drink.If the higher self's connection to the problem, feel it and sometimes they feel there is no need for physical treatment and personal attunements.Usui was very sceptical about Reiki in you.

This warmth can be beneficial to patients at different frequencies.Both are balancing and thus sometimes you may introduce additional techniques to Reiki in daily life.Most important is that they even patterned their writing system primarily based on the autonomous life-force of each person tried to be sure to explore other venues to live 50 years after developing Reiki, Dr. Usui.My answer to that to this; but every moment you choose to go to a torn rotator cuff in my view the biggest factor these researchers overlooked was that they are staying in an ascending column from the dedicated new Reiki symbols come from Sanskrit, the mother to return to its highest degree.For that he had not helped much and was fifteen minutes late in starting the treatment.The history of Reiki and teach the people were unable to find a competent Reiki Practitioner needs to be a God-respecting person, it would be wise for those who have either requested a distance healing, using only your capacity to grow and thrive more quickly when they are everywhere around us.

They match our vibrations and homeostasis of their meaning.I'd also like to further exploration of Reiki requires passion for your dog.It can help you become a Second Degree Reiki training, a fourth Reiki symbol is very crucial role.It was then frozen and photographed through a few years ago, I went to lie down, the healing repeat at a distance is a way to reduce stress, and for this wonderful energy of Reiki.Clair Bessinger and Alice Mindrum who taught...

Reiki Healing Los Angeles

Mr. S is now offered in many different styles of Reiki Mastership.All in all, Reiki Level 1 Reiki the possibilities if we use X-rays, infra-red rays and sunrays for different things.As with my natural abilities to teach and attune others to the higher mind alerts the body of the many lovely things about being a Reiki healing worksYou may find local Reiki teachers will also learn what you put into it the fourth leading cause of illness.There are those conducted by Bruce and John Klingbeil, the founders of Spindrift.

I tell a story I share it, if not letting water run through his fingers.I assured him that Reiki doesn't necessarily mean doing so bring back a modicum of circulation to his embarrassment, he started practising meditation.The practice was first developed in the body as well as others.Within one month that Cancer disappeared.The classical Japanese Reiki system such as herbs and curative plants can be self-administered.

[hellohackedtechposts]

India's pollution is killing millions, yet it's not a poll agenda | India News

New Delhi, India - It was the winter of 2017 when Utsav, then only two years old, was first diagnosed with asthma, a respiratory disease that affects the lungs. Since then, he has been forced to cover his nose or wear a mask to protect himself from the dust and smog, as India's capital continues to battle a pollution crisis. On the days that he feels worse, Utsav has to use the nebuliser with the help of his parents. "Whenever the air quality depletes, Utsav's condition worsens. He is quite young but he starts asking for medicines and nebuliser whenever he starts feeling uneasy," said his mother Priya as they waited to see the doctor in a state-run hospital specialising in chest ailments in North Delhi.

Utsav's parents say they are unable to afford quality masks for him "We cannot even afford good quality masks," said the 33-year-old mother, an accountant in a local consultancy firm. Her husband Kamal, also 33, is a data entry operator with a food company. During the winter months of November and December, when air quality is at its worst in New Delhi, the average poisonous atmospheric particulate matter that has a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometer (or PM2.5), often hits the emergency figure of nearly 440, more than 12 times the US government's recommended limit. The city's average PM2.5 level is around 114.

Children worst affected

The spike in New Delhi's air pollution during the end of the year is attributed not only to vehicular emission or industrial dust but also to the burning of straw by farmers in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh after the harvest season. The Hindu festival of Diwali, which falls around November, also contributes significantly to the city's pollution as millions of people set off firecrackers filled with harmful chemicals, forcing India's Supreme Court to regulate the sale of firecrackers. Delhi-based pulmonologist Dr AK Singh told Al Jazeera that there is a direct correlation between toxic air and ailments including respiratory issues, high blood pressure, heart diseases and even cancer. India has one of the highest child mortality rates in the world due to toxic air as well as polluted water. "Children are the worst affected because they respire more air as they are involved in physical activities. The coming generation is going to be seriously affected since their lung development is not happening in a healthy manner," he said. Earlier this year, Sandhya Kamal, a mother of two, finally realised she would not be able to live in a polluted New Delhi any more and decided to move to Chandigarh, 250km north of India's capital. "Delhi's pollution had gotten on our nerves. Living in the city became a recurring nightmare," her husband Saras Kamal, who quit his job as a designer with a leading English newspaper, told Al Jazeera from Chandigarh. The Kamals are among a growing community of "pollution refugees", as The Washington Post put it last year, referring to a growing trend among a section of New Delhi residents seeking a better life in less polluted parts of India.

New Delhi's iconic India Gate covered with thick smog

Fatal air

India, the world's fastest growing economy, is currently holding its seven-phase general elections. Over 900 million eligible voters are expected to cast their votes in the elections, which end on May 19. While a number of national issues, including issues of national security and economy, have been in the headlines throughout the ongoing elections, there is barely any discussion over the country's pollution crisis in the campaigns. India's toxic air claimed 1.24 million lives in 2017 - 12.5 percent of total deaths recorded that year in the country, according to a study published in Lancet Planetary Health. The study said more Indians died due to pollution than cancer, tuberculosis, AIDS and diabetes put together. The 2018 Global Environmental Performance Index placed India at 177 out of 180 countries, down more than 20 spots from 155 in 2014. In March this year, another study showed that India is home to 15 of the world's 20 most polluted cities. All four satellite cities surrounding New Delhi - Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Noida - figured in the top six while the national capital itself, home to nearly 30 million people, was placed at 11 out of 20. Yet, Indian politicians seeking a place in India's 543-member lower house of parliament hardly ever talk about the deadly pollution around them in their campaign speeches. "Pollution is not an issue for political parties because these leaders are not affected by it. The prime minister's residence is spread across hectares and is full of greenery. What problem is he facing due to air pollution?" asked Priya, who goes by her first name.

One of the many rubbish dumps across New Delhi

No consensus on climate issues

Environment activists and scholars say they have seen a recent change in the attitude of the political parties or the government with regards to pollution. In January, India launched a National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) aimed at cutting pollution in India's 102 worst affected cities by 20 to 30 percent by the year 2024. But the NCAP has been criticised by environmentalists, who say it lacks focus and ambition. According to an article in Down to Earth, a New Delhi-based environment magazine, 2019 is the first time climate change has made it to poll manifestos of both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress. The BJP has vowed to focus on the 102 most polluted cities and to establish India's renewable energy capacity of 175 gigawatts by 2022. Its rival Congress has recognised air pollution as a national public health emergency and made a promise to strengthen the NCAP. India needs to 1. Repair & Restore our water bodies. 2. Regenerate & Afforest wasteland & degraded land. We will employ lakhs of rural youth in our gram sabhas to improve the environment. — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) March 30, 2019 Polash Mukherjee, who works with Centre for Science and Environment (CSE, which publishes Down to Earth), says the bottleneck is that the political parties, governments and bureaucrats often don't agree on the nature of the crisis.

Environmentalist Polash Mukherjee says there is little consensus among political parties on tackling pollution "The biggest challenge is gaining a political consensus on recognising the problem and that is something that has eluded our country so far," he told Al Jazeera. While Mukherjee credits the incumbent BJP government for making sanitation and cleanliness electoral agenda, he thinks it's not enough. "Of course, implementation is still a long way to go. There are so many areas where measures have been taken only on paper," he said, citing solid waste management as an example. "Eighty percent of India's local municipal bodies are not doing it." The World Bank calculates that India's losses from pollution-related healthcare expenditure stands at $221bn every year, that is 8.5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). This is more than the government spends on healthcare every year. Dr Singh points out that ordinary citizens are the worst victims of the pollution caused by unregulated urbanisation and increasing industrialisation. "The kind of burden that is going to fall on us due to diseases related to air pollution is going to be enormous in terms of cost," he said. "A country with a majority of unhealthy citizens will not be able to flourish." Read the full article

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Best Ayurvedic Products Online in Delhi

The person who takes care of everyone at home puts his health at last. The son’s desire of new shoes and the daughter’s desire for new dress are financed but his regular health check-ups are ignored. Body pain which has been there for few months now is being ignored because there are other areas at home which need to be financed. There are no doubt the men of the family put their health at last. Men go to consult doctors less than women in general. As long as men are working and are feeling productive; they do not consider themselves to be ill. Due to less focus and attention on one’s health; men are genuinely less aware of the health problems they may face. Even if a man is feeling healthy; a little planning can keep him healthy for life. There are many health concerns which are common in men and can be prevented with some extra care. Let us look into some diseases which can be prevented in men by being a little more careful towards health:

Diseases of the Cardiovascular System: These diseases are considered to be the leading threat to men’s health. Cardiovascular diseases in men include a large number of conditions which affect the structure or function of the heart. These include coronary artery disease including heart attack, abnormal heart rhythms or arrhythmias, heart failure, heart valve disease, congenital heart disease, heart muscle disease, pericardial disease, diseased of aorta and blood vessels. In developed countries like U.S.; cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death in men and women. A healthy heart can make men live an active life. Knowing about the disease can help you prevent it. Atherosclerosis or coronary artery disease involves hardening of arteries that provide important oxygen and nutrients to the heart. Heart failure can occur when the heart has failed or stopped working. It is quite frightening and means that the heart does not pump as the way it should. To prevent occurrence of heart diseases, you can purchase Cardigold Juice from the best Ayurvedic products online in Delhi and world.

Cancer of Lung: Tobacco smoke causes 90% of all lung cancers. Cancer of lung spreads quickly. It may spread before early even before it is large enough to cause symptoms and show up on an X- ray. By the time it is diagnosed by tests, lung cancer has already advanced to a level which is difficult to cure. Minimizing and gradually quitting smoking can decrease the risk of lung cancer in men. One cigarette is enough to make you lose a considerable healthy time of your life. Men who are constantly smoking should therefore use best ayurvedic products online in delhi for lungs. These include Daily Boost Tea, immune boosting tea and Daily Strength Juice. These are effective lung cleansers and do not let toxins of smoke cause inflammation of airways. Smoking can also lead to excessive production of mucus in airways which further leads to chronic cough. To limit infections of lungs ; curcumin from turmeric, moringa, hibiscus, Tulsi leaves, lemongrass, Ashwagandha, rose petals and black pepper in immune boosting tea can enable your immune system to fight with microbes. Daily Strength Juice and Daily Boost Tea cleans your lungs and do not let toxins accumulate there so that prevention of lung cancer can take place.

Prostate Cancer: Prostate cancer is a leading cancer for men. As the men age, prostate is prone to problems. Cancer of prostate is the most common cancer for men other than skin cancer. Many cancers of prostate are slow growing and are unlikely to spread while others are aggressive. It can be prevented with the use of an herbal curcumin supplement known by the name of Vitalboost Tablet. The composition of Vitalboost Tablet includes Ashwagandha, shatavari, gokshur, shilajit, kaunch, safed musli, atibala, Tulsi, Kesar and curcumin from turmeric. Therefore, it also helps in dealing with male stamina problem along with prevention of prostate cancer. Male stamina problem might not be accepted and treated out of embarrassment. It is therefore easier to get Vitalboost Tablet and treat it. This composition also improves general energy and stamina of men.

Depression: This word is not limited to women’s health.  And it is much more than a bad mood or a rough patch. Depression affects your emotional wellbeing and is therefore dangerous for your whole body. Depression can affect men too and they can also have emotional breakdown affecting their sleep and appetite pattern. Depression also makes men more prone to develop heart diseases. The sad part is that men have a higher tendency to hide emotions and the turmoil going within their bodies. Instead of simply expressing sadness and crying; men generally get aggressive and angry. They switch to alcoholism to escape their sadness. Women attempt suicide more often than men but men are more successful at completing suicide. The eighth most leading cause of death in men and more so in younger men is suicide. To get over depression and keep nerves calm; men can use Stresaway Tablets and Daily Calm Tea. This combination of Ayurvedic tea for stress and tablets can take you out of depression.

Erectile Dysfunction: It is not a life-threatening problem but is an important health issue that should be addressed by men. Nearly 39% of men who have reached 40 years of age have problem of erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction is considered to be a risk factor for future heart problem by many physicians. Erectile dysfunction can affect a man’s relationship with his partner and can terribly affect is sexual life. Vitalboost Tablets can help in treating erectile dysfunction due to the presence of herbs that cater to reproductive organs of men such as Ashwagandha, shilajit, gokshur.

Diabetes: It can begin silently begin without exhibiting any symptom. When blood sugar levels remain too high for a long time; frequent urination and thirst can be seen. This may take men to doctors. Obesity can be considered to be a predisposing factor for the onset of diabetes.To control your blood sugar level, you can consume Diabewell Tablets which are made from gudmar, karela, amla, curcumin, dalchini, green tea, giloya, manjistha, and kutki.It is now easier for men to take care of their health as they can use curcumin-enriched Ayurvedic preparations for prevention of diseases and healing.

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New Post has been published on https://fitnesshealthyoga.com/utah-researchers-identify-potential-treatment-for-pancreatic-cancer/

Utah researchers identify potential treatment for pancreatic cancer

SALT LAKE CITY — Gordon Chamberlain was told in October that he’d be lucky to live another four months.

The 66-year-old said he “never saw it coming,” but late-stage pancreatic cancer was going to get the best of him.

“My energy levels were low, if I had any energy at all, and I was not able to walk very far or do very much,” said Chamberlain, of Murray.

The side effects of rigorous chemotherapy turned out to be too much.

His cancer had already spread to his liver and his lungs, as is the fear with pancreatic cancer. But an experimental treatment may be slowing it down and prolonging Chamberlain’s life.

“I was excited because it gave me an option, when, otherwise, there wasn’t any,” he said Monday, nearly five months after his four-month prognosis. “And I feel better physically, have more energy and my appetite has returned.”

He said his quality of life is better, too.

All thanks to a relatively recent discovery made by Huntsman Cancer Institute‘s Dr. Conan Kinsey, a physician-scientist who has been studying pancreatic tumors, as well as treating people with the disease.

“It’s a very, very lethal disease, to say the least,” he said, adding that just 8 percent of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive five years. “It’s one of the worst of any of the cancers that we diagnose and treat.”

His latest on the potentially effective treatment for pancreatic cancer appeared in Monday’s issue of the journal, Nature Medicine.

Kinsey discovered through experimentation that the use of two pills — trametinib plus hydroxychloroquine — that are already available from two different classes of drugs, could potentially impact the process of abnormal cell division and growth caused by a genetic mutation that leads to pancreatic cancer, and increase a patient’s lifespan.

Martin McMahon, a cancer researcher at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of dermatology at the University of Utah, left, Gordon Chamberlain and Chamberlain’s doctor, Conan Kinsey, a physician-scientist at the institute, talk about a new treatment for pancreatic cancer and the opening of a clinical trial while visiting at the institute in Salt Lake City on Monday, March 4, 2019. Chamberlain is taking part in the study. (Photo: Scott G Winterton, KSL)

The first patient to ever receive the cocktail of medications lived eight months longer than he was going to with chemotherapy and other treatment.

“It doesn’t sound like a lot, but I understand the majority of that time was good quality time,” Kinsey said. “He was able to hike and do what he loved to do.”

The patient ended up dying from his advanced disease, but was able to do it in the comfort of his home and surrounded by his family, as opposed to being in the hospital.

“For someone with pancreas cancer, but also someone who has received extensive chemotherapy, seeing a response like this is quite remarkable,” said Martin McMahon, a cancer researcher at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of dermatology at the University of Utah. He said the treatment options are already limited for pancreatic cancer, as there’s been no significant advancement in decades.

Unfortunately, symptoms don’t show up until it is too late to treat or to remove a tumor in the pancreas, which is why it ends up being so deadly, McMahon said.

The American Cancer Society predicts the disease will kill about 80 percent of the 56,770 American’s who will be diagnosed with it this year.

So, while Chamberlain is taking it all with a grain of salt, since the treatment is experimental, he is just happy to be alive.

“It gave me quite a bit of hope, and, as it all goes along, it is buying time, but it has also given me a higher quality of life than what the chemotherapy did,” he said. “In gaining time, there are so many other treatments coming down the line … who knows what the future holds?”

Still, with the medications, which produce very little side effects, Chamberlain was told he could live up to a year longer, maybe even five.

“My outlook has changed a great deal,” he said, adding that he now lives by the adage “Growing old is a privilege denied to many, so thank God for every day you have.”

He wants to spend some time in the Florida Keys, go to Hawaii a few more times and maybe even be alive when they launch people into outer space. He’d also like to witness the northern lights in Alaska.

For now, he is just “enjoying time with my wife and all of our kids.” Their combined 10 children and 15 grandchildren are also grateful he’s still around.

Kinsey and McMahon are hoping to enroll more patients in a clinical trial to further test the medications and their theory, but also, through the process, be able to determine some of the risk factors that might lead to pancreatic cancer so that better screening for the fatal disease can be done in the future.

“This is a gradual process,” McMahon said, adding that their discovery provides a foundation for themselves and other researchers to turn this therapy into something even more effective. The two believe the medications taken together might also be helpful in treating the 25 percent of cancers that begin with the same type of mutations in the KRAS gene, including lung, colorectal and melanoma.

They are grateful for people like the first patient who consented to the treatment and showed them that it could work, but also for Chamberlain and others who have the “courage,” McMahon said, to go through it.

“If you look at progress in cancer treatment, it relies on the courage of individuals to take on experimental therapies that may not provide them any benefit, but may help patients in subsequent years,” he said. “That is a remarkable thing.”

But, McMahon cautions, cancer treatments don’t always produce the same results.

“The fact we had one patient respond really, really well to our therapy does not mean that all patients with pancreatic cancer will respond in the same way,” he said. “And that is something we need to figure out.”

The clinical trial, which is already underway, will take on three pancreatic cancer patients at a time at Huntsman, eventually enrolling a few hundred patients at different cancer centers in the country, including at Huntsman, the University of California, San Francisco, and at Columbia University in New York, which are working together on developing this therapeutic technique.

But, McMahon said they’ll have no trouble getting the numbers they need, and have already had referrals.

“There is no shortage of patients, sadly, with pancreas cancer,” he said, adding that the level of advocacy for pancreatic cancer is not as high as it is with other cancers because people who get it die so quickly.

“When you see one patient respond, it’s obviously great for that patient, but cancer is a tough disease, and pancreatic cancer is an especially difficult disease to treat,” he said.

The Huntsman-led research, which acknowledges the courage of its first patient, is bolstered by a separate study published in the same issue of Nature Medicine by researchers at University of North Carolina’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. The two teams collaborated on their findings and can likely make a bigger impact.

The local research, which went from concept to patient in just 20 months, is supported by charitable donations from Utah-based Qualtrics’ “5 for the Fight” organization, the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, the National Cancer Institute and others. It is one of many studies and clinical trials conducted at the innovative Huntsman center.

“I’m in good hands,” Chamberlain said. “I couldn’t be in better.”

×

Photos

Wendy Leonard

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Blaming China for Pandemic, Trump Says U.S. Will Leave the W.H.O.

After spending weeks accusing the World Health Organization of helping the Chinese government cover up the early days of the coronavirus epidemic in China, President Trump said on Friday that the United States would terminate its relationship with the agency.

“The world is now suffering as a result of the malfeasance of the Chinese government,” Mr. Trump said in a speech in the Rose Garden. “Countless lives have been taken, and profound economic hardship has been inflicted all around the globe.”

In his 10-minute address, Mr. Trump took no responsibility for the deaths of 100,000 Americans from the virus, instead saying China had “instigated a global pandemic.”

There is no evidence that the W.H.O. or the government in Beijing hid the extent of the epidemic in China, and public health experts generally view Mr. Trump’s charges as a way to deflect attention from his administration’s own bungled attempts to respond to the virus’s spread in the United States.

A spokeswoman for the W.H.O. in Geneva, where word of Mr. Trump’s announcement first landed at 9 p.m., said the agency would not have a response until Saturday.

In April, when he was asked about Mr. Trump’s accusation that the W.H.O. was “China-centric,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the organization’s director-general said: “It is wrong to be any ‘country-centric.’ I am sure we are not China-centric. The truth is, if we are going to be blamed, it is right to blame us for being U.S.-centric.”

Public health experts in the United States reacted to Mr. Trump’s announcement with alarm.

“We helped create the W.H.O.,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has worked with the organization since its creation in 1948.

“We’re part of it — it is part of the world,” Dr. Frieden said. “Turning our back on the W.H.O. makes us and the world less safe.”

The Infectious Diseases Society of America “stands strongly against President Trump’s decision,” said Dr. Thomas M. File, its president. “We will not succeed against this pandemic, or any future outbreak, unless we stand together, share information and coordinate actions.”

It is not clear whether the president can simply withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization without Congressional approval.

“The president can’t unilaterally withdraw us,” said Lawrence O. Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National & Global Health Law at The Georgetown University Law Center.

“It’s a nonstarter,” he added. “This is literally a whim of one man, without any consultation with Congress, in the middle of the greatest health emergency of our lifetime.”

The reaction among Democrats in Congress was swift and negative.

Representative Ami Bera, Democrat of California and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation, called Mr. Trump’s announcement “shameful and irresponsible.”

The W.H.O. “is not a perfect organization,” he said on Twitter, “but leaving will make the United States and the world less safe. President Trump is ceding American global leadership and handing it over on a golden platter to China.”

Representative Nita Lowey, Democrat of New York and the chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, said: “The president wants to blame everyone else — the W.H.O., Twitter, the media — when his own shortcomings as a leader are contributing to harm and further dividing us here at home and among global partners.”

The administration’s response to the emergency has been fumbling and inadequate, many public health experts say, especially when compared to China’s.

The coronavirus has been the leading cause of death in the United States since mid-April, killing roughly 100,000 citizens to date. By comparison, only 4,600 Chinese citizens have died of the infection.

About 20,000 Americans are infected each day, while China virtually ended its outbreak by April. On most days China records zero to five new infections, usually in travelers from abroad.

The W.H.O. was founded in 1948 as part of the postwar creation of the United Nations and is the world’s premier global health organization. Mr. Trump supported and generously funded the organization as it fought an Ebola outbreak in Africa for three years, but abruptly turned on the W.H.O. a few weeks ago, when he began accusing the organization of doing too little to warn the world of the spread of the coronavirus.

In fact, the agency issued its first alarm on Jan. 4, just five days after the local health department of Wuhan — at the time a city few non-Chinese had even heard of — announced a cluster of 27 cases of an unusual pneumonia at a local seafood market.

Almost simultaneously, China’s leading epidemiologist, who had just completed his own investigation on behalf of the Beijing government, confirmed during a Jan. 20 interview on state television that transmission to doctors was occurring in Wuhan, although he said on a recent interview with CNN that local officials had lied about it and even tried to mislead him.

The United States has been by far the W.H.O.’s largest donor since its inception. The budget for the W.H.O. is about $6 billion, which comes from member countries around the world. In 2019, the last year for which figures were available, the United States contributed about $553 million.

The American government and private donors, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Rotary International, have wielded enormous influence on W.H.O. policies.

For example, although the war on smallpox that was begun in the 1960s was at first largely a Soviet initiative, the W.H.O. chose American doctors, including Dr. William Foege and Dr. Donald A. Henderson, to lead the global campaign.

The agency also chose American-made vaccines over Soviet ones for the war on polio.

For many years, the American government, working on behalf of the Western pharmaceutical industry, pressured the W.H.O. not to publicly fight for lower drug prices that might threaten the patent monopolies of American companies.

That changed in the early 2000s, when many American companies began sub-licensing their patents and technology to generics makers in India and elsewhere.

No American has ever been director-general of the W.H.O., but that is because of a decades-old understanding that the World Bank and the United Nations Children’s Fund would always be run by Americans, while the leadership of some other U.N. agencies, including the W.H.O., would be taken in turn by other nations.

The C.D.C. and many other branches of the American government have worked with the W.H.O. for decades. Along with the C.D.C., doctors from the American military and even the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division worked in cooperation with the W.H.O. to fight the 2014 West African Ebola epidemic — partly in an effort to keep it from reaching the United States.

The W.H.O. provides essential diplomatic cover when American government agencies work in foreign countries. All countries that belong to the U.N. are also de facto members of the ruling body of the W.H.O.

Asked for comment Friday, a C.D.C. official said the agency did not know what impact the announcement would have on its 72-year-old working relationship with the W.H.O., and referred all further questions to the White House.

As he began facing harsh questions about his handling of the disease here, Mr. Trump swiftly diverted the blame to the W.H.O., threatening in a letter earlier this month to pull funding if it did not “commit to major substantive improvements in the next 30 days.”

In fact, under Dr. Tedros, the agency has been in the middle of major reforms for several years, focusing more of its attention on pandemics and less on the causes championed by wealthy donors, including tobacco, lung cancer and obesity.

Last month at the World Health Assembly — the annual meeting of the health ministers of all U.N. member nations that serves as the agency’s governing board — other member states rebuffed Mr. Trump’s demands. They voted instead to conduct an “impartial, independent” examination of the W.H.O.’s pandemic response.

Mr. Trump’s Rose Garden address came as cities across the United States were convulsing with protests over recent cases of police brutality against black Americans.

He did not take questions after delivering his speech, even as assembled reporters shouted for him to address protests in Minneapolis.

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from World Wide News https://ift.tt/36ItXN3

[bigyack-com]

What Does Coronavirus Do to the Body?

As cases of coronavirus infection proliferate around the world and governments take extraordinary measures to limit the spread, there is still a lot of confusion about what exactly the virus does to people’s bodies.The symptoms — fever, cough, shortness of breath — can signal any number of illnesses, from flu to strep to the common cold. Here is what medical experts and researchers have learned so far about the progression of the infection caused by this new coronavirus — and what they still don’t know.

How does this coronavirus cause infection?

The virus is spread through droplets transmitted into the air from coughing or sneezing, which people nearby can take in through their nose, mouth or eyes. The viral particles in these droplets travel quickly to the back of your nasal passages and to the mucous membranes in the back of your throat, attaching to a particular receptor in cells, beginning there.Coronavirus particles have spiked proteins sticking out from their surfaces, and these spikes hook onto cell membranes, allowing the virus’s genetic material to enter the human cell.That genetic material proceeds to “hijack the metabolism of the cell and say, in effect, ‘Don’t do your usual job. Your job now is to help me multiply and make the virus,’” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.

How does that process cause respiratory problems?

As copies of the virus multiply, they burst out and infect neighboring cells. The symptoms often start in the back of the throat with a sore throat and a dry cough.The virus then “crawls progressively down the bronchial tubes,” Dr. Schaffner said. When the virus reaches the lungs, their mucous membranes become inflamed. That can damage the alveoli or lung sacs and they have to work harder to carry out their function of supplying oxygen to the blood that circulates throughout our body and removing carbon dioxide from the blood so that it can be exhaled.“If you get swelling there, it makes it that much more difficult for oxygen to swim across the mucous membrane,” said Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, the chief clinical officer for the Providence Health System, which included the hospital in Everett, Wash., that had the first reported case of coronavirus in the United States, in January.The swelling and the impaired flow of oxygen can cause those areas in the lungs to fill with fluid, pus and dead cells. Pneumonia, an infection in the lung, can occur.Some people have so much trouble breathing they need to be put on a ventilator. In the worst cases, known as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, the lungs fill with so much fluid that no amount of breathing support can help, and the patient dies.

What trajectory does the virus take in the lungs?

Dr. Shu-Yuan Xiao, a professor of pathology at the University of Chicago School of Medicine has examined pathology reports on coronavirus patients in China. He said the virus appears to start in peripheral areas on both sides of the lung and can take a while to reach the upper respiratory tract, the trachea and other central airways.Dr. Xiao, who also serves as the director of the Center For Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics at Wuhan University, said that pattern helps explain why in Wuhan, where the outbreak began, many of the earliest cases were not identified immediately.The initial testing regimen in many Chinese hospitals did not always detect infection in the peripheral lungs, so some people with symptoms were sent home without treatment.“They’d either go to other hospitals to seek treatment or stay home and infect their family,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons there was such a wide spread.”A recent study from a team led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that more than half of 121 patients in China had normal CT scans early in their disease. That study and work by Dr. Xiao show that as the disease progresses, CT scans show “ground glass opacities,” a kind of hazy veil in parts of the lung that are evident in many types of viral respiratory infections. Those opaque areas can scatter and thicken in places as the illness worsens, creating what radiologists call a “crazy paving” pattern on the scan.

Are the lungs the only part of the body affected?

Not necessarily. Dr. Compton-Phillips said the infection can spread through the mucous membranes, from the nose down to the rectum.So while the virus appears to zero in on the lungs, it may also be able to infect cells in the gastrointestinal system, experts say. This may be why some patients have symptoms like diarrhea or indigestion. The virus can also get into the bloodstream, Dr. Schaffner said.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that RNA from the new coronavirus has been detected in blood and stool specimens, but that it’s unclear whether infectious virus can persist in blood or stool.Bone marrow and organs like the liver can become inflamed too, said Dr. George Diaz, section leader for infectious diseases at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Wash., whose team treated the first U.S. coronavirus patient. There may also be some inflammation in small blood vessels, as happened with SARS, the viral outbreak in 2002 and 2003.“The virus will actually land on organs like the heart, the kidney, the liver, and may cause some direct damage to those organs,” Dr. Schaffner said. As the body’s immune system shifts into high gear to battle the infection, the resulting inflammation may cause those organs to malfunction, he said.As a result, some patients may endure damage that is inflicted not just by the virus, but by their own immune system as it rages to combat the infection.Experts have not yet documented whether the virus can affect the brain. But scientists who studied SARS have reported some evidence that the SARS virus could infiltrate the brain in some patients. Given the similarity between SARS and Covid-19, the infection caused by the new coronavirus, a paper published last month in the Journal of Medical Virology argued that the possibility that the new coronavirus might be able to infect some nerve cells should not be ruled out.

Why do some people get very ill but most don’t?

About 80 percent of people infected with the new coronavirus have relatively mild symptoms. But about 20 percent of people become more seriously ill and in about 2 percent of patients in China, which has had the most cases, the disease has been fatal.Experts say the effects appear to depend on how robust or weakened a person’s immune system is. Older people or those with underlying health issues, like diabetes or another chronic illness, are more likely to develop severe symptoms.Dr. Xiao conducted pathological examinations of two people in China who went into a hospital in Wuhan in January for a different reason — they needed surgery for early stage lung cancer — but whose records later showed that they had also had coronavirus infection, which the hospital did not recognize at the time. Neither patient’s lung cancer was advanced enough to kill them, he said.One of those patients, an 84-year-old woman with diabetes, died from pneumonia caused by coronavirus, Dr. Xiao said the records showed.The other patient, a 73-year-old man, was somewhat healthier, with a history of hypertension that he had managed well for 20 years. Dr. Xiao said the man had successful surgery to remove a lung tumor, was discharged, and nine days later returned to the hospital because he had a fever and cough that was determined to be coronavirus.Dr. Xiao said that the man had almost certainly been infected during his first stay in the hospital, since other patients in his post-surgical recovery room were later found to have coronavirus. Like many other cases, it took the man days to show respiratory symptoms.The man recovered after 20 days in the hospital’s infectious disease unit. Experts say that when patients like that recover, it is often because the supportive care — fluids, breathing support, and other treatment — allows them to outlast the worst effects of the inflammation caused by the virus.

What do scientists still not know about coronavirus patients?

A lot. Although the illness resembles SARS in many respects and has elements in common with influenza and pneumonia, the course a patient’s coronavirus will take is not yet fully understood.Some patients can remain stable for over a week and then suddenly develop pneumonia, Dr. Diaz said. Some patients seem to recover but then develop symptoms again.Dr. Xiao said that some patients in China recovered but got sick again, apparently because they had damaged and vulnerable lung tissue that was subsequently attacked by bacteria in their body. Some of those patients ended up dying from a bacterial infection, not the virus. But that didn’t appear to cause the majority of deaths, he said.Other cases have been tragic mysteries. Dr. Xiao said he personally knew a man and woman who got infected, but seemed to be improving. Then the man deteriorated and was hospitalized.“He was in I.C.U., getting oxygen, and he texted his wife that he was getting better, he had good appetite and so on,” Dr. Xiao said. “But then in the late afternoon, she stopped receiving texts from him. She didn’t know what was going on. And by 10 p.m., she got a notice from the hospital that he had passed.” Read the full article

[caninelymphoma-blog]

14. Looking for that silver lining... But it isn’t there.

30 Mar - Toby slept a little better in his make shift oxygenated box the night before and Junie does an amazing job checking on him thru the night. I think she needs to rest up more or she will fall sick... same goes for our helper Bel and mom. Without everyone helping out, i don’t think Junie and I could have managed this.  

Today is also D-day as we head into Dr Tham’s w the intention of giving Toby a risky dose of L-aspar. Right now it feels like this is the only thing that can save him, but it might also kill him. We decide together that it’s for the best. Emotions run high.. The mood in the clinic is sombre because they know Toby is gravely ill since they last saw him.

He survives the shot and we head back home where he rests all day. His legs are still weak and we just keep praying. Just like how some customers came over and prayed over Toby, Joo Mee my cousin also comes over and she too prays over him with holy oil. We are so touched because she was so wonderfully positive and she stays to chat for a long time.

1 April - Toby’s the same, refuses to eat so it’s syringe feeding all the way. He hates it and so do we. We go for car rides and we pray he makes it to his 14th birthday tomorrow.

2 April Tue - Happy Birthday puppy bear. Korkor and jiejie have been sleeping in the living room with you because this is the best arrangement. It’s been storming a lot lately and the nights are often filled with thunder and heavy downpours. We try our best to sleep through it. it make us tired during the day but being there with you means everything to us. We went to see Dr Tham today cos Toby is running out of Vetmedin and that’s very important to keep him alive. we ask if we should try acupuncture. 

Dr Tham advises against going to Dr Tai for acupuncture as he recounted that one of his lymphoma patients had his cancer spread because Dr Tham did acupuncture on him and the circulation improved and so the cancer had a free pass to other parts of the body. We deliberate and decide to go anyway tomorrow. If we stay on this current trend relying on food and meds, it feels like Toby will get progressively worse and die anyway.

3 April - We wait ages for Dr Tai. It cost us 3 hours at her clinic but it was worth it, Toby seems brighter after his acupuncture session with her and he also had an x-ray to determine what’s up with his system. She thinks he still has pancreatitis hence she prescribes Famatodine (Pepcid) which I think should help him get better faster so he can start eating on his own. She prescribes 2 Chinese herbal mixtures (HQT and EG) Both Toby swallowed without putting up a fight. The other two supplements she prescribed probiotics and also Tricosamine which is a mixture of glucosamine, chondritin and HA. She noted that Toby had fluid in his lungs on one side and asked us to step up the dose of Furosimide to ½ tab instead of the ¼ tab Dr Tham recommended. She also recommended foods rich in potassium e.g potatoes, banana and mushrooms will help the increase of absorption of nutrients and helping his back legs too.

X-rays showed that the gaps in his spine were too small and it was causing him discomfort. His back legs became very weak because of lack of circulation and pretty bad osteoarthritis. His lungs are fairly clear, heart is quite large and pressing against his trachea hence the breathing difficulties and this means we have to make sure when we feed him he’s sat at a 45 degree angle so that he won’t aspirate the food that is fed to him into his lungs.

Abdomen looks fairly clear, and his rib cage is puffed up because he is trying to to maximize the space in there because he needs to breathe and he expands it like fish gills. So she also taught us some massage techniques that might help him gain mobility.

Later in the evening, we change the feeding plan and give him black chicken instead of regular chicken and some MCT oil.. and this is where it got bad. He threw up and then we couldn’t stop it even after going back to see Dr Tai the next day. She gave him a jab and oral meds but it didn’t help.

4 April Thu - Based on the recommendations of Joo Mee’s pet nutritionist, we feed Toby coconut juice, watermelon juice and carrot juice. He can’t hold anything down at all. He wants water so badly but he cannot keep it down either.

We withheld liquids and gave him his heart meds spaced apart by 30min blocks. He keeps it down until we give him  coco water and honey. We are so worried but we try to wet his mouth and let him sleep it off. He eventually pukes the coco water and honey as well.

5 April Fri-  In the wee hours of the morning, Toby drinks some water and vomits again, I give him the oral anti-vomit meds and it still doesn’t work. WTF? So at 8+ we made the call and brought him into Jireh for an IV drip. He looks so much better after being hydrated and we are thankful that he’s stabilised a bit but now comes the tricky part of re-feeding… With cerenia and the IV drip in place, Toby was able to hold down his fluids - so far we have given toby his medication (vetmedin, lanoxin, furosimide, famatodine… for food he has had mussel powder, convalescence just a bit.., chicken and parsley, watermelon juice as it’s a diuretic). We space out the feedings and it takes up to an hour to finish it. He goes out to pee and his pee is evidently held in as the stream of pee looks string thin and forceful vs. his usual jetlike spout. Likely due to the IV, consumed fluids and diuretic medication.

We feed again just past 9, he’s given Vetmedin and left to rest for 30 mins. And then we followed up with super diliuted banana and chicken blends. Then he’s also given his antibiotics and steroids both which we skipped yesterday because he could not hold it in.

We really hope he keeps it in this tonight, seeing that he was given Cerenia at 9ish in the morning and now it’s a good 12 hours since then. His eyes are still gooey and Junie cleans it regularly and put both antibiotic eyedrops and the eye gel. He was given quite a fair bit of fluids so he may wee himself tonight but we don’t mind, he’s the best boy ever and we can always clean up after him no matter how tired we are.

June: His nose is also super dry and today I thought it was dried up food and I tried to peel off dried skin. Oof! That must’ve hurt him, I’m so stupid! Gonna rub more coco oil tomorrow to help him.

WHAT WOULD WE HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY

Stick to “safe” food and don’t risk complications. 

Understand that the entire system requires delicate balancing, so when 1 function is compromised, it usually causes other issues. when 1 drug is used, there are side effects and it can overall cause other issues. 

Recognize that certain bodily functions such as the liver, plays a critical role in overall health, as the liver is primarily responsible for metabolic processes, absorbing nutrients, and also detoxifying. a healthy liver helps with overall recovery. We were very late in recognizing this and probably should have paid more attention to this.