Living with MCL

In keeping with my complete disdain for the US health care system, I thought I would bring you this very recent story about the death off a teenage leukemia patient.

It’s so easy to surmise from this story, that the sick and infirmed have no place in the US. For if that weren’t the case, then what other possible reason could there be for US citizens continuing to support, and even praise, a system that not only condones the actions of insurance companies, in denying health care to individuals, but actually rewards them for doing just that.

This the most recent example (one of many) involves Cigna Health Care, but it certainly shouldn’t be construed as unique to this company. It is the mission of all health insurers to deny and delay care as long as possible in order to increase profits.

Eventually Cigna did relent, but it took significant protests by 150 people outside the offices of Cigna, and an internet campaign orchestrated by the DailyKos website and other blogs.

In the middle of the rally, a note was handed to Mrs Sarkisyan [the mother] saying that Cigna had decided to reverse its decision.

“Cigna HealthCare has decided to make an exception in this rare and unusual case and we will provide coverage should she proceed with the requested liver transplant,” it said in a statement.

Unfortunately it didn’t come in time to save the patient.

And the case was not rare or unusual, nor experimental or unproven, as Cigna claimed,

Sarkisyan’s doctors at UCLA medical centre, including the head of its transplant unit, [wrote] a letter to protest that the treatment which they proposed was neither experimental nor unproven.

Cigna just didn’t want to pay for the procedure, because it would effect profits.

But as I indicated before, the patient died, before any money was paid, which ultimately was the intent of the policy. Delay approving care as long as possible, and hope the patient dies. And in this case, it worked to perfection.

That’s good for Cigna profits, and shareholders, it’s just not that good for the patient.

So think you have great insurance, and this can’t happen to you?

If you remain healthy, and never go to the doctor except for routine physical examinations, you’re probably right. But should you get sick, well…… Just how else do you think those insurance companies will be able to maintain those record breaking profits?

[CIGNA] recently posted figures for its third-quarter performance this year, which showed profits up 22%. Next year it expects to earn an income of up to $1.2bn.

Lemons and tea go even better together than their popularity might suggest

To get more out of your next cup of tea, just add juice. A study found that citrus juices enable more of green tea’s unique antioxidants to remain after simulated digestion, making the pairing even healthier than previously thought.

Lemon juice caused 80 percent of tea’s catechins to remain, the study found. The study compared the effect of various beverage additives on catechins, naturally occurring antioxidants found in tea.

Results suggest that complementing green tea with either citrus juices or vitamin C likely increases the amount of catechins available for the body to absorb. Although these results are preliminary, I think it’s encouraging that a big part of the puzzle comes down to simple chemistry.

Eating fish is good for you, especially if you drink lots of alcohol.

Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are just that; an “essential” part of the total fat intake necessary for a healthy human diet.

A new study has found that men who binge drink have substandard intake of n-3 fats (omega-3), indicating poor dietary choices with negative long-term health consequences.

To make matters worse, the requirements for these nutrients actually increase with greater alcohol consumption.

For those who are binge drinkers or those who drink more than one drink per day on average: make sure that you obtain your sources of n-3 fatty acids in the diet, that is, eat more fish.

A small amount of dark chocolate eaten daily is enough to lower blood pressure

That’s what German researchers found when they fed about six grams of dark or white chocolate (equal to about 1½ Hershey’s Kisses) for 18 weeks to 44 middle-aged and older men and women with slightly elevated blood pressure. Those who ate dark chocolate had significant drops in blood pressure.

The above was courtesy of the Velo Allegro Oct-Dec 2007 Quick Release Newsletter.

It just goes to show you, good information can come from anywhere, sometimes even from unexpected sources.

Maybe Lance was right, It’s Not [just] About the Bike.

Just when we get a reprieve from two weeks of temperatures in the 30′s, now the rain starts.

So here I sit, surfing the net and rambling on my blog. No bike ride for me today.

I just don’t know how people back east and the midwest, cope with even worse weather, and I was born and raised in Pittsburgh.

I did manage to get a lift though, after reading some Gilda Radner quotes.

Check them out, especially the last interview with Jane Curtin. Who knows, it might even improve your day as well.

Gilda was one of the best!

We’re slowly being pick off.

At least that’s how Edie felt after hearing one more friend has likely been diagnosed with lymphoma. (The diagnosis was made based on a CT scan only, but the doctor was pretty confident in his diagnosis. More tests are being run.)

Still, when I started to take an inventory of everyone around me who has been diagnosed with some serious illness, I couldn’t help but think to myself, there just maybe something to that statement.

Since my diagnosis with Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) in 2002, my wife has been diagnosed wit Multiple Myeloma (MM), another friend with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma (NHL), two bike riding buddies, one with NHL as well, and the other with bone cancer, two wine drinking friends, husband and wife, with prostrate and breast cancer respectively, a third with cirrhosis of the liver and another is currently receiving treatment for breast cancer.

Counting me, that’s 9 people, and very likely 10 who have been diagnosed with some sort of cancer.

This is just too bizarre for words, and seems more than coincidental. I just wish I had the answer.

I always knew I was way ahead of my time. This just wasn’t what I had expected.