The Downside to Canadian Health Care

 Health Care  2 Responses »
Dec 302011
 

Can it really be called a downside?

According to Joseph M. Connors, MD, Clinical Professor and Director of the BC Cancer Agency’s Centre for Lymphoid Cancer, Vancouver, British Columbia, in an article in the ASCO Post, the downside to Canadian health care is

We [the Canadian health care system] don’t get to give patients treatments unless they have proven benefit, so we have an entire system devoted to examining what evidence justifies which treatments…….

……….I [Dr. Conners] cannot give a drug without evidence-based proof that the drug has efficacy and works better than the less-costly alternatives in the particular disease I’m treating. So the drawback to a centralized system is that it constrains innovative behavior, is resistant to change, and is slow to introduce new approaches. The system waits for adequate evidence before moving ahead…….

Well, I’m not so sure I’d categorize that as a downside, and neither do I believe it constrains innovation.

Just because something is new, and may have shown efficacy in a petri dish, or even in a stage 1 trial, doesn’t necessarily mean it will be effective when given to humans. And let’s not forget about potential side effects of rushing treatments to market. You only have to look at drugs such as Thalidomide, and more recently Avastin, to recognize the flaw in that thinking.

And besides, isn’t that what clinical trials are for? Something else Canadians and Europeans have far greater access to than those in the US, that is unless you

have adequate coverage or can pay out of pocket

But then again, why would you invest in a costly clinical trial, with an uncertain outcome, if off label use is making you money?

I don’t know about everyone else, but if that’s the only downside to Canadian health care, I’m willing to take my chances!

Deep thoughts [AKA A little rant]

 Health Care, My MCL, Politics, Treatments  No Responses »
Nov 102011
 

I was thinking last night (I do that whenever I have trouble sleeping), and I’ve come to the realization, in the nearly 10 years since my diagnosis with MCL (when I was personally awoken to the issue of cancer), there has been a lot of research done, and too many to fathom clinical trials performed, yet there has been very little [monumental] advancement in the way we deal with and treat cancer.

We’ve managed to map the entire human genome. We’ve even come close to discovering the causes of [at least one] cancer, yet there is still no cure, and our approach to treating cancer remains, as it has been for the past 50+ years, to do nothing more than infuse deadly chemicals into the body, in hopes of destroying the cancerous cells. Even one of the biggest advances recently in the treatment of lymphoma, has been the reemergence of Bendamustine, an alkylating agent developed in East Germany in the 1960′s.

Yeah, there have been strides made in the use of stem cell transplantation (SCT), and there have even been some new blockbuster drugs that have come on to the market, e.g. Rituxan, Gleevic and Velcade, but they have done little, aside from maybe delaying the inevitable for a few more years, to advance a cure. And even those approaches have their limitations, especially in the case of SCT’s, which can produce debilitating side effects, i.e. graft vs host disease (GVHD), that in some cases may be worse than the disease.

You’d just think after all these years, with all the great minds and other resources available in this country, and around the world, there would have been greater strides made towards finding a cure for cancer, or at the very least develop new and safer drugs for the treatment of cancer.

What’s even more depressing is with the political upheaval in the US, it appears further advancements related to all types of health issues will be greatly hindered. There are already critical drug shortages showing up around the country, and expected cuts to funding for the National Institute of Health (NIH), portend few [if any] advancements for the foreseeable future.

The principle reason I’ve delayed treatment so long has been the hope something better would come along, but it seems I’m going to have to wait just a little [a lot] longer.

Preparing for my colonography

 General Health, Health Care, My MCL  2 Responses »
Oct 022011
 

No, that isn’t a mistake in the title. Because of my enlarged spleen (which can get in the way of the scope), and the potential problems as a result of that, my doctor has obliged my request for a colonography in lieu of the standard colonoscopy.

The only advantage to a colonography being, I won’t have to endure the torture of having someone stick a 10 foot probe up my butt.  I still have to go through the standard cleansing process (the second most difficult part of this entire ordeal), plus if anything is discovered during the colonography, I may still have to go through the torture of a standard colonoscopy anyways.

The other problem with the colonography is I will be exposed to radiation from the CT scanning machine, which is how a colonography is performed, and all the problems associated with that. At least I’ve not been exposed to much artificial radiation in the past 8 years, having had only one CT scan, and I think one X-ray, during that time frame.

So as I sit here writing this post, not going for a bike ride, and pondering [dreading] the start of the cleansing process (which begins at 10 AM), I’m wondering if it’s even worth it. Do I really want to know if I’m any sicker than I already am?

We’ve all been brainwashed

 Health Care, Life, Philosophy  1 Response »
Sep 272011
 

Admittedly it’s taken me 63+ years, but after reading James Altucher’s latest blog post, I’ve become enlightened.

Everything we’ve ever been taught, or told, our entire belief system, has been designed with one thing in mind, and that is to control our every action. It used to be religion was the only control mechanism (at least so I thought), but now that isn’t enough. It’s gone way beyond that.

From the idea of home ownership and raising a family, to the necessity of getting an education. Even the design of our health care system has all been designed for one purpose, and that is to change the way we think, and inevitably control our very being and every action.

It was L Ron Hubbard who said,

If you really want to enslave people, tell them you are going to give them total freedom

Think about it. Why is so much emphasize placed on the notion of getting a job, buying a home [with a big mortgage], raising a family, and building roots in a community? It’s simple, because once we do, “they” have us by the balls, so to speak. We’re no longer free to pursue the so called “American Dream”. We’re inextricably coupled to our homes and families. We can’t move, because we’ve literally established roots.

Even our health care system has been designed with that same purpose in mind. To control us!

I’ve often wondered why businesses don’t object to being burdened with the responsibility of insuring the health care of their employees, rather than having that responsibility dumped on the government. It certainly would increase profits. Or would it?

By tying health care to employment, employers have made it more difficult for employees to strike out on their own and compete [to pursue that "American Dream"], or even change jobs, because obtaining health insurance is either too expensive, or simply unobtainable for many due to pre-existing or chronic health problems. The current system allows employers to have greater control and influence over their employees, and artificially keeping wages down, by creating an immobile work force.

It’s a conspiracy on a grand scale, and the American public has fallen for it, hook, line and sinker.

Truth or fiction?

 Health Care, Philosophy  2 Responses »
Apr 232011
 

Mark Twain said:

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.

While many may label this as fiction, and I will admit it may be somewhat exaggerated, it’s certainly not far off the mark, and definitely the direction health care is heading in the US. (I think Monty Python might just have been a little ahead of their time.)

And yes I know I said I was taking a break from blogging, but I did say I would post things I thought were worth sharing. I was just of the thought this Monty Python skit (as well as the Albert Schweitzer quote) was definitely worth sharing.

Summer has finally arrived

 Edie, Health Care, My MCL, Politics  No Responses »
Sep 272010
 

When I first sat down this morning, I had every intention of writing a political rant.

I was pissed off because I believe Kaiser overcharged Edie for a prescription. I find it so amazing, that after 7+ years of dealing with the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, Kaiser still can’t get it right. [Fortunately the quality of care they provide is better than their financial and billing prowess.]

This last prescription put Edie $200.50 into the donut hole, but instead of charging her only $200.50 for the prescription, Kaiser charged her $270.50. I assumed, and later confirmed, the extra $70 was the copay for the 3 month prescription for Lyrica. So why was she charged the copay? After all, if she had been within $1 of the donut hole (instead of $721.61), they wouldn’t have charged her $995.61 (the drugs only cost $926.61) for the prescription. They would have only charged her $925.61. [At least logic tells me that would be the case.]

So why are they charging her the copay in this case?

Of course the customer service people, didn’t seem to grasp that concept, and were adamant about charging the copay.  So now I’m forced to write a letter to the Appeals Board to file a grievance. Hopefully they are a little more intelligent than the customer service representative(s).

Then I saw the following article at Marketwatch.com “Real Estate 101: How to buy property in college towns“, and wondered when did the US stop making stuff? When did investing become such a huge part of the economy to the point companies are no longer concerned with their products or employees, but only their bottom line? When did the financial industry become an industry? They don’t make anything. All they do is move money around, and then charge you for doing just that.

What ever happened to hard work as a way of making money? My father did it, and I’ve done it for the past 35 years.

But then I thought, what’s the point? Who’s going to pay attention to me anyways? There are a lot smarter, and more influential people trying to get the same point across, without much success, so what makes me think I can accomplish what they can’t?

So rather than dwell on the perverseness of the US health care system, or a national psyche that favors greed and profits over hard work, fairness and moral principles, I decided I would find something more uplifting to write about.

I decided to complain about celebrate the fact summer has finally arrived. It only took 3 months, but it may actually be here now. I know that because it’s been hotter the last two days than it has been this entire year, and today is not supposed to be any different.

These are the first days this year, I’ve been able to go without arm warmers, or a long sleeve shirt at the start of a bike ride, and sitting at the coffee shop afterwards has actually been very comfortable.

Oh, and then I just realized, yesterday marked my 8½ year anniversary of dealing with my MCL, and not needing treatment.

I guess those are two things I can celebrate.

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