Broken Silence...
4/28/2004

It's been a while, I know. After my last scare (gratefully turned out okay) I've been wanting to do anything but think about cancer. Those two very long weeks waiting for the results really did a number on me. It's difficult to explain, when I think of it it makes my head spin. The good news is spring is here and the flowers are so beautiful. It's amazing what a change in weather can do for the soul.

Aiming for updating the website once a week, I am going to cut this one a little short today. I am closing this with a quote I read the other day that really made me think about my life and my condition, and really anyone who goes through a serious illness.


"The single most challenging problem is the nihilism which most physicians have--they believe a patient with a gbm is dead. Only with the use of the newer more scientific approaches will there be progress. We have too many survivors to ever adopt this give up before you start the fight philosophy. We've got a lot of new weapons and we really believe that the slate is blank -- that you can make a path that doesn't necessarily have to follow the old, traditional landmine of 'dead in a year.' And we meld that to hope. The biggest problem is that people make the assumption that if you have a lethal disease, you're going to die no matter what you do. So they act accordingly and fulfill their own prophecy. If instead you try newer, more creative ventures and if you've got good ideas, you'll keep chipping away at the problem. You can't just sit around and hold somebody's hand and sing Kumbaya."

--Henry S. Friedman, M.D., Co-Director, Neuro-Oncology Program at Duke University Brain Tumor Center

« Back