How has the Pandemic affected you as a cancer patient/survivor
Comments
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Serenity,
Nope, not even a little bit! The OP asked that this thread not be disrespectful. I was asking who draws the line. Yes, in my personal opinion, I feel name calling is disrespectful and not productive. That is my opinion and as part of a community, again in my opinion, this is an appropriate question.
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The Mods draw the line.
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If the language has been allowed from pages 1 to 14, the Mods clearly allow it.
If you don't like it, you have the power to block the thread or individual members. You don't have to read any of it.
If I don't like what someone writes, I can choose to reply or ignore it, but I won't ask the Mods to remove it.
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wrenn, sorry about your fall.
moth, sorry about the broken arm. Holy crap, that was a dramatic fall. When you go for it, you go for it! Glad in the end it was just the arm.
exbrnxgrl, hope the thyroid biopsy results are good. I'm guessing I may have one of those in my future. We'll see what my next 6-month ultrasound shows.
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I am the OP, SimoneRC, which is why I replied directly to you regarding my personal feelings on the people who actively undermine our efforts to get past the worst of this Pandemic. At some point I stopped feeling the need to be polite to horrible human beings. I wish I didn't feel that way, but as I said earlier, my patience with them is now nonexistent. I think many on this thread are just as frustrated.
Trish
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Update: IL's test positivity rate (% of positive test results) is 3.8%, but its positivity rate (% of individuals testing positiv) is now 3%. Chicago's is now 2.9%. This proves that the mask mandate is working--at least in the northern third of the state.
The 88-yr-old father of one of Bob's colleagues died downstate of a breakthrough infection. But as tragic as that (and Cowgirl's friend's) experience is, it is still the exception to the rule--albeit one that proves it, in that it's possible for fully-vaccinated people to contract and spread the Delta variant before their vaccine-bolstered immune systems can neutralize the viral load. So it's imperative for everyone, regardless of vaccination status, to mask up in indoor public settings. Further precautions should depend on local COVID rates and other personal risks--including immune-system impairment due to chemo, radiation and immunotherapy.
Ever since our favorite restaurant (with dependably-available patio dining) closed, we've been cooking and ordering out more (picking up, though, in order to spare the restaurants a third-party delivery-service fee). Whenever I have any service person in my home--exterminator, cable, etc.--I wear a mask and make them do the same.
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Thanks beesie. I am happy to report that the biopsy results are benign. I have dealt with thyroid nodules on and off for several decades and things have usually gone well but there was still a bit of worry until results came back.
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Sandy, have you seen anything on break through covid/delta with people who have had both shots plus the booster?
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Wrenn, Moth, I'm so sorry about your falls. Heal quickly! I've had a couple myself, due to "shoe malfunctions" (L wrist TFCC tear falling up the stairs when a clog slipped off in 2018 and a bruised toe when a sandal sole stuck to chewing gum on a theater carpet this past July; and fractures of the L scaphoid and both ends of the R radius when a rubber-soled shoe stuck to a terazzo floor and sent me sprawling. The latter occurred in a hospital, while I was en route to the orthopedist for a cortisone shot anyway). But for the pandemic, Wrenn, you'd likely have been able to be safely & timely treated. And as for "padding," it sure didn't help me in 2018 when I was 60 lbs. heavier than I am now. (I once asked an orthopedist if my flat feet and metatarsal stress fx were due to my then-obesity, and he tactfully replied "we won't discuss that on the first date").
I am grateful for the strict protocols at UIC Health's Eye Center--not only do they require masks to enter (and hand them out to those who are unmasked), they insist that those wearing cloth masks don the center's surgical mask beneath or instead of the cloth ones). I do wear cloth masks in lower-risk settings, but always either 3-layer ones or with an R25 filter installed in the "pocket." On public transit and at medical appts., I wear KN95s.
Every time I see a blurb in one of the medical-article-aggregator listservs (e.g., DocWire, DG Alerts MPR Daily, various specialty "Advisors:" Ophthlmology, Cancer Therapy, Oncology Nurse, Neurology, etc.) to which I subscribe mentioning Marty Makary as the source, I immediately discount it. Yes, he holds a high administrative post at Johns Hopkins, but he's on the advisory board (perhaps paid?) of the Wall St. Journal, which not only comes down on the business side of "business vs. science" every time, but is owned & operated by Rupert Murdoch's "Newscorp". Newscorp also owns the NYPost, which ran an op-ed (listed on one of the above aggregators) titled--and I kid you not--"Mask Mandates for 6-yr-olds are Child Abuse." Makary may not be one of the notorious "Disinformation Dozen" responsible for 62% of all online COVID disinformation, but perhaps he belongs in the "Baker's Dozen."
I will not apologize for calling those who refuse to follow mask mandates "maskholes," especially if they physically attack those who ask them to comply. (A Dallas saloonkeeper actually ejected a mask-wearing couple, who have an immunocompromised child at home, for "violating" his mask ban. He claims that as a business owner he has a right to make the rules for customers). I will not apologize for those spreading anti-vaccine lies, disparaging those who take precautions, denying the seriousness of COVID (especially calling it a "flu"), and claiming "Constitutional freedoms" that don't exist in the Constitution and "God-given rights" that don't exist in the Bible (either Testament, Talmud, or Q'uran), hogging precious medical resources that cost the lives of not just the vaccinated but also heart attack, stroke and trauma patients, and making taxpayers foot the bill for the Regeneron treatments that profit GQP politicians "COVIDiots." When it comes to COVID, these folks are ill-informed and selfish and deserve the label "idiot."
Mind you, I will not apply such epithets to those who are skeptical or hesitant and open to scientific persuasion. But they make up a small percentage of the unvaccinated and absolutely NONE of the anti-mask crowd.
I read the admonition "be respectful" as applying to each other on this thread, not to those who fueled the domestic (N. American) spread of the Delta variant (and the politicians who enabled its incubation in India). Trish, correct me if I'm wrong.
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Wren, Moth, I am sorry and I hope you get well soon
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The info below was posted by our provincial government on Tuesday. We don't have data on boosters as we are not giving them yet (just started giving a third shot to those who are highly vulnerable, i.e. transplant patients, etc.). It does show that those of us with two doses are much better covered but not invincible.
Past week cases (Sept. 13-19) – Total 4,367
- Not vaccinated: 2,982 (68.3%)
- Partially vaccinated: 340 (7.8%)
- Fully vaccinated: 1,045 (23.9%)
Past two weeks cases hospitalized (Sept. 6-19) – Total 353
- Not vaccinated: 279 (79%)
- Partially vaccinated: 20 (5.7%)
- Fully vaccinated: 54 (15.3%)
Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Sept. 13-19)
- Not vaccinated: 290.3
- Partially vaccinated: 87.2
- Fully vaccinated: 26.3
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Cowgirl, AFAIK Israel has been administering third Pfizer shots for 3 months now, and thus far reports no breakthroughs among those >2 weeks post-boosters. Not sure if that applies to all breakthroughs or serious disease. Meanwhile. J&J reports from its clinical trials that a second dose of its viral-vector vaccine increases immunity against infection 19-fold, and is "100% effective" against serious cases, (I am inherently skeptical about any claims of anything in the life-sciences being "100%").
I read the same article as others here (forget where) suggesting that delaying the second Pfizer shot to sixteen (rather than three) weeks might provide more durable immunity. Face it, we're all flying by the seat of our pants, but that doesn't justify saying "the hell with it, let's just get on with our pre-pandemic lives." Revising advice in light of evolving data is not "vacillation" or "indecisiveness:" it's how SCIENCE is supposed to work. That's another pet peeve of mine with the "digital generation:" insistence on immediate and immutable answers.
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Chisandy, I think my hesitancy to use the medical system is partly fear but mostly that I don't want to tax a system that is already working so hard. Hearing about Moth's experience made me glad I didn't use them for what turned out to be ok. I am so relieved that she was able to get quick help and I am aching for the pain she is feeling right now piled on top of an already shitty deal she was dealt.
I am constantly reminded how lucky I am. I am perfectly fine and really appreciate the warm wishes I received here. I woke up feeling stressed about the what ifs but just being here has totally chilled me out. Thank you all for that.
Yay for benign thyroid biopsy. Usually thyroid stuff is not rushed since it isn't often deadly so I am happy you didn't have to wait too long.
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The use of derogatory words to describe other human beings was not really prevalent in earlier pages. This is one thing about Covid that has really given me pause. I get that many are sad and angry. For me personally, I find calling people names and perpetuating stereotypes to be a bad take away. But, hey, that is just me! I know that my kids could not call a school mate an idiot or a moron without reprimand. I read recently a story of a new student to a middle school. He heard his classmate call the teacher a derogatory name. After class he pointed out that it was inappropriate. The offending student picked up the new student and put him in a trash can. I will be the kid who winds up in the trash every time.
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ChiSandy, lol, I am so glad that there are quite a few fellow ladies saw through Marty Makary. Also, Newscorp owns Fox news.
If this pandemic has taught me anything, it's there are plenty of MDs/PHDs/Economists/Mathematicians/Political pollsters (including some MDs with infectious disease and epidemiology background ) try to capitalize on the pandemic at others' expense. Some of them might have good intentions but their opinions are used by antivax/antimask/anti NPIs. Some, on the other hand, are openly doing this to advance their own political or influencer career. Scott Atlas was a perfect example. there are a couple more from Stanford who are currently advising FL governor. FL's incoming surgeon general is a UCLA MD who supported the GBD. Nate Silver is another one who is constantly tweeting nonsense.
Back to Marty Makar, if my MO is spending more time writing about covid and spreading misinformation than treating patients or doing cancer research, I would have no problem to fire him.
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Wrenn, Moth, and exbrnxgrl, I'm so sorry you've had to put up with gravity bangs and biopsies. It's weird how the floor and pavements get harder as we get older.
The turning point for me on "polite language" was when that 🟠💩 said "There were good people, I'm sure, on both sides" after the frightening and deadly event in Charlottesville. That was the (hopefully temporary) end of civility in this country. People who hurt others through direct action, and/or racist, misogynistic, and homophobic language, and/or WILLFUL ignorance need to be told they are the problem in whatever words work to get their attention, or to draw other people's attention to the problem, or even to let off steam for having to live under the conditions we've all had to endure for too long. Why the hell should right and wrong be treated with equal respect? Not for racists marching and killing, not for traitors invading the halls of Congress, not for the turds who treat others as property or less-thans, and not for anyone who refuses to accept scientific evidence and spreads that ignorance to others. No. Hell no.
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Cross post regarding CDC booster vote
Update for today's CDC vote, CDC has voted to approve Pfizer booster (again this is for people who originally got Pfizer; FDA hasn't reviewed Moderna data yet).
1) Yes for > 65
2) Yes for those 50-64 with underlying conditions
3) Yes for those 18-49 with underlying conditions based on individual benefit & risk.
4) No for those 18-64 who are at high risk for severe covid due to occupational or institutional setting.
Pfizer booster is recommended at least 6 months after the original 2nd dose.
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Chowdog - Never heard of him before, but quickly caught an agenda from that one article.
Alice - 👍👍👍
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Simone you paint yourself as someone who always takes the moral high ground and tell us how you live you life as a kind person but you walked into a party (this thread) and introduced yourself by slagging every participant and telling us how we can become better people. You continue to try to make us feel like we are lacking and that you are a better person.
Everyone has responded to your attacks with grace. That is who they are.
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Hey Wrenn,
I am going to have to respectfully disagree. I never slagged every participant, nor did I tell anyone how to be a better person. I did express my personal dislike of people calling other people names. Plain and simple. I thought this was a thread where we are encouraged to express our thoughts about Covid. If name calling is cool with you, have at it. Interesting to hear a few participants advocating for name calling. It is not a narrative that is common in my world. But again, we are all different and that's what makes the world go 'round! I respect your right to call people names. I hope you can respect my right to dislike it.
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Seriously, if name calling is your only issue with the thread, why are you wasting your time here? Let it go.
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Sincerely hoping we can move on folks... opinions have been expressed (ad nauseum). I think we know where everyone stands.
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Again, SimoneRC, you have invoked me, the OP, as a reason to chide others for their very justified anger. I created this thread as a place to rant about all things Pandemic, while not being disrespectful to any member of this community. Sometimes those rants express anger and frustration in way that you do not find acceptable. Fair enough.
But my viewpoint is that I can no longer be civil to those who refuse to be civilized. Their right to be a jackass is superceded by our right to live in a safe society. They endanger my family, my friends and my community with their intransigence. At this point all gloves are off.
Edited to add:
You are correct, Sandy. I have only asked that we all be respectful of the other members of this community, not to the world at large. Which probably doesn't matter, as I doubt any of them are following this thread.
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In actual COVID-related news, the man who assaulted the nurse hasn't been found yet. The nurse is on leave to recover. Vaccinations at the pharmacy are suspended because she's the only nurse. It's in a town SE of Montreal.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/sherbrooke-police-assault-covid-19-vaccine-nurse-1.6185016
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Apparently, they're hitting their limit.
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Well, it's confession time. I am not a name callernor do I swear, in general (Not perfect, but trying 😬). My parents never swore and rarely engaged in name calling so I followed in their footsteps. However, my mother always said that you can think whatever you want. So that is exactly what I do to blow off steam and frustration. I still freely express my thoughts but make every attempt to keep my words civil when I do so. For me, name calling rarely seems to accomplish anything but raise the temperature of a situation but that's just me. My mind has been very busy since the arrival of COVID.
alicebastable, thanks for the good wishes. I know you have faced more than one cancer but shouldn't that be illegal😉
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Good move here 👍.
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exbrnxgrl, I don't want to see anyone join the Crap Magnet™ Club! Membership must be kept as low as possible because it's an elite group. 😄
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I am very grateful for the largely safe and largely effective vaccines that are so readily available to everyone over the age of 12 in the US. My community has readily embraced them and I have not seen a single act of Covid related unkindness in my community. Quite the opposite, actually. Our community has rallied and supported individuals in need as well as local businesses.
Exbrnxgrl, I couldn’t agree with you more!
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I would love that vaccine access, kindness, and support extend beyond our communities.
My immediate community is highly vaccinated, but it doesn't keep me from looking to those who are disadvantaged.
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