This Candidate for President?
Comments
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Call me naive. But I still believe the "snake" is the disease. Find prevention to PREVENT it. After the snake bites we treat the expensive "snake bite." It could be diabetes, heart disease, cancer, autoimmune diseases, all kinds of chronic diseases. Is prevention diet, weight management, exercising, etc. I know there's a lot of "life style change" that may need to change. However, in some diseases e.g. some cancers like bc, I'm not convinced that WE can change a thing. I get so darned angry when I think of our food and water supply and what they're doing to it.
Then we hear the big pharma companies advertising on TV (I HATE THAT), and scare the crap out of us with all the possible SEs. Yeah, I know, we need pharmaceuticals and I'm not against it. Aw-Ha, thus the humongous snakebite expense.
It would be nice to get clarification on Huckabee's statement. I'm scratching my head trying to figure that one out.
Is my name Sherlock?
Shirley
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Opps, I meant to write Shirlock, as in SHIRlock Holmes.
Probably because I was thinking we needed a detective here to figure it all out.
Sorry. Sigh, another AI moment.
Tender -
Hey Shirley,
I did all the preventative things I could and I still got cancer- twice!
I say let's shoot for a CURE already!
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Lots of issues here with healthcare. I dont believe that American companies or insurance companies are handling things properly. Its my opinion that it is they who have caused this healthcare crisis.
Dotti I really understand what you are saying. End of life decisions are so hard to make and many look to their doctors to help them with those choices. I evaluated an 89 year old gentleman yesterday who was diagnosed with lung cancer. They decided to give him chemo and removed his lung - despite tests showing he had brain mets. He had a cardiac arrest after surgery. Developed anoxic brain trauma. Is on a ventilator long term now. Trach, tube feeding, bedridden and really no quality of life. To me, this is an example of going too far with treatment.
Shirley: Sorry about your mom. Swallowing problems has become a major health issue with many older adults. My question is what would your mom want? I know that I would rather have the enjoyment of eating a meal than laying in bed with a feeding tube not being able to even drink a glass of water. If a feeding tube is a matter of convenience thats just wrong. Even though many has aspiration precautions, many do well with guidance and assistance while eating. Not only do many nurses and nurses aides forget - many just dont have the time. Thats a sad statement.
With regards to premature babies. I have seen so many survive when it looked hopeless and do well.
Prevention is good but shouldnt be all inclusive. My goodness - I hope they dont discourage treatment on me just because I have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Hospice is a good thing. It deals with end of life issues. In the nursing home environment, when hospice is called in, its almost like Kevorkian. You can count on the person being gone in a couple of days because of all the medications given. Thats not what hospice was originally about when the concept first came out.
Starting January 2008 medicare has changed some rules that will dictate a persons treatment. What is paid for and what is not. For example if someone goes into the hospital and developes an infection during their hospital stay - medicare will no longer cover that treatment. The hospital will have to absorb the cost. Same thing with a person going to the hospital, falls and breaks a hip. Medicare will no longer cover the treatment for the broken hip. The hospital will have to absorb the cost. So it looks like medicare is making health care professionals more accountable for their mistakes.
Nicki
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I agree with Shirley on this too. It's an interesting debate. I think Huckabee meant that focusing on prevention tools would be money well spent. (I am a very liberal Democrat...can't believe I'm agreeing with this guy!)
I don't think he meant to stop treating ill people, but to channel more funds into education about how to prevent illnesses and to increase research funds in how to prevent diseases from attacking in the first place.
In my very humble opinion, we are almost stating the same thing, we want a cure for cancer, he wants more money for prevention....the way to curing cancer is finding a prevention first. Am I totally off base here?
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No Terry, you and Shirley aren't off base at all.
I'm sure we, including Mr. Huckabee, all wish for the same thing: no disease to begin with and a cure for when one ails us.
Yet monies are indeed limited. And never should medicine be rationed to the point of not "curing the incurable". This is my humble opinion, as an interested party in the ethics, research and practice of medicine, and as a patient needing that cure.
Thanks to all for their insight on such a heady topic during these festive holiday weeks.
Tender -
I am in between baking cookies and I can't tear myself away from this site. I should be wrapping presents today while everyone is out of the house but...
I keep coming back here....
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Shirley, I agree with killing the snake before you have to treat the snake bite-- it makes sense to me which is why I get my colonoscopies and bug my loved ones to do the same. I also agree that prevent doesn't mean not treat-it would be lot cheaper to get a colonoscopy that treat people with colon cancer for example.
Pam, there are parents who have so much love for their premature babies they choose to now allow medical intervention. I also know at least set of parents of a premie who wish they had not fought for the medical interventions as their child needs 24 hr care, cannot communicate and has voluminous medical and intellectual problems, just as I'm sure you know people with the opposite experiences. I'm not advocating one or the other. I believe in euthinasia and physician assisted suicide ONLY for those or their legal guardians who desire that.
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I have 2 new twin nephews. They were born 6 weeks premature. They only weighed 3 pounds and were kept in the hospital for almost a month. This was in Septemeber. You should see these cuties now.
Each situation is different. What if they decided my nephews were not worth saving cause it would cost too much money?
Nicki
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Nicki that should never happen. The cases I was talking about were when the infant weighs as much as a soda can or less than a pound. I would never advocate not treating 3 pound babies.
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Tender, LOL. You did write SHIR, I misspelled it and wrote, SHER. My AI brain.
Nicki, thanks for your concern about my mom. They did the swallow test and my brother was there to see it and have it explained to him. As far as I know she will be eating the "normal" way. The problem is she forgets. AND the people who serve the food forget and give her a straw which she will use...which is a NO NO. And, you are so right. There's not enough help to have one on one help.
I believe my mom is depressed. She doesn't want to get up, play bingo, get her hair done or anything else. But I'm sure she'd rather "eat" than have something poured town a tube.
Nicki, my FIL had liver cancer. The surgeon he saw would not do surgery at his age and with his health issues. This is the same surgeon who removed my MIL's bc tumor. Anyway, he also went to an onc and I believe he said the same...nothing they could do. He lived quite long for having liver cancer, but he also had diabetic issues with his legs. Some toes had to be amputated, had some vascular work done on the bad leg. Then, the next thing was do amputate his leg. He said NO! He loved his sweets and we all agreed no to deprive him of something he enjoyed knowing the inevitable. He was in a nursing home, but lived in the assisted living part of the facility. When he took his last trip to the hospital he went into the nursing home part. His nurses from the assisted side wanted him back where he belonged...back to his room..his home. We were so happy. Hospice was eventually called in. The night he died we arrived just after the nurse gave him his first injection of morphine. He was unresponsive as far as speaking. However, I was trying to give him a little bit of water for his dry mouth...he didn't like that straw...LOL I was going to go back later that evening. We were called and told that he had passed away. The nurse was with him for which we were so thankful..he wasn't by himself. I think the morphine may have done it. But I do know that the nurses and other caregivers loved him even THOUGH he could be hard to get along with. They knew how to treat him and make him do..LOL
My FIL made it known waaaay before this happened that he didn't want any machines. He had a living will. He had everything planned.
There are some good facilities still around...not perfect....but good. And you must check on your loved ones if they're in one of these.
Gina, like you I agree we need a cure or find something that will rid the beast forever. It's been too many years and now they're looking at new ways to treat bc on an individual basis. Wouldn't it be nice if we could have a vaccine to prevent bc? Now, that's what I call PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE!
I've been watching the Discovery Health channel a lot lately and have seen so many babies born that I could catch one of those little footballs with no problem.
Some of the premies do not make it. And then there are those that do and thrive well. Have any of you watched Jon&Kate Makes Eight (something like that). They had twins, then she talked her dh into having one more child. They used fertilization. They had sextuplets! Uh, they don't want anymore.
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Pam I am not for doctors making that kind of decision against a parent's will, unless the baby is in such excruciating pain that can't be controlled and so premature that the best case scenario like the child I described and in that case I believe a panel of independent doctors, psychologists, social workers etc. should be in place so that one person or can't go against the parent's wishes. I really was only thinking about about babies born at less that 25 weeks AND with few odds.
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