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It is not luck, but by Faith we are healed
Kathy Peigne
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 06:50 PMre: It is not luck, but by Faith we are healed
hamel.pj@gmail.com
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 07:32 PMThank you for writing, Kathy. Some would call it luck, some science, some faith - it depends on your personal belief system. I myself believe in faith, but don't believe in imposing my beliefs on others; to each his own. Thanks for sharing your own belief in faith with us.
re: It is not luck, but by Faith we are healed
John
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 10:07 AMAs a physician, I am always struck by the varying belief systems patients hold on to while faced with a life threatening diagnosis. Beliefs provide comfort, even when the evidence is stacked against those beliefs. Luck is probability taken personally. Hence, it is not a matter of luck or a matter of faith. When we use the words mysteriously cured, patients who believe in a diety are more apt to credit a higher power, but prayer has been studied and all studies point to no benefit to this in outcomes of disease, save for a calming placebo effect. In addition, this article employs the God of the Gaps phenomenon: if you don't know why things occur the way they do is attributable to a diety because science has yet to determine the etiology. I think this article, in some ways, is irresponsible because it emphasizes that a "figthing spirit" will help. It does not do anything to a biological process. In fact, it can lead to false expectations. The article should be balanced with the realities of a diagnosis.
re: re: It is not luck, but by Faith we are healed
PJ Hamel
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 03:05 PMJohn, I respect your opinion—your learned opinion, as a physician. But I disagree. Science has NOT YET shown that a "fighting spirit," prayer, Reiki, meditation, or any number of mind-body therapies can effect a cancer cure. That doesn't mean it isn't happening. Despite all the work done by truly brilliant researchers, there are certain cases where those researchers (and the doctors who benefit by their hard work) simply have to shrug and say, "I don't know why that happened." Why this person suddenly became well and all evidence of cancer disappeared. Why these two people with identical diagnoses veered in very contrary directions. Given this lack of certainty, I believe each of us is entitled to his or her own belief system; mine happens to encompass the strength of the mind-body connection. As I espoused my views in a sharepost—the Health Central Network's version of a blog—it should be viewed as just what it is: personal opinion. Thank you for responding to my post, thereby providing the "balance" you sought. - PJH
re: re: It is not luck, but by Faith we are healed
pam
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 03:43 PMLike many Americans, I am a Kennedy fan, I have always enjoyed their special mix of wit, warmth, service and vigor. Like Teddy, my mother was from Massachusetts and was active and sharp when she too was diagnosed with a gliobastoma at age 76. It was a shocking 3 weeks from diagnosis to death, which has left the family still reeling 5 years later.
Coming upon the anniversary of Mom's death, the Kennedy news has left me thinking alot about John's perspective. Did my Mom in fact lack a "fighting spirit," did she face her death with acceptance and peace, or are such constructs irrelevant and destructive. My view is that expectations are what make us human, whether they are unrealistic or fatalistic, and help us better integrate death into life.
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Brain Tumor
Janis B. Fullmer
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 07:11 PMThough my sympathy goes out to Senator Kennedy for this recent diagnosis of a brain tumor, at least he has had a full life, unlike some of our children who are suffering this same fate. My granddaughter was diagnosed with a malignant brain stem tumor around her 7th birthday this year. She is just one of many very young children who suffer from this terrible disease. Why is it that there is such a rise in the number of children dying from this tumor? No one seems to have an answer for this.
Senator Kennedy also has the means to get whatever type of medical care he may need, unlike so many everyday families that struggle to pay the astromical medical bills that come with this disease. A parent or grandparent gladly does whatever is necessary to save a childs life, but it can destroy the family financially. If you chose to continue to fight for your childs life after the standard form of treatment has been given, then the insurance refuses to pay for it.
Our granddaughter has been through the standard chemo and radiation, but she is now undergoing a new experimental form of chemo to see if that will help her. Each of these treatments cost thousands of dollars and she had them every other week.
We have seen a bright, energetic, happy 7 year old reach a point where she is bedridden or in a wheelchair most of the time. It is very painful to not be able to stop this disease or to save a beautiful childs life that you love and would happily give your life for if it would make her well. It is painful to watch her longing to run and play with her friends and to not be able to do so any more.
She will never be given the opportunities to see what she could have become or done with her life. She will not be able to fall in love, have her first kiss, or be blessed with children of her own. When she dies a pure, innocent and special spirit will be a significant loss to this world. The death of a child is a REAL tragedy, not that of someone who has already experienced these things.
Most Sincerely,
Janis (Morgan's Grandma)
re: Brain Tumor
PJ Hamel
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 07:36 PMJanis, your beautiful words are an incredible tribute to your granddaughter. Thank you so much for writing. I believe it's tempting to apply degrees of tragedy to death, but I must respectfully disagree. Each person's death, young or old, is a tragedy for someone else; or for many people. How can we judge the breadth or scope of that tragedy? I pray that Morgan—somehow, some way—is able to live a long and full life.
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Best Wishes
Greg
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 02:30 PMAs a long time resident of the Boston area, I know how much impact Sen. Kennedy and the entire Kennedy clan has had on the entire area. They have done many great things for the state of Massachusetts and the city of Boston and I wish the Senator and his family the best of luck in dealing with this tragic news.
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A legacy greater than a disease
Matt
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 03:41 PMIt is somewhat bittersweet that a man who spent much of his Senate political career advocating health policy finds himself in the very system he has worked to improve.
Unfortunately, I fear that the "degrees of separation" between cancer patients and those acquainted with them continues to dwindle all too rapidly. A very influential professor in my academic life and career was diagnosed with a brain tumor two years ago and it affected everyone who was fortunate enough to have benefitted from her knowledge and friendship. She had a fighting spirit before her diagnosis and hasn't retreated one bit because of it. The diagnosis changed the lives of her friends and family in many different ways; moreso by forcing us to grapple with the brevity of life and what we seek during its course.
As distant as it may seem, a day will come when we are no longer afflicted by this terrible disease. Until then, and because of our common experiences, I we should remember how legacies are not ultimately defined by cancer but how we continue to live in spite of it.
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Finding the Good, Finding a Cure
Cancer Vixen
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 06:04 PMWith the sad news of his brain cancer diagnosis, my heart goes out to Senator Edward Kennedy and his entire family. As a cancer survivor myself, I know how devastating that news can be. However, I also believe that whenever something terrible like this happens, there is opportunity for something good.
The good I see is the wake up call that Congress received yesterday, along with the message that cancer touches EVERYBODY. It could be you, someone you love, someone you esteem, such as Senator Kennedy, affected by the disease.
I hope that, along with publicly saluting the senator in his brave fight, Congress will realize that in order to stop cancer in its tracks, we need to reverse what the Bush administration has done in cutting cancer research funding.
I urge Congress to act not only on behalf of Senator Kennedy, but on behalf of every citizen in America, and the world. If they do, we will have a real chance to make not just brain cancer, or breast cancer, but every single cancer history, and wipe it off our planet once and for all.
Please do it now.Marisa Acocella Marchetto
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In Nov. 2002 I woke up the day before Thanksgiving in a seizure and called 911 and was told it was stress. Later that afternoon, I had another seizure and this thime they said it was a stroke. Well I found out the day after Thanksgiving that I had a malignant brain tumor on the left lobe. I was only 45 and had 3 sons, 1 granddaughter and another grandchild on the way, so I just started praying to God to please let me live to see my son's grow up and to see my new grandchild. Prayer is everything and having the Faith to believe that prayer works. I had the dr. remove what he could and let the Lord take care of the rest. And He has!! The MRIs that I have had to get every year, shows no sign of any tumor at all.
I pray for Sen. Ted Kennedy to have the Faith to believe in miracles because they do happen. His family has been through so much. God bless Ted Kennedy.