11:45, I've been dripping for almost 45 minutes. It took them a while to get the bags ready, and it took me a while to get on line.
Actually, I wasn't able to connect. The browser wouldn't find a web page. Bryan said, 'Do you want me to play with it?'
"What are you going to do that's different from what I'm doing?"
He smiled. "Duck magic."
An hour later, he was online. I asked him the secret of Duck Magic, but he wouldn't tell me.
My appointment was with Dr. Markus. I asked him if he had any more family history to share. After all, he said he'd get it from his mother who was visiting the last time I saw him.
He said, "I remembered right as I walked into the room that you were going to ask me that. But I forgot to ask her and I'd call her right now except that she's impossible to get off the phone with."
Sheesh!
I don't understand why he doesn't want to know this stuff. And he seems to be completely unconcerned that my readership wants to know, too!
I had a different pressing question for him: What does he think about all the pink?
"You mean, breast cancer awareness month?"
"The whole thing," I said, "Pink ribbons on everything. Products in pink versions of themselves. . ."
He figured it was all good for raising awareness and getting people fired up.
I asked what he thought about the research dollars that this awareness gathers up. "As an oncologist, does it bother you to see that it's kind of lopsided? No pun intended. . ."
He said that in his research program and med school, all their discussions were about the science, and what choices the science would recommend. Where should the research dollars go? Well, what does the science say would produce the most good for the most people?
But then he saw how politics and social influences are effective. During the Clinton years, the Kormen foundation and other breast cancer advocacy groups kicked it into high gear and got savvy--lobbied like crazy in DC and suddenly Congressmen were well-versed in mammogram technology and biopsy procedures.
"Pretty smart," Markus said, "When there's a finite amount of research dollars, that's a great way to grab them up."
Huh. Well. . .yeah. I guess I'm mostly just glad that I've got a cancer that's been researched so extensively and is now treated so effectively.
More on Pink issues later.
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4 comments:
You should make Bryan show you how he got the connection established - I somehow don't see Leslie being able to help if you plan to blog the week that she is there!
I suspect "Duck Magic" is synonymous with "Brute Force." e.g. Keeping hitting the explorer icon until it finally connects.
But I will confirm this because OF COURSE I'm going to blog live during my LAST chemotherapy treatment. :)
btw, speaking of pink, my favorite was watching the football games yesterday - the pink was everywhere.
Nothing like big, sweaty men wearing pink accessories (gloves, shoes, baseball caps on the sidelines) to raise awareness for breast cancer...
I was just going to say the same thing about the football . . . I actually asked, "Is he wearing pink shoelaces?" to which Carlo responded, "Well it IS breast cancer awareness week in the NFL." But shoelaces? I want to see the team that goes with a full on pink uniform . . . or at least pink helmets. Are they going to use these pink accessories for the next 4 Sundays or just yesterday to kick off the month?
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