May 16, 2012

As doctors in training, we learn to think in patterns of symptoms and can often use “clinical judgement” to fit a patient’s presenting symptoms into a diagnosis. This generally works well, until we are presented with an unfamiliar pattern. For example, in the early 80′s I saw a 60 year old shoe salesman with fatigue and a low grade fever. He had general malaise and some muscle weakness. His exam and initial blood work was unrevealing except he was mildly anemic and his sed rate was elevated. A search for cancer and infection unrevealing. So my next thought was polymyalgia rheumatica, an autoimmune illness associated with inflammation of medium sized arteries. I sent him to a surgeon for a temporal artery biopsy which was negative.

About this time he started to get a cough and the chest X-Ray showed a hazy pattern of change. I knew the symptoms yet had not yet encountered HIV. He was one of the first cases in our State, but likely we had all missed the boat with similar patients. Our pattern thinking generally works clinically, but it isn’t a very good way to ferret out a new or unexpected disease. I never thought [...] continue the story

A message from Louis CK: Tig is a friend of mine and she is very funny.  I love her voice on stage.   One night I was performing at a club in LA called Largo.  Tig was there.   She was about to go on stage.   I hadn’t seen Tig in about a year and I said how are you?   She replied “well I found out today that I have cancer in both breasts and that it has likely spread to my lymph nodes.  My doctor says it looks real bad. “. She wasn’t kidding.  I said “uh.  Jesus.  Tig.  Well. Do you… Have your family… Helping?”. She said “well my mom was with me but a few weeks ago she fell down, hit her head and she died”.  She still wasn’t kidding.

Now, I’m pretty stupid to begin with, and I sure didn’t know what to say now.  I opened my mouth and this came out.  ”Jeez, Tig.   I.   Really value you.  Highly.”.  She said “I value you highly too, Louie.”.  Then she held up a wad of note-paper in her hand and said “I’m gonna talk about all of it on stage now.  It’s probably going [...] continue the story

In March of 2000, unconventional MTV personality and Comedian Tom Green was diagnosed with testicular cancer. On May 23, 2000, MTV aired a one-hour special episode of the Tom Green Show. The special followed Tom through his treatment and included graphic footage of the surgical procedure during which doctors removed Tom’s right testicle. Tom uses humor to educate!

In March of 2000, unconventional MTV personality and Comedian Tom Green was diagnosed with testicular cancer. On May 23, 2000, MTV aired a one-hour special episode of the Tom Green Show. The special followed Tom through his treatment and included graphic footage of the surgical procedure during which doctors removed Tom’s right testicle. Tom uses humor to educate!

I think I’ve shared (classily? psh) on enough social media mediums that, due to my Crohn’s disease, which has hit severe levels, I had to leave my internship at Newsweek and I’ll be returning to Arizona in a few days. Don’t expect any graceful writing today, because this is all just a plain bummer. I just turned 21 in March. I had started feeling better at the end of last summer. But this flare up (some Crohn’s terminology for ya’) is remarkably worse and it’s time to go home.

There’s a lot I want to write about. My parents, who are flipping out. The fact that I feel like a 90 year old. That I can’t date. That I’m terrified I’m ruining my career. Then again, this might be my last update in a year. Right now, still in New York, I’m struggling to process most of my situation. I joke, but this has been one of the worst weeks of my life. I’m focusing on what I need to eat, if I’ll be able to and what said meal’s after-effects will be. Also, the mountain of Laundry that appears to be Kilimanjaro and the one duffel bag I’ve allotted myself. I [...] continue the story