Yesterday, I had an update from Megan--she's still fighting, but the news is not good. Her radiation oncologist, the doctor who had recommended stereotactic radiation to treat her brain mets, has what is called a "peer-to-peer" review with the local California Blue Shield m...

I just saw a story on Bloomberg about Tykerb. The story said that the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has rejected Tykerb to treat women with advanced breast cancer because it is too expensive.  The story gives the cost of a year's worth of Tykerb as about $3...

Like a lot of people, I've been trying to figure out the stimulus package that was rushed through the Congress, and of course I"m having trouble. It's hard to comprehend numbers that large. And the details are awfully vague. But one thing is really bugging me: Why didn't President O...

Whenever I'm interviewed by mainstream media or write something for a mainstream publication about how much I pay for health insurance and how high my out-of-pocket costs are (typically $20,000/year), there are a certain number of people who send me nasty e-mail or post comments along the lines ...

Cell phones have been the subject of many studies when it comes to cancers of the head. From brain tumors to eye cancer, researchers have been hard at work to see if there are any connections. In the latest of studies, the findings show that using and talking on a cell phone doesn’t increase y...

Be careful with the information you give your cancer center or hospital. It may be used in ways you did not expect, ways that may seem like a violation of your privacy. Not too long ago, my oncologist sent me to have some tests and scans at Northwest Hospital, which is where his clinic is based. Whe...

I e-mailed a couple of questions to Susan Hamre of the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). Here is her reply: In answer to your questions, there is always a cost to join the registry. This cost is for tissue typing, which is how a patient is matched to a life-saving donor. (The closer the match be...

John e-mailed me a couple of weeks ago, on the day he did an interview with a reporter from his local paper. Here's what John said: I met with the member of the paper today. He was not a day over 23 years of age. He was totally unprepared. He used a cell phone for a tape recorder. I ran that out twi...

Here's Teresa (The Cheeky Librarian) on the topic of truth and cancer: The truth that I have learned: There is a lot of money being made on this illness; Those caring for the sick are way too relaxed, considering treatment and not cure is the expectation (not sure if that reads right--the health pro...

Reading the cancer news is a challenge, because it's always changing! One week, coffee is bad, next week it's a cancer fighter. And soy--should I eat lots, or avoid it completely? Suddenly dark chocolate, a sinful private pleasure, is on the "good for you" list! How can I possibly keep up? And how c...