22 November 2022 - Updated Cancer strategic plan

We have updated our Strategic plan to substantially reduce cancer deaths at https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/ccnstrategicplan.html. This is part of our Curing Cancer Network at https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/curingcancernetwork.html which can be followed on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/curing-cancer-network and on Twitter at https://mobile.twitter.com/curingn.

We offer grants of up to $25,000 for research directly related to our Strategic plan. The next grant deadline is 15 January 2023, see https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/ccngrants.html.

22 November 2022 - How to be a successful patient

 
This is my general medical information on cancer or other non routine diagnoses - what do you think?

(a) avoid medical misinformation;
(b) good medical judgment and organizational skills are important for successful treatment;
(c) consider consultations with major medical centers for complex issues;
(d) all of us should try to live every day to the fullest, whether healthy or not.

17 November 2022: Red state refugees

 This is my latest essay, "Red state refugees" on possible population changes in Michigan due to the Dobb's decision reversing Roe vs. Wade and Michigan's passage of Proposal 3 guaranteeing a right to abortion in the State constitution:

https://natpernick.blogspot.com/2022/11/red-state-refugees-nat-pernick-m.html

Of course, it is too early to know with certainty what the effects will be, but I have indicated my thoughts. 

6 November 2022: Post-Roe America - Worse than you think

 I Write About Post-Roe America Every Day. It’s Worse Than You Think.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/05/opinion/election-abortion-roe-women.html

My conclusions:

1. Michiganders should vote Yes on Proposal 3 if they have not already voted.

2. If you believe that the health of girls and women is important, then you must vote Democratic in every election and become more politically active to elect more Democrats. Of course, we are free to write Democratic public officials to oppose positions that make no sense to us. But to vote Republican or to not vote at all is a threat to all girls and women, as discussed in this article and others. See also
https://natpernickhealth.blogspot.com/2022/10/28-october-2022-anti-abortion-laws.html
https://natpernickhealth.blogspot.com/2022/10/24-october-2022-fertilized-egg.html

6 November 2022: The American Cancer Society has changed its mission statement

The American Cancer Society has updated its mission statement, which now reads:

The mission of the American Cancer Society is to improve the lives of people with cancer and their families through advocacy, research, and patient support, to ensure everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer. See https://www.cancer.org/about-us/who-we-are/mission-statements.html

The prior mission statement was “to save lives, celebrate lives, and lead the fight for a world without cancer.” 

I don't know the details regarding the change, but I am pleased with this new, more rational mission statement that reflects that cancer is an inherent part of our biology that cannot be vanquished. I had previously criticized the "world without cancer":

The human body is composed of a myriad of interacting networks positioned at critical states, which is required for network flexibility to enable embryonic development, the inflammatory response to trauma and infection and the capability for our species to evolve to a changing environment. However, the tradeoff for maintaining these critical states is that cancer, a type of catastrophic systemic failure, is inevitable. We can reduce its incidence, we can detect it earlier and we can treat it more effectively but attaining a “world without cancer” (American Cancer Society, accessed 13Nov20) is not possible.

Originally posted on 14 November 2020 at 

https://natpernickshealthblog.wordpress.com/2020/11/14/39/, 

reposted at https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/ccnblog/reductionismvscomplexity.html\

28 October 2022: Anti-abortion laws continue to endanger the lives of girls and women

Anti-abortion laws continue to endanger the lives of girls and women by diminishing the number of trainees and likely practicing OB-GYNs in these states, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/27/health/abortion-training-residency-programs.html

Of course, individual girls or women may decide that, based on their religious beliefs, they want their medical care guided by strict Catholic or other religious teachings, even at the risk of their lives. However, the United States does not have a national religion. This means we are free to practice our own religious beliefs or none at all and cannot be forced to adhere to the religious beliefs of others. In this spirit, and based on federal law, an Idaho federal judge recently ruled that physicians can do abortions if, in their judgment, it is necessary to save their patients' lives, regardless of state law, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/28/federal-judge-pushback-idaho-abortion-ban/ 

I believe that medical care of girls and women will get worse in anti-abortion states as "fertilized egg personhood" laws are passed and enforced, which will affect care for all girls and women ages 9 to 59, whether pregnant or not, https://natpernickhealth.blogspot.com/2022/10/24-october-2022-fertilized-egg.html 

As a pathologist, and in collaboration with 1500+ other Michigan health care professionals, I  urge voters to vote YES on Michigan's Proposal 3 on November 8, 2022 to guarantee the right to abortion to Michigan girls and women, https://mireproductivefreedom.org/open-letter/ . 

@NatPpolitics

24 October 2022: Fertilized egg personhood

Fertilized egg personhood

Any proposal to grant “personhood” to fertilized eggs will do much more than eliminating abortion. It may also severely restrict the permissible activities of all girls or women of reproductive age, as indicated below. This is important because many states are proposing to grant “personhood” (i.e. the rights of babies that are born alive) to fertilized eggs (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/31/opinion/abortion-fetal-personhood.html). Although called “fetal personhood”, this terminology is improper because a fetus is defined as 8 weeks gestation compared to 0 weeks for a fertilized egg - thus, fertilized egg personhood is a more accurate term for these laws.

Here are some possible consequences of fertilized egg personhood laws:

1. These laws may ultimately require all girls or women ages 9-59 (i.e. ages at which they could possibly become pregnant), to get regular pregnancy tests unless it is medically impossible for them to get pregnant (i.e. clearly post-menopausal or lacking a uterus or ovaries). This testing would be necessary because society would have an obligation to protect the health of the unborn baby (who has rights equal to that of any person), but this could not be done until its existence is known.

2. This testing would have to be done by the State to protect the unborn baby because the law presumes that the mother may have adverse interests to her unborn baby.

3. It might be necessary to have a separate physician for the unborn baby and possibly even to have a guardian appointed to protect its interests.

4. In some cases, there will be disputes between the best interests and treatment for the two "persons", which the treating physicians may not be able to resolve between themselves. Thus, there may need to be "maternity judges" to settle these disputes.

5. These factors will cause marked changes in the standard of care for pregnant girls or women. Already, in anti-abortion states, pregnant girls or women may suffer delayed or altered care due to miscarriages or medical emergencies (https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/5625050818749205890/4203045862329327302)

6. Every positive pregnancy test that does not result in a live birth may give rise to an investigation and possible criminal charges against the pregnant girl or woman, her friends, family, employer or anyone else who may have contributed to the death of the unborn baby (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/09/01/prosecutions-drugs-miscarriages-meth-stillbirths/). This means that pregnancy will be considered a high risk condition and will limit the activities of pregnant girls or women.

7. Society may presume that any girl or woman aged 9-59 is pregnant to avoid any activities that may harm the fertilized egg person and lead to a murder charge. This also limits the medical care given to girls or women, who are presumed to be pregnant or possibly to become pregnant at any time. Specifically, it might affect treatment for cancer, arthritis (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21120498/) or other inflammatory diseases because treatment (chemotherapy, radiation therapy, anti-inflammatory or other drugs) might damage an unborn baby. 

8. This presumption of pregnancy and the fear of being investigated for murder for any miscarriage will greatly impair the types of activities that people want to engage in with girls or women, including employment. The only activities that may be widely tolerated are those that are safe for pregnant girls or women.

To many of us, these consequences are extremely offensive. However, it is foreseeable that they will occur, at least in some states.

@NatPpolitics