F5: Devastation, Survival, and the Most Violent Tornado Outbreak of the 20th Century, by Mark Levine
mementomori | August 7, 2007More thrilling late summer reading awaits those who pick up a copy of this story of twin twisters, separated by only thirty minutes and following nearly the same path, that ripped through Limestone County, Alabama on the date of tornadic infamy in America - April 3, 1974. On that day 148 tornadoes streaked across the middle and southern United States, killing 315 people and injuring 5000. Mark Levine, a journalist from Iowa City, Iowa (which ironically received a direct hit from a violent tornado on April 13, 2006) has written a vivid and detailed history of the lives and deaths of several…
mementomori | August 5, 2007I had the unique occasion this weekend (which is a euphemism for "I was stuck on-call") to review a summary outlining the details of a guest appearance made by a patient to the hospital's emergency room. The individual in question, prior to being admitted with the diagnosis of some type of frightful ailment or another, first visited the E. R. Myself (playing the role of "Covering Physician" while lounging around the nurses' station like a hobo in an Alabama diner, with only a paucity of listlessness I might add) decided to read this report.
It was the most amazing thing I had laid eyes on…
mementomori | August 3, 2007[Editor's note: now that The C.O. is back to work he is swamped by the duties of his day job, so he asked us if he could start a new post called "Footnotes," where he writes a quick comment about something on his mind. Of course we told him no - what does he think we're running here, a 6th grade field trip journal? Out of respect for the more delicate members of our reading audience we will refrain from printing his answer, but we can state with reasonable certainty that the penultimate member of his two word reply to us was "Up." Doctors can be somewhat recalcitrant, can't they? Anyway…
mementomori | August 2, 2007My annual trek Up North to the land of clear blue water is over and I shall resume the usual malarky cometh the dawn. Due to the full moon I found the constellations somewhat difficult to frame out, but unless the goddess Selene puts the brakes on her team, in a short while anyone with access to open fields unsullied by light pollution should be able to get quite a late summer show. I strongly urge the gentle reader to make an effort to see the stars before the most dismal holiday weekend of the year, Labor Day, closes the last few sparkling inches of happiness on the door marked "Summer."…
mementomori | July 31, 2007On any given day millions of Americans inch forward in a brutally tedious queue, staring at the big board over a Starbucks counter with the same keen look seen in a church pew around thirty minutes into the sermon. Typically they make only one major decision during this visit, viz. whether to order a caffeinated or decaffeinated drink. If they only knew that two other crucial decisions lie before them, two that could affect their health for years to come. They are:
1. Should I leave my car in the parking lot and run home?
2. Should I renew my membership in the nudist beach club?…
mementomori | July 29, 2007Looking for something to read that's a little more thought-provoking than the usual beach book detritus pushed on the unwary consumer this summer?
Fly, don't waddle, to the nearest bookstore and take a gander at The World Without Us, a fascinating "thought experiment," as one reviewer called it, that ponders what would happen to our planet if all humans suddenly disappeared.
Before speculating on what changes, both nurturing and poisoning, would be loosed upon Earth by our absence, the author, Alan Weisman, first chronicles with precise and first-hand knowledge what humans have done to our…
mementomori | July 27, 2007The American Cancer Society has released its summary of a telephone survey of 1000 Americans in which they were asked whether twelve statements about cancer were true or false; the paper will be published in the September 1st edition of Cancer. The top five responses given as "true" are listed below; the percentage of adults who thought that the statement was true is in parentheses:
1. The risk of dying from cancer in the United States is increasing. (68)
2. Living in a polluted city is a greater risk for lung cancer than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. (40)
3. Some injuries can cause…
mementomori | July 26, 2007As part of the full service philosophy of this blog your narrator has volunteered for several experiments in order to report the health benefits of such things as eating dark chocolate, or watercress drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Did I mention the salutary effects of a tumbler or two of claret as well? As they say, "It's a tough job..."
I would be remiss, though, if I didn't keep the gentle reader informed of at least a few of the countless health hazards lurking about our modern world - dangers such as ATV riding without proper training and protective gear, or storing narcotic pain…
mementomori | July 24, 2007A new study from a team of Stanford University School of Medicine researchers led by David Spiegel, MD, shows that participating in support groups doesn't extend the lives of women with metastatic breast cancer. The results differ from oft-cited previous findings by Spiegel that showed group psychotherapy extended survival time.
This study contradicts an earlier experiment done by Dr. Spiegel in 1989 which did reveal that the survival of similar patients was extended by joining a support group. His comments regarding the disappointing lack of a time benefit from state-of-the-art group…
mementomori | July 23, 2007For the next two weeks your narrator will be blogging from a lake way up north, where ospreys and seagulls compete with loons and bald eagles for the title of "Master of the Airways," while members of the Homo sapiens species spend much of their time vying for the right to wear the crown entitled "Doofus."
As of now, the tiara is mine, won today by a rather undignified performance on the waterskis. During the middle portion of a run, as I was crossing the wake from starboard to port (blissfully oblivious of the fact that the driver, my sneaky cousin, had pushed the throttle forward a couple…
mementomori | July 19, 2007One of the proudest traditions in the health care field is the delivery of "good news and bad news." The following examples were culled from Lamplighter's Smile When You Say That: How to Develop a Gentle Bedside Manner, 2nd edition.
"Well, I've got good news and bad news."
"Give me the good news first, okay?"
"Sure thing. The good news is..."
1. "You don't have the stomach flu."
2. "We found the dog that bit you."
3. "We think we know why your eyebrows are growing together."
4. "Your bladder works just fine."
5. "I'm going to have you try some 'soft food' today."
6. "The doctor says you…
mementomori | July 17, 2007Roll over, Grandma, and tell Grandpappy the news - it's time for him to get off his duff and hit the weights:
A scientific statement released Monday by the American Heart Association indicates that weight lifting, also known as resistance training, can provide multiple benefits for patients with heart disease and can be safely performed if certain guidelines are followed.
What do we recall about this sport of Hercules? Lifting weights is arduous, time-consuming and costly. It cannot be done without proper instruction first. It may even have a certain aura around it that some folks find…
mementomori | July 16, 2007Hey, guess what? One of these things is not like the other - can you determine which anti-cancer treatment does not belong in this list?
JM-216 (satraplatin): an oral platinum analogue active against hormone-refractory prostate cancer
JM-/AMD-473 (picoplatin): an intravenous platinum analogue showing promising activity against small cell lung cancer
Diaminocyclohexane [DACH]-based AP-5346 and aroplatin/liposomal cis-bis-neodecanoato-trans-(R,R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane platinum (II) [L-NDDP]: innovative new platinum-delivery systems
Cis-[(1 R,2 R)-1,2-cyclohexanediamine-N,N] [oxalato(2-)- O…
mementomori | July 13, 2007Near the Dordogne River, Southwest France, 14,207 B.C. - The inhabitants of a new settlement along the river have become ill. Several months ago they settled near the present-day village of Montignac after a long hegira to free themselves from the cold, not to mention the amateurish musical concerts of their erstwhile residence in the peninsula now called Denmark. While initially enjoying the more temperate climate of ancient Gaul, they now suffer from failing health. Many of the adults are too weak to collect the roots and fruits that form the staple of their diet. Their children are…
mementomori | July 10, 2007"Boob job with your hot dog, ma'am?"
"Patient's Own Body Fat Used in Breast Remodeling"
These two headlines have something in common. Did you decipher what it is?
That's right - they both refer to the same news release about an advance in reconstructive surgery for breast cancer patients, and I might add they prove the theorem that many headline composers are nothing more than unemployed comedy writers. Let's parse this news by first reading the copy below each headline. Here is story number one:
A scientific journal says that women could be having breast-enhancement procedures during…
mementomori | July 9, 2007reputation (noun)
1. the estimation in which a person or thing is held, esp. by the community or the public generally; repute: a man of good reputation.
2. favorable repute; good name: to ruin one's reputation by misconduct.
3. a favorable and publicly recognized name or standing for merit, achievement, reliability, etc.: to build up a reputation.
Since I work in a field where customers have no qualms about firing their doctor for any number of deficiencies or transgressions I tend to put a lot of effort into doing a respectable job in order to build a favorable reputation. I believe that…
mementomori | July 6, 2007[Editor's note: the following allegory has something to do with cancer. Sometimes we have trouble figuring out what the narrator is trying to say, so don't blame us.]
There are certain bursts of perfection in summer that if noticed, bring such a feeling of joy to the observer it seems as if a window to heaven was opened, such as a crepuscular walk beneath the umbrella of a majestic tree and suddenly hearing a choir of cicadas break into song overhead. One must remain alert for the joys of this time of year, as they often announce themselves softly. While running along a country road one…
mementomori | July 3, 2007One billion people will die of tobacco-related diseases this century unless governments in rich and poor countries alike get serious about preventing smoking, top World Health Organization (WHO) experts said on Monday.
This is discouraging news and not just because of the tragedy of watching people voluntarily expose themselves to a premature death (slowly and painfully in many cases) by smoking cigarettes. Contrary to the demagogic wailing about overpopulation heard over the decades, many countries are not producing enough citizens to maintain their economies. Removing a billion or so…
mementomori | July 2, 2007First it was cancer, then AIDS, now with the release of a new study showing once again the astonishing prevalence of a serious disease that gets meager attention in this country, one is forced to ask:
Is alcoholism the next health problem to be undertreated due to shame, guilt, blame and ignorance?
More than 30 percent of American adults have abused alcohol or suffered from alcoholism at some point in their lives, and few have received treatment, according to a new government study.
Some of the facts in this report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism are worth listing…
mementomori | June 29, 2007During my internal medicine residency one of the surgical residents at our hospital got into the habit of addressing us by the moniker "Swami," as in "This guy's going down the tubes - better get the Swamis to see him." As is the case with most jokes, this term of endearment soon came into widespread use. Whenever a surgical patient mysteriously developed chest pain, or liver failure, or anything short of a leaky carburator the alarm was sounded: "Call the Swamis," which meant the doctors who know everything but can do little but surround the afflicted's bed and chant in unison, or upon…