Thursday, August 19, 2010

Good News/Bad News Thursday

First, the good news, at least for those undergoing chemo for cancer:

"Yale researchers have developed a medication based on a Chinese herbal recipe more than 1,800 years old to counteract the adverse effects of chemotherapy."

I've always had a soft spot for "alternative medicine" (although I've been assured that Frozen Margarita's are not considered such). This "new" protocol is designed to alleviate "gastrointestinal side effects" of a particular chemotherapy med called CPT-11 (aka "Irinotecan"); it's been tested, with some degree of success, on mice. In fact, it seemed to actually enhance the latter's efficacy.

Even though the treatment is derived from a "recipe" that's almost two thousand years old, it's been refined to a point where it can be manufactured in a consistent way. No word yet on when, or even if, it'll be available.

The bad news is for folks who still believe, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that they'll be able to "keep the insurance they have:"



Remember, though, we had to "pass the bill to see what's in it." Dont'cha just love surprises?
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