I am following the news out of Duke University of the new use they have found for the Polio Vaccine. I see that it is being used in the treatment of Brain Cancers, notably the most vicious, Glioblastoma. In several cases the Immune system was alerted to a perceived threat and attacked the tumor and eradiated the cancer. The same treatment is also being studied on a wide range of Cancers to see if they will also respond to the treatment. This is a very new method and is very limited in it’s trials. It is in the initial testing stage , Phase One. So far it has had limited success in treating people with Glioblastoma tumors. Researchers are excited but none are proclaiming a ” Cure ” for Cancer.
In 1991 during another routine day at the Office my wife Barbara, suffered disorientation , speech slurring and other alarming signs. I called her Primary Medical physician and was instructed to bring her into their offices quickly. After examining her I was told to bring her to the Hospital for further testing. A Neurologist was brought in and a MRI was done. Late in the afternoon the Neurologist came in to give us his diagnosis and he announced that he had no good news. Barbara had a Brain Tumor and a fast acting fatal on at that. Over the next 18 months every possible treatment was used including surgery during which she was kept awake while attached to a computer guiding the Doctors hands. Oncology was widely used and had all the side effects but nothing daunted the tumor. In the end Barbara succumbed at home after 12 hours on Hospice.
So now I am reading on this possible breakthrough and filled with a bitter-sweet reaction. I am glad to hear the news of a possible cure and also sad that it is coming too late for her.
Over the years AA has given me tools to deal with emotions and accept them as part of God’s Will. I just hope that Medical Science has made another step forward in the battle against the foe so that few other will have to go through this path to the inevitable.
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