"The report recommends that all women diagnosed with ovarian cancer have genetic testing to help map treatment decisions. Close relatives of women with the disease also should be tested."

A new report by the Institute of Medicine.

An Interruption

Suburban Chicago, December 1964. Mom takes a call while she and I bake Christmas cookies.

A Closer Look (Part 50)

Brooklyn, New York, August 1952. My Mom and my Dad's cousin take a lunch break.

During this time, Mom was an intern at Wyckoff Heights Hospital. In the early 1950s, there were no EMTs. Instead, interns rode the ambulance runs. Mom made many emergency trips throughout New York City. A number of those emergencies were deliveries. It was policy to discourage delivery in the ambulance. Physicians were to determine whether the expectant mother could be transported safely to the hospital. Mom, who still spoke little English, remembers many trips during which she spent most of the ride yelling, "Mama! No Push!!" Mom once decided labor was too far along for the mother to make it to the hospital, so she delivered the baby in an apartment bathroom. A story about that event made it into the newspaper.

Here's the original post.

Another reason to stick with dogs.

"Cat ownership in childhood has now been reported in three studies to be significantly more common in families in which the child is later diagnosed with schizophrenia or another serious mental illness."

(I love all animals, but I prefer to share the household with dogs.)

Say "Ahhhh."

Suburban Chicago, September 1962. Children who accompanied their Parents on Sunday visits to our house sometimes were unhappy: such afternoons occasionally resulted in in-home "office calls." Mom often diagnosed sore throats, and the needle of penicillin was within reach.

RIP Andrea Sloan

Andrea Sloan died yesterday.

A Small Gathering

Brooklyn, New York, 1954. My Dad's cousin and one of my Mom's hospital colleagues visit my maternal Grandfather, Jake.

Another Workday

Suburban Chicago, April 1960. Mom again heads out to the office.

Cancer, Genetic Testing, and Religious Law

"Ashkenazi Jewish women are five times more likely than the general population to have gene mutations that greatly increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancers.

Does Jewish law obligate them to be tested for the mutations?"

Clinical Trials and Treatments Out of Reach

Here's an article about drug trials and "compassionate use" of study drugs for terminal patients.

The BRCA gene mutations are in the news a lot these days, but the treatments for people with certain inherited cancers are still a few years away. 

Thanks to my friend Kris for pointing me to the article about Andrea Sloan.

Walking the plank.

New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital installs a pirate-themed CT scanner.

"27 Signs You Grew Up in a Medical Family"

Summed up: "Good luck trying to fake sick in this house, buddy!"

See, for example, here and here.

"Not-so-royal treatment: Britions lucky to get out of some hospitals alive, report reveals."

Great Britain's NHS explores treatment and care in its hospitals.

It's no surprise that many British employers offer private health insurance as part of their benefits packages.

(There's more about Great Britain's quality of health care here and here.)

Another Loss

Pierce Bronsan's daughter has died of ovarian cancer. The disease caused her mother's death.
 
If someone in your family has ovarian cancer or breast cancer, get tested for the BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 gene mutations.

UPDATE: I should have noted that Charlotte Bronsan's grandmother also died from ovarian cancer. There's much more here.

It's not just about the tatas.

"Wearing a long, black Saint Laurent gown that criss-crossed at the chest and featured a sheer panel across her midriff, [Angelina Jolie] smiled and waved to fans."

"She said her decision was informed by her mother's long fight and eventual death from breast cancer at 56."

Jolie's mother died of ovarian cancer.

People with the BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 gene mutation are at risk for several cancers:

A woman’s lifetime risk of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer is greatly increased if she inherits a harmful mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2. Such a woman has an increased risk of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer at an early age (before menopause) and often has multiple, close family members who have been diagnosed with these diseases. Harmful BRCA1 mutations may also increase a woman’s risk of developing cervical, uterine, pancreatic, and colon cancer [ ]. Harmful BRCA2 mutations may additionally increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, gallbladder and bile duct cancer, and melanoma [ ].

Men with harmful BRCA1 mutations also have an increased risk of breast cancer and, possibly, of pancreatic cancer, testicular cancer, and early-onset prostate cancer. However, male breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer appear to be more strongly associated with BRCA2 gene mutations [ ].

Ovarian Cancer in the News

Two stories this week focus on the disease:

(1) Women diagnosed with ovarian cancer should seek providers who specialize in the treatment of the disease. (Video here.)

(2) Consider also the situation in Great Britain, where "[s]urvival rates for most cancers are worse than in other European countries including France, Germany and the United States. A report released this month said Britain ranked 16th out of 19 Western countries for ovarian cancer death rates."

It's cold and flu season.

Suburban Chicago, January 1961. Another family friend pops in for an in-house doctor's call. Mom's doctor bag and her brown, otoscope case rest behind her on the couch.

Sunday Paper: Stop-to-take-a-call Edition

Suburban Chicago, March 1963. Mom was often on the phone with patients, and a Sunday was no "day of rest."

Possible Diagnostic Test for Ovarian Cancer?

"Ovarian cancer is the deadliest women’s cancer, killing 15,000 women a year in the United States – in part because it’s usually detected too late. Only 46 percent of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer survive for five years or longer."

And, predictably: "But researchers warn that such tests, used for screening, can be a double-edged sword if they give false positive results that send patients down a rabbit hole of invasive tests and needless treatments."

The phone kept ringing, even on Sundays.

Suburban Chicago, December 1961. My Mom was on the phone often with patients. She didn't charge her patients for the calls, and she received as many as sixty calls each day.  I think she's happy, however, to have practiced medicine before there was email.