Thanks John, I had read that article, not the response letter from Roth; but
the article and it was appalling. Love, Auntie lil, yes you got me with the
lilly pads! LOL !
Joicy Becker-Richards wrote:
> John, thank you -- this ia great!! I plan to make copies, and pass it on
> to as many people as possible! Should be must reading for all those
> dealing with people with cancer, as well as cancerers. Love, Joicy
>
> John wrote:
> >
> > Many of the members of our family are in need of hope. I ran across this
> > letter by the "R" in H&R Block...Mr. Richard Block. I hope that it gives
> > some ray of hope and optimism to us all.
> >
> > God Bless.
> > John
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Letter written by Richard A. Bloch (co-founder and Honorary Chairman
> > of the Board of H&R Block, Inc. He now heads the R. A. BLOCH CANCER
> > FOUNDATION)
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > June 12, 1998
> >
> > JAMA this past week (June 3, 1998) carried an article about a study
> > showing cancer patients are excessively optimistic. I don't object to
> > the study. I think it is wonderful that cancer patients are
> > optimistic, as they should be. But the problem is that Associated
> > Press picked it up and implied that optimism for a cancer patient is
> > bad. The AP article put in quotes, "Far too many patients are fighting
> > a battle they cannot win, and not taking advantage of good end-of-life
> > care." The article was shocking! I wonder how many innocent cancer
> > patients will die needlessly because of it. It is difficult enough for
> > a physician to give treatments to an apparently healthy individual and
> > make them ill with less than a 100% chance of success. This publicity
> > will encourage doctors to withhold potentially lifesaving treatments
> > resulting in certain death. What in the world was gained?
> >
> > And that is only looking at the life and death side and ignoring the
> > quality of life. I know from personal experience that when I was told
> > I was terminal with 90 days to live and nothing could be done, my
> > quality of life sank to an all time low. It became nonexistent. When I
> > was told there were treatments that could help, I was elated. Even
> > when I was being made deathly ill by the chemicals, the quality of my
> > life was far better fighting to live than waiting to die. I am an
> > individual who had non-small cell lung cancer 20 years ago and
> > metastatic colon cancer 10 years ago, the two types of cancer this
> > study picked and stated should not be treated. Thank God I didn't know
> > about this study, or at least my doctors didn't.
> >
> > Eighteen years ago we started a second opinion center here in Kansas
> > City. The greatest thing that center has done in my opinion is not the
> > lives it has saved, even though initially we believed that one out of
> > four patients coming before the panel had their life saved by these
> > wonderful physicians offering possibly successful treatments. The
> > greatest benefit is that no longer are cancer patients in Kansas City
> > told they are terminal upon initial diagnosis. They may be told this
> > is an extremely bad type of cancer, but let's make some phone calls
> > and see if someone can't do something about it. That's a lot different
> > than saying, "Go home and die." We now have over 100 institutions
> > offering second opinions around the United States, including New York
> > City.
> >
> > Suppose you were able to access a machine and read the local newspaper
> > printed six months from today. On the front page you see your picture
> > and read that you were the victim of a drive-by shooting. You were
> > killed the previous night! How would this help you and your family?
> > What would this do to your quality of life this afternoon? Tomorrow?
> > Do you believe that if you had the power to look back the day after
> > that shooting you would have believed your life was better for having
> > known it would happen? When a doctor tells a patient they will die in
> > a lengthy period of time, it is like allowing them to read a paper
> > that date in the future.
> >
> > Dr. Herbert Benson, a specialist in behavioral medicine at Harvard
> > Medical School, states, "Belief is the hidden ingredient in Western
> > medicine . . . A new drug given by a doctor who believes in it
> > enthusiastically is far more potent than the same drug given by a
> > skeptical doctor. . . . Clinical studies have shown that a patient's
> > belief in a medicine can make it far more effective." Once your doctor
> > tells you that you are going to die in six months, how effective are
> > the treatments going to be when you trust and believe in your doctor?
> > Patients tend to fulfill their physician's prognosis. Placebos have an
> > undisputable proven record of success. Does this study want to condemn
> > all those people to death?
> >
> > A cancer patient appeared very depressed at a meeting. Upon
> > questioning, it was learned that he had received the state-of-the-art
> > treatment for his disease without success and had been told six months
> > before this meeting he was terminal and nothing else could be done.
> > That was the last time he had seen his doctor. He is slowly wasting
> > away. But it is not that he is just wasting away. Any conceivable
> > quality of life he and his family had ceased on that day six months
> > before. There were many other options available, none of which were as
> > good as what had been taken. The physician, in order to "spare" him
> > suffering, made the unilateral decision and taken him off all
> > treatment. Had the doctor talked to this man and explained the
> > situation instead of making the false statement that nothing else
> > could be done, there is no doubt that treatments would have been
> > tried. Whether they would have been successful or not is an unknown,
> > but the fact that the quality of life would have been far improved is
> > undisputable.
> >
> > There is no such thing as false hope for a cancer patient. Hope is as
> > unique with each individual as a finger print. For some it is the hope
> > to make a complete recovery. But it might also be the hope to die
> > peacefully; the hope to live until a specific event happens; the hope
> > to live with the disease; the hope to have their doctor with them when
> > needed; the hope to enjoy today. Just as each case of cancer is
> > unique, each person is different. Each individual has the right to be
> > told all their options and then decide for themselves.
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Return to Cancer News on the Net
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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