August 18, 2023
Back in 1977 I tore the medial meniscus in my left knee during an intra-mural soccer match. The college\’s medical insurance for its athletes (I was a swimmer) was dedicated to Borgess hospital where I brought my wounded knee — when the reduced swelling finally allowed for an examination.
Borgess orthopedics shot my knee full of a dye and then took x-rays — which revealed the aforementioned torn medial meniscus. The doctors said I needed surgery.
Now, I knew that there was a new knee surgery out called arthroscopy — which was a wonderful evolution from the traditional 10-inch incision and 6 weeks of rehab that been used to repair many-a footballers knee! Arthroscopy created 3 small holes around the knee and one could literally rehab in a week or two.
I asked Borgess if they did the arthroscopic surgery. Sadly they did not. But they recommended I try the other local hospital, Bronson, which did perform arthroscopy.
Sure enough, Bronson did the surgery — but I was going to have to pay out of pocket as the college insurance wasn\’t accepted by Bronson and there was no way I could afford the surgery: so I lived with the torn cartilage for 7+ years until I landed a job that had full medical (the private high schools I had taught for had real shitty medical coverage). Thank goodness an aikido instructor taught me how to pop my knee back in when it popped out. I was able to maintain until my knee was repaired.
Brother Paul is not as fortunate as I was…
A couple of months back my brother was diagnosed with blood cancer (multiple myeloma) a \”disease\” in which rogue red blood cells that are good-for-nothing — except to replicate like rabbits — take valuable space in the bone marrow from healthy red and white cells: Sometimes referred to as Blood Cancer.
Brother Paul and family were stunned by the diagnosis and prescribed treatment plan.
In his first round of chemo — Brother Paul came down with pneumonia which kept him in intensive care and abrogated that first round. When his doctors felt he was strong enough — they resumed chemo — but the pneumonia did scar his lungs.
Naturally, the family put its collective heads together and reached out to friends and other practitioners about Paul\’s prognosis with this treatment. The literature suggests that there was no cure — but that the condition was being looked at more as a chronic disease and not, as a cancer per se. Life expectancies following successful treatment range from 5 to 20 years.
Enter Nephew Mateas, Paul\’s son, who, in his research, came across a medical center in Israel that has developed the cure for Blood Cancer. Paul sent me the article and it was persuasive — with a tightly controlled study that saw a 90% cure rate. The waitlist to get into this program is 200 sufferers long on any given day.
The conclusion of the article said the FDA has not approved this treatment for US and that it could take up to a year before this treatment is available to the American population. Brother Paul\’s doctors knew this — but did not tell him until he confronted them with the new information. Knowledge of a potential cure might have made enduring the painful and uncomfortable first 3/5s of treatment more doable — knowing there was a happy ending.
I can only wonder if Big Pharma is at it again — trying to decide who will take credit and control for the cure (shades of Gallo and Fauci). Big Pharma truly is in the business of disease maintenance — because actually delivering cures would put them out of business!
Big Pharma, medical insurance companies and hospitals are all in bed together: an unholy menage e trois.
Whereas I chose to go 7+ years before getting my knee fixed — blood cancer patients don\’t have that luxury — they require the cure! And one apparently exists!
Hippocrates, where are you?! Doctors take your oath — it\’s high time Big Pharma and medical insurance companies did too!! Hospital administrators and boards should take it every year to remind themselves that it\’s about health — not money.