The light of medical research grows brighter every day
The dark days of December will shine brightly this year. As I light the Hanukkah menorah Tuesday night, I'll reflect on the ancient temple in Jerusalem, where a small amount of pure oil was to burn in a menorah for only one day. Miraculously, it lasted eight.
Suddenly, this minor holiday has taken on new significance for me.
Just a few weeks ago, my oncologist voiced concern when he received reports from radiology that found my breast cancer in tiny spots in soft tissue, as well as in my bones. Not one to wait around, he prescribed Xeloda.
The latest scans and MRIs show these spots to be "unchanged" and "contained."
When we chatted last week, I asked him what that means in real terms. I wondered aloud how others have done in similar circumstances.
First, he assured me that thanks to the miracles of modern medical research, new treatments were entering the pharmaceutical marketplace at a fast pace. Second, he said, "I have patients who have been on Xeloda for seven years, and they are doing very well."
In 1990, those patients would have been looking at about 3½ months to live.
"If the Xeloda isn't doing what we want it to do, the FDA has just approved another oral chemo that is quite effective for patients who have been on other drugs," he added with a broad smile.
Shall we call it a modern miracle? I like to think so; and my oncologist's nurse, Kathy Danko, agrees, adding that attitude has an effect, too.
She doesn't find it at all strange that I look forward to my regular appointments at the Glenbrook Kellogg Cancer Care Center in Glenview.
As busy as they are, they always find the time to engage in small talk. We also work as a team to plan future appointments, happy to acknowledge that that there will be a future.
In 165 BCE, the small band of Maccabees who rededicated the temple worried that the oil for the eternal light would go out before they could prepare more. It didn't. We celebrate Hanukkah (the Festival of Lights) to mark that moment.
Miracle or a symbol of what faith and light can do to brighten darkness? The light of medical research is glowing brighter every day.