On Jun 2, 2:58 pm, The One True Zhen Jue <Andrew_King...@yahoo.com>
wrote:

The idea of Kennedy getting acupuncture has certainly occured to an
expert oncologist:

http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2008/05/26/oncologist_on_kennedy/

Dr. Andrew Norden, a neuro-oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute and neurologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, answered
questions from boston.com readers last week in the wake of the news
that Senator Edward M. Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant
brain tumor. Norden is not treating Kennedy. Here are excerpts from
his online chat, available at boston.com/news/health:

Q: The news is viewed in the media as uniformly grim. Is a glioma by
definition fatal?

A: Unfortunately, the majority of gliomas are ultimately fatal. A
small number of patients have very long survival.

Q: Do you think at the time of Kennedy's surgery last fall for removal
of plaque in the carotid artery that a brain MRI was conducted?

A: Probably yes. And in all likelihood, this tumor was not present at
that time.

Q: I am wondering why there cannot be an agreed-upon screening test
for brain tumors, much like a colonoscopy.

A: Unfortunately, malignant brain tumors like the senator's grow
quickly, often in a period of a few months. Plus, if we did frequent
scans as you suggest, we would detect a lot of abnormalities that
might not be important. Patients might end up with unnecessary brain
biopsies.

Q: Any idea why he would be released [from the hospital] so quickly?
Why are they not attacking this ASAP?

A: Generally, we wait at least 10-14 days after surgery for adequate
healing before starting radiation and chemotherapy. If you start too
early there is a risk that the surgical wound will reopen.

Q: What is the next step in his diagnosis? Will they test to determine
exactly what stage the tumor is in?

A: Yes, the pathologist is now working to determine the exact subtype.
Some molecular studies may also be used to better predict prognosis.

Q: Could you discuss some of the cutting edge therapies for gliomas?
And because this is such a deadly cancer, please include any
alternative/complementary therapies that might help one's own body
beat back the disease.

A: We are increasingly using "targeted molecular therapies" for
gliomas. These are drugs that target specific molecular changes in the
tumors. Also quite promising are treatments that target blood vessels,
called anti-angiogenic therapies. At the moment, I am not aware of any
alternative therapies that help to treat the tumors, but these
treatments (e.g. acupuncture, massage, others) are very useful for
management of symptoms such as nausea, fatigue, and headaches that
some glioma patients experience.

Q: Is it reasonable to expect someone undergoing treatment for an
advanced, aggressive glioma to continue a normal work schedule?

A: Some of my patients are able to maintain very busy schedules during
treatment. Most of my patients, though, experience fatigue that
prompts them to cut back. I advise my patients to plan for a
significant reduction in work hours.

Q: What do you tell patients who are receiving a diagnosis as
devastating as the senator's?

A: It's a difficult conversation, of course. I focus on the fact that
treatments are constantly improving and that I will help the patient
through the difficult road ahead.

Q: How do you give patients hope?

A: I focus on the emerging research and new drugs. And if all of our
treatments fail, I focus on helpingP them to achieve a good death.

Have you read the original article that reported the results of the 2004
osteoarthritis study?

Have you read any of the citations that I posted in February?

Have you read either of the citations that I posted that present evidence
that acupuncture is no more effective than a placebo in treating people
addicted to smoking?

Have you read the article that I cited that presented evidence that
acupuncture is not effective against constipation?

<crickets chirping>

-----
Richard Schultz                              schultr@mail.biu.ac.il
Department of Chemistry, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Opinions expressed are mine alone, and not those of Bar-Ilan University
-----
"It is terrible to die of thirst in the ocean.  Do you have to salt your
truth so heavily that it does not even quench thirst any more?"

As long as we have prime ministers (tony blair) and presidents who
believe in astrology, I'm not holding my breath that similar nonsense
like acupuncture is going away soon.