Re: Triple Therapy: New Standard for CLL? - stress and outcomes

[Guest guest]

Hi Ellen, Here's an article on this, the Tyranny of Positive

Thinking. http://www.humansideofcancer.com/chapter.2.pdf

What's the difference between programmed positive thinking and so-

called denial? Instead of self-blame, or blaming the victim, it seems

more appropriate and human to touch bottom, to find also a new center.

Recall also one or two studies have shown that expectations and

positive/negative thinking do not influence outcomes from

treatments. ... breast cancer studies, I think. Suggesting we can

not worry ourselves about our worry!

Regarding excessive stress, I think if it's sustained and intense --

leads to poor sleep and depression we should seek treatment.

Fortunately, there are many good medications today for depression.

Confiding that we have had to make use of these at times.

Karl

> > >

> > > Memorial Sloan-Kettering has been using FCR as a first-line

> > treatment

> > > for years; 8 yrs ago when I first needed tx it was the only

> > treatment

> > > MSK offered me in 2000. I switched hospitals and did a

different

> > > therapy. Just observation over the past 10 yrs as a member of a

> > CLL

> > > chatlist—many of whose members chose FCR as their first tx—led

me

> > to

> > > believe that a) FCR had the best and longest CR rate of any

other

> > known

> > > tx for CLL and a sizeable # of people treated with FCR had

> > trouble

> > > finding effective treatments when out of remission and often

> > appeared

> > > to develop serious treatment-related complications over the

next

> > couple

> > > of years that often led to death. I wasn't particularly

surprised

> > to

> > > find that FCR hadn't been shown to lengthen our life

expectancy.

> > >

> > > But I also observed that often (though not always) the people

who

> > opted

> > > for FCR rather than milder treatments were those whose disease

> > symptoms

> > > were worrisome enough to require the solid, fast punch of two

> > strong

> > > chemo agents (FC) and a biological agent ® that boostd the

> > efficacy

> > > of that combination of chemos. For that reason, stats regarding

> > the

> > > prognostic indicators Dan mentions in his intro, as they

relate to

> > the

> > > 2-yr follow up results (though I think the mean # yrs for

duration

> > of

> > > CR for FCR may be 3) would be important—for showing if there's

any

> > > relationship between the predicted course of the disease

before FCR

> > > therapy and duration of CR and subsequent response to future tx

> > after

> > > FCR.

> > > -ellen d.

> > >

> > > > Thanks Karl,

> > > >

> > > > I'd be happy with easier access to full studies, patient

> > > > characteristics, years followed, full methods, etc...even if

they

> > > > aren't good enough for FDA. If I can read all the facts, I

can

> > make up

> > > > my own mind on how convincing/hopeful/or just hype it is.

> > > >

> > > > Helene

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

> >

> >

>