Nova Scotia
Note Canadian coastal defenses.
I was on my way out the door to sit by a nice lake and look
for birds, when my conscience abruptly grabbed
me by the collar and flung me into this chair.
In less than a week I am going to Iceland, so (according to my
conscience) it is necessary for me to write a few more blogs right away. Yeah, said I – and turned to my Google
notification of articles on ovarian cancer.
There, at the top of the heap, was an article by Nora Disis on experiments
involving “Programed Death” . We have talked of these PD molecules before; they
can be used in ovarian cancer therapy. As
it happens, Dr. Disis works with Fred Hutch, and I have sat in several meetings
and conferences with her. She is very
highly regarded. Once I sat next to her
in a small meeting; she busily taking notes, I, completely lost, scratching my
butt and wondering how soon the next coffee break was coming.
Well, her article had me scratching my head and looking
wistfully at my binoculars. It is about
preliminary trials involving PD-1/PD-L1 where, as you know, PD means Programmed
Death. I am ashamed to admit that I didn’t
understand much of anything. Here it is,
if you want to take a whack:
Luckily for me, next to Nora’s article was an invitation to watch
a video on “The Future of Treatment for Ovarian Cancer”. This turns out to be a combination of our old
friends, targeted therapy and immunotherapy.
Nothing much new is covered in this short video, but it is worth
watching nonetheless.
Okay, now for the birds.
Yesterday I saw a Northern Harrier.
Today, maybe a condor. Or a
different kind of sparrow. Or a duck.
I should add that I am increasingly optimistic about treatments for ovarian cancer. It almost seems to me that if Linda had contracted OVCA now, instead of 7.5 years ago, she might have lived.
No condor but a black oystercatcher which is just as good.
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