Target Audience

I (we?) keep this blog for several reasons. The first of which is because I enjoy writing down some of my thoughts, but also to share pictures and stories of what Sara and I have been up to with our friends and family. I also really enjoy engaging in conversation with folks who stumble on the blog and have some thoughts about what I've been writing. So, I find it somewhat surprising when I contrast that with who is actually reading this blog.

I keep track of basic stats like what links people use to get here, what search terms they use if they find me through google. Guess what the most common search topic is?... heck it's basically the only search topic. Check out the most common search terms that reach the site:



Apparently the post I made a little while back has brought a significant amount of traffic to this little blog, which is cool I guess. You probably won't find any recipes or advice for making drugs on this site, but you're free to look and click around.

Maybe this means I should be posting more prohibition related content.

Spanish tortilla (hangover cure)

Sleepy dog

Tomme is being such a good boy.

Foster Boxer

We're fostering a big boxer boy for a few weeks. We may keep him, but for now we're basically babysitting... and trying to house train him :(

We're working with Northern California Boxer Rescue and they've been very helpful. "Greeko" as they've named him was slated to be euthanized on Monday morning, but I drove down to Milpitas and picked him up. Now, it's time for him to recoup from his neutering and then find him a home. He's super sweet. I don't think he has a mean bone in his body, just lots of loves (and he might be a little skittish, but you would be too if you'd been in a shelter for weeks and then had your manhood removed before finding yourself in a stranger's house). He needs some discipline, but he's not a trouble maker and wants nothing more than to make people happy.

Isn't he cute? Should we keep him?

Healthy vending the Novartis way

This is my building vending machine. I guess it's the Novartis
version of healthy snacks (I couldn't get the adjacent icecream
machine in the shot)... Hey, we're oncologists not cardioloists.

Our new home!

The oposite of "alternative medicine" is medicine

My recent post and discussion with Tony Isaacs regarding the merits of oleander as a treatment for pancreatic cancer has started me thinking a bit about so called "alternative medicines." Perhaps I was a bit harsh if not mean. So, here it is short and sweet without the ad hominem. I don't believe there is such a thing as an "alternative" medicine or therapy. Treatments either work or they don't. If they work, then they're medicine. If they don't, then I guess they're an "alternative."

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against flower extracts, bark tannins, seed oil, eye of newt, or any other purported remedy. I just want to know if it works or not. Give me a double blind study that shows a statistically significant difference between treatment and placebo and I'll tell you if it's medicine or not. Then show me several groups that repeat the treatment with similar results and I'll believe it.

But, I'll hedge my stance a bit. I don't even really have a problem with unproven treatments for common ailments. I'm talking about things like echinacea. I may not believe echinacea works, but I certainly don't believe anyone should stop using it if they believe it to work. Shoot, I even take "airborne" when I feel a sniffle coming on (even though I feel somewhat superstitious about it). There's no data to support the notion that vitamin C, zinc or anything else will boost your immune system to stave off the beginnings of a cold... but it's probably not going to hurt you. It's just not medicine.

I draw the line when these so called "alternatives" claim to treat terminal disease. At best, it's nothing more than a false hope. At worst, promoting an "alternative" directs patients away from proven treatments that will either lengthen lives or cure disease. This goes beyond silly and becomes dangerous.

Finally, when someone suggests that pharmaceutical companies are withholding "alternative" cures to continue selling half baked, sub-optimal remedies to needy patients... well, I'm offended. Lets' just say that I didn't embark on a lifelong career in science to get rich.

So that's it. Medicine either works or it's an "alternative." If you want to eat flowers to cure your ailments then go right ahead. Just don't lie about the efficacy of ingesting flower soup. If it works, then show me the data. As for me, you can keep the alternatives. I'll take the medicine.