I did get the memo but it didn't help

Eat oily fish, high in Omega-3, to reduce risk of rheumatoid arthritis. That was a memo. I got it. Wthan others. e eat a fair amount of fish - especially since we live within 10 miles of the fish filled Atlantic Ocean. Now I have rheumatoid. Now granted it is in my family but I did follow directions.

What this proves is that not all research is a magic pill. I mean you eat whatever for whatever its benefit is supposed to be so you can reduce your risk of some ailment. There are two problems with these theories:

1. Some people think that they cannot get the ailment because they did what they were told. They didn't smoke, so they won't get lung cancer. Well you can. You are only reducing your risk.
2. While they represent advances they are not cures. They are more like suggested life style changes. 

 If asked, I do live a relatively healthy lifestyle - I eat my fruits and vegetables, I don't skip meals, I get exercise, blah, blah, blah. And I am probably one of the least healthy people around. So just because I got the memos, doesn't mean they helped.

Maybe I'll be cranky today.... My back hurts. Some days I am just more cynical than others.

On being cynical or jaded...

Yesterday I thought my blog post was a bit cynical. Someone on Facebook said it was a bit jaded maybe but understandable.

My health keeps giving me hits - if its not one thing, its another. I spend more time rearranging my life for doctor appointments and at those appointments than anything else. By the end of this week, I will have had 18 medical appointments in the first 19 weeks of the year. I am down to an expected rate of about 50 doctor appointments for the year. This is the lowest since 2006.

My therapist (of course I need a therapist with all these medical issues) tells me I am in chronic mourning for my health because something else always seems to want to cause problems. (Yesterday my knee started popping when I walked up and down stairs but I am going to ignore that one for at least a month.)

I don't think I deserve any special treatment because of my ailments. I do struggle with writing a blog about breast cancer when its not really much about breast cancer right now. But I do have my annual mammogram along with some other 'fun' tests this week (which I am ignoring for now because that is all my inner child can handle). I'll fill you in on the details sometime in the future.

My cynicism on my health comes out as I am as healthy as a horse on the way to the glue factory. I work with a bunch of people who have no idea of any health ailments that I have had longer than the four years I have worked there. But they still think I am the least healthy employee.

I just got an email from RealAge.com telling me I should think myself young. Yeah right.

New Breast Cancer Drug but at What Cost

The FDA approved Kadcyla for late stage breast cancer treatment. This is a good thing. Its about time.  And it will save many women's lives.

But I have a real problem with the financials behind it. A month's treatment costs $9800 or $117,600 annually, which apparently is about twice the costs of Herceptin. These costs will mostly be covered by insurance - and we wonder why insurance premiums are going up.

Immunogen, who developed it, expects to receive a $10.5 million pay off plus royalties of 3-5% of the expected world wide sales of $2 billion (with a b). To my tiny math brain, that means they get $60,000,000 (that's 60 million if you are having problems with all the zeros).

It will be marketed by Genentech who I assume will take in the rest of the profit after coming up with snazzy packaging and fancy ads. I have no idea what Genetech's manufacturing and promotional costs will be but I am sure their profits will exceed that of Immunogen.

But that's okay because the insurance companies will probably cover most of it - which is why our medical costs keep increasing so rapidly.

Going back to when I blogged about pricing and how it is determined by marketing people, I am sure the whopping price tag was set by marketers (those evil people) who wanted it to be high end, represent a last chance for women to extend their lives, and if its expensive it must work really, really, really well.

But at least it is finally available for the women who need it who will gladly pay any price to extend their lives. Call me cynical, but maybe I am.