Dennis Demori

strle:

superamit:

Many of you have asked, so here’s what’s going on with me.
WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE
8/1979: Born. Grew up in CT, built a killer eraser collection, fell in love with computers.
Left college to start a company. Fell hard. Fled to India for 3 months.
Started 2nd company. Learned to be an adult. Fell in love with NYC.
Moved to SF, discovered burritos & some of my fave people on Earth.
9/2011: Got diagnosed with Leukemia!
Cried. Went through 3 cycles of chemo. Hurt. Thought hard about what I want out of life. Grew up a second time.
TODAY
… After over 100 drives organized by friends, family, and strangers, celebrity call-outs, a bazillion reblogs (7000+!), tweets, and Facebook posts, press, fundraising and international drives organized by tireless friends, and a couple painful false starts, I’ve got a 10/10 matched donor!
You all literally helped save my life. (And the lives of many others.)
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Tomorrow, I’ll be admitted to Dana Farber in Boston for 4-5 weeks.
First I’ll get a second Hickman line to allow direct access to my heart (for meds and for nutrients if I’m not able to eat). Over the next week, the docs blast my body with a stiff chemo cocktail to try and eradicate all traces of cancer cells. In the process, the immune system I was born with, and my body’s ability to make blood, are destroyed.
Next Friday, I get my donor’s stem cells by IV. I start on immunosuppressants to prevent my body from rejecting them (I’ll be on them for 12-18 months). For these weeks I’ve no immune system, so I’m severely vulnerable to viruses and bacteria. My hospital room and hallway become my world.
Meanwhile, the stem cells make their way to my bone marrow and, with some luck, start producing platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells. At this point, my blood type changes to the blood type of my donor. And my blood will now have my donor’s DNA, not my own.
This is science fiction stuff. I can hardly believe it’s even possible, and there’s lots of chances for things to go wrong. It’s frightening.
AFTER THE TRANSPLANT
Recovery to a new state of “normal” takes about a year, but there’s a few storm clouds hovering:
My immune system is new, like a baby’s. I’m prone to getting sick.
Just as with any organ transplant, there’s a chance of rejection. Except in this case, it’s my blood that’s the foreign body, and it touches every organ. They call it graft-vs-host-disease and it can cause health issues and organ complications for the rest of my life.
Successful transplant or not, Leukemia can relapse. Stubborn mofo.
Overall, 75% of AML transplant patients survive year one, 50% make it through year five. My odds are a little better since I’m young.
THE GREAT NEWS
I’ve got a long road ahead. But I’ve got a donor & amazing family & friends. A few months ago I didn’t have many options. Today I have a plan.
I am alive. I start tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Thank you.

<3

superamit:

Many of you have asked, so here’s what’s going on with me.

WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE

8/1979: Born. Grew up in CT, built a killer eraser collection, fell in love with computers.

Left college to start a company. Fell hard. Fled to India for 3 months.

Started 2nd company. Learned to be an adult. Fell in love with NYC.

Moved to SF, discovered burritos & some of my fave people on Earth.

9/2011: Got diagnosed with Leukemia!

Cried. Went through 3 cycles of chemo. Hurt. Thought hard about what I want out of life. Grew up a second time.

TODAY

… After over 100 drives organized by friends, family, and strangers, celebrity call-outs, a bazillion reblogs (7000+!), tweets, and Facebook posts, press, fundraising and international drives organized by tireless friends, and a couple painful false starts, I’ve got a 10/10 matched donor!

You all literally helped save my life. (And the lives of many others.)

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

Tomorrow, I’ll be admitted to Dana Farber in Boston for 4-5 weeks.

First I’ll get a second Hickman line to allow direct access to my heart (for meds and for nutrients if I’m not able to eat). Over the next week, the docs blast my body with a stiff chemo cocktail to try and eradicate all traces of cancer cells. In the process, the immune system I was born with, and my body’s ability to make blood, are destroyed.

Next Friday, I get my donor’s stem cells by IV. I start on immunosuppressants to prevent my body from rejecting them (I’ll be on them for 12-18 months). For these weeks I’ve no immune system, so I’m severely vulnerable to viruses and bacteria. My hospital room and hallway become my world.

Meanwhile, the stem cells make their way to my bone marrow and, with some luck, start producing platelets, red blood cells, and white blood cells. At this point, my blood type changes to the blood type of my donor. And my blood will now have my donor’s DNA, not my own.

This is science fiction stuff. I can hardly believe it’s even possible, and there’s lots of chances for things to go wrong. It’s frightening.

AFTER THE TRANSPLANT

Recovery to a new state of “normal” takes about a year, but there’s a few storm clouds hovering:

My immune system is new, like a baby’s. I’m prone to getting sick.

Just as with any organ transplant, there’s a chance of rejection. Except in this case, it’s my blood that’s the foreign body, and it touches every organ. They call it graft-vs-host-disease and it can cause health issues and organ complications for the rest of my life.

Successful transplant or not, Leukemia can relapse. Stubborn mofo.

Overall, 75% of AML transplant patients survive year one, 50% make it through year five. My odds are a little better since I’m young.

THE GREAT NEWS

I’ve got a long road ahead. But I’ve got a donor & amazing family & friends. A few months ago I didn’t have many options. Today I have a plan.

I am alive. I start tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Thank you.

<3

Jay Parkinson + MD + MPH = a doctor in NYC: Introducing my new company, Sherpaa.

jayparkinsonmd:

So for the past month I’ve been laying all the groundwork for my next company. It’s called Sherpaa. The branding and the site are coming together nicely and the legal side of things is too. Here’s what Sherpaa will do:

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a friend of a friend who was…

Jay Parkinson + MD + MPH = a doctor in NYC: What happens to doctors who think outside the box?

jayparkinsonmd:

Upon finishing my second residency at Hopkins in Baltimore in September of 2007, I moved back to Williamsburg to start a new kind of practice:

Patients would visit my website

See my Google calendar

Choose a time and input their symptoms

My iphone would alert me

I would make a house call

Cholesterol Drug Approved for People Without High Cholesterol

jayparkinsonmd:

I’ve been talking about this for quite some time:

We invent disease to sell more drugs.

Statins’ global conquest continues. The class of cholesterol drugs already includes Pfizer’s megablockbuster Lipitor as well as simvastatin, the hugely popular generic that Merck sold under the brand name Zocor.
Now, AstraZeneca’s statin Crestor has crossed a new threshold: It’s the cholesterol drug for people who don’t have high cholesterol.
The FDA just expanded the drug’s approval to include reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke in people who meet certain criteria.

10 ways patients can save on health care costs

jayparkinsonmd:

A friend of mine, Dr. Richard Reece, just wrote a very helpful post with nuggets like this:

investigate a company called Simplecare. The SimpleCare story has appeared is on the cover of US News & World Report, in Forbes, and on NBC News. SimpleCare, a fee-for-service organization, accepts money for medical treatment without insurance forms, co-payments, and other third-party payment related procedures. SimpleCare guides the patient to an alliance of doctors offering cash discounts. It has membership at 38,000 patient members working with 1,500 doctors nationwide. Discounts range from 15 percent to 50 percent for patients paying in cash.

Ask your doctor if he or she accepts cash only. About 10 percent of doctors will accept cash only. The idea is to pay for care at the time and point of care with cash, check, or credit card without the expense or trouble of going through an insurance company. Dealing with third parties creates a 50 percent to 60 percent overhead, and many doctors are finding they can charge less and make just as much or more money without going through a third party. Often the doctor’s fee is negotiable.

Fill your prescriptions at Walmart, Target, or discount stores. Walmart has more than 300 generic drugs and 1000 over-the-counter it sells at $4 for a 30 day supply and $10 for a 90 day supply. Fifty percent of Americans live within 5 miles of a Walmart or Target.

jayparkinsonmd:

soupsoup:

bringmethathorizon:

Sen. Al Franken: How many bankruptcies because of medical crises were there last year in Switzerland?

Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Diana Furchtgott-Roth: I don’t have that number in front of me but I can find out and get back to you.

Sen. Al Franken: It’s zero.

[silence]

Sen. Al Franken: Do you know how many medical bankruptcies there were last year in France?

Diana Furchtgott-Roth: I don’t have that number but I can get back to you if you’d like.

Sen. Al Franken: Yeah, the number is zero.

[silence]

Sen. Al Franken: Do you know how many were in Germany?

Diana Furchtgott-Roth: From the trend of your questions, I’m assuming the answer is zero, but I don’t know the precise amount.

Sen. Al Franken: Oh, you’re very good, very fast.

elpasajero:

d.ak.fbcdn

Here are a few questions to consider before talking intelligently about healthcare reform.

jayparkinsonmd:

Don’t do the internet thing and glance at all of these questions. Sit down, read them carefully. Think about each one. Ask the right questions about each one like who, what, when, where, and why. Find the answers. Then go and talk intelligently about healthcare.

Where did our healthcare system come from?

Did someone architect our healthcare system in the beginning?

Why is healthcare so expensive?

What is a rational, ideal path to reforming healthcare in America?

What is the main reason why we need healthcare reform?

Why is healthcare the fastest growing industry in America?

Why is it the most profitable industry in America?

How can such a huge industry exist with almost no means of accountability for the services it provides?

Who makes the most money in healthcare?

Who are the main players of healthcare?

Why do doctors profit off sickness and not wellness?

Why do 80% of doctors shun computers for paper and pen?

Diabetics spend 1/3 of Medicare expenses. How many diabetics, on average, get all of the recommended diabetic care? (hint: 10%)

What does walking half an hour five days a week do to the incidence of diabetes? (hint: it reduces diabetes by 40%)

Why doesn’t our country do the little things (like walking) that prevents 40% of 1/3 of Medicare’s expenses?

What percentage of the population spends 25% of our healthcare dollars? (hint 0.5%)

What percentage of the population spends 3% of our healthcare dollars? (hint: 50%)

What percentage of the population spends 0% of our healthcare dollars (hint: 20%)

What percentage of healthcare costs come from chronic illness? (hint: 75%)

What drives the increasing cost of healthcare? (hint: normal inflation; higher doctor salaries relative to other countries; new technology, drugs, science, and treatments; inefficient, unlinked, uncoordinated care; caregivers who profit from quantity, not quality; an aging population)

Why aren’t new drugs compared in efficacy to current, less expensive drugs before being approved by the FDA?

Why does a pacemaker that costs $50,000 become widely adopted when there is no evidence to show that that pacemaker is better than one that costs $5,000?

Of the $2.5 trillion spent on healthcare every year, how much of that goes to doctors’ salaries? (about 5%)

Of the $2.5 trillion spent on healthcare every year, how much of that is from malpractice premiums and malpractice payouts? (about 1.5%)

How much of a nurse’s day is spent with patients? (26%)

Why does using a CT scanner appropriately decrease a radiology department’s revenue by 30%?

What happens to the cost of a service when healthcare providers provide a service that competes on price? (look at Lasik surgery and breast augmentation)

Is it a good idea that congresspeople who have little experience, training, or knowledge of the complexities of our healthcare system be the ones to massively reform 1/5th of our economy?

What happens when consumers of healthcare have very little understanding of the complexities of an industry? (our healthcare system happens)

Many of these questions were taken from this. I suggest you read and digest it.