Australia's Federal Court has allowed companies to patent genes. This is contrary to what recently happened in the US Supreme Court. Why? I say, why? What were they thinking?
The only piece of logic I can find here is this:
"Director of Advocacy at Cancer Council Australia, Paul Grogan, said that, if the ruling was an interpretation of the law, then the law needed to change.
"In 2008, Australian women were only protected from an attempted commercial monopoly over the BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests because the company that threatened to take those tests away from public laboratories withdrew its patent claims voluntarily," he said.
"There was nothing in the law to protect healthcare consumers ... and there still isn't.
He said Australia might now end up finding US companies enforcing patents here that they could not enforce in their home country after a Supreme Court ruling there that overturned the gene patents."
Showing posts with label genes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label genes. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Monday, April 13, 2015
Pain tolerance
Or am I a whiner? Recently I have taken both my parents to doctor appointments. I have actually not just driven them but actually talked to their doctors with them and about them. I have now know their blood pressure and all that and heard them answer the questions are you safe at home (yes) and what is your pain level today.
I have learned that my father doesn't have pain which makes sense because he has pneumonia. My mother has pain which has been a 6 since her vertebroplasty to fix a crushed vertebra, before then it was an 8 or 9. She also has rheumatoid arthritis and a bad back - with three other previously crushed vetebrae. This is the part that makes me think.
I also have rheumatoid, fibromyalgia, degenerating disks in my back, and lymphedema in my arm which sometimes likes to act up. When I go to the doctor, I say my pain level is usually around a 4, on a good day, it might even be a 2. Sometimes its a 6 or 7, and occasionally flares higher.
I know its just a number but am a whiner? I have more heavy duty pain drugs than my mother. Do I have them because I said my pain numbers were higher because I am a wimp?
When they ask you the question at the doctors office it is completely subjective. And my pain is fickle. Sometimes its there, and then its gone. Sometimes I feel fine and then I sit in a bad chair in the waiting room and I can barely move when I try to stand.
I recently read an article on WebMD on pain tolerance. "Pain tolerance is influenced by people's emotions, bodies, and lifestyles... Biological factors -- including genetics, injuries such as spinal cord damage, and chronic diseases such as diabetes that cause nerve damage -- also shape how we interpret pain...."
I know I need to lose weight which will help with pain tolerance and the pain itself. But the two people who contributed to my genetics seem to have a better handle on pain itself. Maybe they just gave me the wimpy genes.
I have learned that my father doesn't have pain which makes sense because he has pneumonia. My mother has pain which has been a 6 since her vertebroplasty to fix a crushed vertebra, before then it was an 8 or 9. She also has rheumatoid arthritis and a bad back - with three other previously crushed vetebrae. This is the part that makes me think.
I also have rheumatoid, fibromyalgia, degenerating disks in my back, and lymphedema in my arm which sometimes likes to act up. When I go to the doctor, I say my pain level is usually around a 4, on a good day, it might even be a 2. Sometimes its a 6 or 7, and occasionally flares higher.
I know its just a number but am a whiner? I have more heavy duty pain drugs than my mother. Do I have them because I said my pain numbers were higher because I am a wimp?
When they ask you the question at the doctors office it is completely subjective. And my pain is fickle. Sometimes its there, and then its gone. Sometimes I feel fine and then I sit in a bad chair in the waiting room and I can barely move when I try to stand.
I recently read an article on WebMD on pain tolerance. "Pain tolerance is influenced by people's emotions, bodies, and lifestyles... Biological factors -- including genetics, injuries such as spinal cord damage, and chronic diseases such as diabetes that cause nerve damage -- also shape how we interpret pain...."
I know I need to lose weight which will help with pain tolerance and the pain itself. But the two people who contributed to my genetics seem to have a better handle on pain itself. Maybe they just gave me the wimpy genes.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Pain tolerance
Or am I a whiner? Recently I have taken both my parents to doctor appointments. I have actually not just driven them but actually talked to their doctors with them and about them. I have now know their blood pressure and all that and heard them answer the questions are you safe at home (yes) and what is your pain level today.
I have learned that my father doesn't have pain which makes sense because he has pneumonia. My mother has pain which has been a 6 since her vertebroplasty to fix a crushed vertebra, before then it was an 8 or 9. She also has rheumatoid arthritis and a bad back - with three other previously crushed vetebrae. This is the part that makes me think.
I also have rheumatoid, fibromyalgia, degenerating disks in my back, and lymphedema in my arm which sometimes likes to act up. When I go to the doctor, I say my pain level is usually around a 4, on a good day, it might even be a 2. Sometimes its a 6 or 7, and occasionally flares higher.
I know its just a number but am a whiner? I have more heavy duty pain drugs than my mother. Do I have them because I said my pain numbers were higher because I am a wimp?
When they ask you the question at the doctors office it is completely subjective. And my pain is fickle. Sometimes its there, and then its gone. Sometimes I feel fine and then I sit in a bad chair in the waiting room and I can barely move when I try to stand.
I recently read an article on WebMD on pain tolerance. "Pain tolerance is influenced by people's emotions, bodies, and lifestyles... Biological factors -- including genetics, injuries such as spinal cord damage, and chronic diseases such as diabetes that cause nerve damage -- also shape how we interpret pain...."
I know I need to lose weight which will help with pain tolerance and the pain itself. But the two people who contributed to my genetics seem to have a better handle on pain itself. Maybe they just gave me the wimpy genes.
I have learned that my father doesn't have pain which makes sense because he has pneumonia. My mother has pain which has been a 6 since her vertebroplasty to fix a crushed vertebra, before then it was an 8 or 9. She also has rheumatoid arthritis and a bad back - with three other previously crushed vetebrae. This is the part that makes me think.
I also have rheumatoid, fibromyalgia, degenerating disks in my back, and lymphedema in my arm which sometimes likes to act up. When I go to the doctor, I say my pain level is usually around a 4, on a good day, it might even be a 2. Sometimes its a 6 or 7, and occasionally flares higher.
I know its just a number but am a whiner? I have more heavy duty pain drugs than my mother. Do I have them because I said my pain numbers were higher because I am a wimp?
When they ask you the question at the doctors office it is completely subjective. And my pain is fickle. Sometimes its there, and then its gone. Sometimes I feel fine and then I sit in a bad chair in the waiting room and I can barely move when I try to stand.
I recently read an article on WebMD on pain tolerance. "Pain tolerance is influenced by people's emotions, bodies, and lifestyles... Biological factors -- including genetics, injuries such as spinal cord damage, and chronic diseases such as diabetes that cause nerve damage -- also shape how we interpret pain...."
I know I need to lose weight which will help with pain tolerance and the pain itself. But the two people who contributed to my genetics seem to have a better handle on pain itself. Maybe they just gave me the wimpy genes.
Friday, January 9, 2015
This is going in the wrong direction
Australia's Federal Court has allowed companies to patent genes. This is contrary to what recently happened in the US Supreme Court. Why? I say, why? What were they thinking?
The only piece of logic I can find here is this:
"Director of Advocacy at Cancer Council Australia, Paul Grogan, said that, if the ruling was an interpretation of the law, then the law needed to change.
"In 2008, Australian women were only protected from an attempted commercial monopoly over the BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests because the company that threatened to take those tests away from public laboratories withdrew its patent claims voluntarily," he said.
"There was nothing in the law to protect healthcare consumers ... and there still isn't.
He said Australia might now end up finding US companies enforcing patents here that they could not enforce in their home country after a Supreme Court ruling there that overturned the gene patents."
The only piece of logic I can find here is this:
"Director of Advocacy at Cancer Council Australia, Paul Grogan, said that, if the ruling was an interpretation of the law, then the law needed to change.
"In 2008, Australian women were only protected from an attempted commercial monopoly over the BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests because the company that threatened to take those tests away from public laboratories withdrew its patent claims voluntarily," he said.
"There was nothing in the law to protect healthcare consumers ... and there still isn't.
He said Australia might now end up finding US companies enforcing patents here that they could not enforce in their home country after a Supreme Court ruling there that overturned the gene patents."
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Its not luck if its cancer
I saw an article yesterday that annoys me to no end. Apparently bad luck is the cause of most cases of cancer. Barbara over at Let Life Happen also blogged about it. Its not luck if its cancer.
This new study looked at many types of cancer but not all and found that its just plain bad luck that accounts for many of these cancers and not environment or behavior or anything else. Its a crap shoot of gene mutations. Granted smoking can cause lung cancer and sun exposure/tanning beds can cause melanoma.
Thank you for allowing me to be the beneficiary of so much back luck. I am overjoyed. I am so elated I can't stand it.
But on the upside, this does help answer the 'why me' question of every cancer patient. I think there was a line in '50/50' where when diagnosed he asks 'Why me? I recycle!'.
So I am going to take the upside of this issue. Instead of bad luck, we can now call it an 'unfortunate series of gene mutations' which is what it really is.
Going back to what is known about the BRCA genes and the fact that they account for only 5-10% of all breast cancer cases. The rest are mostly caused by an 'unfortunate series of gene mutations'.
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my oncologist suggested I get tested for a specific gene mutation which I didn't have. I did find out that gene mutations can happen to a single person, they don't have to be inherited. You can just get them. I was told while I didn't have the mutation that they tested for, I probably did have another mutation that was similar but had no test yet available.
I can live with that as opposed to luck. Because its not luck if its cancer.
This new study looked at many types of cancer but not all and found that its just plain bad luck that accounts for many of these cancers and not environment or behavior or anything else. Its a crap shoot of gene mutations. Granted smoking can cause lung cancer and sun exposure/tanning beds can cause melanoma.
Thank you for allowing me to be the beneficiary of so much back luck. I am overjoyed. I am so elated I can't stand it.
But on the upside, this does help answer the 'why me' question of every cancer patient. I think there was a line in '50/50' where when diagnosed he asks 'Why me? I recycle!'.
So I am going to take the upside of this issue. Instead of bad luck, we can now call it an 'unfortunate series of gene mutations' which is what it really is.
Going back to what is known about the BRCA genes and the fact that they account for only 5-10% of all breast cancer cases. The rest are mostly caused by an 'unfortunate series of gene mutations'.
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my oncologist suggested I get tested for a specific gene mutation which I didn't have. I did find out that gene mutations can happen to a single person, they don't have to be inherited. You can just get them. I was told while I didn't have the mutation that they tested for, I probably did have another mutation that was similar but had no test yet available.
I can live with that as opposed to luck. Because its not luck if its cancer.
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