 |
 |
You've certainly got THIS Parkie taking an about-face in her thinking, Dennis. I'd never even questioned those "sacred cow-type points" prior to your commentary, and welcome your realistic (and prolly right on point) viewpoint. Thanks Dennis for daring us to see reality for what it is. Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Dennis Greene <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Thursday, October 07, 1999 10:58 AM Subject: Some discussion points >I have noticed a tendency of late to treat some far from certain things >about the cure as if they were articles of faith. These include: > >- The cure is coming soon > >- The cure will be found . > >- the cure will benefit everyone > >- the cure should be the paramount consideration of the PD community > >- time is running out - we must have the cure now > >- And finally (the one I shall no doubt run foul of) - anyone who disputes >any of these is thinking negatively. > >I have no wish to start an argument but I would love to start an exploration >of these statements in the hope that should we find in practice that any of >them is not in fact true we will be better prepared to deal with that >reality. To this end I offer the following thoughts. > >## The cure is coming soon: > >Of course it depends on how you define 'soon' but I see the following as >indicators that the cure is still some years away. > >* they are still at the basic research stage with the most lines of >investigation - no-one has yet got past the 'this looks very promising' >stage. As the lead time from E Day (Eureka Day) to C Day (Cured Day) is >anything from 5 to 10 years we have that period of time still in front of us >AS A MINIMUM. It could well be very much longer. > >* I would suggest that the medical establishment anticipates that the >cure will be some while yet. A strong indicator of this is the >proliferation of centres performing PD surgery and the numbers of doctors >learning the techniques. You don't invest that much time money and >infrastructure unless you anticipate a return on your investment over a >reasonable period. > >## The cure will be found > >Again it depends on exactly how you define cure. If we are talking about >eradicating a disease so that it no longer exists then we are really going >up against the odds. I tried to think of how many and which diseases >medical science had eradicated and there aren't many - and most of those >were >'cured' by preventing people getting them in the first place. If the 'cure' >for Pd falls into that category it will only occur after they find the cause >and wonderful as that will be it won't be of much help to those of us >already >afflicted. As any cure of this nature is only likely to occur after a cause >has been found I would think it is a long way off yet. > >Any cure which will benefit those of us who already have PD will, by >definition, be one that cures the individual but does not remove PD from the >earth. Which means that the often expressed wish - for the day to come when >we are cured and PD is no more - is meaningless unless we are talking about >two different days and two different cures. > >## The cure will benefit everyone > >This, as already discussed, will depend on what form it takes. A >preventative helps only those who don't yet have PD, an inhibitor is better >for those in the early stages than for those in the later, and so on. > >## the cure should be the paramount consideration of the PD community > >I believe that it is far from certain that the cure is imminent and also >that we do not know that it will be of equal benefit to all of us. >Consequently I believe that research into managing the disease should have >at least equal priority. This type of research has the added advantage that >benefits flow from it continually as opposed to us all waiting on a cure >that will be some years yet and may be a great many years yet. > >## time is running out - we must have the cure now > >I too would like to see a cure in my lifetime (preferably one I can benefit >from), but I have never quite worked out why so may of us seem to think that >it MUST happen in time to save THIS generation - what's so special about us? > >## anyone who disputes any of these is thinking negatively. > >It is not negative to see things as they are. > >A positive attitude which exists by ignoring the realities is really denial > > > >Dennis. >+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ >Dennis Greene 49/dx 37/ onset 32 >There's nothing wrong with me that a cure for PD won't fix! >email - [log in to unmask] >Website - http://members.networx.net.au/~dennisg/ >+++++++++++++++++++++++++++