What would you do if a friend needed your help -- like moving a big piece of furniture from one side of the room to another?
What if they asked you to take care of their pet while they were out of town?
What about if a stranger asked you for directions to a place in your city?
Now, what if a stranger asked you to take a pill that might save them, but may hurt you?
Twenty thousand women did just that in a new breast cancer study to determine which drug was best in preventing the dreaded illness. The study looked at raloxifene and tamoxifen -- two drugs known for helping to prevent breast cancer, but with some very dangerous side effects -- for example, uterine cancer.
To find out which was best, 20,000 healthy women, but with increased risk for breast cancer, had to volunteer to take one of the drugs for the test. Remember, these are healthy women -- no breast cancer or other health ailments -- who are being asked to take a drug that could possibly end up giving them a dangerous illness.
If you want to know the results of the study, follow this link.
However, I want to point out how courageous these women were for volunteering for this. Most of the women cited a family member as reasons for joining the study. Others were professionals in the medical field who see what happens to cancer patients and feel this is just the least they can do.
In a world full of selfishness and rudeness, it is more than refreshing to find people who give of themselves for the greater good of others. Emergency responders do this on a daily basis, but it is the everyday person who rises to the call that makes that person special.
The agony of cancer is profound. The search for a cure cannot be far off. We are too great of a society not to be on the edge of medical advancements that will create a new Golden Age in our world.
Take a minute to think about how you are affecting people around you. Are you making the world at large a better place? Are you making your immediate surroundings easier for others to live in?
One woman in the study said, ""How often does just your average person get to do something that truly matters? No one may remember that I did this. But I'll remember."
What will be your legacy? What will you remember?
"Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Good Story:)
What an amazing group of women.
I am so proud of you. You made my day. Thank you.
A big Hooray for those women. I know of several people who on a daily basis try to make every day easier for someone else and they never get any thanks or pats on the back. Thanks for all you said--Love your blog.
Julie
whoa.. a little lax on the facts there chief.. these were twenty thousand post-menopausal women ALL at high risk for breast cancer. Tamoxifen, the gold standard of breast cancer follow up treatment has been around for decades. Orginially as a drug to treat osteoporosis.. but as you've stated did have side effects.. a risk of uterine cancer, blood clots and cataracts. However, that particular drug saved millions of women who took it for the five year course to prevent breast cancer recurrance.. The study compared it to Reloxifene, another osteoporosis drug that appeared to have the same positive effects in reducing the chances of aggressive breast cancer with fewer side effects. However, Reloxifene, known by the trade name Evista, did not prevent non-aggressive cancers. Sorry dude, I followed the STAR trial for five years. While I applaud the altruist! ic intentions of clinical trial participants, this wasn't one where someone was risking their life to find out if a drug worked or not. Both drugs gave benefits of bone health and breast cancer prevention. It's just great news that Evista has fewer side effects, but it's not perfect. Women will be using both drugs for years to come.
Love ya,
Mo
Post a Comment