Posted on 07/17/2009 9:52:46 AM PDT by george76
Meg owes her life to the tenacity of her mother and the skill of her surgeon. Without them she would almost certainly be dead by now.
Diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour when she'd just turned 19...
Neurosurgeons in Britain believed it was too risky to operate because of where the tumour was located... So Meg was told that there was no cure and the cancer would eventually kill her.
'When I was diagnosed, my surgeon refused point blank to operate,' says Meg, 23. 'He said it was too dangerous and he would only consider operating when the tumour became more malignant - which would inevitably happen. But by then, it might have been too late.'
In desperation, Meg's mother Helen Bulbeck scoured the internet until she found a surgeon willing to perform the surgery. That surgeon, Professor Peter Black, is one of a select group of neurosurgeons in America who have pioneered the use of intraoperative MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging).
When she read about Professor Black and his work at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, it offered the first ray of hope. His hospital is one of ten in America with the resources and expertise to perform MR-guided brain surgery.
But before making a final decision, Meg was referred for a second opinion to London's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery - one of Britain's leading centres.
'Opting for surgery in America was expensive - £50,000,' says Meg. 'I needed to be sure no British surgeon could offer me the same hope.'
Unlike in Southampton, the London consultant recommended surgery. But he admitted that Meg stood a far better chance in the U.S. as the equipment was so superior.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Full title that would not fit
That’s why Obama wants to take those decisions out of the hands of family.
‘too risky’?
Leave it alone and she would surely die. Operate and hopfully live. I konw phyicians take an oath to ‘do no harm’ but doing nothing seems to run counter to that.
Fee for Service is also illegal in ObamaCare. Ironically, Meg would have to be in the country Illegally to get this treatment.
Won't be true in a few years.
Indeed. Doctors here in the U.S. also will "do nothing" for patients deemed too risky or too far along. (Our family can give testimony to that.) Still, our healthcare system is the finest in the world, though there's room for improvement. It could be improved with less gov't intervention, instead of more.
Now, that’s scary.
America has been the last hope for some critical patients in our world. Obama wants to end it and pull down the entire world until other countries supersede the US, BIGTIME.
In all of his hidden school records, did oboomarang get an M.D.?
Health care in the United States is expensive? What is the price tag on getting to live? At least the option is available here.
Where she died waiting for an appointment.
"Doing nothing" when doing something will almost certainly cause harm is almost always the right call to make. The girl's first surgeon took stock of the tumor and his own capabilities, and acknowledged his own shortcomings. He made the right call.
Doing nothing when something can be done with a good chance of success ... that's probably the wrong thing to do.
The girl's mother looked for somebody capable of "doing something," and also made the right call, as did the doctor who eventually successfully operated.
But of course, "doing something" when you can is not always straightforward, either. For example, should cost impose a limit on what can be done? If this surgery cost £50 million instead of £50,000 ... would it still be the right thing?
And then if you get to the point of having to decide whether a certain result is "successful" or even worth it ... that's the ugly gray area.
Time-bomb: Meg, pictured here with her then-boyfriend Josh, became increasingly forgetful and exhausted, and began to smell burning for no reason.
Second chance: Meg and Josh on their wedding day.
God bless them both!
Desperation: When her daughter Meg Jones was diagnosed with cancer, Helen Bulbeck scoured the internet for a surgeon willing to perform the risky surgery.
It's not as simple as that, especially when it comes to brain tumors near certain areas in the brain. It's always a risk/benefit balance - would you rather have the chance of living a few years with most of your faculties until close to the end, or have surgery now and risk severe brain damage and stroke? Especially if it's uncertain that the surgery would be curative?
The newer equipment and the advent of doctors specializing in neuro-oncology have improved the odds tremendously. Sadly, there are still times when the risk/benefit ratio runs against surgery.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.