Two documentary films

We managed to squeeze in time to see two documentary films over the past week or so: “Love, Gilda,” and “Moynihan.”

“Love, Gilda” is a touching portrait of the late comedian and actress Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer at the age of only forty-three. The documentary includes particularly memorable scenes of characters she created during her five years as one of the original “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” troupe on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live (SNL)” from 1975 – 1980: Roseanne Roseannadanna, Emily Litella, and Baba Wawa come first to mind.

Her Stage IV cancer was diagnosed in 1986, almost a year after her first symptoms had appeared. After aggressive treatment with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, and a relatively brief period of remission, her cancer returned in December of 1988, and she died in May of 1989.

Watching clips of some of the work she did after her years on SNL, it is clear that SNL had been the best vehicle for her talents, but we will unfortunately never know the full range of her capabilities. All in all, it is a sad tale of someone who brought so many laughs to so many people for too short a time.

We saw “Moynihan” at the recently refurbished Film Forum, which reopened on August 1^st following a $5 million renovation, including new chairs and more leg room throughout and an additional (fourth) theater. The location is definitely not convenient but we have always enjoyed FF and had been anxious to get back there after the three-month renovation period.

I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I probably could not have told you a lot about Daniel Patrick Moynihan before seeing this movie. He was certainly an interesting and impressive human being, whose career included cabinet or sub-cabinet positions under Presidents John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford, Ambassador to India; United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations; and four-term Democratic United States Senator from New York. A friend who read this post pointed out that missing from this list is that he was "a fantastically, unforgettably inspiring Harvard professor." He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on August 9, 2000. His ability to work "across the aisle" is especially heartwarming during these polarized times in which we now live. 

Have a good week!

Love,

Rebecca

Creative Challot

Dina and Julia had lots of fun today baking for Noah’s upcoming second birthday next Friday. I just could not resist sharing these pictures. Dina’s challot are always delicious – a perfect match for Julia’s smile.

Love,

Rebecca

A guaranteed smile

On the eve of the last of the fall Jewish holidays, we gathered for dinner at Dina and Aaron’s house, arriving a few minutes early to pose for informal family pictures in the yard. Aaron was able to set up a timer on his camera to allow all twelve of us to be in a few of the pictures. I have now posted three of them here on the blog. Enjoy!

We had a wonderful two days, sharing delicious food (including Barry’s famous pot roast for the carnivores in the group) and many laughs. To be honest, it was probably the best I have felt in what seems like far too long a time. Buoyed by the experience, we are hoping to return to our regular schedule of more frequent visits to Sharon.

One thing that will make this more feasible is that my medical oncologist, Dr. Iyer, who had only been seeing outpatients only on Fridays, is adding Wednesday mornings to that schedule. He told me this when I began to ask him about scheduling for Friday mornings after we change our clocks in a few weeks, making Sabbath start quite early. So, beginning with my next visit, I will be seeing him on Wednesdays, allowing us much more flexibility in our planning.

I have tried hard not to wander into politics on this blog. This has been a difficult week. I am still debating just what, if anything, I want to say. The current story will likely end in the next day or so, but regardless of our opinions on how it perhaps should have gone differently, we now need to be prepared to move forward with civility. It may just take a little time.

Meanwhile, have a great weekend.

Love,

Rebecca

MSKCC in the news

The following letter was widely distributed to patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center last week:

September 20, 2018

Dear MSK Patients,

It is an honor to introduce myself to you as Memorial Sloan Kettering’s acting Physician-in- Chief and Chief Medical Officer. In this role, I have the privilege of leading the thousands of doctors, nurses, advanced practice providers, and clinical staff that work tirelessly to provide you and your family members with the best possible care.

MSK has been my home for the past 33 years, when I began my career focused on patients with brain tumors and other neurological conditions related to cancer, and I have served as the Chair of the Department of Neurology since 1997. In that time, we have seen changes to our leadership, our facilities, and, most importantly, our cancer treatments. But one thing has never changed: our commitment to our patients.

On behalf of MSK’s staff, I am writing to reaffirm our mission for the past 130 years. We have a singular focus on ensuring each and every patient at MSK receives outstanding care, with compassion, respect, and integrity. Thank you for letting us be your partner in your health and well-being.

As always, we encourage you to connect with your clinical team regarding questions about your care. For questions that go beyond your personalized treatment, our Patient Representatives Department (212-639-7202) is available to assist with your concerns. Everyone at MSK is here to support you, and we remain devoted to serving you and your family.

Sincerely,

Lisa M. DeAngelis, MD
Acting Physician-in-Chief &
Chief Medical Officer
Memorial Hospital

Those of you who have been faithfully reading my blog these past six years will certainly recognize this name, as she is the oncologist who treated my Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma in 2012 and whom I continue to see in follow-up (next visit Tuesday, September 10^th 2019). You know me, I cannot pass up an opportunity to put in my own two cents, so I sent her the following note:

Dear Dr. DeAngelis,

Congratulations on your appointment as acting Physician-in- Chief and Chief Medical Officer. Barry and I could not have imagined a more qualified or compassionate physician to serve in this role.

From a purely selfish perspective, I only hope I will still be able to see you at my follow-up visits! 

Best regards,

Rebecca

Much to my surprise, within minutes after I sent that note I received the following response:

Thank you for reaching out and your kind words. I am absolutely going to keep practicing so I look forward to our future visits. 

Warmly, Lisa

So do I!!!

Love,

Rebecca

Moore (Michael)

If I’ve got them all, Michael Moore’s newest documentary is his tenth:

 2018       Fahrenheit 11/9 

 2016       Michael Moore in TrumpLand 

 2015       Where to Invade Next 

 2009       Capitalism: A Love Story 

 2007       Slacker Uprising 

 2007       Sicko 

 2004       Fahrenheit 9/11 

 2002       Bowling for Columbine 

 1997       The Big One 

 1989       Roger & Me 

I have listed all of these here because if you have seen any of them then you are familiar with both his style and his politics. His newest film is about the 2016 presidential election, for which President Donald Trump was declared the winner in the early morning hours of Wednesday, November 9^th (hence the film’s title). There is nothing here that we have not seen or read before. Much as I enjoy Michael Moore’s films, it is clear that he comes at his topics with a very definite point of view, and for this reason you are sometimes left wondering just how factually correct they are. But even if some of the facts are exaggerated or taken out of context, which they undoubtedly are, seeing his films still makes for fascinating and thought-provoking experiences, and this one is no exception. Putting politics aside, it is high time that the water supply in Flint, Michigan, should be cleaned up and the myriad of health problems, particularly among the children of Flint, be aggressively addressed.

Love,

Rebecca

 

Campbell Brittan Read

We lived in Dallas, Texas for six years, during which time I was a graduate student in Statistics at Southern Methodist University (SMU), earning my Ph.D. in 1986. Although I have to admit I have never supported the school financially, they still send me quite a bit of mail, including the quarterly magazine which arrived the other day. I do not usually read these things but sometimes I glance through just to see if there is anything about anyone I might remember, and I can always enjoy looking at all the pictures of the couples who have married or welcomed new babies.

I have no idea why in the world this small item caught my glance. It was in a section titled “In Memoriam,” which lists SMU graduates who have passed on in order of their years of graduation; the most recent was a 2016 graduate. At the end of this section, my eye caught a subsection called “SMU Community” which included various faculty and administrators who had passed, and for reasons I will never understand I immediately noticed a name toward the bottom of that list:

Campbell Brittan Read, professor emeritus of statistical science, 4/25/18

In the early 1980s when I was a student at SMU, Dr. Read taught the first-year graduate course in probability theory. I cannot say I remember much of what I learned from him, but I do have one particularly amusing memory of an interaction we had. The final exam for his class during my first semester was scheduled for a Saturday. When that schedule appeared, I went to see him. I am not sure that Dr. Read had ever actually met anyone Jewish, let alone a traditionally observant Jew. He was a bit skeptical about my request to sit for the exam on Friday afternoon before Sabbath, as if he thought I was somehow going to use this as an opportunity to put myself at some sort of unfair advantage, or worse, to share information about the exam with the other students. I pointed out to him that it would not be in my interest to do so, because they would all have an extra day to bone up on the relevant information, putting me at a distinct disadvantage. He bought that argument and I remember taking the exam in some other professor’s office a few hours before Sabbath.

 

I guess I learned enough probability theory to get me through that graduate program and a career as a statistician. Rest in peace, Campbell Read.

Love,

Rebecca

Hitting 60,000 with good news

The pageview count is at 59,986 this morning, so I am glad to bring it over the 60K mark with good news:

There were no significant changes from the previous scan.

It was quite reassuring to see that there is no new or recurrent disease. Now we just need to figure out how to better deal with what are undoubtedly side effects from the radiation therapy.

Love,

Rebecca