Saw this at a doctors office in one of the patient rooms.
At first I wasn’t even sure what it was.
Looks like a stomach.
What are those globs?
Oy, they represent malignant tumors (from what I understood reading the fine print).
Really makes it hit home when you see it in front of you on display like that.
So much suffering from illnesses like cancer.
G-d should have mercy.
We really need to find “the cure!”
Imagine what a day that will be. 😉
Had my routine colonoscopy this morning.
It is so amazing that they can go in with camera and everything.
Look around and if necessary, cut out anything bad.
Years ago, people just felt sick or pain and maybe saw some symptoms from outside.
But they had no idea what was happening inside.
So grateful to G-d for the technology and doctors that can make sure all is okay.
We are truly living in miraculous times.
They even send you home with some pictures afterward.
It’s interesting to see, but maybe a little TMI. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft died yesterday, Oct. 15, 2018.
His untimely death reminded me of Steve Jobs, co-founder of Microsoft who died Oct. 5, 2011.
Allen co-founder Microsoft in 1975 and Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976.
Allen was 65 and Jobs was just 56 at time of death.
Both were pioneers in the IT Revolution.
Both died of cancer.
Both dropped out of college.
Both accumulated $20B of wealth in today’s money.
Both own(ed) 2 sports teams (Jobs posthumously)
Both were huge philanthropists in terms of what they left the world: money in Allen’s case and many innovations in Job’s.
Both have been in Time’s 100 Most Influential People.
Both died an early death–sadly too young!
(Source Graphic: Andy Blumenthal)
So I saw a casual work friend the other day doting around what looked like his girlfriend.
They looked really cute together.
And this guy is in his 60’s and lost his wife a number of years ago to cancer, so I was really happy to see him happy, and playful in love again.
After a while, I took the opportunity to play cupid best I could.
I told her how nice this guy was and how well he takes care of his customers.
I ended by saying how we really love having him around and how it wouldn’t be the same without him.
I could see him behind her smiling ear-to-ear–this lady really meant something to him.
When I saw him again today, I asked innocently, “so was that your girlfriend?” and like a young teenager in love, he smirked and nodded.
It was obvious how much it meant to him that I spoke well of him to her.
What can I say, I am really happy to make a little contribution to love–and I am really happy for them. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So I was speaking to one of our very nice elderly neighbors.
Last week he lost his dear wife of 60 years!
I had visited him during Shiva (the Jewish period of mourning) to wish him our best and let him know we are there if there is anything he needs.
He told me how the night before she passed, they had gone out to eat and to the theatre (she loved the theatre)…and everything was fine!
And then the next day, he went to work–he still teaches medicine at the local hospital 2 days a month.
At midday, he called his wife and asked how she was and if she needed anything from the store (to eat etc.)
She told him she was fine and she didn’t need anything.
But by the time he got home just one hour later…she had fallen, hit her head, and died.
He tried to do CPR by it was no use, she was gone.
Both he and his wife were 84-years old.
He mentioned that would tease her that he was 3 months older than her, and so she had to listen to him!
I felt so bad for him…it was obvious how much he loved her and missed her already.
When he told me how old she was, I tried to say reassuringly:
“That’s a good old age…at least she lived a full life!”
But then he answered:
“84–that’s nothing! 85 is the new 65!!!”
And went on to tell me how many of their friends are already in the 90’s.
It’s funny how no matter what age you are…there is always a will to live!
He said how she had passed quickly and so maybe he could consider that a blessing.
And we talked about how it truly is especially when some other people really suffer prolonged periods with terrible debilitating and painful illnesses.
It was also strange that around the same time, I ran into yet another elderly neighbor, and he had tears in his eyes…and I asked how he is.
He told me how he just learned 3 weeks ago that his wife has lung cancer.
Seeing his expression how bad things were, I inquired what stage it was at.
He said, “stage 3 cancer,” and I told him as well how sorry I was for his pain.
All this made me realize again, how very tenuous life is…and we all hang by a thread that G-d decides at any moment when to shear and when to cut–we need to live every moment to the fullest and as if it’s our last. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Cancer is such an awful killer disease.
After heart disease, it is the #2 cause of death in the United States taking almost 592,000 lives a year or 22.5% of all deaths!
Usually, we don’t even like to say the word and even tempt fate.
Instead we just refer to it as the horrible “C word.”
Today my daughter forwarded to me this poem written by a teenager with terminal cancer, and I thought this was worth sharing with you all…
SLOW DANCE
Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask, “How are you?”
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
with the next hundred chores running through your head?
You’d better slow down
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short
The music won’t last.
Ever told your child,
We’ll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say,’Hi’
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last..
When you run so fast to get somewhere,
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift….
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
We’re so close yet so far…that’s my feeling as I grow ever impatient with the pace of technological progress.
We have cloud computing, but still everyone has their own private computing setups everywhere.
We have mobile computing, but still can’t get get reliable service in the Metro and all the other “dead zones.”
We have social computing, but still people are so cliquey and nasty and troll and bully each other online and off.
We have the Internet of Things, but still things don’t really talk to each other regularly (except our smart meters).
We have robots, but still they’re relegated to factory assembly lines.
We have natural language processing, but still can’t get a meaningful conversation going with Siri.
We have 3-D printing, but still can’t get dinner or a pair of Nikes to appear from the Star Trek like “Replicator.”
We have augmented and virtual reality headsets, but still can’t go anywhere with them without getting motion sickness.
We have biometrics, but still have to sign the check.
We have driverless cars, but still there is a driver inside.
We have networks of information, but still it’s subject to hacking, malware, identity and data theft, and even big time EMP knockouts.
We have immunotherapy, but still haven’t beaten cancer.
We have nanotechnology, but still we travel through life loaded down with material possessions.
We have food and biotechnology, but still one in eight people are going hungry.
We have space shuttles and stations, but still can’t get a colony going on Mars.
We have big data, but still information is corrupted by personal biases and politics.
We have knowledge management, but still more than 780 million adults are illiterate.
We have artificial intelligence, but still it’s devoid of emotional intelligence.
We have bigger, deadlier, and more sophisticated weapons systems and smart bombs to “protect us”, but still are no closer to living in peace and brotherhood.
All this technology and advancement is great, except that we’re left hungrier than ever for the realization of the promised technology land, and are really only halfway there, maybe. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
In just the last few days and weeks, I have been astonished at the progress already being made towards the important technology advancements mentioned in Technology Forecast 2016.
On the front for medical technology to fight cancer, just today it was announced that the foundation from Sean Parker (of Napster and Facebook) is providing a $250 million grant for a new cancer institute to advance the field of immunotherapy to boost the body’s natural defenses (i.e. immune system) to fight the cancer.
In terms of space technology, famed astrophysicist, Stephen Hawking and venture capitalist, Yuri Milner are teaming up with a $100 million for research to develop “Starchips” (a nanocraft robot on a chip) for a voyage to another solar system 25 trillion miles away.
Finally, there are advances for counter-terrorism technology on display with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announcing in February a pilot of new biometric technology kiosks to capture and compare facial and iris biometrics for travelers exiting the U.S. to compare with their entry data and ensure an end-to-end visitor entry/exit solution.
I am pleased at the commitment and progress we are making in these critical technology areas, and sincerely hope that these efforts will flourish for us all in the not too distant future. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Andy Blumenthal talks about three technology imperatives for 2016.
1) Medical technology
2) Counter-terrorism technology
3) Space technology
Enjoy and happy New Year!
So this week, there seems to be a theme of human frailty and mortality and I wanted to share it.
While it is the holidays and we are celebrating and happy to be with our family and loved ones, it is also a time to miss those that are gone, care and pray for those that are not well, and give thanks for our own blessings.
5 examples in one week (and trust me, I am holding back):
1) Death of family member – One wonderful lady in the office who recently lost her mother (her mom was in her very early 60s and just didn’t wake up one morning) came to the holiday party, but looked sad. I asked about her well-being, and she said she is doing well, but is still remembering and dealing with the recent loss of her mom who she was so close with. We talked briefly how it takes time to mourn and heal, and frankly, we never really get over it.
2) Death of friend – A women I know just lost a very good friend (early 40s) to Kidney failure. She is on vacation, but is sad mourning over the loss, and also recognizing her own mortality and that anything can happen at anytime.
3) Very ill teenager – A teenager was at a recent Shabbat event with her peers celebrating G-d and her Jewishness, and at the event revealed that she has a brain disease and the doctors told her she only has a few months to live. She said that unfortunately she will never get to see her wedding day. It was heartbreaking.
4) Sick children – A colleague at work took a few hours off to deliver holiday gifts to the local children’s hospital. She helped start an organization to raise money and support children with cancer and other devastating illnesses. It was a very beautiful thing to give back to the innocent kids.
5) Aging gracefully – A friend who recently hit the big 6-0 was a little depressed. When I asked him how he’s dealing with it, he acknowledged that it’s hard, but that he had all year to prepare (smile). But at the same time, he said that he can’t help looking back on his life as well as thinking forward to what comes next. He’s had his share of illness, but medical science (with G-d’s help) saved his life so far. We talked about not knowing what happens but that he could have another 30 “good years” or that sometimes having a quick, peaceful end can be okay too–since quality of life matters as much or more than quantity.
The point from all this is not to be sad, but to realize we are but “flesh and blood” and we are alive only because G-d sustains us.
What we can do is take care of ourselves and our loved ones and make the most of each and every day. We are not guaranteed any number of years or anything else, so each moment is as precious and needs to be lived as if it could be the last.
Savor your blessings, because that is what they are–as my mother-in-law says, you are entitled to and the world owes you nothing. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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