HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Troublesome Words, Linguistic Precision, and Medical Oncology

chrisy · 04-27-2009, 10:44 AM

This is a sensitve topic for sure. The researcher reporting out the DM1 trial had such a slip of the tongue and was slapped down (mildly compared to some I've seen) for it. She spent the rest of the day beating herself up over it - I know this because I spoke to her later in the day and she felt she owed me an apology and an explanation! I told her what mattered most to ME was the work she was doing and to keep that up - and I thanked her.

I think it's a good thing to be sensitive to the language because it DOES matter - although I have my own twisted mind game around it. When a treatment works, I give myself some credit, when a treatment fails, I take no blame!

The people who write about and discuss these things do need to put it in the correct perspective tho - the treatment fails the patient, not the other way around.

04-27-2009, 10:44 AM	#3
chrisy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Central Coast, CA Posts: 3,207	This is a sensitve topic for sure. The researcher reporting out the DM1 trial had such a slip of the tongue and was slapped down (mildly compared to some I've seen) for it. She spent the rest of the day beating herself up over it - I know this because I spoke to her later in the day and she felt she owed me an apology and an explanation! I told her what mattered most to ME was the work she was doing and to keep that up - and I thanked her. I think it's a good thing to be sensitive to the language because it DOES matter - although I have my own twisted mind game around it. When a treatment works, I give myself some credit, when a treatment fails, I take no blame! The people who write about and discuss these things do need to put it in the correct perspective tho - the treatment fails the patient, not the other way around. __________________ Chris in Scotts Valley June 2002 extensive hi grade DCIS (pre-cancer-stage 0, clean sentinal node) Mastectomy/implant - no chemo, rads. "cured?" 9/2004 Diag: Stage IV extensive liver mets (!) ER/PR- Her2+++ 10/04-3/05 Weekly Taxol/Carboplatin/Herceptin , complete response! 04/05 - 4/07 Herception every 3 wks, Continue NED 04/07 - recurrence to liver - 2 spots, starting tykerb/avastin trial 06/07 8/07 10/07 Scans show stable, continue on Tykerb/Avastin 01/08 Progression in liver 02/08 Begin (TDM1) trial 08/08 NED! It's Working! Continue on TDM1 02/09 Continue NED 02/10 Continue NED. 5/10 9/10 Scans NED 10/10 Scans NED 12/10 Scans not clear....4/11 Scans suggest progression 6/11 progression confirmed in liver 07/11 - 11/11 Herceptin/Xeloda -not working:( 12/11 Begin MM302 Phase I trial - bust:( 03/12 3rd times the charm? AKT trial 5/12 Scan shows reduction! 7/12 More reduction!!!! 8/12 Whoops...progression...trying for Perjeta/Herceptin (plus some more nasty chemo!) 9/12 Start Perjeta/Herceptin, chemo on hold due to infection/wound in leg, added on cycle 2 &3 11/12 Poops! progression in liver, Stop Perjeta/Taxo/Herc 11/12 Navelbine/Herce[ptin - try for a 3 cycles, no go. 2/13 Gemzar/Carbo/Herceptin - no go. 3/13 TACE procedure