Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Dr. Einhorn

A few days after my oncologist recommended chemotherapy, I called him back with a bunch of questions: what health precautions should I take during the treatment, what sort of diet should I be on, should I sperm bank, etc.
I also asked him about the chemo. regimen I'll be on: Etoposide, or VP-16, cisPlatin, Bleomycin, and Neulasta if needed. Specifically I asked him why these drugs and dosages? He said the treatment comes from Dr. Einhorn, one of the leading authorities on testicular cancer and treatment in the United States.
So I looked the dude up.
Lawrence Einhorn teaches at Indiana University. In 1974, he developed a chemotherapy regimen that literally turned the mortality rate of this disease upside down.
In the early 1970s, testicular cancer patients had a 90 percent mortality rate. mortality rate = chance of dying. Today, the survival rate is 95 percent.
All of this happened within my life time (well, add about five years).
Thanks Dr. Einhorn.
And for the record, Dr. Einhorn was part of the medical team that treated Lance Armstrong.

2 comments:

....J.Michael Robertson said...

Those are good numbers. I look forward to your post: My Visit to the Sperm Bank.

And if you get a nice toaster for that first deposit, Dr. Einhorn probably wouldn't say no.

Sarah said...

Hey, I work at Indiana University too! I could drop that toaster off if you needed.