Do immunosuppressants interfere w/cancer detection | Arthritis Information
OK, I know I'm in trouble when I'm asking questions based on a House episode.
The repeat they had on tonight had a woman whose liver failed and after she had a transplant, they were still trying to find the cause of her illness. House and the group were ruling out cancer when Wilson pointed out that with the immunosuppresants in her system for the transplant, those tests wouldn't pick up cancer. (Ultimately it was determined that she had the plague)
So it got me wondering, is there any risk, with the immunosuppressing drugs we're on (a much lower dose than transplant patients I'm sure) of not being able to detect cancers? Anyone have any idea? Seems like that would be a big problem if that's the case.
Wow, I'm sorry, I got hung up on the "Ultimately it was determined that she had the plague" part....
THE PLAGUE?!?!?! Sheesh. That's TV for ya.
I can't say I've ever heard of that happening. Sounds unlikely, but like I just proved in another post, I am certianly no expert..LOL
I wouldn't worry about anything you see on House. They have some crazy dx. Plague, come on, when was the last time you have heard of a plague.?
ALSO< don't lots of people have to have the plague to be the plague??
[QUOTE=CinDee]I wouldn't worry about anything you see on House. They have some crazy dx. Plague, come on, when was the last time you have heard of a plague.?
[QUOTE=InnerGlow]
I always thought of the plague as something from the dark ages where it killed populations of people. I guess they have come a long way since then. LOL
[QUOTE=JasmineRain] Cortisone is used to treat the symptoms of some cancers (leukemias, I think) and methotrexate was originally a cancer chemo drug.[/QUOTE]
Right, so if we're taking some of those for RA, and we happen to get some kind of cancer too, might they interfere with the early detection of it? Could the level we're on be enough to suppress it but not treat it?
[QUOTE=InnerGlow][QUOTE=JasmineRain] Cortisone is used to treat the symptoms of some cancers (leukemias, I think) and methotrexate was originally a cancer chemo drug.[/QUOTE]
Me too, good question. It sounds logical.You guys!
Work with me here!
Bubonic plague has been on the rise in the US. I last read about rats infested with it out in the desert areas of Cali and NM about a year ago. They warned of expecting a plague of middle ages proportions in the big cities.
Remember - most of the TV shows have writers in LA - hence, things that happen in LA get put in your shows. Who hear watches Law and Order? EVERY DAMN story they do is ripped from the headlines. Remember the dog owners that were prosecuted for reckless endangerment - I read the article on something like pge 6 of the B section and went - oooh, new Law and Order. Within 4 months...there it was. You want to get a email delivery of the LA Times - I bet within 4 months every last one of you can pick the 'hot and trendy' new plots of the shows.
Pip
10-15 cases of plague a year in the US, all in rurual areas, isn't exactly what I would call an epidemic. Plague is easily treated with antibiotics however if treatment is not given plague is generally fatal. If a plague outbreak occurs preventive antibiotics can be given to the at risk population. Pip, you're safe the tetracyclines are among the preferred (lol)This is a great question. I'd like to know all the ways our suppressed immune systems are affected, good or bad. House has it going on. We need to pool our funds and hire their medical consultants for a day of chat to answer all of our questions!!!!
[QUOTE=buckeye]10-15 cases of plague a year in the US, all in rurual areas, isn't exactly what I would call an epidemic. Plague is easily treated with antibiotics however if treatment is not given plague is generally fatal. If a plague outbreak occurs preventive antibiotics can be given to the at risk population. Pip, you're safe the tetracyclines are among the preferred (lol)[/QUOTE]
Mortality for untreated infection is around 50% (unless you get the pneumonic plague).
Makes a great bioweapon too. I sure as hell hope none of it ever gets in the hands of some extremist nutjob.I just love how the stories change in the media. You see the 'truth' of what was reported and it's like you can see the writer's brain working...ooooh, there's bubonic plague in the US, how can I use that in a script, well, I've got an in at House, maybe I can spec out a script on bubonic plague...but the truth is boring...got to spice it up a bit. LOL
Thanks Buckeye, for the info on treatment...I'm safe!
Pip
the last edition of ARthritis Today had an article on House and his propensity for Autoimmune diagnoses.
[QUOTE=Pip!]I just love how the stories change in the media. You see the 'truth' of what was reported and it's like you can see the writer's brain working...ooooh, there's bubonic plague in the US, how can I use that in a script, well, I've got an in at House, maybe I can spec out a script on bubonic plague...but the truth is boring...got to spice it up a bit. LOL
Suzanne, you crack me up. If I understand it correctly, methotrexate is still a chemo therapy for cancer, used in significantly higher doses than RA victims. Once a week is a very small dosage of a chemo product.
I watched my normal WBC drop in a steady line once I started MTX, until it went abnormally low, that's when I stopped taking it.
"Makes a great bioweapon too. I sure as hell hope none of it ever gets in the hands of some extremist nutjob."
actually we are a lot better off being hit with a fast moving bacterial infection like plague than a slower moving viral infection. Bacterial infections are curable . You can put isolation /quarantine procedures in place to slow the infection and ultimately stop the spread. Its harder to pin donw ground zero with a slow moving infection and of course we currently can't cure most viral infections we can only treat the symptoms.
Granted it would wreck havoc with our economy but at least we should live through it
[QUOTE=buckeye]"Makes a great bioweapon too. I sure as hell hope none of it ever gets in the hands of some extremist nutjob."
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