Last week we attended a memorial for a dear friend of way more than 50 years. I am writing this because I think there is a teachable moment in here for most people.

Days or Weeks to Live

This person was about 70 years old when she began to notice a new type of fatigue. It finally got to the point where she couldn’t function normally anymore. Her husband got her in the car and it was off to the ER. The ER folks, of course, ran a routine blood test and found that she was showing signs of a rare and serious type of leukemia. She was told that she had days to weeks to live unless she was able to get in advanced care now.

Sometimes Best Treatment Protocol At This Stage Is Hard to Know

I can’t comment too much on the care she received as that really isn’t the point right now. I will summarize by saying that she lived about 9 months after the initial trip to the ER. Her husband said he had wished they had declined advanced treatment options and had accepted the earlier death. It is hard to know what is the best course of action in these early treatment stages. One thing I know is that people in the advanced care industry might be inclined to take a different path than they advise for their patients for a number of reasons.

Signs of Problems on Her Face

Back to the memorial service. As I watched the photo montage that one of her sons had put together, I was probably the only one in the building watching her face for clues as to what had gone wrong and when. It is this observer’s opinion that her problems probably began about 5 years earlier by her looks. Before that time, she was smiling a lot and had what I would call a lower level of facial inflammation. Instead of her easy smile, she was grimacing more and more. Maybe she had a low level of pain that didn’t really register as pain in a particular place per se but her face was registering the underlying stress or the effects of leukemia. Who can be sure?

Would A Routine Blood Test Have Given Her More Options?

At this writing, both Mary and I are in are early 70s and get blood tests routinely just to make sure that our health decisions are sending us in the right direction. Each of us has our tendencies for problems and you usually can’t just go by feel. A blood test is an unbiased third party opinion as to the state of your physiology.

I wonder if the outcome would have been different if our friend had made the effort to get a good blood test at least once a year and more often if something is going awry. Maybe the blood count would have shown reason for concern years earlier. With the type of leukemia, her projected survival rate was about 30%. Earlier diagnosis might have put her into that 30% group instead of the 70% who don’t make it.

A Little Background to Their Health Efforts

I should also mention that this couple worked hard to avoid chemicals in the environment and in their food. They raised a lot of their own vegetables and consciously worked to have a healthy lifestyle. That is certainly admirable but is not a reason to avoid getting that blood test. The husband had signs of prostate problems for several years but didn’t take any action until he wound up in the ER unable to urinate.

Another reason they probably put off trips to the doctor was because they retired in a town that was inexpensive (relatively speaking) and about two hours from major medical care. I see a lot of older couples go down this path. This is all well and good until something like this goes wrong.

What Is A Good Blood Test?

When I say a good blood test, I mean something different than what is the usual. Doctors are often constrained by what the insurance company will pay. They tend to pay for the test once the diagnosis has already been made. This doesn’t make sense as how do you know what is wrong if you don’t check.

You can click on the link below to get an update of lab test basics. The 4^th paragraph has a link for the markers we like to have to understand what is happening with you.

Lab Test Update With Item List

I think many people put off testing like this because they don’t want to deal with another health problem. Getting the blood test just tells you what is happening but you can still decide what you want to do about it. I have seen some serious problems show up in testing and the person decides to do nothing about it. Avoiding a health problem doesn’t make it go away.

I should also note that I have only talked about blood testing here to keep the conversation simple. Many other types of testing are available like neurotransmitter, omega index, telomere and more.

This person was also a faithful reader of my blogs. I am not sure who is reading them these days but it is now one person less.

July 2023