Spilling your guts.
Intelligence, nature| March 25th, 2008You’re diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, a cancer tumor in your abdomen, and given only six months to live. Because of the size and location of the tumor you are told it is inoperable. You did the whole chemo and drug coctail thing and it didn’t work. Now you are faced with the slow and rather painful conclusion of your life.
Or you can go against everyone’s recomendation and have a surgery that would literally spill your guts. Woman’s Abdominal Organs Removed in Unique Cancer Surgery
Her organs were put back in after the tumor had been excised. And she is apparently doing rather well post-op. When you think about it, it does not seem that far fetched. Sure she had 6 organs removed, but only temporarily. Organ removal and transplant has been fairly routine for the past several years. This is just an extension of that, except with one person and their own organs.
Personally I have hard time putting something back together after taking it apart. I always manage to lose some vital part, or some part that doesn’t seem vital until everything falls apart the next day. Hopefully the surgeons pay better attention to where everything goes as they start removing pieces. It may be a little uncomfortable if your stomach becomes your spleen and your spleen becomes your liver the liver gets lost behind a cabinet. Not to mention messy.
Not to downplay the incredibleness of the operation, but it seems like pretty soon humans are going to become snapable. Like little models of dolls with interchangable parts made for easy replacement. And if stem cell research and cloning continues we could even replace ourselves with ourselves. I am not opposed to the idea, but if you start thinking about possibilities, both good and bad, you can seriously scare yourself (even more then looking at yourself in the morning before the shower). Makes the Island of Dr. Moreau even more of a possibility. Of course I think without that kind of advancement, humans have pretty much stalled evolution wise. Think about it. Back in the day people with poor vision would be seen as unfit mates, because of poorer hunting skills, not to mention just falling off a cliff. Compound that with increasing the life span through drugs, surgeries and other treatments, we have people living and breeding that otherwise wouldn’t.
To quote a favorite bumper sticker of mine:
Stupid people shouldn’t breed
I was not trying to be inflamatory with the above. I know it could be seen as a rant and it very well may have been one. And yes you could just as easily argue that humans are thus evolving in other ways. I am not trying to start an argument about religion either. So let me just end it with, Good luck to that woman, hopefully this technique will become even more common and save many lives, thus further diluting the evolutionary gene pool.




5 Responses to “Spilling your guts.”
March 25th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Perhaps we are on our way to a man-made fountain of youth? Perhaps if we are going to die in a matter of weeks or months why not take an extreme chance at life? Do you really have anything to lose?? Its amazing the things we can do now. It will be even more amazing in a couple years……
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March 26th, 2008 at 11:17 am
I have often wondered about the current trends in childbearing, and what might come of them. Evolution has been artificially moved around, starting with birth control of any kind and the progress of medicine. I’ve read that the reason we live so long is more a function of good waste management and abundant food than medicine. Probably because waste management and food help everyone, where medicine is much more limited in it’s impact. I’m frequently amazed at the desire of people to live for excessively long spans of time. Certainly, I would prefer those I love to live longer than I (a supremely selfish desire), but I believe that when I have reached my end, I will not be unhappy to go. My greatest desire is to look back on my life at it’s end, and regret nothing.
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March 27th, 2008 at 8:30 am
I know from experience that you misplace everything. I am very grateful you are not a surgeon. I enjoyed reading your rant.
March 28th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
(LOL) Golly, surgery is already scary enough. For example, we have to worry about whether they’re going to take out or off the wrong organ. I can’t imagine worrying about whether they’re going to put my organs back in! What if your surgeon is having a fight on the phone with their spouse with one of your organs in their hand: For instance your doctor is holding your liver in one hand, and the phone in other… “O. K. O.K. Fine with me take the kids to your mother’s. I’m through trying!” he says as he slams your liver on the operating table and puts the phone in your body.
Geez, I don’t know how long I want to live…
Ann :))
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March 28th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Yes it is scary what can be done medically these days. And yes I am still all for it. A man made fountain of youth would be good and may be possible eventually. But I do not know if I would want to live forever.
As far as reasons for increased longevity, sure the initial conditions that caused the increase were improved waste management and increased food sources. But that only goes so far. The waste management helps prevent the spread of disease and toxins. More abundant food provides a better diet (not that everyone eats that better diet). But those can only have a certain impact and I think for the past 100yrs or so, at least in developed countries, modern medicine practices have had a bigger impact on increasing the life span.
And I never misplace something. I just can’t remember were it is.
And in sad stupid medical news Girl dies after parents pray instead of seeing doctor
Medicine is not evil and does not go angainst gods will. It reminds me of a joke:
There is a massive flood. Everyone is forced to leave. One woman decides to stay and leave her fate in gods hands. As the water rises she moves higher in the house. At first it is above the porch. At this time a man in a canoe paddles up and asks if she needs any help. She declines, saying “God is all the help I need”. The water rises higher. By now it she is on the second floor. This time a motor boat comes by and again offers her help. Again she declines for the same reason, “God is all the help I need.” Finally she is forced on the roof. A helicopter flying overhead sees her and asks if she needs any help. Again she replies, “God is all the help I need.” Finally the water level rises to high and she drowns. At the gates of heaven, a very wet and very disappointed woman asks Peter:”Why did God not save me from drowning?”. To which Peter replied:”What do you mean? Were the canoe, the motor boat, and the helicopter not enough?”
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