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April 16, 2007
By Margot | April 16, 2007
Playing the Lottery
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My grandmother played the lottery every week. “Margy,” she’d say, “I have all the money I’m going to win parceled out to every family member, I have all the trips I’m going to take planned out and I’m ready to go shopping if my numbers come up.” I continue the tradition and have actually had the thought that maybe since Grandma played her whole life and only won eleven dollars, the laws of the universe will work in my favor and the luck that would have eventually come her way might come mine. Muddled logic I know. My Dad, who is a math genius, used to tell me that the lottery was a tax on the stupid. “Do you know what the actual odds are of winning the lottery, Margot? He used to ask me. “Well Dad,” I’d say defiantly, “somebody wins.” I go into the same 7/11 after dropping Andy off from preschool and the same guy sells me my ticket. I go in and ask with my deadpan gangster face as if I’m passing information on bank heist and ask, “Anybody hit on Wednesday?” We say “hit” in 7/11 not “win.” He always knows. “Guy up in Rancho Bernardo hit. Only five numbers though – didn’t have the mega. $250,000.” I nod once and say “Two quick picks.” He somberly hands me my ticket and wishes me luck. Sometimes if it’s a big jackpot I’ll buy three quick picks then he raises his eyebrows and says, “Feeling lucky this week, huh?” Oh, I would go shopping if I won. I would shop for The Seneca Valley Virus Trial and The Bromopyruvate Trial and The Dichloracetate Trial and any other trial that might save Sam and Penelope and Max and Emily and all the kids fighting neuroblastoma . Cost of each trial: $1 million to $1.5 million. Being able to see Sam graduate from high school? Priceless. Ah, there’s the lottery I really want to win.
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So, let’s talk about the odds. What are the odds of my son getting a rare cancer? Hmm. Pretty high. What are the odds of one the drugs currently in development being a cure? Actually there are several drugs/treatments that are looking very promising. Do the odds go up if we are depending on me wining the lottery to fund the clinical trials necessary to get these drugs into kids? Yes, they do. Money Money Money, it’s a rich cancer’s game. Survival rates for Leukemia and Breast Cancer and Prostate cancer have gone up dramatically since money for research has poured in. Unfortunately, Neuroblastoma is a very poor cancer. We are going to change that.
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Neil is working on budgets for clinical trials today so it got me thinking about money. Sam is in school today and doing fine. His leg hurt yesterday during soccer but his numbers are very pretty. LDH Friday was 579 and HVA and VMA were 8.3 and 3.6 respectively -both normal. MRI is Friday. MIBG is next Thursday.
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Margot
Topics: Progress Reports | Comments Off on April 16, 2007
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