WILTIMS #100: Doctoring

Centennial post! Thank you to all of my readers. I love writing this blog (though I do forget this sometimes at 2am) and I'm constantly amazed that anyone would come back on a semi-regular basis to read my ramblings. This was the last day before a big week of tests, so I will probably not post anything for a little while. I have to stay in medical school to keep writing about it!

Today we had a midterm in Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine at 8am(!!!). How younger me ever managed to go to school at such an unsavory hour I do not know. We then continued into three straight hours of medical physiology, which was surprisingly intelligible for once. I then ditched the one hour of class in the afternoon - gasp! - to give a presentation at a local middle school about lung cancer and smoking.

Me getting a radiation treatment

As I mentioned in a post eons ago, I am on the executive board of the Cancer Awareness Education Program student club on campus. Our mission is to go to local middle and high schools and give presentations to kids about the dangers of lung cancer and smoking. At the same time, we are conducting research on the effectiveness of such presentations. Unlike D.A.R.E. programs which focus on peer pressure, "just say no!", and the like, our goal is to teach the science behind anti-smoking claims so that kids can decide for themselves not to smoke rather than just being told not to. Of course, we also add a solid dose of scare tactics, via gross pictures, to hammer the message home (my radiation mask and personal cancer stories do wonders too). Here are some of the highlights for your reference:

My mask

• Cancer is the second largest cause of death in the US and lung cancer is far and away the biggest killer of all cancers.
• Even though slightly more people are diagnosed with prostate and breast cancer each year, lung cancer kills more people than prostate, breast, colon and pancreatic cancers combined.
• Over 90% of these lung cancer deaths (and most oral and throat cancers too) are directly caused by smoking.
• Lung cancer is an especially nasty cancer prone to metastasis and has awful, relatively ineffective treatments.
• Smoking, even if it doesn't cause cancer in an individual, always reduces lung function. 
• Whereas healthy lungs will last well over 100 years, a lifelong smoker will start to have difficulty breathing by their 50s and their lungs will start to fail by 75. 
• But by stopping smoking, even after decades, the lungs will return to a normal rate of decay, prolonging the time that they'll work well.
• So don't start, but if you do, it is never too late to quit!

I love doing outreach like this - sharing the wonders of science and medicine with the uninitiated public. I firmly believe that regardless of education or interests, everyone should have a healthily inquisitive mind. And one of the biggest mysteries that everyone confronts on a daily basis is how their own body works. Part of the reason I write this blog and why I wanted to go into medicine in the first place is to share the knowledge that am lucky enough to learn in medical school with my friends, family and someday my patients. It's your body and it's amazing and you should know that!

The word "doctor" is literally Latin for teacher

TIL: The diving reflex is a physiological response to submersion of the face in cold water causing the lowering of the heart rate and vasoconstriction of peripheral circulation. This reflex allows people, especially young children, to survive for an extended time underwater without breathing.