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#i am not immune to the clive top
simpleviera · 2 months
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I was changing her glam and got this far and left it this way 🫡
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littleragondin · 10 months
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9 People You’d Like to Know More
About a million years later... thank you for tagging me @troubled-mind! \(٥⁀▽⁀ )/
Last song: 湘南族 -cannibal coast- by Aural Vampire オーラルヴァンパイア
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I organized an old hard drive the other day and pulled out some music from my college days that I have been re-listening to.
Currently reading:
I have about 15 pages left of « 今会いにゆきます» by Ichikawa Takuji (Be with you, or je reviendrais avec la pluie in French). An easy read but I’m not sure the translation is really doing it any favor…
« Days of Magic, Nights of War » by Clive Barker, book 2 of The Books of Abarat. It’s a re-read of a beloved series so I am having a lot of fun !
And I am still, slowly (okay, very slowly) but surely working my way through « Du côté de chez Swann » by Proust.
Currently watching:
I am in a terrible slump since the end of June, so right now all I’m managing is Laws of Attraction, and because I found my stash of tokusatsu, I am finally (and ridiculously slowly) starting Kamen Rider OOO.
Next in line on my watch list:
I have about a million things I started that I need to catch up, but at the top of the list are: Love Tractor, Destined, and probably La Pluie and Be My Favorite. I also really want to warch Tokyo in April. Oh and Yellowjackets! And movie wise, I will probably check "Marry my dead body" very soon (I am not immune to dash propaganda and ghosts), Utsukushii Kare Eternal, and I want to sit down and finally watch the Suspiria from 2018.
Starting soon:
I am most excited for I See You Linger in the Air and Kiseki: Dear to Me right now! Also The Whisperer but we have to wait a little longer for that one.
Current obsessions:
Oh boy.
Hm I am pretty into Laws of Attraction as of now, not gonna lie. Yes, yes especially Thee/Tanthai (in a constant state of "what would be the angstiest backstory for them?" I'm afraid). But also Maya and Rose??? (/▽\*)。o○♡ PLEASE.
I have been on a huge Baroque kick for the last ~5 days so I have been listening to a lot of that during my work days.
Tagging: as always, i you feel so inclined, i'll tag @scienceoftheidiot @sauvechouris @benkaaoi @dengswei @fandomfairyuniverse @bengiyo @howdydowdy @petrichoraline if you see it and want to do it, consider yourself tagged! (And tag me so i can check =3)
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@lyhoradka​ tagged me in that post about five bits of text from written media that are burned into your brain and, kindly, gave me a theme of places. i am going to annotate this because i am a bitch
1. holy places are dark places. the wisdom that we get in them is not thin and clear like water but thick and dark like blood. - cs lewis, till we have faces
im almost certain ive misremembered this one but its better this way. clive what the devil fuck were you trying to say with till we have faces. burn it down and start over with this. i have a sidenote about hope faith and love but thats beyond the scope of this discussion
2. night falls. the workers put down their tools and point to the sky. “there is the blueprint,” they say.  invisible cities, italo calvino
again idr if its sky or stars. this is the description of thecla from invisible cities, kindly appointed to me by my good friend venus. this is not the strongest one but it is a strong one and its for Me and i remember it. inna thought i was going to make this whole post about haunted houses and this one is completely the opposite; i’ll consider it aspirational
3. walk to the east till you can walk no more. swim east until you pass the sunrise; swim east until you pass the stars; swim east until you come to the edge of the sky. there you will find yourself on the shores of a different land. even in that place, they shall know your name, and mine. - adel, kc danine/unlikely flowerings, jenna moran
sorry i cheated on this one bc i looked up the attribution and found my memory was wrong. but i cut it up to match what i thought. this one is actually a combo with
3a. the sea will be the color night behind glass. then, slowly, it becomes green: first rain-wet slate, then darkest jade. green as fresh emeralds. green as remembered rivers - the sun beneath the sea, sunless seas
again ive hashed the first part of that but green as remembered rivers lives in my head rent free. these two live under the heading “an exile in the uttermost east”
4. THIS IS NOT A PLACE OF HONOR. NO HIGHLY VALUED DEED IS REMEMBERED HERE. NOTHING OF VALUE IS STORED HERE. 
the warning continues of course but the basis is here. the idea that we cannot produce something so horrifying and terrifying that it does not also fascinate us, as you might guess, fascinates me. nightmare and obsession are such close brothers
5. a woman drew her hair out tight/and fiddled in the violet light/and upside down in air were towers/tolling reminiscent bells that kept the hours/and voices singing out of empty cisterns and exhausted wells.
in my head sean bean reads these lines in his civ vi voice. why did so much weird fiction pattern weird bits of worldbuilding after this bit. not that i am immune. voices singing out of empty cisterns and exhauuusted wells
BONUS CONTENT
so many things i wanted to add that werent written or that i didnt have memorized perfectly enough
1i. the, like, entire first half of to tundra by los camp, which i will reproduce below
meet me at st nicholas among the oaks behind the church that sway like pigtailed girls as summer wind whistles around your bare-shin knees and the forsythia leaves in the shade lay with me tickled by the feather reeds thats where the trees grow old under the ivys hold as you in my two arms equally safe from harm and in a hazy daydream our bodies married the stream and we broke down into pebbles and silt the water ran from the fields until the oceans we filled and found the seabed the comfiest quilt
there was more life in the weeds than in the few hundred seats that rose from transept to chancel to nave [...]
2i. prim leaves her father’s house. i won’t reproduce the whole story here but there’s a girl prim and her father is the god hansa and they live in a house of iron nails and one day her dad is killed and she has to go bury him and takes nothing but his corpse and a single iron nail. and she traipses all across creation and the void looking for somewhere to bury him but every time she tries his corpse shouts at her for being shit at it. and eventually she collapses, and drops the nail and it springs right up into the same exact house, and she imagines crawling in there with her fathers corpse to die next to him and freaks out and then
A pale face came before her and she was abruptly struck from her despair as though by a great hammer. A beautiful stranger had appeared, mild and tall, of milky flesh, spare in figure, but radiant in voice and visage. "I know you," said the stranger in a small voice, "you are Prim."
"I was Hansa's orphan, the slave, Prim," croaked Prim in response, "and now I am nobody, just a small dirty thing in great emptiness and here I will die."
"No," said the stranger, and the clarity and firmness of her voice and smile send a shock through Prim, "you are Prim, and Prim only, and Prim you shall be." And Prim there realized her tears had made a great pool and she was greeting her own reflection. And she fell into that murky pool and straight away it turned clear as crystal and Prim vomited forth a great black knot from very deep within her, and her body was scoured and lashed by the icy waters of that pool, and great draughts of poisonous filth and despondency were drawn in rushing gasps from her wounds, and her skin was sealed and her soiled trappings were purged and the caked illness and death was ripped away and she rose from that pool fresh and humming. Her back straightened and she scarcely thought on her father's corpse or the faintest echo of that iron house.  That is how Prim left her father's house.
so basically abaddon scooped all of tsiy and every other haunted house writer in like five thousand words
3i. berenike
From my words you will have reached the conclusion that the real Berenice is a temporal succession of different cities, alternately just and unjust. But what I wanted to warn you about is something else: all the future Berenices are already present in this instant, wrapped one within the other, confined, crammed, inextricable.
4i. a ghost does not come to stand in the dark doorway of your room because it is an 18th century orphan girl named annie. a ghost comes to stand in the doorway of your room because the doorway is where things come to stand. - i am in eskew, david ward
the formats all fucked up now huh. this has influenced my thoughts on both psychogeo and necromancy. what a fucking guy. theres also the pope lick bridge one but
5i. i hope you will forgive me for including a bit from tsiy
I opened my eyes. I was kneeling at the base of a tree, at the top of a grassy hill, under starry night. Dad was standing a little ways back, head craned back to look at the tree. "What is this place to you?" he asked, looking around. The island came to an abrupt stop at the edges; it wasn't a floating island in space or anything, there just.....wasn't anything beyond the edge of it. Like looking past the edge of your own eyesight -- not the blackness of eyelids, but the colorless place beyond.
"I'll die here someday," I said, and meant it.
i really need to work on getting places and haunted places into the new draft. im slacking. but im also not allowed to go back and change anything rn or ill just never get anywhere
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addictsitter · 5 years
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F, G, Q, and T
F: What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom? consistently? god, uh. i think probably kingdom hearts? but that was years back. maybe stranger things since i did get into it like, a month after s2 aired but it was a backburner fandom. wait no nm it’s descendants. cause i’ve been more or less YES DESCENDANTS GOOD a lot for the last three and a half years. so. also kind of tortall bc i get sporadically bitter about neal/kel every month or so and have since about 2007.
G: Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was in it? ooh okay so the first otp i remember is john sheppard/teyla emmagan from stargate atlantis and i just. never really got over them. (they’re my forever otp)
Q: A ship you’ve abandoned and why: oh okay this one is kinda tough but i guess the best example is probably jay/carlos and mal/evie from descendants? like, i have nothing against the ships themselves and there’s plenty of material there. BUT. the fandom, rachel. i hate. the descendants fandom. so goddamn much. because they’re really obnoxious (never 4get the j*ylos stans who called d3 the straightest of the movies despite jay/gil being as close to canon as we were gonna get for a descendants movie just bc carlos was still with jane. also all the j*ylos stans who complained about them ~no homo’ing~ j*ylos in d2 because carlos liked jane and jay and carlos’s friendship got less focus while completely ignoring the harry/gil kiss that was scripted, filmed and then cut!!!)
(”alec are you still bitter about d2″ I AM ALWAYS BITTER ABOUT D2)
T: Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending, about anything at all (gender identity, sexual or romantic orientation, extended family, sexual preferences like top/bottom/switch, relationship with poetry, seriously anything)
ahem. excuse me. [retrieves stack of paper] we’re going to go alphabetically by fandom. and by alphabetically by fandom, i mean you’re getting some highlights.
under a cut for length
battlestar galactica: hello yes have i talked about kara thrace being a lesbian yet? no? so kara thrace is a lesbian and lee adama is a trans lesbian and they are happy and in love. thank you, have a nice day.
being human: s3 established that annie feels things that people feel when she touches them which leads me to the headcanon that mitchell, nina and george made all her old favorite foods for, like, an entire week and ate them so she could enjoy them again, along with other things. (we do not discuss the plot that involved that part i don’t acknowledge 98% of s3 for a reason.)
descendants: uma’s mother is ursula, this is canon, but i fully headcanon that her father is a deity of some flavor and she, like mal, is a full on demigoddess. aside from that, i also will live and die by the idea that ben can go beast without audrey’s magic being involved. also carlos is non-binary, evie’s a trans girl, harry is the definition of chaotic bi and non-binary and gil’s a trans boy.
elementary: i. i have so many. where do i start. um. easiest is this: during the time skip in the finale while joan underwent chemo, kitty came back to new york and archie and arthur spent, like, all their time together while sherlock and kitty traded off watching the kids. also: joanlockbell ot3 or bust.
the get down: shao got the fuck away from annie and got a happy ending and met zeke again at some point and they lived happily ever after. also DIZZEE IS TOTALLY FINE.
gilmore girls: finale what finale. revival what revival. logan and rory are happily married and working on their careers and EVERYONE IS GOOD AND NOBODY IS PREGNANT.
gossip girl: dan’s not gossip girl what the fuck show. trans girl jenny or bust. also trans girl blair.
harry potter: [insert requisite dean/seamus and sirius/remus comment here] also harry became a goddamn teacher fuck that auror shit that boy needs to get away from more fighting goddamn. also someone please get him into therapy. please.
high school musical: listen chad danforth is a trans girl and people can come fight me. also requisite chad/ryan comment here.
izombie: post-s3 did not happen, ravi is either immune or a zombie and he and liv are happily together and clive is regularly grossed out by them as a couple. major goes back to being a social worker, as he fucking should have.
i had a kingdom hearts thing here but tbh i just. have so many emotions that i can’t even touch it 
leverage: listen. listen. eliot absolutely worked for the stargate program and nobody can ever convince me otherwise. it was supposed to happen and they couldn’t manage it so i’m declaring it my canon. also hardison may or may not have learned his hacking skills from his nana.
i. had magicians headcanons and i still have magicians headcanons and one of them is genderfluid quentin and that is literally the only one i can think of without crying right now.
one piece: aro/ace lawlu or bust. genderfluid sanji or bust. lesbian nami or bust. also. my asshole babes aka cp9 aka now at least partially in cp0 are not, in fact, back working for the government inexplicably but are instead working undercover in cp0 for the revolutionary army. also mishanks was a thing bye
pacific rim: gender gets really fucking weird in the drift. nobody’s cis.
shadowhunters: hi yes do you have a moment to hear about jacemaia and how they are actually friends and spend time together and help each other with trauma and like each other
stranger things: BI STEVE BI STEVE BI STEVE BI STEVE BI STEVE steve and robin are bi/lesbian solidarity and any job they have in a non-80s small town setting involves robin roasting the fuck out of steve for failing with people of every gender. also elmax.
tortall. TORTALL. okay so. alanna is non-binary of some flavor idk what. alanna is with george and they both might also be with jon who’s publicly married to thayet who’s really married to buri who’s publicly married to raoul for ~appearances~ who’s actually w/ gary and maybe jon if he’s not being a dick that day. also. kel is married to neal and yuki and they all live together at new hope and all absolutely suck at hiding that fact and everyone at new hope just, like, conveniently ignores it. also i have A Lot of neal/kel feelings and headcanons but those would take me twelve hours, three powerpoints, a fifth of whiskey and yelling directly at tamora pierce to get through.
uhhh i think that’s it? maybe? possibly? i can’t think of anything else that i want to talk about at this point? i’ll stop now, at least.
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How I’m Freeing Myself from the Trap of Stuff I Don’t Need
“In the marketing society, we seek fulfillment but settle for abundance. Prisoners of plenty, we have the freedom to consume instead of the freedom to find our place in the world.” ~Clive Hamilton, Growth Fetish
I come from a time where passbook savings accounts were the norm.
I can recall skipping along to the bank, aged eight, with one pudgy hand enveloped in my dad’s and the other clutching a little booklet.
I’d wait my turn in line with butterflies in my belly. The teller was always so far away. But once I got to her, it was magical. She’d open a hidden drawer, extract the exact notes, and scribble the remaining balance into my passbook. Et voilà—cash in hand!
Everything about this performance was concrete and transparent: Whenever I withdrew money, I immediately saw my bank balance decline. And without the risk of it nosediving into overdraft, it’s how I understood money was a finite entity. It’s how my parents taught me to not spend beyond my means, to only buy stuff I needed or had saved up for.
Having a passbook savings account in my childhood and adolescence protected me from buying stuff carelessly.
Fast-forward to 2018, now living in Australia—which equates to residing in opulence for those living in developing nations—I’m not only thirty-six years apart from my eight-year-old self, but also thirty-six worlds away. In this world my eight-year-old self would throw a tantrum if she didn’t get the Barbie doll she wanted. I blame credit cards for that.
What also saw me come out on top all those years ago was the absence of the advertising glut that now penetrates an eight-year-old’s sphere.
In 1982 Fiji, TV did not exist. I played outside. I read Enid Blyton. I didn’t read the newspaper. And I can’t bring to mind any specific billboards of that time, even though I’m sure there were a few in the city, where I did not live.
Today, at forty-four years of age living in the era of affluenza and having a disposable income, advertisers know my attention is priceless. Yet, they get it on the cheap. This is despite my creating an anti-advertising bubble to cushion me: In 2014, I deleted my Facebook account. In 2017, my Twitter account. While I have Instagram, I do not use it. And I rarely watch commercial TV.
The ads for stuff don’t just infiltrate this bubble—they gush in. Into my inbox, even when I didn’t sign up for the next celebrity’s latest self-help book because I am something to be fixed. On my phone, when I receive a text promoting a sale of 15 percent off TVs all day today (and today only!). On trams, trains, buses, buildings, freeways…
The humble bus shelter does not escape from being turned into a billboard either. When I walk my dogs, I pass one that is currently telling me I can “drive away in a Polo Urban for only $16,990.” (Do I need a new car? After all my current one is nine years old, although it is running smoothly. Hmmm…) The posters on this shelter change weekly. It does not allow me the grace to become immune.
Even if I could construct an impenetrable bubble, it’d be pointless. The Internet and its cookies would see to that.
These cookies know—and remember with unfailing memory—what I desire (printed yoga leggings!). And they flaunt my desires by dangling carrots in front of me, whether I’m reading an online article, watching a video on YouTube, or searching on Google.
And if the Internet tempts with its cookies, then it decidedly seduces with its availability. I can now stare at the blue light on my ever-ready smartphone and make decisions to buy yoga leggings whenever I want.
The perfect time to do just that is before I flop into bed, after a long day’s hard work, cooking dinner, washing dishes, and watching an episode or two of my favorite show on Netflix. I should feel elated when I hit the buy button, but I find myself getting into bed not only with my husband, but also with guilt and a larger credit card debt.
The grab for my attention and time under the guise of convenience and a better life is, however, simply the tip of the iceberg. What no one can see is that I am waging a war against myself—with the monkey-mind chatter that jumps from one justifying thought to another, convincing me that something is a need not a want. This is an example of what the Buddhists call suffering.
About two years ago, my husband and I moved into the new house we built. It’s much bigger than one we’ve ever lived in. And as we prepared to move into it months beforehand, the justifications began:
We need new furniture to match the modern feel of the house. (Danish style, as we had been subconsciously brainwashed by Instagram with everything that was hip in interior design.) And we need a bigger TV for the bigger living space. A new fridge because our old one won’t neatly slide into its allocated spot of the spacious kitchen. And more paintings, since we now have more walls…
Not only did we ‘need’ all this stuff, but we also had to choose stuff that was ‘us.’ And it all had to look ‘just so’ when put together. So we researched online. Visited furniture, home, and electrical stores each weekend. Read reviews. Let the cookies take our minds into a rabbit hole of stuff we didn’t realize we needed.
Just thinking about all the time, money, and energy we invested to get it ‘right’ sets my heart aflutter and raises a sweat. It was gruelling—the number of choices, the number of decisions (Did you know that an eight-year-old now has hundreds of different Barbie dolls to choose from?). Luckily my husband and I have similar tastes; otherwise, I’m afraid, adding a number of arguments into the mix might have broken us entirely.
The evidence continues to pile up in favor of stuff even after the purchases have been made. After decking out our new house, I soon learned that not only did I possess things, but they also possessed me.
I worried about scuffing the freshly painted walls, staining the white kitchen benchtop with turmeric while making a curry, and my nephews scratching the wooden dining table by racing their toy cars on it. (What’s that saying? Is it “Stuff is meant to be used and people loved”?)
If I didn’t feel the compulsion to fill in the space, to make everything perfect, simply because the world presents me with the choices and pressures to do so, what would—what could—I do with all that extra time and energy, not to mention money? Read, write, hang out with my mum? See another part of the world? And, more importantly, who would I be? A happier, more relaxed person? The irony.
So, with the odds stacked completely against me, how do I even stand a chance of coming out on top of all this stuff? (How does anyone?)
I don’t believe the answer is to cut up my credit cards and get a passbook savings account, or to become a Luddite. The answer lies in cultivating awareness. By becoming aware of my thoughts and feelings, I can regain my power. Asking questions is paramount:
Will it give my life meaning? Make my life easier, better? Why do I really want it? Is it only because I am chasing a feeling? Or because I want to squelch one? What would happen if I didn’t buy it?
Failing this, I can always remind myself that almost everything material is optional.
About Lesh Karan
Lesh Karan is a former pharmacist turned writer. While she’s worn a few different work hats, including editing, food coaching and health writing, one thing has always remained consistent: harnessing words to help her process life. Learn more about Lesh at leshkaran.com.
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Get in the conversation! Click here to leave a comment on the site.
The post How I’m Freeing Myself from the Trap of Stuff I Don’t Need appeared first on Tiny Buddha.
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sarahburness · 6 years
Text
How I’m Freeing Myself from the Trap of Stuff I Don’t Need
“In the marketing society, we seek fulfillment but settle for abundance. Prisoners of plenty, we have the freedom to consume instead of the freedom to find our place in the world.” ~Clive Hamilton, Growth Fetish
I come from a time where passbook savings accounts were the norm.
I can recall skipping along to the bank, aged eight, with one pudgy hand enveloped in my dad’s and the other clutching a little booklet.
I’d wait my turn in line with butterflies in my belly. The teller was always so far away. But once I got to her, it was magical. She’d open a hidden drawer, extract the exact notes, and scribble the remaining balance into my passbook. Et voilà—cash in hand!
Everything about this performance was concrete and transparent: Whenever I withdrew money, I immediately saw my bank balance decline. And without the risk of it nosediving into overdraft, it’s how I understood money was a finite entity. It’s how my parents taught me to not spend beyond my means, to only buy stuff I needed or had saved up for.
Having a passbook savings account in my childhood and adolescence protected me from buying stuff carelessly.
Fast-forward to 2018, now living in Australia—which equates to residing in opulence for those living in developing nations—I’m not only thirty-six years apart from my eight-year-old self, but also thirty-six worlds away. In this world my eight-year-old self would throw a tantrum if she didn’t get the Barbie doll she wanted. I blame credit cards for that.
What also saw me come out on top all those years ago was the absence of the advertising glut that now penetrates an eight-year-old’s sphere.
In 1982 Fiji, TV did not exist. I played outside. I read Enid Blyton. I didn’t read the newspaper. And I can’t bring to mind any specific billboards of that time, even though I’m sure there were a few in the city, where I did not live.
Today, at forty-four years of age living in the era of affluenza and having a disposable income, advertisers know my attention is priceless. Yet, they get it on the cheap. This is despite my creating an anti-advertising bubble to cushion me: In 2014, I deleted my Facebook account. In 2017, my Twitter account. While I have Instagram, I do not use it. And I rarely watch commercial TV.
The ads for stuff don’t just infiltrate this bubble—they gush in. Into my inbox, even when I didn’t sign up for the next celebrity’s latest self-help book because I am something to be fixed. On my phone, when I receive a text promoting a sale of 15 percent off TVs all day today (and today only!). On trams, trains, buses, buildings, freeways…
The humble bus shelter does not escape from being turned into a billboard either. When I walk my dogs, I pass one that is currently telling me I can “drive away in a Polo Urban for only $16,990.” (Do I need a new car? After all my current one is nine years old, although it is running smoothly. Hmmm…) The posters on this shelter change weekly. It does not allow me the grace to become immune.
Even if I could construct an impenetrable bubble, it’d be pointless. The Internet and its cookies would see to that.
These cookies know—and remember with unfailing memory—what I desire (printed yoga leggings!). And they flaunt my desires by dangling carrots in front of me, whether I’m reading an online article, watching a video on YouTube, or searching on Google.
And if the Internet tempts with its cookies, then it decidedly seduces with its availability. I can now stare at the blue light on my ever-ready smartphone and make decisions to buy yoga leggings whenever I want.
The perfect time to do just that is before I flop into bed, after a long day’s hard work, cooking dinner, washing dishes, and watching an episode or two of my favorite show on Netflix. I should feel elated when I hit the buy button, but I find myself getting into bed not only with my husband, but also with guilt and a larger credit card debt.
The grab for my attention and time under the guise of convenience and a better life is, however, simply the tip of the iceberg. What no one can see is that I am waging a war against myself—with the monkey-mind chatter that jumps from one justifying thought to another, convincing me that something is a need not a want. This is an example of what the Buddhists call suffering.
About two years ago, my husband and I moved into the new house we built. It’s much bigger than one we’ve ever lived in. And as we prepared to move into it months beforehand, the justifications began:
We need new furniture to match the modern feel of the house. (Danish style, as we had been subconsciously brainwashed by Instagram with everything that was hip in interior design.) And we need a bigger TV for the bigger living space. A new fridge because our old one won’t neatly slide into its allocated spot of the spacious kitchen. And more paintings, since we now have more walls…
Not only did we ‘need’ all this stuff, but we also had to choose stuff that was ‘us.’ And it all had to look ‘just so’ when put together. So we researched online. Visited furniture, home, and electrical stores each weekend. Read reviews. Let the cookies take our minds into a rabbit hole of stuff we didn’t realize we needed.
Just thinking about all the time, money, and energy we invested to get it ‘right’ sets my heart aflutter and raises a sweat. It was gruelling—the number of choices, the number of decisions (Did you know that an eight-year-old now has hundreds of different Barbie dolls to choose from?). Luckily my husband and I have similar tastes; otherwise, I’m afraid, adding a number of arguments into the mix might have broken us entirely.
The evidence continues to pile up in favor of stuff even after the purchases have been made. After decking out our new house, I soon learned that not only did I possess things, but they also possessed me.
I worried about scuffing the freshly painted walls, staining the white kitchen benchtop with turmeric while making a curry, and my nephews scratching the wooden dining table by racing their toy cars on it. (What’s that saying? Is it “Stuff is meant to be used and people loved”?)
If I didn’t feel the compulsion to fill in the space, to make everything perfect, simply because the world presents me with the choices and pressures to do so, what would—what could—I do with all that extra time and energy, not to mention money? Read, write, hang out with my mum? See another part of the world? And, more importantly, who would I be? A happier, more relaxed person? The irony.
So, with the odds stacked completely against me, how do I even stand a chance of coming out on top of all this stuff? (How does anyone?)
I don’t believe the answer is to cut up my credit cards and get a passbook savings account, or to become a Luddite. The answer lies in cultivating awareness. By becoming aware of my thoughts and feelings, I can regain my power. Asking questions is paramount:
Will it give my life meaning? Make my life easier, better? Why do I really want it? Is it only because I am chasing a feeling? Or because I want to squelch one? What would happen if I didn’t buy it?
Failing this, I can always remind myself that almost everything material is optional.
About Lesh Karan
Lesh Karan is a former pharmacist turned writer. While she’s worn a few different work hats, including editing, food coaching and health writing, one thing has always remained consistent: harnessing words to help her process life. Learn more about Lesh at leshkaran.com.
Web | More Posts
Get in the conversation! Click here to leave a comment on the site.
The post How I’m Freeing Myself from the Trap of Stuff I Don’t Need appeared first on Tiny Buddha.
from Tiny Buddha https://tinybuddha.com/blog/freeing-myself-trap-stuff-i-dont-need/
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newstwitter-blog · 7 years
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New Post has been published on News Twitter
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BBC: Private cancer therapy 'crowdfunding rise'
Image caption Liz Sheppard has been crowdfunding treatment for cancer
There has been a big leap in the number of cancer patients turning to crowdfunding to pay for treatments not available on the NHS, figures seen by BBC Radio 5 live suggest.
Data from JustGiving shows that 2,348 appeals were set up by cancer patients or their loved ones in 2016, a seven-fold rise on the number for 2015.
Over £4.5m was raised by these appeals in 2016 compared with £530,000 in 2015.
Doctors say the number of patients bypassing the NHS is “very worrying”.
‘Strength and generosity’
Liz Sheppard, a mother-of-three from Mansfield, was diagnosed with small cell stomach cancer – a rare form of the disease – in November 2015.
She has now raised over £135,000 online to help pay for immunotherapy, which she is receiving at a private centre in London.
She has already spent around £60,000 of the money on immunotherapy, and says she is responding well to the treatment.
She told the BBC: “I’m able to get out and lead as normal a life as possible. Certainly I’m not bedridden.
“If it wasn’t for people’s generosity and kindness, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s not something I could have self-funded. Without that money I wouldn’t be here. It means everything.
“I’m a mother. I look at my children every day and they keep me going.
“And the messages people leave when they make a donation can be motivating in themselves. You can draw a lot of strength from them.”
Image copyright Science Photo Library
Image caption Immunotherapy is one of the most popular treatments people have crowdfunded for
A spokesman for NHS England said: “More people than ever before are surviving cancer thanks to improved NHS care… and together with NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) we have also launched a new-look cancer drugs fund, meaning patients will be able to access promising, new and innovative treatments much quicker.”
According to the detailed figures released by the platform JustGiving, USA, Germany and Mexico topped the most popular destinations for patients travelling abroad for treatments last year.
More than a fifth of those looking for treatment (404 people) raised £1,393,490 in donations to travel to the United States for care.
Germany followed in second place with 142 people crowdfunding £368,530 (a 461% increase from 2015), whilst 23 people raised £69,660 to travel to Mexico for treatment (a 224% increase from 2015).
‘Providing a lifeline’
Immunotherapy was the most popular treatment crowdfunded on the JustGiving platform in 2016.
The therapy uses the body’s own immune system to fight off cancer. It has been shown to work in certain cases, but not all. And some are still in the very early stages of research.
The treatments people have funded are not always considered to have the backing of sufficient scientific evidence by NHS experts.
Charles Wells, chief operations officer for JustGiving, said: “Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen more and more people crowdfunding on JustGiving to raise money for cancer treatments that aren’t available on the NHS.
“It can be a practical way for friends, family and the community to come together and help, as well as providing a lifeline for people by giving them access to pioneering treatments when they’ve been given a cancer diagnosis.”
‘Funding pressures’
Consultant oncologist Dr Clive Peedell expressed concern about the rise in the number of patients bypassing the NHS to fund their own treatment.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: “The NHS is clearly financially under pressure at present, but cancer therapy has received preferential funding compared with other diseases and conditions.
“The system for approving effective new cancer drugs is not perfect, but is much improved.
“The vast majority of proven effective treatments for cancer are funded by the NHS.
“This includes immunotherapy for a number of indications including lung cancer, which is my own field.
Future investment
“However, funding pressures are likely to pressurise the current system even further and we could see it break down in future.
“It is therefore very worrying to see this trend of crowdfunding for cancer drugs.
“It would be interesting to review all the cases to find out how many are genuinely appropriate.
“I worry that some patients may be trying to access treatment that may not be beneficial.
“Worse still, there may be significant extra costs involved, especially if patients pay privately or travel abroad.”
The NHS England spokesman said it was investing £130m in state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment, alongside £200m of funding over two years to improve local cancer services.
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Text
New Post has been published on News Twitter
New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/02/05/bbc-private-cancer-therapy-crowdfunding-rise-31/
BBC: Private cancer therapy 'crowdfunding rise'
Image caption Liz Sheppard has been crowdfunding treatment for cancer
There has been a big leap in the number of cancer patients turning to crowdfunding to pay for treatments not available on the NHS, figures seen by BBC Radio 5 live suggest.
Data from JustGiving shows that 2,348 appeals were set up by cancer patients or their loved ones in 2016, a seven-fold rise on the number for 2015.
Over £4.5m was raised by these appeals in 2016 compared with £530,000 in 2015.
Doctors say the number of patients bypassing the NHS is “very worrying”.
‘Strength and generosity’
Liz Sheppard, a mother-of-three from Mansfield, was diagnosed with small cell stomach cancer – a rare form of the disease – in November 2015.
She has now raised over £135,000 online to help pay for immunotherapy, which she is receiving at a private centre in London.
She has already spent around £60,000 of the money on immunotherapy, and says she is responding well to the treatment.
She told the BBC: “I’m able to get out and lead as normal a life as possible. Certainly I’m not bedridden.
“If it wasn’t for people’s generosity and kindness, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s not something I could have self-funded. Without that money I wouldn’t be here. It means everything.
“I’m a mother. I look at my children every day and they keep me going.
“And the messages people leave when they make a donation can be motivating in themselves. You can draw a lot of strength from them.”
Image copyright Science Photo Library
Image caption Immunotherapy is one of the most popular treatments people have crowdfunded for
A spokesman for NHS England said: “More people than ever before are surviving cancer thanks to improved NHS care… and together with NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) we have also launched a new-look cancer drugs fund, meaning patients will be able to access promising, new and innovative treatments much quicker.”
According to the detailed figures released by the platform JustGiving, USA, Germany and Mexico topped the most popular destinations for patients travelling abroad for treatments last year.
More than a fifth of those looking for treatment (404 people) raised £1,393,490 in donations to travel to the United States for care.
Germany followed in second place with 142 people crowdfunding £368,530 (a 461% increase from 2015), whilst 23 people raised £69,660 to travel to Mexico for treatment (a 224% increase from 2015).
‘Providing a lifeline’
Immunotherapy was the most popular treatment crowdfunded on the JustGiving platform in 2016.
The therapy uses the body’s own immune system to fight off cancer. It has been shown to work in certain cases, but not all. And some are still in the very early stages of research.
The treatments people have funded are not always considered to have the backing of sufficient scientific evidence by NHS experts.
Charles Wells, chief operations officer for JustGiving, said: “Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen more and more people crowdfunding on JustGiving to raise money for cancer treatments that aren’t available on the NHS.
“It can be a practical way for friends, family and the community to come together and help, as well as providing a lifeline for people by giving them access to pioneering treatments when they’ve been given a cancer diagnosis.”
‘Funding pressures’
Consultant oncologist Dr Clive Peedell expressed concern about the rise in the number of patients bypassing the NHS to fund their own treatment.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: “The NHS is clearly financially under pressure at present, but cancer therapy has received preferential funding compared with other diseases and conditions.
“The system for approving effective new cancer drugs is not perfect, but is much improved.
“The vast majority of proven effective treatments for cancer are funded by the NHS.
“This includes immunotherapy for a number of indications including lung cancer, which is my own field.
Future investment
“However, funding pressures are likely to pressurise the current system even further and we could see it break down in future.
“It is therefore very worrying to see this trend of crowdfunding for cancer drugs.
“It would be interesting to review all the cases to find out how many are genuinely appropriate.
“I worry that some patients may be trying to access treatment that may not be beneficial.
“Worse still, there may be significant extra costs involved, especially if patients pay privately or travel abroad.”
The NHS England spokesman said it was investing £130m in state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment, alongside £200m of funding over two years to improve local cancer services.
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Text
New Post has been published on News Twitter
New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/02/05/bbc-private-cancer-therapy-crowdfunding-rise-30/
BBC: Private cancer therapy 'crowdfunding rise'
Image caption Liz Sheppard has been crowdfunding treatment for cancer
There has been a big leap in the number of cancer patients turning to crowdfunding to pay for treatments not available on the NHS, figures seen by BBC Radio 5 live suggest.
Data from JustGiving shows that 2,348 appeals were set up by cancer patients or their loved ones in 2016, a seven-fold rise on the number for 2015.
Over £4.5m was raised by these appeals in 2016 compared with £530,000 in 2015.
Doctors say the number of patients bypassing the NHS is “very worrying”.
‘Strength and generosity’
Liz Sheppard, a mother-of-three from Mansfield, was diagnosed with small cell stomach cancer – a rare form of the disease – in November 2015.
She has now raised over £135,000 online to help pay for immunotherapy, which she is receiving at a private centre in London.
She has already spent around £60,000 of the money on immunotherapy, and says she is responding well to the treatment.
She told the BBC: “I’m able to get out and lead as normal a life as possible. Certainly I’m not bedridden.
“If it wasn’t for people’s generosity and kindness, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s not something I could have self-funded. Without that money I wouldn’t be here. It means everything.
“I’m a mother. I look at my children every day and they keep me going.
“And the messages people leave when they make a donation can be motivating in themselves. You can draw a lot of strength from them.”
Image copyright Science Photo Library
Image caption Immunotherapy is one of the most popular treatments people have crowdfunded for
A spokesman for NHS England said: “More people than ever before are surviving cancer thanks to improved NHS care… and together with NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) we have also launched a new-look cancer drugs fund, meaning patients will be able to access promising, new and innovative treatments much quicker.”
According to the detailed figures released by the platform JustGiving, USA, Germany and Mexico topped the most popular destinations for patients travelling abroad for treatments last year.
More than a fifth of those looking for treatment (404 people) raised £1,393,490 in donations to travel to the United States for care.
Germany followed in second place with 142 people crowdfunding £368,530 (a 461% increase from 2015), whilst 23 people raised £69,660 to travel to Mexico for treatment (a 224% increase from 2015).
‘Providing a lifeline’
Immunotherapy was the most popular treatment crowdfunded on the JustGiving platform in 2016.
The therapy uses the body’s own immune system to fight off cancer. It has been shown to work in certain cases, but not all. And some are still in the very early stages of research.
The treatments people have funded are not always considered to have the backing of sufficient scientific evidence by NHS experts.
Charles Wells, chief operations officer for JustGiving, said: “Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen more and more people crowdfunding on JustGiving to raise money for cancer treatments that aren’t available on the NHS.
“It can be a practical way for friends, family and the community to come together and help, as well as providing a lifeline for people by giving them access to pioneering treatments when they’ve been given a cancer diagnosis.”
‘Funding pressures’
Consultant oncologist Dr Clive Peedell expressed concern about the rise in the number of patients bypassing the NHS to fund their own treatment.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: “The NHS is clearly financially under pressure at present, but cancer therapy has received preferential funding compared with other diseases and conditions.
“The system for approving effective new cancer drugs is not perfect, but is much improved.
“The vast majority of proven effective treatments for cancer are funded by the NHS.
“This includes immunotherapy for a number of indications including lung cancer, which is my own field.
Future investment
“However, funding pressures are likely to pressurise the current system even further and we could see it break down in future.
“It is therefore very worrying to see this trend of crowdfunding for cancer drugs.
“It would be interesting to review all the cases to find out how many are genuinely appropriate.
“I worry that some patients may be trying to access treatment that may not be beneficial.
“Worse still, there may be significant extra costs involved, especially if patients pay privately or travel abroad.”
The NHS England spokesman said it was investing £130m in state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment, alongside £200m of funding over two years to improve local cancer services.
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newstwitter-blog · 7 years
Text
New Post has been published on News Twitter
New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/02/05/bbc-private-cancer-therapy-crowdfunding-rise-29/
BBC: Private cancer therapy 'crowdfunding rise'
Image caption Liz Sheppard has been crowdfunding treatment for cancer
There has been a big leap in the number of cancer patients turning to crowdfunding to pay for treatments not available on the NHS, figures seen by BBC Radio 5 live suggest.
Data from JustGiving shows that 2,348 appeals were set up by cancer patients or their loved ones in 2016, a seven-fold rise on the number for 2015.
Over £4.5m was raised by these appeals in 2016 compared with £530,000 in 2015.
Doctors say the number of patients bypassing the NHS is “very worrying”.
‘Strength and generosity’
Liz Sheppard, a mother-of-three from Mansfield, was diagnosed with small cell stomach cancer – a rare form of the disease – in November 2015.
She has now raised over £135,000 online to help pay for immunotherapy, which she is receiving at a private centre in London.
She has already spent around £60,000 of the money on immunotherapy, and says she is responding well to the treatment.
She told the BBC: “I’m able to get out and lead as normal a life as possible. Certainly I’m not bedridden.
“If it wasn’t for people’s generosity and kindness, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s not something I could have self-funded. Without that money I wouldn’t be here. It means everything.
“I’m a mother. I look at my children every day and they keep me going.
“And the messages people leave when they make a donation can be motivating in themselves. You can draw a lot of strength from them.”
Image copyright Science Photo Library
Image caption Immunotherapy is one of the most popular treatments people have crowdfunded for
A spokesman for NHS England said: “More people than ever before are surviving cancer thanks to improved NHS care… and together with NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) we have also launched a new-look cancer drugs fund, meaning patients will be able to access promising, new and innovative treatments much quicker.”
According to the detailed figures released by the platform JustGiving, USA, Germany and Mexico topped the most popular destinations for patients travelling abroad for treatments last year.
More than a fifth of those looking for treatment (404 people) raised £1,393,490 in donations to travel to the United States for care.
Germany followed in second place with 142 people crowdfunding £368,530 (a 461% increase from 2015), whilst 23 people raised £69,660 to travel to Mexico for treatment (a 224% increase from 2015).
‘Providing a lifeline’
Immunotherapy was the most popular treatment crowdfunded on the JustGiving platform in 2016.
The therapy uses the body’s own immune system to fight off cancer. It has been shown to work in certain cases, but not all. And some are still in the very early stages of research.
The treatments people have funded are not always considered to have the backing of sufficient scientific evidence by NHS experts.
Charles Wells, chief operations officer for JustGiving, said: “Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen more and more people crowdfunding on JustGiving to raise money for cancer treatments that aren’t available on the NHS.
“It can be a practical way for friends, family and the community to come together and help, as well as providing a lifeline for people by giving them access to pioneering treatments when they’ve been given a cancer diagnosis.”
‘Funding pressures’
Consultant oncologist Dr Clive Peedell expressed concern about the rise in the number of patients bypassing the NHS to fund their own treatment.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: “The NHS is clearly financially under pressure at present, but cancer therapy has received preferential funding compared with other diseases and conditions.
“The system for approving effective new cancer drugs is not perfect, but is much improved.
“The vast majority of proven effective treatments for cancer are funded by the NHS.
“This includes immunotherapy for a number of indications including lung cancer, which is my own field.
Future investment
“However, funding pressures are likely to pressurise the current system even further and we could see it break down in future.
“It is therefore very worrying to see this trend of crowdfunding for cancer drugs.
“It would be interesting to review all the cases to find out how many are genuinely appropriate.
“I worry that some patients may be trying to access treatment that may not be beneficial.
“Worse still, there may be significant extra costs involved, especially if patients pay privately or travel abroad.”
The NHS England spokesman said it was investing £130m in state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment, alongside £200m of funding over two years to improve local cancer services.
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Text
New Post has been published on News Twitter
New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/02/05/bbc-private-cancer-therapy-crowdfunding-rise-28/
BBC: Private cancer therapy 'crowdfunding rise'
Image caption Liz Sheppard has been crowdfunding treatment for cancer
There has been a big leap in the number of cancer patients turning to crowdfunding to pay for treatments not available on the NHS, figures seen by BBC Radio 5 live suggest.
Data from JustGiving shows that 2,348 appeals were set up by cancer patients or their loved ones in 2016, a seven-fold rise on the number for 2015.
Over £4.5m was raised by these appeals in 2016 compared with £530,000 in 2015.
Doctors say the number of patients bypassing the NHS is “very worrying”.
‘Strength and generosity’
Liz Sheppard, a mother-of-three from Mansfield, was diagnosed with small cell stomach cancer – a rare form of the disease – in November 2015.
She has now raised over £135,000 online to help pay for immunotherapy, which she is receiving at a private centre in London.
She has already spent around £60,000 of the money on immunotherapy, and says she is responding well to the treatment.
She told the BBC: “I’m able to get out and lead as normal a life as possible. Certainly I’m not bedridden.
“If it wasn’t for people’s generosity and kindness, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s not something I could have self-funded. Without that money I wouldn’t be here. It means everything.
“I’m a mother. I look at my children every day and they keep me going.
“And the messages people leave when they make a donation can be motivating in themselves. You can draw a lot of strength from them.”
Image copyright Science Photo Library
Image caption Immunotherapy is one of the most popular treatments people have crowdfunded for
A spokesman for NHS England said: “More people than ever before are surviving cancer thanks to improved NHS care… and together with NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) we have also launched a new-look cancer drugs fund, meaning patients will be able to access promising, new and innovative treatments much quicker.”
According to the detailed figures released by the platform JustGiving, USA, Germany and Mexico topped the most popular destinations for patients travelling abroad for treatments last year.
More than a fifth of those looking for treatment (404 people) raised £1,393,490 in donations to travel to the United States for care.
Germany followed in second place with 142 people crowdfunding £368,530 (a 461% increase from 2015), whilst 23 people raised £69,660 to travel to Mexico for treatment (a 224% increase from 2015).
‘Providing a lifeline’
Immunotherapy was the most popular treatment crowdfunded on the JustGiving platform in 2016.
The therapy uses the body’s own immune system to fight off cancer. It has been shown to work in certain cases, but not all. And some are still in the very early stages of research.
The treatments people have funded are not always considered to have the backing of sufficient scientific evidence by NHS experts.
Charles Wells, chief operations officer for JustGiving, said: “Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen more and more people crowdfunding on JustGiving to raise money for cancer treatments that aren’t available on the NHS.
“It can be a practical way for friends, family and the community to come together and help, as well as providing a lifeline for people by giving them access to pioneering treatments when they’ve been given a cancer diagnosis.”
‘Funding pressures’
Consultant oncologist Dr Clive Peedell expressed concern about the rise in the number of patients bypassing the NHS to fund their own treatment.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: “The NHS is clearly financially under pressure at present, but cancer therapy has received preferential funding compared with other diseases and conditions.
“The system for approving effective new cancer drugs is not perfect, but is much improved.
“The vast majority of proven effective treatments for cancer are funded by the NHS.
“This includes immunotherapy for a number of indications including lung cancer, which is my own field.
Future investment
“However, funding pressures are likely to pressurise the current system even further and we could see it break down in future.
“It is therefore very worrying to see this trend of crowdfunding for cancer drugs.
“It would be interesting to review all the cases to find out how many are genuinely appropriate.
“I worry that some patients may be trying to access treatment that may not be beneficial.
“Worse still, there may be significant extra costs involved, especially if patients pay privately or travel abroad.”
The NHS England spokesman said it was investing £130m in state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment, alongside £200m of funding over two years to improve local cancer services.
This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link
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newstwitter-blog · 7 years
Text
New Post has been published on News Twitter
New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/02/05/bbc-private-cancer-therapy-crowdfunding-rise-27/
BBC: Private cancer therapy 'crowdfunding rise'
Image caption Liz Sheppard has been crowdfunding treatment for cancer
There has been a big leap in the number of cancer patients turning to crowdfunding to pay for treatments not available on the NHS, figures seen by BBC Radio 5 live suggest.
Data from JustGiving shows that 2,348 appeals were set up by cancer patients or their loved ones in 2016, a seven-fold rise on the number for 2015.
Over £4.5m was raised by these appeals in 2016 compared with £530,000 in 2015.
Doctors say the number of patients bypassing the NHS is “very worrying”.
‘Strength and generosity’
Liz Sheppard, a mother-of-three from Mansfield, was diagnosed with small cell stomach cancer – a rare form of the disease – in November 2015.
She has now raised over £135,000 online to help pay for immunotherapy, which she is receiving at a private centre in London.
She has already spent around £60,000 of the money on immunotherapy, and says she is responding well to the treatment.
She told the BBC: “I’m able to get out and lead as normal a life as possible. Certainly I’m not bedridden.
“If it wasn’t for people’s generosity and kindness, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s not something I could have self-funded. Without that money I wouldn’t be here. It means everything.
“I’m a mother. I look at my children every day and they keep me going.
“And the messages people leave when they make a donation can be motivating in themselves. You can draw a lot of strength from them.”
Image copyright Science Photo Library
Image caption Immunotherapy is one of the most popular treatments people have crowdfunded for
A spokesman for NHS England said: “More people than ever before are surviving cancer thanks to improved NHS care… and together with NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) we have also launched a new-look cancer drugs fund, meaning patients will be able to access promising, new and innovative treatments much quicker.”
According to the detailed figures released by the platform JustGiving, USA, Germany and Mexico topped the most popular destinations for patients travelling abroad for treatments last year.
More than a fifth of those looking for treatment (404 people) raised £1,393,490 in donations to travel to the United States for care.
Germany followed in second place with 142 people crowdfunding £368,530 (a 461% increase from 2015), whilst 23 people raised £69,660 to travel to Mexico for treatment (a 224% increase from 2015).
‘Providing a lifeline’
Immunotherapy was the most popular treatment crowdfunded on the JustGiving platform in 2016.
The therapy uses the body’s own immune system to fight off cancer. It has been shown to work in certain cases, but not all. And some are still in the very early stages of research.
The treatments people have funded are not always considered to have the backing of sufficient scientific evidence by NHS experts.
Charles Wells, chief operations officer for JustGiving, said: “Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen more and more people crowdfunding on JustGiving to raise money for cancer treatments that aren’t available on the NHS.
“It can be a practical way for friends, family and the community to come together and help, as well as providing a lifeline for people by giving them access to pioneering treatments when they’ve been given a cancer diagnosis.”
‘Funding pressures’
Consultant oncologist Dr Clive Peedell expressed concern about the rise in the number of patients bypassing the NHS to fund their own treatment.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: “The NHS is clearly financially under pressure at present, but cancer therapy has received preferential funding compared with other diseases and conditions.
“The system for approving effective new cancer drugs is not perfect, but is much improved.
“The vast majority of proven effective treatments for cancer are funded by the NHS.
“This includes immunotherapy for a number of indications including lung cancer, which is my own field.
Future investment
“However, funding pressures are likely to pressurise the current system even further and we could see it break down in future.
“It is therefore very worrying to see this trend of crowdfunding for cancer drugs.
“It would be interesting to review all the cases to find out how many are genuinely appropriate.
“I worry that some patients may be trying to access treatment that may not be beneficial.
“Worse still, there may be significant extra costs involved, especially if patients pay privately or travel abroad.”
The NHS England spokesman said it was investing £130m in state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment, alongside £200m of funding over two years to improve local cancer services.
This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link
0 notes
newstwitter-blog · 7 years
Text
New Post has been published on News Twitter
New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/02/05/bbc-private-cancer-therapy-crowdfunding-rise-26/
BBC: Private cancer therapy 'crowdfunding rise'
Image caption Liz Sheppard has been crowdfunding treatment for cancer
There has been a big leap in the number of cancer patients turning to crowdfunding to pay for treatments not available on the NHS, figures seen by BBC Radio 5 live suggest.
Data from JustGiving shows that 2,348 appeals were set up by cancer patients or their loved ones in 2016, a seven-fold rise on the number for 2015.
Over £4.5m was raised by these appeals in 2016 compared with £530,000 in 2015.
Doctors say the number of patients bypassing the NHS is “very worrying”.
‘Strength and generosity’
Liz Sheppard, a mother-of-three from Mansfield, was diagnosed with small cell stomach cancer – a rare form of the disease – in November 2015.
She has now raised over £135,000 online to help pay for immunotherapy, which she is receiving at a private centre in London.
She has already spent around £60,000 of the money on immunotherapy, and says she is responding well to the treatment.
She told the BBC: “I’m able to get out and lead as normal a life as possible. Certainly I’m not bedridden.
“If it wasn’t for people’s generosity and kindness, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s not something I could have self-funded. Without that money I wouldn’t be here. It means everything.
“I’m a mother. I look at my children every day and they keep me going.
“And the messages people leave when they make a donation can be motivating in themselves. You can draw a lot of strength from them.”
Image copyright Science Photo Library
Image caption Immunotherapy is one of the most popular treatments people have crowdfunded for
A spokesman for NHS England said: “More people than ever before are surviving cancer thanks to improved NHS care… and together with NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) we have also launched a new-look cancer drugs fund, meaning patients will be able to access promising, new and innovative treatments much quicker.”
According to the detailed figures released by the platform JustGiving, USA, Germany and Mexico topped the most popular destinations for patients travelling abroad for treatments last year.
More than a fifth of those looking for treatment (404 people) raised £1,393,490 in donations to travel to the United States for care.
Germany followed in second place with 142 people crowdfunding £368,530 (a 461% increase from 2015), whilst 23 people raised £69,660 to travel to Mexico for treatment (a 224% increase from 2015).
‘Providing a lifeline’
Immunotherapy was the most popular treatment crowdfunded on the JustGiving platform in 2016.
The therapy uses the body’s own immune system to fight off cancer. It has been shown to work in certain cases, but not all. And some are still in the very early stages of research.
The treatments people have funded are not always considered to have the backing of sufficient scientific evidence by NHS experts.
Charles Wells, chief operations officer for JustGiving, said: “Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen more and more people crowdfunding on JustGiving to raise money for cancer treatments that aren’t available on the NHS.
“It can be a practical way for friends, family and the community to come together and help, as well as providing a lifeline for people by giving them access to pioneering treatments when they’ve been given a cancer diagnosis.”
‘Funding pressures’
Consultant oncologist Dr Clive Peedell expressed concern about the rise in the number of patients bypassing the NHS to fund their own treatment.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: “The NHS is clearly financially under pressure at present, but cancer therapy has received preferential funding compared with other diseases and conditions.
“The system for approving effective new cancer drugs is not perfect, but is much improved.
“The vast majority of proven effective treatments for cancer are funded by the NHS.
“This includes immunotherapy for a number of indications including lung cancer, which is my own field.
Future investment
“However, funding pressures are likely to pressurise the current system even further and we could see it break down in future.
“It is therefore very worrying to see this trend of crowdfunding for cancer drugs.
“It would be interesting to review all the cases to find out how many are genuinely appropriate.
“I worry that some patients may be trying to access treatment that may not be beneficial.
“Worse still, there may be significant extra costs involved, especially if patients pay privately or travel abroad.”
The NHS England spokesman said it was investing £130m in state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment, alongside £200m of funding over two years to improve local cancer services.
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New Post has been published on News Twitter
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BBC: Private cancer therapy 'crowdfunding rise'
Image caption Liz Sheppard has been crowdfunding treatment for cancer
There has been a big leap in the number of cancer patients turning to crowdfunding to pay for treatments not available on the NHS, figures seen by BBC Radio 5 live suggest.
Data from JustGiving shows that 2,348 appeals were set up by cancer patients or their loved ones in 2016, a seven-fold rise on the number for 2015.
Over £4.5m was raised by these appeals in 2016 compared with £530,000 in 2015.
Doctors say the number of patients bypassing the NHS is “very worrying”.
‘Strength and generosity’
Liz Sheppard, a mother-of-three from Mansfield, was diagnosed with small cell stomach cancer – a rare form of the disease – in November 2015.
She has now raised over £135,000 online to help pay for immunotherapy, which she is receiving at a private centre in London.
She has already spent around £60,000 of the money on immunotherapy, and says she is responding well to the treatment.
She told the BBC: “I’m able to get out and lead as normal a life as possible. Certainly I’m not bedridden.
“If it wasn’t for people’s generosity and kindness, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s not something I could have self-funded. Without that money I wouldn’t be here. It means everything.
“I’m a mother. I look at my children every day and they keep me going.
“And the messages people leave when they make a donation can be motivating in themselves. You can draw a lot of strength from them.”
Image copyright Science Photo Library
Image caption Immunotherapy is one of the most popular treatments people have crowdfunded for
A spokesman for NHS England said: “More people than ever before are surviving cancer thanks to improved NHS care… and together with NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) we have also launched a new-look cancer drugs fund, meaning patients will be able to access promising, new and innovative treatments much quicker.”
According to the detailed figures released by the platform JustGiving, USA, Germany and Mexico topped the most popular destinations for patients travelling abroad for treatments last year.
More than a fifth of those looking for treatment (404 people) raised £1,393,490 in donations to travel to the United States for care.
Germany followed in second place with 142 people crowdfunding £368,530 (a 461% increase from 2015), whilst 23 people raised £69,660 to travel to Mexico for treatment (a 224% increase from 2015).
‘Providing a lifeline’
Immunotherapy was the most popular treatment crowdfunded on the JustGiving platform in 2016.
The therapy uses the body’s own immune system to fight off cancer. It has been shown to work in certain cases, but not all. And some are still in the very early stages of research.
The treatments people have funded are not always considered to have the backing of sufficient scientific evidence by NHS experts.
Charles Wells, chief operations officer for JustGiving, said: “Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen more and more people crowdfunding on JustGiving to raise money for cancer treatments that aren’t available on the NHS.
“It can be a practical way for friends, family and the community to come together and help, as well as providing a lifeline for people by giving them access to pioneering treatments when they’ve been given a cancer diagnosis.”
‘Funding pressures’
Consultant oncologist Dr Clive Peedell expressed concern about the rise in the number of patients bypassing the NHS to fund their own treatment.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: “The NHS is clearly financially under pressure at present, but cancer therapy has received preferential funding compared with other diseases and conditions.
“The system for approving effective new cancer drugs is not perfect, but is much improved.
“The vast majority of proven effective treatments for cancer are funded by the NHS.
“This includes immunotherapy for a number of indications including lung cancer, which is my own field.
Future investment
“However, funding pressures are likely to pressurise the current system even further and we could see it break down in future.
“It is therefore very worrying to see this trend of crowdfunding for cancer drugs.
“It would be interesting to review all the cases to find out how many are genuinely appropriate.
“I worry that some patients may be trying to access treatment that may not be beneficial.
“Worse still, there may be significant extra costs involved, especially if patients pay privately or travel abroad.”
The NHS England spokesman said it was investing £130m in state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment, alongside £200m of funding over two years to improve local cancer services.
This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link
0 notes
newstwitter-blog · 7 years
Text
New Post has been published on News Twitter
New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/02/05/bbc-private-cancer-therapy-crowdfunding-rise-24/
BBC: Private cancer therapy 'crowdfunding rise'
Image caption Liz Sheppard has been crowdfunding treatment for cancer
There has been a big leap in the number of cancer patients turning to crowdfunding to pay for treatments not available on the NHS, figures seen by BBC Radio 5 live suggest.
Data from JustGiving shows that 2,348 appeals were set up by cancer patients or their loved ones in 2016, a seven-fold rise on the number for 2015.
Over £4.5m was raised by these appeals in 2016 compared with £530,000 in 2015.
Doctors say the number of patients bypassing the NHS is “very worrying”.
‘Strength and generosity’
Liz Sheppard, a mother-of-three from Mansfield, was diagnosed with small cell stomach cancer – a rare form of the disease – in November 2015.
She has now raised over £135,000 online to help pay for immunotherapy, which she is receiving at a private centre in London.
She has already spent around £60,000 of the money on immunotherapy, and says she is responding well to the treatment.
She told the BBC: “I’m able to get out and lead as normal a life as possible. Certainly I’m not bedridden.
“If it wasn’t for people’s generosity and kindness, I wouldn’t be where I am now. It’s not something I could have self-funded. Without that money I wouldn’t be here. It means everything.
“I’m a mother. I look at my children every day and they keep me going.
“And the messages people leave when they make a donation can be motivating in themselves. You can draw a lot of strength from them.”
Image copyright Science Photo Library
Image caption Immunotherapy is one of the most popular treatments people have crowdfunded for
A spokesman for NHS England said: “More people than ever before are surviving cancer thanks to improved NHS care… and together with NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) we have also launched a new-look cancer drugs fund, meaning patients will be able to access promising, new and innovative treatments much quicker.”
According to the detailed figures released by the platform JustGiving, USA, Germany and Mexico topped the most popular destinations for patients travelling abroad for treatments last year.
More than a fifth of those looking for treatment (404 people) raised £1,393,490 in donations to travel to the United States for care.
Germany followed in second place with 142 people crowdfunding £368,530 (a 461% increase from 2015), whilst 23 people raised £69,660 to travel to Mexico for treatment (a 224% increase from 2015).
‘Providing a lifeline’
Immunotherapy was the most popular treatment crowdfunded on the JustGiving platform in 2016.
The therapy uses the body’s own immune system to fight off cancer. It has been shown to work in certain cases, but not all. And some are still in the very early stages of research.
The treatments people have funded are not always considered to have the backing of sufficient scientific evidence by NHS experts.
Charles Wells, chief operations officer for JustGiving, said: “Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen more and more people crowdfunding on JustGiving to raise money for cancer treatments that aren’t available on the NHS.
“It can be a practical way for friends, family and the community to come together and help, as well as providing a lifeline for people by giving them access to pioneering treatments when they’ve been given a cancer diagnosis.”
‘Funding pressures’
Consultant oncologist Dr Clive Peedell expressed concern about the rise in the number of patients bypassing the NHS to fund their own treatment.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: “The NHS is clearly financially under pressure at present, but cancer therapy has received preferential funding compared with other diseases and conditions.
“The system for approving effective new cancer drugs is not perfect, but is much improved.
“The vast majority of proven effective treatments for cancer are funded by the NHS.
“This includes immunotherapy for a number of indications including lung cancer, which is my own field.
Future investment
“However, funding pressures are likely to pressurise the current system even further and we could see it break down in future.
“It is therefore very worrying to see this trend of crowdfunding for cancer drugs.
“It would be interesting to review all the cases to find out how many are genuinely appropriate.
“I worry that some patients may be trying to access treatment that may not be beneficial.
“Worse still, there may be significant extra costs involved, especially if patients pay privately or travel abroad.”
The NHS England spokesman said it was investing £130m in state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment, alongside £200m of funding over two years to improve local cancer services.
This post has been harvested from the source link, and News-Twitter has no responsibility on its content. Source link
0 notes