#skin doctor irvine

[she-is-ovarit]

Trans History (long post sorry)

This post uses "transsexual" in place of "transgender" as this was the widespread accepted terminology until fairly recently and is what was used in the original source for this information.

In 1885 the Criminal Law Act was passed which made homosexual behavior illegal in the UK. Transvestites within the gay movement were easier to identify publicly and became easy targets.

Ernest "Stella" Boulton and Fred "Franny" Park were arrested in 1870 for indecent behavior and attempted to be persecuted on the grounds of cross dressing instead of sodomy. They were let go.

Because of these laws, homosexual transvestites began to seek out doctors to "cure" them. These doctors and researchers were called sexologists. Krafft-Ebbing (1840-1902), professor of psychiatry at Vienna was one of the first to be interested in transvestitic behavior.

Magnus Hirschfeld was another, a Germon sexologist, and his works were considered groundbreaking during the times.

At Hirschfeld's clinic, Dr. Felix Abraham performed the first transsexual operations in 1926 on an unnamed trans man, penectomy on his domestic servant Dora in 1930, and vaginoplasty on Lili Elbe who would die from complications from the procedure.

Christine Jorgeson, former American GI, underwent several transsexual operations and drew attention from the media. The media immediately focused on the appearance of Christine, "Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty". This essentially was effective marketing and brought transsexualism into the public eye. Jorgeson's psychiatrist, Dr. Hamburger (yes really) began to receive a ton of letters from people wanting to change their sex because they wanted to escape homophobia or live in/be associated with the gender roles associated with the other sex.

This caused a bunch of doctors to start their own clinics because they smelled money, such as endocrinologist Harry Benjamin (who trained at Hirschfield's clinic). He went on to publish the first medical textbook on transsexuality called the Transsexual Phenomenon in 1966 and personally began training a bunch of other doctors in the subject. His clinic was based in New York. Dr. Elmer Belt opened up clinics in Los Angeles. Dr. Georges Burou specialized in penicile skin inversion vaginoplasty in Casablanca.

Janice Irvine wrote of transsexualism's "widespread public and professional acceptance" as early as the 1970s. While gay men and women practicing transvestitism were originally criticized (because it was essentially homosexual people defying gender norms associated with their sex), transsexuality on the other hand was almost immediately accepted. Transsexualist origins lie in doctors attempting to "correct" the genitalia of people with disorders of sex development, homosexual people fearing for their lives and attempting to escape incarceration for being homosexual, and (mostly homosexual) people feeling wrong for not conforming to the mannerisms, expressions, and style associated with their sex, culturally.

While the beginnings of transsexual medicine began in the 1950s, with interest in the subject by psychiatrists dating back since the early 1900s, most "treatment facilities" for homosexuality, paraphilias, and gender nonconformity transsexuals became widespread in the 1960s and 1970s. Ira Pauly in 1965 who was a professor of psychiatry at the University of Oregon counted a total of 603 "male to female" transsexuals and 162 "female to male" transsexuals. He then reported on post-operative adjustment of 121 of these people, describing it as successful. He voiced a cautious psychiatric support for transsexualism based on this, stating that since psychology seems to have failures in reverting it and until alternative procedures or treatments are discovered, it was the best approach society had for this demographic.

I mentioned disorders of sex development (DSDs, commonly called "intersex conditions") above. Transsexualism has been closely associated with people with DSDs. In the 1950s, protocols were established for doctors to determine the sex of infants with DSDs, which was a rare anomaly. These infants bodies would then be modified to "correctly" correspond with whatever sex they were assigned by doctors. Transsexualism and the correction of "intersexualism" overlapped because doctors studying transsexualism borrowed procedures used to "correct" infants with DSDs.

Robert Stoller, a professor of psychiatry in California and considered to be a famous transsexual expert by the 1970s, began to focus on badly constructed genetalia. John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore became a headquarters for "treating" both "intersexuality" and "transsexuality". More texts were published: Transsexual Sex Reassignment (1969) by Richard Green and John Money, and The Transsexual Experiment (1975) by Robert Stoller. French psychoanalyst Catherine Millot commented, "there was a sense in which there was no transsexuality before experts like Benjamin and Stoller 'invented it'." There was rare support for transsexuality in 1965, but by 1975 about twenty major medical centers were offering treatment to thousands of transsexual people.

It took until 1977 for transsexual surgeries to be presented to the American Psychiatric Association. By that time "normalization of sex reassignment" was institutionalized and thus "assumed" by John K. Meyer and Donna J. Reter of the APA.

However, when Reter and Meyer by their very forced hands assumed the "normalization" of sex reassignment, they at the same time cast public doubt on it and it's "almost routine acceptance".

While medical doctors and psychiatrists pushed sex reassignment surgery, psycho-analysts almost always remained doubtful of it. A well-known psychoanalyst from New York, Lawrence S. Kubie, publicly rejected and renounced the term "transsexual" completely, suggesting "genital transmutation" was a more accurate fit. He criticized the term "transsexual" stating that the word was too simple for such a complex phenomenon, and falsely alluded that problems had been solved when in reality, they weren't. He illuminated that there were many men at this time that wish to appear as women but to consider themselves and be considered as men who "simulate women", but needed to present themselves as "textbook transsexuals" in order for physicians to agree to alter them. So, these transvestites fell under pressure to conform as transsexuals.

Kubie and his co-author James B. Mackie argued that the concept of transsexualism was a combination of both false diagnoses and lack of clarity on patients, with "emotionally charged" and "dramatic" medical intervention.

Even Robert Stoller in 1973 voiced his own unease in an article he wrote for the American Journal of Psychiatry, describing a "carnival atmosphere that prevails in the management of male transsexualism". Just the patient's request for sex reassignment brought immediate acceptance. By this point, many homosexual transvestites were educating themselves on SRS and HRT to have their sex modified to avoid homophobic persecution, and many even knew more about these procedures than their doctors. Stoller went on to write:

The conservative view among medical professionals at this time was to convince transsexual people/transvestites that they were really the other sex.

Homosexual sociologist Edward Sagarin wrote in a book on "deviants" in 1969 that male-to-female transsexuals suffered from "doubly unacceptable" self-imagery in being both homosexual and feminine, and that the solution was to convince them that they were really women and not men.

Additionally, there were striking observations made of the behaviors of a subset of people seeking sex-reassignment surgeries and hormone treatments:

John Money, the sexologist who infamously forcibly transitioned an intersex child by the name of David Reimer, also described transsexual male people as "devious, demanding, and manipulative"

Meanwhile, L.M. Lothstein who pioneered a study on female-to-male transsexuals in the 1970s and 1980s diagnosed FTM transsexuality as a "profound psychological disorder", describing most as having personality disorders and while not psychotic, having thought disorders that affect their ability to relate to others and sense their reality. Lothstein felt that the solution to help transsexual people didn't lie in surgeries or hormone treatments, but in psychotherapy. He hesitantly felt that it was possible SRS and HRT was needed before psychotherapy to "disrupt their rigid defensive structure".

I'm writing a lot so I'll stop here. Sorry for the abrupt end. I might add more later as a reblog. But here is the primary source that I essentially heavily paraphrased.

#trans #transgender history #trans history #transsexual history #transsexualism #ftm trans #mtf trans #mtf #ftm #enby #non binary #gender identity #gender #transitioning #LGBT history #transvestite history #actually mtf #actually ftm

[ausetkmt]

New Alzheimer's drugs bring hope. But not equally for all patients.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/01/29/alzheimers-new-drugs-black-patients-leqembi/

ABINGTON, Pa. — Wrapped in a purple blanket, Robert Williford settles into a quiet corner of a bustling neurology clinic, an IV line delivering a colorless liquid into his left arm.

The 67-year-old, who has early Alzheimer’s disease, is getting his initial dose of Leqembi. The drug is the first to clearly slow the fatal neurodegenerative ailment that afflicts 6.7 million older Americans, though the benefits may be modest. The retired social worker, one of the first African Americans to receive the treatment, hopes it will ease his forgetfulness so “I drive my wife less crazy.”

But as Williford and his doctors embark on this treatment, they are doing so with scant scientific data about how the medication might work in people of color. In the pivotal clinical trial for the drug, Black patients globallyaccounted for only 47 of the 1,795 participants — about 2.6 percent. For U.S. trial sites, the percentage was 4.5 percent.

The proportion of Black enrollees was similarly low for Eli Lilly Alzheimer’sdrug, called donanemab, expected to be cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in coming months. Black people make up more than 13 percent of the U.S. population.

The paltry data for the new class of groundbreaking drugs, which strip a sticky substance called amyloid beta from the brain, has ignited an intense debate among researchers and clinicians. Will the medications — the first glimmer of hope after years of failure — be as beneficial for African Americans as for White patients?

“Are these drugs going to work in non-Whites? And particularly in Blacks? We just don’t have enough data, I don’t think,” said Suzanne E. Schindler, a clinical neurologist and dementia specialist at Washington University in St. Louis. “In general, the default is that they will work the same in everybody, but we don’t really know that for sure.”

The situation casts a spotlight yet again on the decades-long failure of researchers to reflect the increasingly diverse character of the patient population in the United States, and underscores the stark disparities in Alzheimer’s treatment and care. Black Americans develop the disease and related dementias at twice the rate of their White counterparts, but are less likely to receive specialized care and are diagnosed at later stages, studies show. That’s an urgent problem considering that the new drugs must be used early to have an effect.

In addition, a perplexing new issue appears to be contributing to low Black enrollment in trials and is fueling a debate among experts about the role of race, genetics and other factors. To qualify for the main trial for Leqembi — developed by the Japanese pharmaceutical giant Eisai and the biotechnology company Biogen of Cambridge, Mass. — participants were required to have elevated levels of brain amyloid, a defining characteristic of Alzheimer’s, and symptoms such as memory loss.

But brain scans showed that the African American volunteers were less likely to have excess amyloid than White patients and thus were excluded from the trial at higher rates. Almost half of Black applicants failed to meet the amyloid threshold, compared with 22 percent of White volunteers, according to Eisai. A similar pattern occurred with the Lilly drug and in some other studies, and sometimes involved other people of color, including Hispanics.

Experts are baffled by the findings. Why would amyloid levels — thought to be a key driver of Alzheimer’s — be different in people with similar cognitive problems?

“Is it the color of someone’s skin? Almost certainly not,” said Joshua D. Grill, an Alzheimer’s researcher at the University of California at Irvine. “Is it a difference in genetics? Or other health conditions, like cholesterol, blood pressure or vascular health? Or is it something else, that we haven’t measured?”

While the biology of Alzheimer’s is almost surely the same regardless of race, some researchers say the patients themselves might be different because of underlying health conditions. Some older Black patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, they say, might actually have vascular dementia stemming from heart disease, hypertension and diabetes — all conditions more prevalent among African American patients.

The risk of vascular damage also could be increased by a lack of access to health care and years of exposure to racism, as well as genetics, some experts say. And many patients could have a constellation of pathologies driven by other factors, they add.

Whatever the cause, experts say, the bottom line is the same: Patients who do not have excessive amounts of the sticky brain protein should not be treated with the amyloid-targeting drugs because the therapies are unlikely to work and pose substantial risks, including potentially deadly bleeding in the brain.

But that raises the specter of another disparity. If it turns out that a lower proportion of Black dementia patients and other people of color have excess amyloid, they could be left behind as the drug industry races to develop amyloid-reducing treatments. To counter that, experts are urging companies to accelerate work addressingother potential drivers of cognitive decline and to develop combination drugs with multiple targets.

“If we are just targeting amyloid, we can just miss a large potential population that might benefit from treatment,” said Lisa L. Barnes, a neuropsychologist at Rush University in Chicago.

‘A brain is a brain’

For now, the question remains: What should Black patients and their doctors think about the anti-amyloid drugs?

The answer, experts say, depends largely on the level of amyloid in their brains.

More than a year ago, Williford was diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s by David C. Weisman, a neurologist at Abington Neurological Associates, a large practice north of Philadelphia that treats patients and conducts clinical trials for drug companies. The clinic was one of the test sites for Leqembi.

After Leqembi receivedfull FDA approval last summer, Williford underwent tests to determine whether he was a good candidate for the drug. One test — a lumbar puncture, sometimes called a spinal tap — showed elevated amyloid in his brain. That means Williford and similar patients are likely to benefit from an anti-amyloid medication regardless of their race or ethnicity, Weisman and several other experts said.

“A brain is a brain is a brain, whether it is Asian, Hispanic, African American or White,” Weisman said. “A patient is either a good fit or a bad fit, and Robert is a good fit.”

Williford, who spent years working with troubled families in Philadelphia, began having memory problems a few years ago, said his wife, Cynthia Byron-Williford, 59.

“You could tell him almost anything, and he would almost immediately forget,” she said. “If I asked him to make a peanut butter sandwich for our grandson, he would come back three times and say, ‘What am I supposed to do?’”

With few treatment options, many physicians say they will offer anti-amyloid therapy to any patient who has elevated levels of the substance and passes safety tests.

Barry W. Rovner, a neurology professor at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, said he would not hesitate to offer Leqembi to African American patients who tested positive for amyloid. But, he added, because of the low numbers of Black individuals in the Leqembi trial, “I would say, ‘Look, this has not been tried in many Black people, so we don’t know precisely how it is going to work. But you don’t know precisely how it will work in any person.’”

From a research perspective, “You could say, as a group we don’t know if Black individuals respond the same way to anti-amyloid drugs because we don’t have the data,” Washington University’s Schindler said. “But on an individual level, it is different. If I had a Black patient who was amyloid-positive, I would start him on these drugs.”

But some Black patients might not be comfortable with the medication.

Zaldy S. Tan, director of the memory disorders center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said when African American patients are informed about the risks and benefits of Leqembi, and about the sparse data available for Black individuals, some will “take a pause and question whether they are willing to accept the uncertainty” and challenges of receiving the every-other-week infusion and multiple follow-up tests.

A promise of diversity

The best way to know for sure how drugs for Alzheimer’s — and other diseases — affect different populations is to have more diversity in trials, experts agree. But research participation by Black Americans and other people of color has been held down for years for several reasons.

The 20th century’s infamous Tuskegee syphilis study created long-standing mistrust about trials within the African American community. Men were left untreated to suffer and die even after an effective treatment emerged for the bacterium.

Alzheimer’s research, meanwhile, has long been centered in memory clinics at elite academic institutions, which tend to attract well-heeled patients with health insurance and other resources. The clinics have served as effective recruiting grounds for trials that end up with a predominantly White enrollment.

“We have done a poor job of making African American Alzheimer’s research inclusive,” said John Morris, a neurologist at Washington University in St. Louis. More than two decades ago, he created an African American advisory board at the school’s Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center after realizing only 3 percent of trial participants were Black.

Others also are redoubling efforts to increase diversity. John Dwyer, president of the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation, a nonprofit that runs trials, said the organization has sharply increased participation by people of color by sending dedicated teams of African American and Latino professionals into communities to build relationships with physicians and personnel at health centers, senior centers and places of worship. They stress to the communities how much they can benefit from the studies, he said.

Stephanie Monroe, vice president and senior adviser of health equity and access at the advocacy group UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, noted that low Black enrollment is not limited to Alzheimer’s trials. If all the drugs that have not been tested on people of color were eliminated, the shelves of pharmacies would be nearly empty, she said.

“That doesn’t work when you are almost a 50-50 minority/majority population,” Monroe said.

The FDA has issued guidelines for industry designed to bolster diversity in studies, while the National Institute on Aging recently pledged toprioritize funding requests that are “appropriately inclusive.”

The low Black enrollment in studies is just the latest controversy involving the anti-amyloid drugs. For years, earlier versions of the drugs failed repeatedly in trials. By contrast, Leqembi, in an 18-month trial, showed unambiguous, if modest, benefits, slowing disease progression by about 27 percent, or roughlyfive months. The drug, administered every other week, carries a list price of $26,500 a year.

In July, Lilly reported that its anti-amyloid drug, donanemab, was even more effective at removing amyloid. But like Leqembi, it can cause serious side effects, including brain hemorrhages. Some doctors think the drugs will provide bigger benefits when taken for a longer period or earlier in the disease, but others say the medications, which require repeated MRIs to check for side effects, leave much to be desired.

Both Eisai and Lilly said they are working hard to increase diversity in clinical trials. In the meantime, they said, patients with elevated amyloid should benefit from the anti-amyloid drugs, regardless of race or ethnicity.

“We have no pathophysiological reason to expect different efficacy between races and ethnicities for Alzheimer’s treatments that remove amyloid,”Lillysaid in a statement.

Eisai acknowledged that the Leqembi trial was not designed to test the drug in individual racial and ethnic subgroups. But it said in a statement that the totality of the evidence indicated that “all patients, regardless of ethnicity, benefited from treatment” with the drug.

“We and the U.S. FDA — as evidenced by the agency’s approval of Leqembi — believe that the benefits and risks in these patient populations and races has been established,” the company added. Eisai said volunteers who did not pass the amyloid threshold did not have Alzheimer’s and should be assessed for other conditions.

In an interview, Teresa Buracchio, acting director of the FDA’s Office of Neuroscience, said the agency “did not see a notable difference by race” in safety and effectiveness in the limited data available on subgroups in the Leqembi trial.

But other experts were skeptical, saying the number of Black patients in the Leqembi trial was too low to know whether the medication is safe and effective for African Americans. “Without having a representative population, it is impossible to assess,” said Barnes, of Rush University.Some researchers suggested that patients in underrepresented populations should wait for future advances in treatment.

‘We just want to get going’

On a recent day, nurse Christine Besso bustled in and out of Williford’s infusion room at the neurology clinic, taking his vital signs and inserting an IV line. “Let’s get this party started,” she said.

Byron-Williford, watching the process from a nearby couch, said she was not concerned about the low numbers of African Americans in the Leqembi trial.

“I think it will work or not work based on the individual,” she said, adding with a laugh, “and if it doesn’t work for him, it is because he is ornery.”

Byron-Williford said her husband’s health problems accelerated a few years ago after his son, who was in his early 20s, died unexpectedly. Williford became depressed and lost his appetite. Last summer, when he went to pick up his wife at a nearby hair salon, he drove around, lost. She later confiscated his car keys.

In the clinic, shortly after Williford’s infusion began, Weisman stopped in to check on him and discuss possible side effects. When Williford asked him how long he would be on the drug, Weisman shrugged, saying it depended on how he did on the drug and on test results.

“We are getting on an airplane, and we don’t even have a destination airport yet,” Weisman said. “We just want to get going.”

#Black Lives Matter #Alzheimers #Dementia #Black Lives #Black Health Matters #Black Medical Professionals #New Alzheimer’s drugs bring hope But not equally for all patients. #Mental Health Care

[ageofpiracyrp]

Butterfly Cwallic

Pronouns: UTP

Role: Medic

Age: 23-26, UTP

Romantic and/or Sexual Preference: UTP

Species: Far’Ly’Dae

Home Planet: Kor’Sel’Koo

Length of time on Prosperity: Two years

Supervisor: Typically the surgeon, but the position is vacant. Currently the Quartermaster.

Faceclaim/Humanoid Appearance: Florence Pugh

Alternate FC Accepted?: Yes, must look related to Jeremy Irvine

True Appearance:

Butterfly has dark pink eyes, pale gray-brown bark “skin” and silvery-gold leaf “hair”. Other details are UTP.

Facts

Between the Cwallic siblings, Butterfly is the one who is most like their parents- awkward in public, and moderately unapproachable. Most people just don’t take to Butterfly’s complicated, unusual, and more-than-incidentally grouchy demeanor.

Some of Butterfly’s favorite hobbies include watching depressing romance films and people-watching.

Despite ‘just’ being a medic, Butterfly is surprisingly capable in a fight. Between the Far’Ly’Dae natural strength and growing up with Eddie, this medical professional is quite capable in a fight.

The Cwallic parents thought that naming their youngest child “Butterfly” would be a good idea. Butterfly does not agree, and has come up with a variety of nicknames. None have stuck so far.

The Prosperity visited the planet Molfaun during August and September. Buttefly’s resourcefulness and observation skills were very helpful in earning the crew a windfall of money.

Butterfly is considering going back to school to train as a surgeon or perhaps another kind of doctor.

Connections

Ryder Astrea: Butterfly and Ryder are close in age and hold the same position. Since the two have that and other things in common, they are work buddies. While they aren’t best friends, they work very well together.

Pacifica Gleyfu: Pacifica and Butterfly are not on great terms. Every now and again, their conversations devolve into criticism, and it can make working together quite stressful.

Eddie Cwallic: Butterfly and Eddie are siblings. While Eddie is the eldest, Butterfly has always been more responsible. They care about each other very much, but Eddie doesn’t like to “burden” Butterfly with bad news until the last minute. Butterfly has always found this immensely frustrating.

#rpg #pirate rp #open #farlydae #florence pugh fc #character: butterfly cwallic

[maysdermatology4]

How Dermatologists helps in Hair Restoration

In addition to treating skin disorders, dermatologists are essential in treating hair loss by using cutting-edge hair restoration methods. Hormonal fluctuations, heredity, or other causes of hair loss can all have a major negative influence on one's quality of life and self-esteem. Fortunately, dermatologists are well-equipped to provide practical remedies, giving people who are balding or experiencing hair thinning hope and confidence.

Dermatologist In Irvine customize their hair restoration methods to meet the specific needs and preferences of each patient. The use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is one such increasingly well-liked technique. We process the patient's blood to separate platelet-rich plasma, then inject it into the scalp to increase hair density and stimulate the formation of new hair follicles.

Follicle unit extraction (FUE), a minimally invasive hair transplant technique, provides an additional choice. During FUE, we remove individual hair follicles from donor regions, typically the sides or back of the scalp, and transplant them into balding or thinning areas. With this method, hair grows in a natural-looking manner with little downtime or scarring.

Furthermore, doctors may recommend drugs like finasteride or minoxidil to patients in an effort to reduce hair loss and encourage hair growth. When paired with cutting-edge techniques, these treatments provide complete solutions for people looking to regain their confidence and hair.

Dermatologists offer priceless advice and assistance throughout the hair restoration process, in addition to therapies. To maximize outcomes and guarantee long-term success, they instruct patients on proper hair care techniques, lifestyle changes, and maintenance techniques.

In the end, doctors and hair restoration methods work together to provide a comprehensive strategy for treating hair loss. Through the integration of advanced medical knowledge and state-of-the-art technology, dermatologists enable people to take charge of their looks and fully embrace their newly discovered confidence.

A dermatologist who specializes in Hair Restoration Irvine can help you restore your confidence and pave the way for a better future for your hair and overall health if you're experiencing hair loss.

To sum up, Mays Dermatology is a leader in hair restoration, providing cutting-edge treatments customized to meet the needs of each unique client. Mays Dermatology is dedicated to providing high-quality, patient-centered care and offers extensive support and direction at every stage of the hair restoration process. Put your trust in Mays Dermatology to produce life-changing outcomes that will restore your hair, confidence, and self-worth. Start your journey to a more vivid and fuller head of hair by visiting Mays Dermatology, where knowledge and beauty collide.

#Dermatologist In Irvine #Hair Restoration Irvine

[dana-irvine]

When Should You See a Breast Health Care Specialist?

Breast health maintenance should be a part of every woman's health care routine. Breast cancer is 1 in 8 likely to affect women. It is the second-most prevalent type of cancer in women after lung cancer. For these reasons, women should conduct routine self-examinations and visit women's health consultants routinely.

Where Can You Start to Look Out For?

The process often starts when a woman or consultant notices a change in her breast. A consultant checkup or a self-examination are all excellent places to start looking for a change.

Every woman after teens needs to conduct regular self-examinations. Among young women aged 15 to 34, breast cancer is the primary cause of death.

The young woman will be better able to identify changes such as a lump, a change in the texture of her breast skin, a pulling inward of her nipple, or a bloody discharge from the nipple by conducting monthly self-examinations. It is best to search for a breast health care specialist near me if any of those problems are present.

Sometimes, a woman's primary women's health consultant will find an issue during a standard clinical examination even though she missed it during a self-examination. 

Know When To See Your Breast Health Care Specialist

Your doctor should examine any changes in your breasts. To be on the lookout for are:

A lump under your shoulder or in your breast.

The female patient pays close attention as she listens to the Breast Health Care Specialist about her breast's size or shape-changing.

Breast skin that is dimpling, puckering, swollen, or bulging.

A nipple that is pushed inward or has shifted positions.

Breast rash, discomfort, or erythema.

Unexpected nipple discharge, mainly if it is bloody.

All roads usually lead to a breast health care specialist when a patient's breast has changed. An internal medicine physician will send a patient to a breast specialist for a diagnosis after noticing something unusual in the patient's breast. The majority of the time, the patient has already undergone mammography. 

To establish whether the patient's lump or other symptoms are indicators of benign breast disease or breast cancer, the breast health care specialist will conduct additional tests.

You can search for breast health care specialists near me who will often conduct an ultrasound and, if necessary, an ultrasound-guided biopsy to identify the abnormalities. Patients may also decide to have genetic testing done to find out if they are more likely to get cancer.

The specialist will perform breast surgery if they decide to remove breast tissue. If the tissue is malignant, the breast specialist will decide whether the patient would benefit from being referred to a medical oncologist or radiation oncologist. For the best treatment, search online for the best breast health care specialists near me.

What to Expect From Doctor

Visual exam - Your doctor will evaluate the size and form of your breasts and search for any skin cancer indications. Additionally, they'll check your nipples for any unusual fluid. Your doctor could ask you to move your arms in various directions so they can more easily examine your breasts.

Manual exam - Your doctor will use their hands to gently examine your entire breast, collarbone, and underarm region during this test to look for lumps or deformities. The lymph nodes next to your breasts will also be examined to ensure they are not enlarged.

Depending on the condition, the doctor may have one or more types of breast exams. If you have any breast problems, you can search for breast health care specialists near me.

Conclusion

If you are searching for the best women's health consultant, visit Dana Irvine. We can address your breast health, diagnosis, treatment, and wellness queries. Whatever the situation, they are pleased to schedule a consultation and talk about any concerns you may have about your breast health.

#women's health consultant #breast care specialists near me

[promedsi-blog]

5 Benefits Of Purchasing Used Medical Equipment In San Diego And Glendale, CA

A medical professional may initially wish to help patients by setting up a small clinic. Sadly, the number of patients hoping to get treated may remain modest due to a lack of appropriate medical devices. Spa owners and dermatologists skin specialists) find themselves in an identical situation too. However, purchasing the most advanced equipment remains an impossible dream for many because the devices are too expensive for a person earning modestly. ​ No worries! There is a unique solution available to such professionals today. To further their career, one can always order used medical equipment in San Diego and Glendale, CA. Well, pre-owned equipment is not going to be damaged beyond repair. Most of the products remain functional and may have been sold for other reasons. Companies that offer used devices are also likely to have an array of refurbished medical equipment available for sale. It is common to think of such pre-owned devices as flawed or less than effective yet the new owners usually have no complaints. There are benefits of purchasing such equipment that come with the following gains for the end-user:- 1. Affordable- This one is a no-brainer! Used equipment will be sold for a much lower price in comparison to a brand new one. While a professional can source it from an erstwhile patient or directly from the seller, it is advisable to invest in a used device offered by a dealer/company that has been in this business for many years. 2. No Waiting Time- The dealer usually orders the most modern equipment on receiving the order. The purchaser has to wait for a minimum period of 7 days to have it delivered. This mandatory waiting period is not essential when one opts for a used device that is available instantly. Installation time will be minimal as well, with the new owner being able to use it immediately. 3. Money Saver- Apart from getting the device at a cheaper price than a brand new one, a doctor hoping to build a practice and/or a beautician or a dermatologist may be able o top up their savings considerably without compromising their business operations. The money saved can be put into something more worthwhile that will help to expand their respective businesses too. 4. Technology- Used or refurbished medical equipment is not old. It is interesting to know that the best models are not always advanced technologically. Instead, the only difference one finds may be cosmetic, with a new color variation or a greater speed. The rest of the controls remain the same. The buyer of a used device can certainly be pleased about obtaining a great deal without spending a fortune. 5. Eco-Friendly- There is far less waste generated when one opts to buy a used or refurbished device. Sure, the latter uses new components, but many old ones are retained as well. There are almost no plastic or toxic compounds used at all. This makes it beneficial for the environment too. Skin parlors and beauty salons often source used hair removal laser in Irvine and Glendale, CA, to ensure customer satisfaction.

#used medical equipment in San Diego and Glendale CA used hair removal laser in Irvine and Glendale CA

[irvincosmetics]

Which is the best skin clinic in Gurugram?

The skin clinic is an area where anyone can go and receive various treatments that can help get rid of skin issues. Thanks to the development of methods, anyone is able to go to the top dermatologist in Gurgaon and get the needed treatments. Nowadays, individuals of all types of skin, shades, as well as skin problems go to a cosmetologist due to their non-invasive nature.

Irvin Cosmetics has the most renowned cosmetic clinic for skin in Gurgaon, which aims to offer all treatments for skin that are comfortable for its clients with the assurance of results. There are many types of treatments available for the skin within our facility in Gurgaon. Before we go on to the topic, let's take one look at the different types of skin treatments available.

What is the purpose of skincare?

To get rid of any skin issues, such as sunburn, freckles, and acne, as well as melasma, skin lightening and skin whitening of them, are part of a skin treatment that the most renowned cosmetologist in Gurgaon will perform to give you the perfect skin you desire.

Different types of skin treatments in Gurgaon

There are a variety of treatments for skin available in Irvin Cosmetics, Gurgaon. In order to attain the skin you desire, you must visit the cosmetologist and discuss your desires before the physician. The doctor will then inform you about the procedure it will be performing, the process, and the cost that is expected when you complete the treatment. The main treatments for skin that are available in Gurgaon include:

The Skin Whitening Treatment: Treatment for skin whitening or a process to bleach the skin helps improve the appearance of your skin by using an ingredient in the body known as Glutathione. It is a method to lighten the darker shade and provide the appearance of a uniform skin tone. Skin whitening treatments aid in a variety of ways to enhance the beauty of the face by improving the look of the face and creating an admiration-worthy status among the aesthetics-conscious crowd. Irvin cosmetics will help you obtain the treatment for whitening your skin in Gurgaon to achieve a brighter and whiter skin tone.

Skin Tightening Treatment: Treatment for skin tightening is a process for regenerating your skin that significantly improves the appearance of your face. The specialist in skin care can get rid of wrinkles and sagging skin and aid in restoring your skin's youthful appearance. The goal of the skin tightening treatment at Gurgaon is to get healthier skin and a more youthful appearance.

Skin laser treatment: Laser treatment for skin is a method that makes use of lasers to treat skin imperfections or to remove skin blemishes. It's a great option for those who desire smoother, more youthful-looking, and perfect skin. Utilizing lasers for treatments on the skin helps in the process of promoting the healing process and also remodelling. The restorative process creates new skin cells, which results in softer and more elastic skin. Skin laser treatments are available in Gurgaon by Irvin Cosmetics using the modern method for relaxing treatment.

Conclusion

In Irvin cosmetics, the best dermatologists in Gurgaon will give you the perfect complexion, skin texture, and skin tone, with a perfect overall complexion. Schedule an appointment now to eliminate the skin issues that can affect your self-confidence or self-esteem. You can get the treatment now and regain the confidence, self-esteem and youthful skin you've always wanted back. Don't worry about the budget. Book your appointment for a consultation and receive all the information you need about the procedure, duration as well as budget.

[decadepeen4]

Occupational Hygienist Jobs, Employment Fundamentals Explained

In this part What is an Occupational Hygienist? When chatting regarding what goes on in an busy workplace, it creates sense to speak regarding the folks who operate at all levels of work and what styles of task they operate for. But only because you are making use of the condition Occupational Hygienist doesn't mean that you are implying that individuals are naturally wrong. You can still be wrong, in truth. Occupational hygienists aid companies know how health and wellness risks influence the wellness of workers, how considerable the threats might be and advise on minimizing those dangers through pinpointing ideal controls. The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council utilizes self-diagnosing evaluation of diseases as a resource for public health and wellness activity. The file is not a substitute for health care specialists or nurses or the NHS. It is concentrated on three elements which have significant jobs in how health practitioners work, the public health service and workplace treatment. They often function as part of a multi-disciplinary team, consisting of professional wellness medical doctors, professional wellness nurses and various other wellness and security experts. These positions are unique in their expertise and require specialized capabilities in various topics and locations of research. Medical school grads are encouraged to take training programs at two levels of research study, as well as participate in various other analysis programs at UC Irvine. Expertises feature occupational medication and neurology, psychiatry, cardiology, pediatric medicines, and human makeup. Occupational hygienists possess the capabilities to identify, examine and discover remedies to manage workplace wellness hazards and therefore take care of any associated danger to wellness. Health and Safety Education and Knowledge Hegemonic constructs such as the English foreign language have their area in this record of environmental health and wellness, with several links to environmental health learning, consisting of the part of ecology, the necessity for durability and self-control, tension decrease skill-sets and adapting approaches. These might be chemical, physical, natural or ergonomic desk and can be existing in the workplace in several types. Such formulas are normally developed to improve laborer health and wellness as well as supplying a smoother, more reliable workplace setting. Very most commonly, all formulations may be administered to be used under tight or loose conditions. A item can be administered via a microfiltration unit that may merely operate under limited or loosened health conditions. For example: Chemical agents: causing acute unwell health effects after short term usually higher amounts of exposure such as skin and breathing irritants, or constant ill-health effects after long term usually low degrees of exposure such as deadly chemicals. Cancers/receptor receptors: in addition to possessing a strong action system, C. difficile includes a extremely heterotrophic organism due to a large receptor located on the cell surface. Chemical substance representatives might be present in the workplace as liquids, fuels, vapours, dusts and moistures and might take place from direct visibility to a chemical material, e.g. solvent, or food items. Chemical responses are not normally located in workplaces. The threats of chemicals that interact with human cells or bodies can easily consist of skin burns, bacterial or virus-like diseases, damages of the breathing system, cancer cells or other negative responses, and the development of disease. solvent, or as a end result of work task, e.g. a computer system or desktop operating body operating on an Arduino You acquire: Arduino Code If the following problems administer to your function (e.g. you're helping make any type of modifications to code within a single method): You take as well a lot of modifications to attain a right result (generally when you function this code within the REPL), and you're making a sizable amount of changes in a various way. More In-Depth : noise and vibration coming from repaired and handheld tools, and ionising radiation (e.g. nuclear surprise). Results of the present study can easily be connected to the use of this procedure and on a higher manner all the available radiologic record which was acquired, hence, at an enhanced level. Some speculative outcome from experimental techniques could possibly have been considered just of the specific industry, which in its very own terms is less understood. alpha, beta, gamma rays) and non-ionising radiation (e.g. a fragment moving a lot much faster than a fuel). It's additionally understood as the "blue border" and is connected with electromagnetic radiation and gamma radiations, so when the sign to the right of the blue collection is a gamma ray it's blue. The concern with this "blue border" is that the indicator to the leave of absence of the product line has actually an uppermost tied on its chance of passing through the blue perimeter. infra-red, ultraviolet, microwave, radio waves) from the all-natural atmosphere or from several styles of equipment. The observing layout will definitely present the possible environmental effects of making use of an natural material on the human physical body: 1. Water visibility to a light source (eg. a fluorescent light bulb) at 1 centimeters direct exposure will certainly create the pH to climb. Water is absorbed swiftly and this are going to enhance the pH of living cells which is led to through chemical decomposition and deterioration. legionella pneumophila in water units, food poisoning bacteria), bloodsuckers (e.g. Yeast infection albicans), and toxic substances. The presence of a singular chemical is an vital factor in anticipating how these microorganisms will certainly behave in a unit. For instance, very most dangerous compounds that could be connected to human health and wellness and safety have been removed coming from food plants just in the final 50 years by a variety of procedures, such as the make use of of high-energy disinfectants that do not impact individual safety. malaria-carrying bugs), and viruses (e.g. spermatogonia) were associated with a greater threat of gear box. The exact same protective elements have been revealed in African bugs, along with identical outcome. The function of parental factors in popular tons varied (B. et al., 1987). It was advised that mother's stress and anxiety may have a physiological role in transferring microcephaly in African birds, which are at risk to Zika infection. The mechanisms of these transmission procedures are unidentified.

#mould inspection sydney #asbestos testing nsw #asbestos register nsw #mould inspection

[tarun1]

Enhance your health with acupuncture.

Enhance your health with acupuncture.

What is acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a form of Integrative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Acupuncture is a popular treatment procedure for a wide range of health conditions. It is a drug-free approach that entails inserting thin needles through the skin at specific body points.  One third of world population has been helped and treated successfully with acupuncture treatment.

Acupuncture is the oldest form of treatment, dating back to around the 2nd century B.C. Its roots can be traced back to China, where it started before spreading to other parts of the world.

Despite the rapid growth and inventions in the medical field, acupuncture has proven its worth and is still being used alongside modern medical practice.

Acupuncturist in Orange County is a top-rated doctor of naturally healing medicine and is used to fight various health conditions that develop due to blockage or interruption of the body’s life energy flow. This interruption or blockage of flow results in the accumulation of fluid in some parts of the body, resulting in swelling and pain due to excess pressure. A blockage also cuts out the supply of nutrients to all parts of the body, leading to malfunction. This makes one feel fatigued, weak, and even experience slow healing if they have injuries in these parts.

The Benefits ofAcupuncture Irvine

It does not have any side effects as compared to drugs.

It can be combined with other forms of treatment when carried out appropriately.

One can get individualized therapy according to their needs.

Acupuncture can resolve pain and improve sleep, digestive function, and a sense of well-being.

It works both as a preventive and treatment measure.

One can comfortably continue with their normal life even when undergoing the procedure.

Traditional Chinese Medicine in Costa Mesa helps you to heal from chronic pain and illness in Newport Beach, CA. Dr. Lau, Miranda at Lau of Wellness is a top acupuncturist and practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. The natural way to heal includes,

Women and Man Infertility

Reduce your high blood pressure, glucose levels, and triglycerides.

Post stroke recovery

Rheumatoid arthritis

Weight control

Chronic pain and illness management

As per me TCM and Acupuncture is the best compare to western medicine and TCM tackles the issues of falling ill by strengthening the immune system, while at the same time expunging the disease causative agent if necessary. For a better consultation for good health visit our website https://naturalhealingtcm.org/

Contact Details:

[phone]

[email protected]

Newport Beach, CA

[ellington1]

Where can I find eyecare center near me?

When it comes to your eyesight, you don't want to take any chances. That's why finding an eyecare center near me is so important.

Fortunately, there are plenty of eyecare centers available, so you're sure to find one that meets your needs. But how do you choose the right one?

Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking for an eyecare center:

* Location – The eyecare center should be convenient for you to get to. It should be close to your home or work, and easy to find.

* Services – The eyecare center should offer a variety of services, including eye exams, prescription glasses, and contact lenses.

* Price – The cost of services should be reasonable and fit within your budget.

* Staff – The staff should be friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.

* Facility – The eyecare center should be a clean, comfortable, welcoming place.

* Insurance – You want to make sure that you and your family are covered for any large medical bills.

In addition to these factors, you also need to consider the eyecare center's reputation. Ask your friends and family for recommendations or visit the Better Business Bureau website to see what previous customers have to say.

What is the number one eye hospital in the United States?

If you are looking for an ophthalmologist, you may be wondering which hospital is the best. There are a number of eye hospitals in the United States, but which one is the best?

The Mayo Clinic is often considered to be the best hospital in the United States. It is a world-renowned hospital that offers a number of services, including ophthalmology. The Mayo Clinic has been ranked as the number one hospital in the United States for many years.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology has also named the Mayo Clinic as the best hospital in the United States for many years.

If you are looking for an eye doctor, you may want to consider the following three eye hospitals in the United States:

* The Mayo Clinic

* The University of California, Irvine

* The Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center

What are eyelid diseases?

Are you having problems seeing because of problems with your eyes? One of the most common eye problems is called glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a condition that can damage your eyes.

What is the difference between glaucoma and cataracts? Glaucoma is a condition that damages the optic nerve, which is the part of your brain that allows you to see. Glaucoma is often considered to be a form of cataracts.

What are eyelid diseases?

Are you having problems seeing because of problems with your eyes? One of the most common eye problems is called glaucoma. Glaucoma is a condition that can damage your eyes. Glaucoma is a condition that damages the optic nerve, which is the part of your brain that allows you to see. Glaucoma is often considered to be a form of cataracts.

Most people do not know it, but there are many different kinds of eyelid diseases. There is a good chance that you have some kind of eyelid problem.

Here are a few common eyelid diseases:

* Blepharitis

* Blepharoconjunctivitis

* Bacterial blepharoconjunctivitis

* Blepharitis

Blepharitis is an inflammation of the eyelashes and skin of the eyelid. This condition is very common and affects over 40 million Americans. Many people with blepharitis are not aware of it because it usually does not cause any symptoms.

Blepharitis can make your eyes feel irritated, burning, and red.

What can eye diseases cause?

There are many different types of eye diseases. Some of the most common eye diseases include:

* Glaucoma

* Cataracts

* Retinal diseases

* Diabetic eye disease

* Eye cancer

* Eye infections

* Eye trauma

Eye diseases are one of the leading causes of blindness in the world.

What are eyelid diseases?

Are you having problems seeing because of problems with your eyes? One of the most common eye problems is called glaucoma. Glaucoma is a condition that can damage your eyes. Glaucoma is a condition that damages the optic nerve, which is the part of your brain that allows you to see. Glaucoma is often considered to be a form of cataracts.

Most people do not know it, but there are many different kinds of eyelid diseases. There is a good chance that you have some kind of eyelid problem.

Here are a few common eyelid diseases:

* Blepharitis

* Blepharoconjunctivitis

* Bacterial blepharoconjunctivitis

* Blepharitis

Blepharitis is an inflammation of the eyelashes and skin of the eyelid. This condition is very common and affects over 40 million Americans. Many people with blepharitis are not aware of it because it usually does not cause any symptoms.

Which place is best for eye surgery?

deciding where to have surgery can be a difficult decision. There are many factors to consider, including the surgeon's experience, the facility's qualifications and accreditation, and the cost. Here we will compare two popular options for eye surgery: surgery performed in a hospital outpatient setting or surgery performed in an ambulatory surgical center.

Hospital outpatient setting

When you have surgery in a hospital outpatient setting, you usually meet with the surgeon before the surgery. The surgeon will do a physical examination and answer any questions you have. You will also have a pre-operative appointment with the anesthesiologist.

The surgery will be performed in the hospital outpatient setting, and you will be discharged on the same day.

The cost of surgery in a hospital outpatient setting is generally more expensive than at an ambulatory surgical center.Ambulatory surgical center

When you have surgery at an ambulatory surgical center, the surgery is usually performed a few days before you leave the hospital. In some cases, you can have surgery the same day.

The surgery will be performed in the ambulatory surgical center, and you will usually be discharged the same day.

The cost of surgery at an ambulatory surgical center is usually less expensive than at a hospital outpatient setting.

What are eyelid diseases?

Are you having problems seeing because of problems with your eyes? One of the most common eye problems is called glaucoma. Glaucoma is a condition that can damage your eyes. Glaucoma is a condition that damages the optic nerve, which is the part of your brain that allows you to see. Glaucoma is often considered to be a form of cataracts.

Most people do not know it, but there are many different kinds of eyelid diseases. There is a good chance that you have some kind of eyelid problem.

Here are a few common eyelid diseases:

* Blepharitis

* Blepharoconjunctivitis

* Bacterial blepharoconjunctivitis

* Blepharitis

Blepharitis is an inflammation of the eyelashes and skin of the eyelid. This condition is very common and affects over 40 million Americans. Many people with blepharitis are not aware of it because it usually does not cause any symptoms.

#eyecare center near me #Eyecare Center #ellington eyecare

[irvineskinus]

We specialized in treating skin, hair and nail disease as well as STDs diagnosis and treatment. We are a dermatologist office in Irvine, Orange County California focused on cosmetic, medical and surgical dermatology.Visit us to know more or Call us [phone].https://irvineskin.com/

#Artefill (Bellafill) irvine #Rash doctor Irvine #Skin cut closure Irvine

[finelinevogue]

can you just write something really sad please like i wanna cry

okay pressure because i don’t think i’ll be able to make you cry, but here’s sad for you;

warning - cancer

Pain.

That’s all you ever felt anymore. It was in your bones, in your muscles and in your smile. Pain had taken your happiness away from you and the only thing you were left with was an unbearable detachment to life itself.

Your bright eyes were now dull as grey. Your skin less radiant than ever. Your body so bony and small you looked breakable, because that’s what you were. A fragile china glass about to tip off the table - you were just waiting for that final push. Recently, you’ve started feeling that final push. It wobbles you everyday. The pain had gotten worse and you were sleeping more and more everyday, barely spending any time awake anymore. Unfortunately there’s not much you can do when you have stage IV cancer.

You’d developed it 4 years ago now, your cells mutating against you. You shut yourself out from the world; away from friends and family, even Harry and your daughter Ava. You didn’t want any human contact and then you were told it was stage 4 cancer. That’s when you changed yourself and tried to be a better person, by which time it was too late. Your parents bailed on you, not being able to pay for any of your treatments so leaving you was just easier. Harry and you got divorced, Ava only being 2 years old, after you’d found out he was having an affair to cope with the stress of you developing cancer and pushing yourself away. You had no relatives, no friends worth fighting for.

It was just you. About to die alone.

The doctor walked into the room, clipboard in his hand, giving you that same undeserving smile he’d given you every day for the past 7 months. You’d been in the same hospital bed for that long, only getting up to go to the toilet or try and walk to the vending machine. Now you couldn’t even lift a leg. You had to be carried out of bed and to the toilet, where you were helped to undress and do your business as someone stood near for support. You were ashamed of yourself some days, not feeling strong enough to deal with this.

You used to be so strong and now you couldn’t lift a finger without the pain shooting through your body like a house on fire. It was excruciating each day knowing you had to live through the pain until your body finally gives up on you. You felt selfish for even thinking of wanting to die, but then again who would be left waiting for you? Who would be left to cry over you? Not a single person springs to mind.

“Ms L/N, how are we feeling today?” Doctor Irvine asked, standing by the heart-rate monitor to check your vitals.

“Close to oblivion.” You sighed, tilting your head slightly but wincing at the pain that came from the movement.

“You say that every day and yet here you are still.” Doctor Irvine smiled at you, finding the positivity within this awful situation.

“I have to say it every day, because I don’t know if i’ll make it to tomorrow.” You turned your head back, finding it uncomfortable in the other position.

“Oh i’m sure i’ll be hearing you say it tomorrow Y/N, just you wait and see.” He was quick to leave after that, not wanting to hear your argument anymore. He was determined to keep you going for another lifetime if he could, to help you clear of all the pain you’d suffered.

No one would be here to wave you goodbye as you left forever. No one would even know that you’re gone. No one would turn up to your funeral. No one would lay flowers upon your grave. You were insignificant alive, so being dead only aided that. You would be a forgotten name, if not already, in a years time. No one would remember your face with your kind smile. No one would remember your family carrot cake recipe.

You missed your life everyday. You wanted so badly to smell the ocean air one final time or touch a field of grass like you’d never done so before. You wanted to feel and see the world before it all went black. You wished you could’ve told Harry that you loved him one final time, and Ava the same. God, Ava. She’d be 6 now and you imagine she’s the most prettiest girl her age, what with Harry’s genes. You wished you could have a picnic with them both and just enjoy life as a family for one more day, but you’d have to just imagine it.

So you closed your eyes, to picture this scene that you were so desperate to existence.

You pictured yourself sat on a red checkered picnic blanket, Harry’s head laying in your lap as you ran a hand through his curls. Ava would be running through the flower meadow chasing a unique pink butterfly, finally stopping when it lands on her pretty yellow sundress. You’d have cakes and sandwiches for lunch, with an apple juice box for Ava and a cheeky glass of wine for you and Harry. The day would be nothing but smiles and happiness.

But that day would never come though, because your eyes would never open again.

Oblivion.

#harry styles #harry styles x reader #harry styles fanfic #harry styles x y/n #harry styles fanfiction #finelinevogue #finelinevogue harry styles #harry blurb #harry oneshot #harry styles concept #ask finelinevogue #ask harry styles #anon response #anon #harry styles sad #harry styles angst #harry styles cancer blurb #finelinevogue blurbs #finelinevogue masterlist #harry styles dad #harry styles x ill reader #terminally ill reader x harry styles #harry styles masterlist #fine line #we’ll be alright

[yesterdanereviews]

The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959)

Film review #489

Director: Irvin Berwick

SYNOPSIS: The quiet Californian town of Piedras Blancas hides a dark secret: in the caves beneath the lighthouse, there hides an ancient monster that starts killing the residents of this sleepy town. Unaware of the monster's existence, a number of the residents try to find out what is causing the killings...

THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: The Monster of Piedras Blancas is a 1959 sci-fi horror film. Set in the small lighthouse town of Piedras Blancas in Southern California, the residents of the town find themselves being killed off one by one, with no idea who...or what is doing it. The film is paced like a typical monster movie of the time, with very little momentum at the beginning, and various murders until the monster's reveal. The pacing is very slow in this one, and we only get the reveal of the monster about two-thirds of the way in, and everything before just involves these cast of characters that do little to distinguish themselves. The dialogue is pretty dull, and the character development doesn't help make things exciting. I suppose this dullness reflects the setting of this sleepy seaside town, but it doesn't really make for an interesting movie.

The film is an independent production, so it doesn't have the backing of the big studios, but then again, those same studios were cranking out films like this at about the same quality, and the same runtime just over an hour long (this runtime was typically suitable for being shown at drive-in cinemas as part of double features, that were popular at the time). As such, it's rather indistinguishable from a more 'mainstream' production. The on-location shots of the cliffs and the town do give it a more authentic feel instead of just relying on sets, so it does have that going for it. The cast of characters can easily be remembered by their roles, and their names are somewhat irrelevant: you have the doctor, sheriff, storekeeper, lighthouse keeper and the young couple. Each of them, as mentioned, fills out a fairly predictable role, and adds very little to proceedings. The young woman manages to show a lot of skin fairly regularly (even going swimming in the sea naked at one point), which would have been a little risqué at the time, and not something I'm sure a bigger production could have gotten away with.

The most notable aspect of this film is definitely the monster itself. Very similar in design to "The creature from the black lagoon," (and designed by the same creator), the monster is based on a diplovertebron, which was a prehistoric creature that lived over three hundred million years ago. We don't get too many shots of the creature in it's full glory, but when we do it looks fairly decent for the time, with a scaly skin and water oozing out of its mouth. One of the other most memorable aspects of the film is the use of gore. In most Hollywood films, the killings would be done offscreen or without any blood or viscerality. When we get the full reveal of the monster, he is carrying the bloody decapitated head of his latest victim, which certainly comes as a shock, since nothing else has happened in the film up to that point, and also you just don't expect to see that kind of gore in these films; also, the effect looks pretty convincing too. We get another shot later on of the abandoned head being walked over by a crab which is also has the same effect, but apart from that, there's not too much to say about this film. The Monster of Piedras Blancas is a fairly forgettable film save for one or two moments that show off its horror credentials. It's fairly short runtime means you can probably check it out without too much fuss though.

#movie #movie review #the monster of piedras blancas #sci-fi #film #film review #1959 film

[antics-pedantic]

RALLY CO. #5: BIG CATS, CONCRETE JUNGLES

“A damned *baseball*?”

Irvin Wheeler had been interrupted by the shattering of glass. The sports implement before the man had made a bad situation worse: the building he’d holed up in was already decrepit enough without a premature demolition order. Not when the final stages of his project had been coming to fruition. Irvin was psychic: He could establish an observable mental link, measured in theta wave emissions from his brain. But there was seemingly no effect. 

Many he’d gone to for help had abandoned him, save for a neurologist of ill-repute who had revealed there was a step few others knew of, or were willing to pursue. The mental link worked best with animals: Irvin had to remain within a certain distance in order to properly develop the effect. Although the mad doctor of the mind had been discovered and apprehended for his heinous work, Irvin had escaped with their most promising test subject: A jaguar he had been able to telepathically direct, and keep caged.

As the tranquilizers wore off, it had come time for Irvin to attempt to renew his attempt at synchronizing before the animal could let off a roar that would give away Irvin’s hiding place to the authorities, or anyone else that might intervene. 

And then, the Jaguar’s eyes flashed open wide, a gleam about them as they locked onto Irvin’s almost knowingly. And both nodded to each other.

X

Solomon Callahan, premier occult detective lived just outside of the city of Arcadia, in a suburban, but still larger than typical home that was able to house his extensive library and various antiquities. 

“AUGH!”

As well as four of his former students, and a helpful clay construct. The stout cryptozoologist tough-guy Tycho Gallagher had been caught off-guard by a gift box with a banana cream pie launching spring-gizmo inside-- the short Irishman trying to wipe at his eyes as bits of the pie took up residence on the reddish sideburns that made his round cheeks as fuzzy as they were. 

“Most upsetting, I concur…” came the deep, gloomy voice of the aforementioned and widely beloved clay construct, known to folklore speakers and childhood storybook readers as Blockhouse. “But if you do not hold still, I cannot wipe away the obstructing dessert.” 

But before Blockhouse could offer aid, Tycho’s homely form collided with a set of curtains, grabbing at them in his hairy-knuckled fists in a haste, and bringing them down onto himself. The bar that held them over the window landed woefully upon his cranium with a *THUMP!*, and at last Blockhouse was able to wipe the pie off Tycho’s face.

“Are you well, my friend?” said Blockhouse. Tycho was flailing his limbs around every which way, practically about to let off a squeaky holler befitting an enraged cartoon duck. 

“That’s the last straw! All this week whenever I go into the city, I’ve  been assailed by unmitigated waggery! Made t’look like a blinkin’ fool, they have. And fer now doin’ so in the comfort o’ my own home?! They’re history!”

The rest of Tycho’s party had come running to see what had happened. The first of which was Felix Basra-- a Pakistani woman of somewhat formal attire, emulating the great detectives she herself wished to surpass, while also serving as the ragtag group’s current leader. Following her was one Esmerelda Broughton-- a taller lady with umber-toned skin and yet a new hairdo, along with a pair of safety goggles and gloves for her bio-chemistry work. Not far behind Esmerelda was a shorter woman with nearly snow white, long blonde hair accentuated by a red hairband, who answered to the name of Katrina Kafka. She wore a baggy long-sleeved shirt and long skirt, her features almost perpetually shaken by the haunting spectre of nervousness that made her necklaces and bracelets rattle at times, like the way she could make objects rattle with her telekinesis. And the eldest was their mentor, Solomon Callahan himself, his head’s hair a greyed mane, a silver-headed cane in hand, and little round glasses. He had thrown off the jacket of his dark green three-piece suit, now boasting a waistcoat and folded dress shirt sleeves. 

“Tycho, Blockhouse--” Felix was quick on the draw. “What the devil has happened here? Are we under some sort of attack?”

“Gangsters out for revenge?” suggested Esmerelda. “Ooh, perhaps some errant beast followed us home from our last journey?”

“Merde!” cursed Katrina, speaking in her native French for a moment. “Non, non, non!”

“Ah, sorry Katrina…” said Esmerelda apologetically. “You know how a good mystery, or some grandiose globetrotting adventure gets me raring for action!”

Felix was first to take to the giftbox, briefly studying the simple mechanism concocted within, and finding a note hidden within. She brought it over to the others, and read it aloud. 

“Take that, monkey boy. Courtesy of… the Haddock Street Hoodlums?”

Tycho was washing his face at the kitchen sink, when Felix named the culprits. Tycho started shaking his fists, practically hopping around from how eager he was to retaliate. 

“So! Some two-bit rogues think they can pull one over Mama Gallagher’s bushy-browed boy?! I’ll wallop ‘em!”

Felix just blinked. Esmerelda nudged her to attain the note, and showed it to Katrina. It seemed the bio-chemist and the shaky psychic knew a bit more about this than they let on.

“Ah, here Tycho-- what’s say we erm… we were to be joining you?” said Katrina. “Not to put doubts within your tenacity…”

“What? Aw, a’course Katriner!” said Tycho. “Rally Co.’s all about rightin’ wrongs an’ such. Plus we can fetch a victory ice cream soder-pop afterwards.”

“Mm. As much as I like the idea of someone else playing a friendly gag on you Tycho…” said Esmerelda. “Here, why don’t I just show you there?”

“Blazes, Esmerelda!” said Tycho, recalling every instance in which he and the eminent bio-chemist matched insults-- as was their custom as colleagues. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were conspirin’ with their lot.”

As the three departed, Solomon got to cleaning up the mess left behind. Felix couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of her nose. 

“Oh, don’t fret my dear.” said Solomon. “Their behavior does not always reflect on you: They’ll occasionally wont to personal affairs. Shenanigans included.”

“And if they should get into trouble, sir?” said Felix. “Surely I must be responsible for that.”

“What you’re responsible for, Felix…” said Solomon, as he collected the curtain for a round of washing. “Is to catch what they do not always notice. Offer counsel based on your findings, and trust them to decide for themselves what they must do next.”

X

The Haddock Street Hoodlums were actually just a band of children barely out of elementary school. Notable among their ranks were some rascals who had decided to make Tycho the subject of their latest games: There were Chiara and Franklin, who put the little contraptions like the pie-throwing spring together. Gunther, who had the best handwriting and manners (a low bar, admittedly as he was the one who suggested the pie prank after seeing a slapstick comedy at the movie theater). “BLT,” (Bobby-Lionel-Torvic) who stole a sheet of stamps for the package, and Slinky Kevin, who traded them several of his knickknacks and magazines for a chance to be part of the whole operation.

As Callahan’s car-- a roadster convertible with the hood currently down-- pulled up, Esmerelda had explained everything on the way over.

“Alright, so’s maybe I won’t wallop ‘em…” grumbled Tycho. “I’ll wash their mouths out with soap, I will! Look at ‘em, playin’ marbles without so much as a care.”

But Tycho had spoken too soon, as the children had feigned accidentally dropping the little shoestring-tied pouch of marbles they’d brought along. By the time he’d arrived on the sidewalk where they had assembled the game, Tycho was scrambling not to fall over face-first, flailing his arms and shorter legs around in an attempt to regain balance on solid ground as the marbles rolled beneath his feet. The Haddock Street children were watching from nearby, halfway through climbing a wooden alleyway fence. Even Esmerelda and Katrina couldn’t help but burst out laughing. 

“That’s right, run fer it ye little rugrats!” howled Tycho. “You ain’t seen the last o’ me!”

With the display over, Esmerelda went over to help Tycho up. After Katrina levitated all the marbles into the air, and began collecting them that is.  Didn’t want to turn the performance into a whole school dance between all three of them.

“C’mon, Esmerelda! Whip up some kinda potion that’ll reveal their footprints-- Katriner, scan around, see which direction their thoughts are goin’!”

“Or, and this is a long shot, you poor little harangued, hirsute hooligan,” said Esmerelda. “We could try a bit of dear Felix’s trade and just look for a place they might usually hang out? We’re not exactly pursuing international jewel thieves, you know.”

“Aw nuts to ye, Esme!” said Tycho. “I didn’t think that humiliatin’ bit was funny enough you’d defend em like so!”

Esmerelda just sighed. Katrina decided to step in.

“Je suis là, Tycho…”

Tycho just put on a big frown, glancing aside with a raised chin and crossed arms. He was set on getting back on the Haddock Street kids. But when Katrina was feeling gentle, even the rough-and-tough cryptozoologist could not help but falter. He glanced back over at Esmerelda.

“Cut them some slack, Tycho.” said Esmerelda. “They are children making the most of life on these streets, saying things they think will make them seem more complex to those around them. Doing outrageous things for attention-- especially to adults. How do you suppose Felix feels when we charge off on our own? Perhaps not so far off from you and these urchins.”

“Harrumph!” huffed Tycho. “I wager I’d still like to give ‘em a good talkin’ to o’ some sort. And if they should go sobbin’ or being clever somehow, then tough luck.”

As the three Rally Co. adventurers talked among themselves, they could swear they saw something flitting across the rooftops. 

“What was that?!” cried Katrina.

“Wasn’t just The Junker on one of his rounds, was it?”

Tycho shook his head.

“Still too much daylight to be had. He’d move around more freely with the cover of darkness to help. Besides, that’s the leap of a Panthera onca-- we’ve got a hopped up Jaguar on our hands!”

The three piled back into the roadster to give chase. Eventually, after speeding through the streets and through a shortcut, they caught the Jaguar crashing through a window into a building. Tycho and Esmerelda were first out of the car, pulling out their impellet guns first to try for a non-lethal takedown. Katrina had one as well for emergencies, but loathed unnecessary violence.

“Kinetic propulsion optimized… tranquilizers within each capsule fresh.” said Esmerelda, checking the weapons as they took the elevator up. “And I’ve got a few exploding vials if necessary.”

“Yeah, and I got meself a Bowie knife.” said Tycho, patting his inner jacket. “Let’s hope it don’t come to that, yeah? Sorry Katrina.”

“I can only hope no one was home in that apartment.” said Katrina. “We will do what we can. And perhaps what we must.”

The Rally Co. group had needed little time to figure out the specific apartment: The place was being torn apart by something ferocious. Tycho and Esmerelda were about to ram into the door when Katrina stopped them. 

“Gonna use your TK, Katriner?” asked Tycho. But Katrina shook her head and checked around under the welcome mat and on top of the doorway before finding a spare key, and using it to gently open the door, unbeknownst to the mystery assailant. When they entered, it lunged their way, Katrina halting it in mid-air while they scrambled out of the way. The jaguar landed outside in the hallway, sprinting towards the stairwell to begin an escape. 

“I’ll go after ‘em.” said Tycho. “Katriner, yer with me. Esmerelda, see if you can find whatever, or whoever that blighter was after. Call Felix for help.”

Esmerelda nodded. As much as she wanted to accompany her teammates-- her friends, she knew her skills were needed in combing the apartment and meeting up with Felix first. And Katrina was eager to pitch in the next time there was action to be had. She and Tycho were right after the jaguar, Tycho trying to score a few shots with the impellet gun. The remarkable thing was that Tycho had connected his shots. The jaguar’s movements seemed much more labored now, but something about its mind retained a razor sharpness that allowed it to keep moving. At a slower pace, but still carefully enough to cover ground and not crash into anything.

“The kitty-cat ain’t droppin’!” exclaimed Tycho. “Katrina, try an’ see about blocking its way. Obstacle course might just be what we rightly need!”

Katrina nodded, and tried to grab anything that wasn’t bolted down. Trash cans, newspaper racks. It got so intense she disregarded the part about nothing bolted down and even tried using a street mailbox. But no such luck: by the time they got close enough, the big cat had been willed to find ways around the obstacles placed before itself. 

Trying to catch their breath, Tycho and Katrina came to a halt in front of the downed mailbox, Tycho kicking it out of frustration. Shortly thereafter, Felix and Solomon had arrived to help Esmerelda go over the crime scene. 

“Found anything?” asked Esmerelda.

Felix had taken a moment to survey the place. She had noticed in the bedroom that there were only a few clothes tattered: The closet had been emptier than she’d have expected, and there was a spot with less dust that had left an imprint upon the carpet. With a hand covered by a fine leather riding glove, she traced her fingers across the indentation, surmising that it was a suitcase of the apartment owner’s. Discarded scientific journals marked the apartment owner as potentially being a researcher themselves-- might have partially explained why they were attacked. 

“I’ve got a name: Professor Seymour Homme.” said Felix, finding a letter that survived being crumpled up. “Does the name ring a bell?”

“Tycho and I weren’t able to make it out,” said Esmerelda. “But we know Homme was on a list of guests over at Century University. There was to be a lecture on a cancelled project regarding studies on the electrical impulses of the brain and nervous system.”

Solomon scratched his chin.

“Alright. We’ll each try for the train station, the harbor, and the nearest airport to see if we can catch up with the good doctor, offer our protection. Then we’ll regroup with Tycho and Katrina, and try to find the culprit. Now let’s be on our way!”

X

Later...

“Hey, why don’t we play a round of baseball?”

“Franklin,” started Chiara, flipping through a copy of the popular mechanics magazine. we lost our ball at that creepy old building-- where the demon-thing lives.”

“Oh. That’s right.”

Chiara was the leader of the bunch, and she spoke with the utmost confidence. Franklin returned to laying on his back and looking up at the street lamps and windows. Gunther was practicing his calligraphy in a notebook his father had provided him (and routinely checked for completion of the day’s drills). BLT and Slinky Kevin on the other hand, had broken out into a scuffle. Franklin had jumped to action, putting himself between the two boys.

“Knock it off, you boneheads!” exclaimed Franklin as seriously as his young and high-pitched vocals could muster. “What’s put the peel back on your potatoes?”

“Slinky Kevin ripped me off! There’s a page missing in the Secret Sentinel comic he promised me!”

“Sucks to that, you didn’t check it first! So’s you giving me the rest of your cream soda’s fine and good. Besides, it’s still a complete novel-length adventure you’re reading, give or take a measly… I dunno, an ad for a workout book or some novelty prank gear!”

“That’s enough!” said Chiara at last. “Clearly we be goin’ stir crazy. Well, I just got me a good idea: We’ll run one more trick on that Rally Co. gorilla Tycho. He cost us all our favorite marbles and he yelled at us kids-- so’s let’s give him one last run-around, yeah?”

Almost immediately, BLT and Slinky Kevin ceased their hostilities. They were practically helping and dusting each other up, as Franklin snatched up the magazine that Chiara tossed aside, rolling it up and tucking it into his back pocket for later as the Haddock Street Hooligans went to see if they could still find Tycho. Not quite, but they did succeed in eventually running into Esmerelda Broughton.

“Ja, a grace your presence is, Miss Broughton” said Gunther with a little bow. Esmerelda giggled as Chiara gave Gunther a little pat on the back and stepped up to speak for the group.

“Hello, you little pirates~!” Esmerelda had practically sang, setting one hand on her hip and the other just over her mouth, simply adoring the ingenuity and humor of these rascals. “You look terribly lost, dears. Can I be of any assistance?”

“Yes-o, missy.” said Chiara. “You’re in a unique position to help us.”

“We’re formuleratin’ a new plan to clown upon your orangutan friend.” explained Franklin. “Have you seen him? We’ll need to maintain the utmost surveillance. And suggestions for any supplies we might have need of.”

But Esmerelda just went ‘tut-tut!’

“Ohh, haven’t you heard? That hopping mad little emperor penguin of ours was so upset by your escape earlier, he’s gone to a haunted building with a shattered window to weep profusely!”

The Haddock Street Hooligans were suddenly each as soft-eyed as a doe spotted by wayward travelers. The bravado and roughness they expressed in their games had suddenly fell away to reveal the truth of youth.

“Y-You’re bluffing!” said BLT. “Why would he do such a thing like that?!”

“There’s a demon-thing in that place!” whined Chiara. “I told everyone a thousand times! I really did!”

“He’ll catch his death there!” gasped Slinky Kevin. “Ohh, I’ve read ghost stories like this in loads of dime novels. No one could deal with that!”

Esmerelda cleared her throat.

“Oh you poor things… perhaps if you hurry, you can catch him before it’s too late? Here, come along as I hail a taxi cab.”

The children piled into the vehicle, clinging to Esmerelda in a frightened panic. When Slinky Kevin saw Tycho up ahead through the window, they hollered for the cab driver to come to a halt, the children all running to catch up with the cryptozoologist before he could step across the threshold and into that dreaded place. Before he could, Tycho had turned to hear the footfalls of the heartbroken children.

“Please! Please!” wailed Chiara, trying to pull Tycho away by his jacket. “Don’t go in there, don’t go there--”

“W-We’re sorry Mr. Tycho.” sobbed BLT, as Franklin behind him sniffled fiercely in the hopes of halting the trickle of his tears and snot. Gunther cried audibly, unable to find the words, but very much as desperate as his friends. Slinky Kevin was wiping his eyes with a handkerchief profusely. All the children had begged: “Please don’t go to the demon-thing’s house!”

There was silence for a time as Tycho looked all the children over. But his bushy red brows just seemed to furrow as he glared at the miserable lot, letting them shed their tears. 

“So! You little monsters can’t even keep your jokes straight: First I’m a vicious bull-ape, now yer callin’ me a lily-livered coward?! If I didn’t have a job to do, I’d feed ye each a pound of spinach.”

And Tycho entered the building, Esmerelda running in after him. After a second, Chiara had shaken Franklin out of his sorrows, and the two gradually went about helping the others regain their composure.

“He’s demon dinner, and it’s all our fault!” said BLT. 

“Snap out of it, BLT.” said Chiara. “He won’t be. Because… because he’s our favorite jester, and I say we’re gonna trip up that demon-thing first.”

“But what if it tries to eat us whole?” said Slinky Kevin. “Maybe it can swallow a soul!”

“Yeah? Well, if it tries to bite me I’ll shove a brick in its mouth. And I know Gunther is a great shot, so he can hit it between the eyes with a ball-bearing from his slingshot. And Franklin! You’re almost as smart as me, you could come up with something great. Plus you’ve got BLT and Slinky Kevin to help you.“

The children gradually began to recall their little tricks and hobbies. They weren’t confident that it would be enough, but they felt responsible. So they snuck around, looking for a window they could pry open. Once inside, Chiara led the charge. Gunther was right behind her with a ready slingshot and BB’s. They could overhear Tycho and Esmerelda shuffling around in a locked room ahead-- as well as an odd creaking sound from upstairs. Franklin returned to the doorless opening back into the room they entered from, planting multiple strips of ducktape across the doorway in a net formation, nearly spending up an entire roll just to reinforce the whole thing.

“I’ll stay here with BLT and see what else we can find an’ rig up.” said Franklin. “If Mr. Tycho and the demon thing end up out here, maybe we can catch it with my flypaper net.”

“Good luck, boys.”

Gunther followed Chiara and Slinky Kevin upstairs, slowly so as to avoid giving themselves away by a creaky floorboard or step. That was when Slinky Kevin threw down a few spare wind-up toys and figurines that would have made it impossible to step without crushing one of them. 

“If anyone comes up, we’ll know. Here, I’ll stand by the stairs and keep watch.”

That left Gunther and Chiara to wander down the hall. They had caught the sound of someone laying down on a spring mattress. They froze in their tracks when they heard crashing downstairs, accompanied by a muffled yelp on Tycho’s part. One intense collision gave way to the even more troubling sound of a door being broken down: Tycho and the so-called demon-thing-- the jaguar familiar-turned-assassin flying through the air. Tycho collided with the duct tape net through the open doorway, Franklin scrambling to help him out of his jacket so he could resume the fight. The net had failed to stop the beast, but it had at least caught Tycho and allowed him to get back on his feet. The jaguar had perked up and looked to the stairs, bounding up each step rapidly as Gunther and Slinky Kevin exchanged places. Before the jaguar could lash out at the shaking Gunther, it nearly slipped on a suddenly active wind-up toy. Then, Tycho had grabbed it by the tail, and was contesting its strength against his own, the two halted in place until Gunther finally released his slingshot, connecting not one perfect shot between its eyes, but two decent ones-- one for each eye, in quickdraw succession. This allowed Tycho to toss the beast backwards, so he could dive at it and put it into a full nelson wrestling hold. Esmerelda was stumbling out after him, bandaging her bicep after being clawed there. 

As the struggle continued, Chiara and Slinky Kevin found the room in question. There lay Irvin Wheeler, who had been woken with a jolt as if from nightmares. The man with his bloodshot eyes turned to glare at the children. Sweating bullets as he reached out to try and grab at them. 

“No! I’ve put too much work into this to let some meddling kids stand in the way of my revenge. No matter: I haven’t any qualms against harming you imps!”

Slinky Kevin and Chiara backed away. There was no door they could slam in his face. So the two children split up: Wheeler looked between the two and decided to go after Chiara first since she was headed for the stairs and back into the outside world, where he figured she could inform the police. Slinky Kevin would probably hide somewhere, ripe for capture. Or at least that was what he thought, until Gunther fired his slingshot again at Wheeler’s face, throwing him off as Gunther had done with the captured jaguar. Chiara broke into a run and put everything she had into throwing him off balance, and to her amazement Slinky Kevin had come back to crouch down on all fours like a stool, expediting the process of throwing Irvin Wheeler off-balance. By the time the man had managed to sit upright, he had been winded by a sudden kick to the chest, pressing down on his ribcage and keeping him on the floor as Esmerelda and the recently arrived Felix pointed an impellet gun and regular revolver respectively at the scoundrel. 

“No… my aide. What have you done?...” rasped Irvin Wheeler.

“Tycho and our construct friend Blockhouse are securing the jaguar.” said Felix. “With our resident occult detective and junior psychic starting to sever that bond you formed with the jaguar. We know you were performing unethical experiments with that mad mind-scholar. Professor Homme was to be your next victim in the campaign of revenge.”

“I have a gift!” wheezed Wheeler, weakly banging one fist against the ground. “The weaklings, the so-called thinkers, sought to restrain us! Well I say to them hell awaits. My curse became a boon and they were jealous! Jealous, I say!”

“Esmerelda, the honors?”

And Esmerelda squeezed the trigger of her impellet gun, Felix covering her nose and mouth with one hand as Irvin Wheeler lost consciousness. Solomon had called in the cavalry to have Wheeler and his jaguar companion contained until their strange circumstances could be addressed sufficiently. 

Meanwhile, the Haddock Street Hooligans had all come charging out to dogpile Tycho in their grasp, tears renewed and soaking his shirt before he could put on his jacket again. Laughing all the while, and Tycho could only endure it until they felt reassured that their favorite fellow to fool was in good health.

“Did you see that?” said Chiara. “Gruesome slams, like the heels do in wrestling!”

“I think the beastie passed out from his body odor first.” teased Gunther, pinching his nose.

“He grabbed ‘em right by the tail and--” rambled BLT. Slinky Kevin just nodded and reenacted the motions of the jaguar while Franklin ruffled his own hair and portrayed Tycho himself.

“Yeah, horrible affair.” said Chiara. She tried to put on an air of confidence despite still shaking a bit in her pronunciation of words. And then she had everyone back up, before pointing at Tycho. “That means we’re gonna up our game. We’ll make a bigger joke out of you now, Mr. Tycho! That’s a Haddock Street promise.”

Tycho huffed. The children waited for a response, only to hear him puff, and Tycho put on his best wolf snarl, playfully chasing off the Haddock Street Hooligans until they scurried off to a taxi cab that Katrina had hailed and paid the meter for in advance. Now, it was the rest of Rally Co.’s turn to swarm the cryptozoologist with affection. 

“You know? I’m actually proud of you.” said Esmerelda. “I didn’t expect those kids to go in after you, but they really came through, didn’t they?”

Tycho nodded.

“Guess they did… clever bunch they are, eh?”

Felix still had to go through the building for any clues, and to document what happened here in the newly established team archives. But she did take a moment to put a hand on Tycho’s shoulder, nodding approvingly. 

“Tycho my friend,” started Katrina. “You deserve a treat after everything you’ve been through today. And whatever you receive, I will ask for ten of because I am feeling maybe... ten times as tired.”

“Yeah, sure. Why not!” laughed Tycho. “Let’s comb thru this joint and then we’ll grab some burgers. My--”

“My treat!” insisted Esmerelda. 

“I was gonna offer!” howled Tycho. “Can’t go two seconds without upstagin’ me!”

“You make it so easy, I’m afraid.” said Esmerelda. “Come along then, I’ll need your opinion on the marks and hairs left behind by the jaguar. Felix, be a dear and go upstairs to see if Wheeler left behind anything noteworthy?”

“But of course.”

Felix took the lead. She couldn’t help herself though, and kept glancing over her shoulder. Not in paranoia, not to look for some hidden enemy that was constantly eluding her. But because she was happy for her team-- her friends. 

#Rally Co. 5 #Rally Co. Adventures #Web Fiction #Mystery #Adventure

[bpod-bpod]

Staying Connected

“10 fingers and 10 toes” is the classic refrain of a satisfied doctor after a healthy baby is born, but things aren’t always quite so clear cut. Syndactyly is a condition where two or more digits are fused together. It was previously believed that this resulted from insufficient removal of the connective tissue that exists between digits as they grow, but a new study has shown other factors are involved as well. By tracking the development of healthy mouse embryo feet (right) and those lacking the key gene GRHL3 (left), they observed that an outer skin forming around the growing digits plays an important separation role. This key factor helps the outer layer push between and un-stick each digit. GRHL3 also plays a role in Van der Woude syndrome, which is characterised by a cleft palate, and understanding how and why development goes awry might guide research into new treatments.

Written by Anthony Lewis

Video from work by Ghaidaa Kashgari and colleagues

Department of Biological Chemistry, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

Video copyright held by Elsevier; reproduced here with permission

Published in Developmental Cell, March 2020

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

#science #biomedicine #developmental biology #embryonic development #genetics #van der woude #cleft palate #syndactyly

[robsroadtorecovery]

Daily(ish) Updates

On Thursday March 28th, Rob went to the ER for stomach pains. He ended up being checked into a hospital in Corona and they did several tests including a bone marrow biopsy. They discovered that he had a low platelet count, high white blood cell count, and an enlarged spleen. He’s needed plasma transfusions to keep his platelet level up. On April 1st he was informed that he has Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and was transferred to UC Irvine Health.

April 3th

-Rob started chemotherapy. His medications for the first three days will be cyclophosphamide (chemotherapy) and mesna (chemoprotectant to reduce side effects). 

-His parents visited him and said that the medication was administered through IV and can take 3 hours to finish the treatment. 

April 4th

-Rob took dasatinib orally, which is another treament for ALL. 

-His sons, Chris and Trey, visited him. 

-Rob said he felt fine but the doctors said that the side effects of chemo are usually felt after 48 hours.

April 6th

-Rob had vincristine and doxorubicin through IV, which are used to treat a variety of cancers. 

-He finished his first round of chemo and he said he felt weak but on the mend.

-He was able to take a walk around the floor.

-The doctors will now monitor his blood production and figure out the next steps in his treatment.

April 7th

-Even though his chemo ended yesterday, they gave him an extra chemo pill.

-He was feeling nauseous and didn’t eat or drink much.

-He was also tired because his bed moves constantly to prevent bed sores but that makes it hard for him to sleep.

-He maintained good blood pressure even when feeling sick, which usually doesn’t happen when he’s sick at home.

April 8th

-He had bad muscle spasms that moved from his back up to his chest. The doctors gave him an EKG and the results looked normal.

-He was able to take a walk today and was in less pain.

-He ate some food and received IV fluids due to dehydration.

-The doctor said he’ll go home in a few weeks and when he starts his next round of chemo it’ll be scheduled and they’ll have a bed ready for him at the hospital. Not sure if the future stay will be a month long like this current one. He is already on his second round of chemo. He will take dasatinib every day until remission since it’s seen as a maintenance drug.

April 11th

-Bob and Linda visited Rob and they said he was in good spirits. He’s still nauseous and vomiting.

-He received a blood transfusion rather than a plasma transfusion. A nurse said that at this stage it’s not unusual for him to get a blood transfusion every day. It is unsure whether or not the blood transfusion is needed due to his low platelet count or if his blood production is lowered due to the chemo. (I’ll ask Heather to ask the next time she visits.)

-Erica visited a couple days before and said he had a CT scan of his legs when she was visiting. They were looking for blood clots but luckily they didn’t see anything. Previously we thought he had a CT scan in his legs to check for blood clots but it was actually an ultrasound. 

-He also had a CT scan while Bob and Linda were visiting. They scanned his lungs since he’s been congested but didn’t see anything. They didn’t seem too worried about blood clots but it was just a precaution.

April 12th

-Heather said he had a low fever and they had to wait for it to go away before he had his blood transfusion.

-He has a sore throat and lesions in his mouth and throat from the chemo. It has made it painful for him to swallow.

-He seemed more upbeat today.

April 13th

-He was pretty groggy today and was dozing off due to his fatigue.

-He gets blood transfusions because his hemoglobin levels are low. He has blood in his urine and stool so that’s probably why he needs blood transfusions. The doctors say this is from the chemo.

-He had another platelet transfusion today.

-He was given chemo today and yesterday. Heather isn’t sure what’s going on because when she spoke to the oncologist she was told that there would be a break in between rounds of chemo. She will try to speak to someone the next time she visits to get a clear answer.

-Rob was able to get out of bed and shower today and was in a pretty good mood.

April 14th

-He will have a new procedure done tomorrow to figure out what is causing his congestion. It’s called a flexible bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage. The bronchoscopy is a flexible tube that has a camera and lighting. The bronchoalveolar lavage is the process of flushing the lungs with saline and can be suctioned back through the tube. They may take biopsies which will be done with a little Pacman looking tool that can take chunks of the lung. If there is bleeding they will use argon plasma coagulation to cauterize any bleeds. He will be under twilight sleep during this process which means he’s anesthetized but still verbal.

-In preparation for this procedure, they gave him a platelet transfusion today and will give him another one in the morning. 

-He is already on his second round of chemo. He will take dasatinib every day until remission since it’s seen as a maintenance drug. I was told there would be a break in between rounds of chemo but Rob confirmed that he’s on his second round. 

-(Backstory: Rob has a habit of falling asleep on the couch and when he was woken up to move upstairs he would sit on the edge of the couch and rock back and forth while falling back asleep. It was hard for Heather to wake him up and he would occasionally fall forward.) So last night he started to do the same thing. He was getting ready to get out of bed and the bed has sensors that notified the staff that he was getting up. He had one foot on the floor and ended up leaning forward on the bed. The staff tried calling his name and nudging him awake but he didn’t respond. They ended up laying him on his back and shined lights in his face. He woke up at that point and was responsive but he said he barely remembered what happened. They gave him a brain CT without contrast because they were worried he had a stroke due to his confused state and how hard it was for them to wake him up. It came out negative.

-He can’t use his CPAP machine when sleeping because it hurts his lungs when his diaphragm expands.

-He’s noticed that it’s been easier to breathe as the chemo progresses because the cancer cells are leaving his body.

-He said he also gets blood transfusions because he’s bleeding internally and when he has bloody urine or stool it’s because the cancer cells are leaving his body.

-He said he has been feeling “dumpy” the past few days but he feels a lot better today.

-He has been on constant fluids since checking into the hospital but today they skipped it because he is now too hydrated to the point of having puffy skin.

-They’re keeping track of his electrolyte levels because it’s important that they stay in a good range.

-Previously we thought he had a CT scan in his legs to check for blood clots but it was actually an ultrasound. 

-He has had a CT scan with contrast in his abdomen as well as twice for his chest once with contrast and once without. He has had a CT scan for his lungs. They’re searching for blood clots, lesions, or more cancer.

-The doctors are already talking about bone marrow transplant. Ideally, they would do it while he’s in remission. His parents, siblings, and children can get tested to see if they’re a match to donate bone marrow. His children are the best candidates because they’re younger and can bounce back quickly from the procedure. It seems like the testing would be a simple blood draw.

-He said that he hospital has decent food.

April 16th

-The bronchoscopy was yesterday and he was awake for the procedure. They took samples of the stuff found in his lung and tested it. Most likely, they are culturing it to figure out what it is. Then they flushed his lungs with liquid and sucked it back out of the tube. 

-He has a coccidioidomycosis infection, also known as Valley Fever. It doesn’t look like it has spread. He will have to take antifungal medication twice a day. He thinks he may have had this infection for a long time, even before being admitted into the hospital. He has had slightly elevated levels of white blood cells when he would get blood work done and he thinks it could be due to this infection. And when the chemo was introduced, it gave the fungus the opportunity to thrive. The antifungal medication can mess with his blood sugar so it needs to be monitored.

-He has two doctors on his team. One is a specialist who works with patients undergoing chemo with cancer in their lymphatic system and how they fight infections. The other is an infection disease doctor.

-For the past 4-5 days he’s been having an injection that is supposed to help him produce red blood cells.

-He had a platelet transfusion yesterday. He now bruises easily.

-He also had a PICC line inserted when he was transferred to this hospital. It’s a catheter that is placed in a vein in his arm and it goes all the way into the large veins near his heart. It makes it easier for him to get his medications or to get his blood drawn.

-He has been stumbling with his words, which may be a side effect and he’s still nauseous. He has lost 15 pounds so far.

-His hair started to fall out today.

-He’s had 5 CT scans with contrast so far. The hospital he was originally at did too many of them in a row and it affected his kidneys. The doctors at his current hospital were worried about kidney failure so they have been watching his kidneys closely.

-He had a lot of good sleep and was able to use his CPAP machine last night. He had a lot of energy today. He was able to walk around the hospital floor as well.

April 21st

-Rob is now home!

-He had really good numbers (platelet, red blood cell, electrolyte count) and was given the okay to leave the hospital.

-He has thrush, which is causing lesions in his mouth and esophagus.

-He’s on oxygen and has to carry around an O2 tank.

-His next meeting with his doctor will be on the 26th.

April 26th

-Not too much has been happening since he’s been home.

-He’s been sleeping a lot.

-His appointment with his doctor today went well and they talked about next steps. He’ll need to get another bone marrow biopsy to see if he’ll need to check back into the hospital and start other chemotherapy treatments. It’s possible he could be in remission.

May 3rd

-He will be checking in tomorrow for another hospital stay. It is unclear how long he will stay there.

-He had the bone marrow biopsy done but he doesn’t know the results so we don’t know if he’s in remission. He needs to be in remission in order to get a bone marrow transplant. Otherwise, he will continue with chemotherapy until he’s in remission.

-His levels are borderline okay so he was still getting transfusions while he was at home.

-He has lost 50 pounds so far.

-Hopefully he can talk to his doctors today to get more information about what the next steps will be.

May 5th

-He has checked back into the hospital. He’s expected to only stay for a week this time. He’s on his “second round” of chemo. He’s been on one chemo pill throughout this entire process but now he’s on the second round of other types of chemo.

-Preliminary results show that he may be in remission. Further tests will be done to confirm the remission.

May 17th

-Updates are now being reported by Heather rather than Rob. He hasn’t been well enough to talk on the phone.

-He was discharged last Wednesday. He was supposed to be discharged on Tuesday but he still had high levels of his new chemo drug, methotrexate, in his system so they kept him for another day.

-He had diarrhea for several days after being discharged and on Friday, it was so bad that they went to the ER. But the wait there was between 4-12 hours and he eventually felt better so they just went home.

-He had labs done on Saturday as well as a platelet infusion. He also had a vitamin shot to help him produce more blood cells, I think it’s B12?

-He had a really bad sore throat on Sunday and it was so bad that he couldn’t take his evening pills.

-He’s nauseous today, which makes it hard for him to drink and eat.

-He has another lab appointment tomorrow and depending on the results he may also get another platelet infusion.

-He has lost 60 pounds so far.

-He has a doctor’s appointment on Thursday and hopefully he’ll have the results back from his bone marrow biopsy to confirm that he’s in remission.

May 20th

-The doctor said that he’s essentially in remission even if the test results haven’t come in yet to confirm he’s in remission on a molecular level.

-He will still have to finish his rounds of chemo even though he’s already in remission. He will have 6 more rounds done. If he doesn’t complete all 8 rounds of chemo then there’s a possibility for him to relapse. The bone marrow transplant isn’t enough to keep him in remission, it needs to be all 8 rounds of chemo plus the transplant.

-Since he’s in remission, they will start the bone marrow transplant process. They will need to talk to his insurance to see which hospital the transplant can be done in because sometimes UCI Medical Center can’t do it with certain insurances.

-The transplant can be done starting now until the end of his last round of chemo.

May 31st

-He will most likely check into the hospital next week for this third round of chemo. His hospital stay should only last a week.

-He’s still tired and nauseous but getting better. He has his color in his face back and isn’t relying on the oxygen tank as often.

June 3rd

-On June 1st, he had labs done and almost fainted while at the office. They gave him an infusion of fluids and labs came back showing his creatine levels have almost doubled since Saturday (May 29th). The high levels made them concerned about his kidneys and they told him to go to the ER. The ER told him he had a urinary tract infection.

-He was given IV antibiotics and was discharged the next day.

-He was supposed to start his third round of chemo today but since he's still on antibiotics they will postpone the treatment.

June 30th

-Rob went in for his 3rd round on June 18th and he check out about a week later.

-He had a 7 week gap between his 2nd and 3rd round of chemo and apparently that isn't good. It's supposed to be a 3 week gap in between and any longer than that could mean the chemotherapy won't be as effective. But he was pretty sick during those 7 weeks and they wanted him to feel better before he started chemo. So we believe the doctor's weren't assertive enough when telling him about this 3 week period even though he saw his doctors weekly.

-He is now at home but isn't feeling great after the 3rd round of chemo.

-His insurance won't cover the bone marrow transplant at the hospital he goes to so he will have to find another hospital that will qualify.

July 1st

-He is now on his fourth round of chemo. This one is an out patient procedure. He goes in to get his dose of chemo and then heads home afterwards rather than checking into a hospital for a week.

-He started feeling a lot better after several days of not feeling well at all. He got his appetite and his energy back but not sure how long it will last since he started his fourth round.

July 20th

-He started his fourth round of chemo yesterday. They originally thought the outpatient chemo was the fourth round but it was just remnants of the third round. He will finish it up in four days.

-City of Hope was chosen to be the transplant hospital and his sisters are being tests to see if they're match. If not, they'll look for a match on the registry and if that isn't successful then his sons will be tested. They are half matches so they're not ideal.

-He is officially in molecular remission based off of a test they did with his bone marrow biopsy.

-At the moment he isn't a good candidate because he is too weak. He will have to get his strength up in the next couple of months in order to get the bone marrow transplant.

August 4th

-He had trouble breathing so he was taken to a hospital in Anaheim via ambulance.

-He had a CT scan and was given antibiotics.

-They diagnosed him with pneumonia and transferred him to Foothill Regional Hospital in Tustin.

August 6th

-He was transferred to the ICU this morning.

-He didn't eat last night and didn't want to eat this morning either.

-He was disoriented and that worried the doctor so they gave him another CT scan.

-Heather is trying to get him transferred to the UCI Medical Center since that's where he's been getting his chemo and it's a bigger hospital.