I'd rather kiss a toilet seat!

I can still remember this line from Home Alone 2.

Kate McCallister: Why don't you just sit up here for a while and think things over. When you're ready to apologize to Buzz and to the rest of the family, you can come down.

Kevin McCallister: I'm not apologizing to Buzz. I'd rather kiss a toilet seat!

I had heard in a radio perhaps 2 years ago that the toilet seat is much cleaner than my desk. I took time to search about this and found one from University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County. Based on the article, according to a 2001 survey by the University of Arizona Microbiologist Dr. Charles Gerba (funded by Clorox), an office desk may contain 400 times more germs than an office toilet seat, the telephone and desktop had the most germs followed by the keyboard and computer mouse. The number of germs per square inch on these office stuffs were:

• Phone : 25, 127
  
• Desktop: 20, 961
  
• Computer Keyboard: 3, 295
  
• Computer Mouse: 1, 676
  
• Toilet Seat: 49

Image source

We all know that maintenance people seldom clean office desktops, phones, et al and that this chore is usually left to us. The crumbs on the desktop may even attract more bacteria. Too bad for me, I'm forced to eat at my desk. Should I rather eat on the toilet seat? Nah. The article says,

---

Qoute:

If you feel you MUST eat at your desk, clean the surface with a disinfecting wipe. Gerba's study found the number of illness-causing microorganisms could be reduced up to 99.9 percent on office surfaces when they were cleaned daily with a disinfecting wipe. Always read and follow usage directions and precautions on the label of cleaning products before each use.

---

What to say to the bereaved

Image source

Or rather what to do to the bereaved..I don't know. I struggle on this. But I would prefer to go to funerals rather than attend graduation ceremonies (I did not attend my MS graduation), wedding ceremonies and birthday parties. I am not melancholy but I learn a lot in funerals and burials. The hardest thing, for me, when I go to one is what to say to the bereaved. Or rather what not to say to the bereaved..Especially if I am close to the person. (Walsh-Burke) enumerated comfort attempts that do more harm than good.

(1) Saying "I know how you feel" or "I understand."

(2) Talking about your own losses (me-too-ism).

(3) Giving unsolicited advice.

(4) Using clichés.

(5) Challenging the other person's perception of their situation or feelings.

I think in situations like this, the element of time has to be respected. Acceptance heals the pain but it takes time. My close friend whose mother died told me that the hardest part is after the burial when everybody else have left. That's when the real grief takes over. It is therefore important to stand by the person until the wounds are healed.

Reference:

(1) Walsh-Burke, K., 2006, Grief and Loss: Theories and Skills for Helping Professionals, 1st Ed., p. 78, New York: Pearson Education

Some leukemia links

I am not a doctor. So I'll just leave it to the experts to discuss more on this. Here are the links to some reliable sites I visited:

(1) Leukemia-Adult Chronic, American Cancer Society

(http://www.cancer.org/docroot/cri/content/cri_2_4_3x_how_is_leukemia_diagnosed_62.asp)

(2) Leukemia, National Cancer Institute

(http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/leukemia)

(3) Leukemia Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical school

(http://www.bidmc.harvard.edu/YourHealth/TheraputicCenters/Leukemia.aspx)

(4) Health System, University of Virginia

(http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/UVAHealth/peds_hematology/leukemia.cfm) 

Is it hard to tell if one got leukemia?

I have just one very simple question that I want to know regarding this disease: Are there symptoms so specific to leukemia? I was thinking, had they known, their son might have been with them longer..An article from the American Cancer Society confirmed my guess. None.

---

Qoute:

At least one-fifth of people with chronic leukemia have no symptoms at the time their cancer is diagnosed. Their cancer is diagnosed by blood tests performed during an evaluation some unrelated health problem or during a routine checkup. Even when symptoms are present, they are often vague and nonspecific. Most symptoms of chronic leukemia, such as weakness, fatigue, reduced exercise tolerance, weight loss, fever, bone pain and pain or a sense of "fullness" in the abdomen (especially after eating a small meal) can also occur with other cancers as well as many noncancerous conditions.

---

"...occur with...many noncancerous conditions." How true. Too bad. The symptoms are so ordinary one would mistake it for just an ordinary pain. Silent killer. Leukemia deserves that name.

A family friend's son died of leukemia

He was supposed to graduate this school year under the degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. But he died last month. He just complained of stomachache. The day he was brought to the hospital, the doctor told his parents he has to undergo operation. But when they checked his blood, they found out he has leukemia. When his parents asked for the cancer stage, the doctor replied there is no stage for his case. The cancer cells are spreading four times faster. He died after 9 days which makes it all the more painful to his family. Why so fast? How come they saw no signs when it was spreading in his body so quickly? What kind of cancer is this?