One of our local Bulverde, Texas Firefighters, Ruben Smith has a two year old son Reid Smith who is fighting stage 3 kidney cancer. They are not able to remove his kidney as the other kidney is too weak, so they are starting chemo therapy. Ruben and his family will have many out-of-pocket, co-pays and other expenses and your prayers are greatly needed. Ruben and his wife have three children including a baby recently born in 2009.

If anyone can help with a donation it would mean the world to this family along with your prayers – I STRONGLY BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYERS!! Let’s help those who normally help others!

Anyone can send a donation to the Bulverde/Spring Branch EMS station to help the family offset some expenses. You can also send gift cards, gas cards for traveling, dine out cards, grocery store cards, frozen meals…anything you think will help is needed.

Here is the Reid Smith Tax Deductible Number EIN# 80-0549713

You can make the check out to Ruben Smith.

Please send the check and/or other charitable items to:

Bulverde/Spring Branch
ATTN: Reid Smith
PO Box 38
Spring Branch, Tx. 78070

Hang in there buddy…our prayers and help is on the way!

Jeremiah 33:6 (New International Version) says: “Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.”

With the increasing costs of specialized drugs, some insurance companies are refusing to pay for drugs prescribed for off-label conditions …

Health policy analysts caution that the benefits off-label drugs offer in conditions for which other drugs have failed will be seriously compromised by these new insurance regulations.

Furthermore, off-label drugs such as naltrexone, which is relatively inexpensive at less than $100 per month, would be put in the same (unapproved for payment) category as Genetech’s Avastin (bevacizumab), which typically costs $4,400 per month. Avastin is approved for lung and colorectal cancers, but not for brain tumors because of limited evidence validating efficacy despite promising results in patients.

A cancer charity is recalling about 200,000 bracelets it sold as a fundraiser because they contain high levels of lead. The Friends of Mel Foundation tested the bead-and-metal bracelets after getting an e-mail that a 9-month-old boy apparently ingested lead from a bracelet… The foundation said it’s raised more than $1 million for Massachusetts General Hospital by selling the jewelry on its Web site and in small stores.

Who knew lead would make such a comeback? Where can I invest in lead? What’s next — lead in my Taco Bell burrito instead of the usual E. coli? Will Britney’s next fragrance contain lead?

I can hardly wait for more lead news!

He … criticized Clinton for her acceptance of campaign contributions from health insurers and pharmaceutical companies … According to Edwards, health insurers, pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists “killed the health care reform” Clinton proposed in the 1990s. Clinton said that her acceptance of campaign contributions from health insurers and pharmaceutical companies has not prevented her promotion of proposals to expand health insurance and revise prescription drug regulations … She said, “My record shows I’ve been very effective,” adding, “I believe in working with everybody and being influenced by nobody”…

Working with everybody and being influenced by nobody?? If you believe that one, I have a bridge over the San Antonio Riverwalk I’d like to sell you.

More coverage of the event at BlogHer.

It’s been an absolutely horrible week. I don’t wish this on anyone. But I have to move on. I have a family to take care of…I hold no grudges or malice against anyone. Right now, I’m just trying to piece my life back together. But I don’t have any other comment at this point.

He declined to go into details about the controversial AstraZeneca newsletter article or his firing.

The good news is that consumers do have an alternative to AstraZeneca’s “big bucket of money” prices. Recently, we helped PharmaGossip put together a price comparison that shows cancer patients can save up to 65 percent by purchasing their Casodex from Canada.

PharmaGossip reports:

Thanks to Cary Byrd at eDrugSearch.com (their database encompasses PharmacyChecker-approved pharmacies as well as other pharmacies accredited by reputable organizations such as IMPAC, CIPA, MIPA and VIPPS) we can now take a look at how much of a gouging US cancer patients are getting when they have to pay for Casodex (50mg) tablets.

US price per tablet : $17.33

Canada: $6.13 per tablet (120 x 50 mg tabs = $735).

Australia: $7.63 (30 x 50 mg tabs = $228.86).

Israel: $7.70 (112 x 50 mg tabs = $862.56).

U.K.: $15.68 (28 x 50 mg tabs = $439).

So, Casodex is cheaper virtually everywhere else in the world – with the price in Canada about 65 percent less than the U.S. price cited.

Ouch!

To summarize, U.S. “big bucket” pricing: Ouch! Canadian pricing: Ahhhh!

Hallmark Cards Inc., which has built its $4.2 billion empire on sentiments for life’s happier times, is releasing a new line of cards that will speak to … situations that the company says either have been ignored by greeting-card companies or received only a smattering of attention from niche players.

For illness: “Cancer is a villain who doesn’t play fair … but it can’t dim your spirit, and it can’t silence prayer.”

For eating disorders: “All I want is for you to be healthy–healthy and happy with yourself. Please take it one day at a time until you are.”

For depression: “When the world gets heavy, remember, I’m here to help carry it with you.”

The 176-card collection, called Journeys, went on sale last week at Hallmark’s 3,800 Gold Crown stores.

Healthbolt comments:

Now, I live in Kansas City, so I have dear friends and family who work at Hallmark and I like some of the things that company does. Like provide a paycheck to some of my friends and family. I also really like their ‘Fresh Ink’ cards. But this seems like gross profiteering off of people’s most troublesome sorrows.

I’d also like to add that if I’m ever clinically depressed and someone buys me a greeting card specifically addressing my depression in a rhyming manner, I might just end it all right there in front of them.

I know it’s hard to find the right words to say when your friends or family are stricken with a serious disease or disorder — but a Hallmark card?