Seth's Info

I was talking to a family friend recently who was expressing her frustration about a new Walmart being built in her town. The site they had chosen required the destruction of a historic building she had always admired, and she questioned aloud whether Walmart was really as “evil” as they sometimes seemed to appear. This question reminded me of a time when, during one of her pregnancies, Jenny cried hormone-driven tears of happiness after watching a Walmart commercial where the yellow happy face bounces around the store, generously lowering prices for the customers. Fortunately, this effect was only temporary.

In my experience, Americans generally have negative opinions about Walmart. And yet we just can’t seem to help ourselves when it comes to taking advantage of the low cost goods they offer. A quick internet search reveals a large number of sites dedicated to exposing “the truth” about one of the world’s largest corporations. Some are more rational than others, but it makes for good reading.

So what are the facts?

-- Walmart is one of the top 5 corporations in the world (along with the major oil companies) and has annual sales around $250 billion
-- As of July 2006 Walmart had over 3200 stores and super centers in the US, with over 1.3 million employees.
-- The Walton Family (Sam Walton’s widow and 4 kids) owns about 40% of Walmart Stock and is worth around $100 billion
-- The average Walmart employee makes about $8.00 per hour.
-- Walmart is the single largest importer of foreign-produced goods in the US, and, if treated as its own country, would rank 5th in Chinese exports.

Like any publicly traded corporation, Walmart’s primary goal is to maximize profits for its shareholders. Walmart is ruthlessly efficient at keeping costs low, allowing them to sell goods cheaper and still turn a profit. The methods they use to accomplish all of this tend to be the focus of complaint. They include low employee wages, expensive health coverage for employees, using their massive purchasing power to force suppliers to cut costs at their expense, vehement anti-union policies, and a long list of other sinister management practices. Here’s a link to a great article ("The Walmart You Don't Know") that I read a few years ago in Fast Company. It outlines the issues far better than I ever could, and provides some good examples of just how Walmart operates

Jenny and I occassionally shop at Walmart, but my personal approach is to shop there only if they have a particular item I need that I can't find somewhere else. I’m convinced that Americans could do without much of what they purchase at Walmart (and other chain retail stores), and they would undoubtedly be better off saving their money for another day. Walmart and other super stores excel at prompting the impulse buy, so just get in and get out before you end up buying that $2.97 gallon jar of pickles that you don't really need.

One other note…..make to sure the catch the end of the Tour de France this weekend. American Floyd Landis followed up near-disaster on Wednesday with sheer determination on Thursday and sits just 30 seconds off the lead. With a strong time trial on Saturday he could be wearing yellow at the Champs-Elysees on Sunday. Also, Tiger Woods is at the top of the leader board at the British Open, so there should be some good golf to see this weekend.

Our family is heading off to Sea Bright Saturday morning, so I’ll probably check in from there. I am feeling pretty good and trying to keep busy. My esophagus is acting up again, but it is not as bad as it’s been in the past.

Take care,
Seth

I am now back in State College, I was discharged Saturday morning. My brother and my cousin Joe managed to get me back home without too much trouble. I slept about 16 hours on Saturday night, and I am generally feeling quite tired. Fortunately I have not had the nausea that I experienced in previous cycles. My stay at Fox Chase went smoothly and there are definite advantages to getting my treatments as an inpatient. I was very thankful for the large volume of email I received; it really helped me stay positive and connected. I haven’t been able to respond to everyone yet, but I’ll catch up soon. I also enjoyed catching up with Chris, and old friend from the Navy and now a pilot for Jet Blue. I’ll be resting at home this week, and then we are planning on heading down to Sea Bright next week. I’ll be back at Fox Chase on July 31st for my next round, it seems too close already. I’m not sure when my next set of C/T’s will take place, but it may be as soon as mid-August.

My twin brother is often asked if he feels at increased risk to get sarcoma since it happened to me. While he was at the hospital Rob met my oncologist, also an identical twin as it turns out, and she assured him that he shouldn’t worry or run out a get a C/T scan. Sarcoma is very uncommon and there isn’t any data to support a strong genetic link.

The Zidane head-butt has taken on a life of its own, and here is a funny link that displays some creative editing.

It’s supposed to hit 95 here today, and it sounds like it’s hot all over. Hope everyone is well, I’ll continue to keep the blog updated.

Take care,
Seth

I was admitted to Fox Chase yesterday (Tuesday) and started my infusion mid-afternoon. It’s an 84-hour process, which puts me into Saturday morning to finish up. I’ve got two IV’s, one in my chest port and one in my arm, each with a different drug. So far I feel fine; it will probably take a day or two to kick in. The hospital is very nice, and the staff is great – friendly and helpful. My biggest surprise was finding that the rooms have wireless internet, so I can spend lots of time on my laptop and stay in touch. Jenny spent the day with me and is taking the kids back to State College in the morning. My brother is extending his stay to help me out at the end of the week.

As I’ve had time to process the latest test results, I’m feeling a little more positive. The large tumor had stopped growing, which was our (and the doctor’s) biggest concern. Aside from the inconvenience of staying in the hospital, this new protocol is very similar to the old. Ifosfamide has had some good results with MPNST in recent studies (albeit with limited sample sizes) and is generally a quicker acting drug. We’ll probably do another set of scans after two cycles of this. The goal is still to get to where surgery is an option. I will probably post a little more detail about MPSNT in the near future; it’s hard to find good information on it, though.

The picture above is of my parents, our family, my grandfather, and my brother’s family (wife Jamie, kids Peter and Abby). We were able to catch up with them down at Sea Bright this weekend. Getting 5 kids to smile at the same time did not prove feasible!

Please drop me a line at seth.edmondson@gmail.com and let me know what you are up to. I’ve got 84 hours to kill in this room and would love to hear from all comers. Take care.

Seth

Well I was excited at the thought of posting some good news here today, but things are only “so-so”. The latest C/T scans showed that the primary tumor was about the same size (about 9cm) and that a new 2cm tumor had grown nearby. We discussed options with Dr von Mehren and we decided to switch protocols. The AIM protocol uses adriamycin and ifosfamide. I am currently on adriamycin with the current protocol, so this is essentially adding in the ifosfamide and taking away the ET-743. I have to admit I am very disappointed that the experimental drug wasn’t that effective, but that is the nature of treating this disease. The fact that the primary tumor has not grown is a positive thing. The downside is that this protocol is administered over 4 days and requires an inpatient stay every 3 weeks. I’ll be admitted into Fox Chase tomorrow and probably stay through Saturday. This protocol has similar side effects, but also can affect the bladder which requires more constant attention.

The past several weeks have been very hard for us, and it looks like we still have a long road ahead of us. We have been on the receiving end of some unexpected and generous support from friends and family lately, and Jenny and I are so appreciative. It helps us out in a very practical way, but more importantly reminds us that we have so many people who care about us.

If you didn’t see it, Italy won the World Cup on Sunday in a penalty shootout. I was a little disheartened to see Zidane (from France) get sent off for a vicious head butt late in the game (see this link for the video). Now I need to find another distraction!

Jenny will be heading back to State College on Wednesday, but I probably won’t return till this weekend. I’ll let you know how this week’s treatment goes then.

Take care and stay in touch,
Seth

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone is finding time to enjoy the holiday. We all recognize the 4th as a celebration of our Nation’s independence -- here are a few facts about the holiday that hold some interest:

-- Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence during June 1776 as part of the Second Continental Congress. The official resolution for the Declaration was approved on July 2nd, and the final draft of the Declaration was approved on July 4th. No one actually signed it on the 4th, and signatures were added into August.

-- Philadelphia held the first 4th of July celebration in 1777.

-- Congress declared the 4th of July and official national holiday in 1941.

-- Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (2nd and 3rd US Presidents and long-time political rivals) died on the 4th of July in 1826 (50 years after the original Declaration). James Monroe (the 5th President) also died on the 4th in 1831.

-- The cornerstone of the Washington Monument was laid on July 4th, 1848 with President James Madison in attendance.

-- Hawaii (the 50th State) was granted Statehood on the 4th in 1960.

-- New York City hosts the largest 4th of July fireworks show (Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Show). They launch over 30,000 shells at a rate of about 1,000 per minute. As a comparison, the average fireworks show in the US has fewer than 1,000 shells.

-- State College hosts the nation’s largest all-volunteer fireworks show, a musically synchronized display with around 12,000 shells total. Pretty impressive for central PA!

I’ve always been a big fan of fireworks, but we’re still not sure if we’ll brave the crowds tonight. We’ll be heading back down to Philadelphia on Thursday. I am getting a full set of C/T scans on Friday and my 4th infusion on Monday. I’m hoping to have some good news to report once we get the results of the latest scans.

There are only 4 teams left in the World Cup (Germany vs. Italy, and France vs. Portugal). France knocked out favorite Brazil this past weekend in a very exciting game. Personally, I’m routing for host Germany.

That’s all for now, hope everyone enjoys the holiday.

Seth