Vayerah: pleadings

Vayerah: pleadings

When  I read about Avraham pleading  for Sodom and environs, I become very upset.  Where was father Avraham's plea  for Warsaw?  Maybe the dead cannot plead.  Where was the Avraham of that generation?

Ultimately, Sodom does not meet even the minimal criterion of 10 righteous people.  Was Lodz that bad?  Had the rules changed? What kind of righteousness is required?

When Avraham and Lot separated, Lot chose the rich valley.  Lot chose wealth - even though it was mixed with evil. Are we oncologists doing the same thing? 

At a recent leukemia conference, a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia was discussed. About 20 years ago, a medicine that almost always stops the disease, imatinib, was discovered.  Subsequently, 4 more medicines that  may work even  in more  resistant cases, were discovered  

The case under discussion had a 1,000 to 10,000   fold reduction in the cancerous cells.  But the cells were still detectable.  In chronic myelogenous leukemia, this is a sustainable state,  The patient feels fine and the risk of a life threatening crisis is below 1%.  We discusses what to do about the incompleteness of the response. 

I suggested increasing the dose of imatinib.  The presenting doctor was concerned about the patient needing to swallow two large pills daily. He thought switching to one of the alternative medicines would be better.  

I pointed out that imatinib can be bought ( in Canada)   for $5.00 per pill.. Its patent has expired.  The alternative costs $12,000,00 for a month's supply, $300.00 per pill.  The represenatives of the drug companies were sitting, like an audience, in the back of the room.  They were silent when I asked for comment.  They pay for the coffee and fruit at the meeting. 

The doctors laughed.

  Like the sons-in-law of Lot.