Tuesday, August 8, 2006
In
a Rotary Minute presentation Bill Sewell described an experience he had in the
mid-1940’s with an organization with goals similar to Rotary’s that
had a lasting impact on his life. In 1945 Bill was a science teacher in
One
of Bill’s counselees asked him for help with a Westinghouse Science
Talent Search research project, the nation’s oldest and most highly
regarded pre-college science contest.
The boy’s goal was to measure the energy content of uranium. The help needed was how to develop and
print the slides containing the results of the boy’s measurements. Bill must have made the right
suggestions because his counselee was the nationwide winner of that
year’s Westinghouse Science Talent Search.
carry on the
traditions from one year to the next.
Bill said that among the alumni who returned during his service there
were WW2 soldiers on leave.
The current Rising Sun website characterizes its
purpose as the development in promising young people from diverse backgrounds a
lifelong commitment to sensitive and responsible leadership for the betterment
of their communities and the world.
Bill’s point that Rising Sun and Rotary International have much in
common was very well taken and his Rotary Minute appreciated by all present.
Edward
Wagner introduced his story as a cancer survivor with the disclaimer that he
was not a doctor, but just an ordinary person who wants to share his experience
with others. Mr. Wagner’s
advice to his audience is that we know our bodies better than anyone else and
trusting his body was the primary reason for his surviving prostate cancer.
Three years ago Mr. Wagner knew he
was experiencing “plumbing” problems and went to his primary care
doctor to determine the cause. The
doctor prescribed certain drugs in the course of several visits, but the
“plumbing” problems persisted and Mr. Wagner changed doctors. A second doctor tested his PSA, found
his results were within a safe range, and eventually concluded that there was
nothing wrong with Mr. Wagner except hypochondria.
Mr. Wagner changed doctors again,
and the third one spent more time talking with him about his symptoms. The new doctor confirmed that his PSA
scores were very good and there was no visual evidence of prostrate cancer, but
he took Mr. Wagner’s “plumbing” problems seriously. The subsequent biopsy found evidence of
cancer. Mr. Wagner was told he had
three treatment options: wait and
see what happens; remove the prostrate; or implant a radioactive
“seed” in the tumor area.
The first two options were unacceptable to him, so he chose the
implant. He selected his own
surgeon from Ellis after consulting with friends in the medical profession
rather than accept the primary care doctor’s recommendation to go to
As reported by Dick
O’Rourke
