Sweetwater oysters roasted in their own shell! Make extra, these will get eaten!
1 head of garlic, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
juice of 1 large lemon
dash of Tabasco Sauce
cracked black pepper to taste
1/2 bunch of Italian parsley, chopped
Sweat the garlic in a little bit of the oil. Before it browns, add the butter and the rest of the ingredients except the parsley. As soon as the butter melts, turn off the heat. Spoon sauce onto raw, shucked oysters. Place oysters on grill, cover and cook for 5 minutes or until edges of oysters curl slightly. Add a pinch of chopped parsley to each oyster, cover grill again for 1 more minute. Serve hot with warm sourdough bread!
1 lb. small pink beans (Pinquito)
1 strip bacon, diced
1/2 cup diced ham
1 small clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup tomato puree
1/4 cup red chili sauce
1 tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
Pick over beans to remove dirt and small stones; cover with water and let soak overnight in a large container. Drain, cover with fresh water and simmer 2 hours, or until tender. Sauté bacon and ham until lightly browned; add garlic, sauté a minute or two longer. Add tomato puree, chili sauce, sugar, mustard, and salt. Drain most of liquid off beans and stir in sauce. Keep warm on low heat until ready to serve. *Note: Pinquitos are grown locally only; contact the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors & Convention Bureau for a list of resources. (800) 331-3779
Dear Folks,
Can y'all please take a moment to e-mail your senators for me, and get yer friends to e-mail their senators, too. We're runnin' short of time here, and this is as important as all get out to me.
I'm not one to wear my heart on my sleeve, but I've been fighting this battle with my wife for a few years now. Her Lymphoma is incurable, but it's very treatable with the drugs on the market, and I wouldn't mind if she stuck around for 30 or 29 more years.
We need these drugs to stay on the market. They are excellent cancer fighting drugs, already approved by the FDA and in worldwide use. They work good! My wife needs these drugs.
Please forward the following letter to yer senators, maybe tack on a personal intro sentence saying it is important for your friends well being, and that the following letter covers the subject thoroughly.
I e-mailed both our senators and it only took me about 7 or 5 minutes.
Thanks for yer time.
------------------sano----------------------------------------
November 5, 2007
Chairman Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Majority House Policy Office
527 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, Dc 20520-6300
Re: CMS-1392-FC – “Use of inadequate and inaccurate claims data by CMS to set reimbursements rates” [1] for highly effective radioimmunotherapies against lymphomas: Bexxar (I131 tositumomab) and Zevalin (Y90 ibritumomab)
Dear Senator Kennedy:
As the Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, your attention is needed to an issue of extreme consequence to patients and caregivers of those suffering with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, the most common type of blood cancer.
Specifically, CMS has proposed (and now has approved) payment cuts for radioimmunotherapies ("RIT"), namely Bexxar and Zevalin, that are crucial to the survival and quality of life of patients suffering from these diseases.
As detailed in the enclosed letter to CMS ("PAL CMS Letter"), hospitals struggle to provide these therapies due to very low reimbursement levels for radiopharmaceuticals. It is our shared belief and reasoned fear that the improperly calculated rates will lead to reduced or eliminated patient access to these life-saving therapies.
In our letter to CMS we show that RIT is highly effective yet underutilized; and that it can lead to durable complete responses in a sizable percentage of patients resistant to standard chemotherapies.
Notably, the alternative to RIT will many times be death, or rescue via more toxic, less effective or higher-risk therapy and more expensive in-patient treatments, such as stem cell transplantation, which is contraindicated in older patients – the population most dependent on Medicare.
Lymphomas are more common than leukemias , reflected in the number of famous and notable individuals who have been touched by the disease, including the late Senator Paul E. Tsongas, and more recently, Senator Fred Thompson. We also respectfully note your personal connection to this group of diseases through Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
On a personal note, I have reason to doubt that my spouse, Joanne, would be alive today, and, more certainly, that she would be living normally and apparently free of disease – eleven years following her diagnosis of follicular lymphoma – if not for RIT.
In summary, we believe that CMS very low reimbursement rates for RIT:
(1) will increase pain, suffering, and unnecessary loss of life for patients with lymphomas;
(2) will limit a physician's ability to prescribe a highly effective therapy today;
(3) will lead to the termination of radioimmunotherapy in the near future; and
(4) will be a disincentive to develop urgently needed innovative drugs for all cancers.
Please note that the public outcry against the proposed cuts is further evidenced by the fact that the PAL CMS Letter was signed by more than 2,000 citizens representing every region of the United States in the very short time period of approximately 14 days since we learned about this issue (Sept 2007). …
… Among the names are physicians who specialize in treating lymphoma patients, which validates and reinforces our concerns.
(We ask that you try to keep this list CONFIDENTIAL to protect the privacy of the many patients who have signed.)
Please help us to ensure that CMS amends the CY2008 reimbursement rates for Zevalin and Bexxar so that hospitals can be adequately paid for providing radioimmunotherapy, which in turn will allow patients to continue to benefit from these targeted and highly effective new cancer therapies, which have been described by experts as the most potent and effective therapeutic agents ever invented for lymphoma, and arguably for any cancer.
Sincerely yours,
Karl Schwartz (caregiver)
President, Patients Against Lymphoma
Patient Consultant to the FDA/Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee (ODAC)
Participant: NCI Progress Review Group for Blood Cancers (LMPRG)
Participant: Biospecimen Access and Ethical, Legal, and Policy Issues Workshop (ELP)
Participant: NCI Custodianship and Ownership Issues in Biospecimen Research Workshop
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