When Stephen Barrager was diagnosed in 2007 with acute multiple myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer, he endured the same anxiety that troubles all those who receive an upsetting diagnosis. The way he went about dealing with his disease and its treatment, however, was different. Barrager drew upon his engineering and management science background to help him make difficult decisions. Now he is sharing his insights with hospitals and doctors in his native Bay Area and with colleagues at a conference coming to Austin on Nov. 7, 2010.
The annual meeting of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) takes place at the Austin Convention Center and the Hilton Austin from Sunday, Nov. 7- Wednesday, Nov. 10. Dr. Barrager speaks on Sunday, Nov. 7 at 11 AM at the Convention Center in Session SB 31 on Level 4 in Room 18B. The program is open only to conference participants and reporters.
Dr. Barrager is available for interview.
When Dr. Stephen Barrager was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in February of 2007, he found himself facing numerous choices that were hard for a patient to process. Which of the recommended medications should he take? Was he a candidate for a stem cell transplant? Were there drug trials?
"I didn't understand the medicine, I didn't know the people who were treating me, and the people who were treating me couldn't explain things in a way that made sense to me," he recalls. "I was scared, very sick, and totally confused." Barrager's wife, his advocate, who accompanied him to every doctor consultation and hospital treatment, was also overwhelmed. She ran interference for him and tried to make certain his care was the best possible, but she agrees there is something missing in the system.
During this troubling time, Barrager referred to a book written by his friend, the late Nobel Laureate Stephen Schneider of Stanford University. Schneider had gone through his own battle wit
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| Contact: Barry List barry.list@informs.org 443-757-3560 Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences Source:Eurekalert |