Lots of chatter out there on Vice President Cheney's heart transplant. Some think he's too old, wonder if he used his influence to get his transplant earlier than the average "Joe" and the cost implications.
First off, he's not too old. Five-year survival rates in his age group are 65%. Meaning almost 7 out of ten in his age group will be alive five years after surgery. If only most cancer treatments were that good. And also, it's not the age but the mileage on the body. Think of it this way, some fifty year olds wouldn't qualify because they've literally run their bodies into the ground. Let's leave ageism to Hollywood. It has no role in medical decisions.
By all accounts who gets what organ and when is very transparent and he waited twenty months. No line skipping here.
Finally, as always with high tech health care cost is a big worry. No question, this is expensive care and as the Boomers age the fear is more and more will demand it. A lot think, me included, that we already spend way too much on end of life care with dubious results. What we frequently do, sadly, is make end of life miserable for the dying while running up huge bills. This is not what happened with the Vice President. His operation is an example of cutting edge technology not only prolonging life but also providing really good quality of life. This is not the kind of health care we need to cut back on. Absolutely not.
Our aim of course should be to minimize the number of the people that end up requiring such expensive care by controlling risk factors for heart disease like smoking, cholesterol and obesity. The trick is to look after yourself so you don't end up in the Vice President's predicament. But if you do, isn't it nice to know that the technology is there? You betcha!
