Yup. Steven Sterrett is pretty inspirational. No doubt about that. You know he now performs his music all over the place at cancer benefits, etc. And his song to his wife Anita is so touching. He has told me if people want to know more about his music or his story it is okay to email him: sterrett-music@comcast.net.

As for Mannitol.. it's kind of a unique little substance.

For people with stroke and MS, Dr. Neuwelt's work is important because opening that blood-brain barrier allows scanners to peer in the brain in a much better way, which then allows doctors to track how medications are working and where lesions are forming. The clarity of the brain images you get from using Mannitol (and a contrast agent like teeny tiny sugar coated rust) is way better... I mean, you can see where lesions turned up when none were noticeable under the old way of doing it (without Mannitol and 'sugary rust'). I just realized that if Dr. Neuwelt is reading this he is probably cringing at my oh-so-scientific explanation of this. :-)

Here's an example Dr. Neuwelt gave me of a rat tumor. Look at the difference before and after and how much easier it is to see the tumor:

Aside from the cool, new way Dr. Neuwelt is using it.. Mannitol really does a lot. I found this on Wikipedia (which is a story in and of itself since it's an encyclopedia basically anyone can change and edit which can sometimes lead to problems but mostly works great): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannitol

Response time:
I have to "HI" to Mountain View High School in Vancouver and Ms. Rice's class! Her class there is looking at detox and the teacher thinks the story I did might generate some good discussion. NICE!

M writes about her bad experience with a detox-in-a-box: I had adverse side effects from their product, experienced excruciating pain, saw my doctor, returned their product and requested a refund. To date, they have returned my letters, blocked my phone number and have not honored their refund guarantee.

Kay writes about the Ovarian Cancer Class story: I've listened to 3 of these ladies talk and share at a support group I attend with my mother-in-law, an ovarian cancer survivor, and think it's wonderful they are reaching out to the medical students to get their stories told. Hopefully, this will help other women! I have learned so much.

Diane writes:
This was a great piece that offered inspiration, hope and human resilience. Too much television time is taken up with quick overview/sound bites of information that ends up in brain overload. This piece obviously took attention and intention, providing the audience with a window into the concept of human adaptability. Thank you for offering a beam of light into our daily menu of dry news. Wow, thanks!

That's all. Have a great day! sstricklen@kgw.com