@hildabast@mastodon.online
Scientist (PhD; she/her), writer, cartoonist. I blog about metascience, science history, epidemiology, grief, social media data, & evidence generally. Following and reporting on next generation Covid vaccines. And I write at The Atlantic sometimes. Newsletter: Living With Evidence https://hildabastian.wordpress.com/
I lost my Mom to pancreatic cancer when I was 19. She was only 47.
My grandmother also died from it at 53.
When Mom was diagnosed, she sat me down and said she knew exactly what I was feeling because she felt the same way when her Mom was dying.
She said she hated knowing that her girls were going to grow up without a mom.
She wasn’t afraid of dying, but she was afraid of leaving us behind.
She was sad that she would miss major milestones like graduations, marriage, grandchildren etc.
She wanted more time.
Unfortunately pancreatic cancer is quick and lethal.
It’s almost always caught too late, and few people live more than a year after diagnosis.
My Mom made it nine months.
I’m forever grateful for the time we had together and the fact that she prepared me for her passing. But I wanted more
The mRNA pancreatic cancer vaccine was a beacon of hope for my family.
It was hope for so many whose lives have been touched by this deadly disease. Who’ve lost loved ones.
Who live with the fear of being diagnosed themselves.
There’s no words for the rage I feel when I think about RFK Jr’s decision to cut funding for this life saving research.
His anti-vaxx grift has already killed and disabled many people. Measles is back. Covid is still here and still killing.
Now he’s basically siding with cancer.
We deserve better than this.
We deserve an HHS leader who actually believes in science.
We deserve leaders who promote life saving interventions, robust public health and cutting edge research.
Shame on him and everyone who supports him.
