Latest CEA and CT scan results

I learned yesterday that one of our MacDiarmid Institute Principal Investigators has not heard from his wife since she visited the Christchurch CBD on Tuesday. It is likely that she is amongst the casualties. In the context of the tragedy in Christchurch, my solitary health problems pale into insignificance.

Still, I will keep faith with the intent of the blog, to keep friends and family updated on my health progress. This week I had a staging X-ray CT and another (three-weekly) blood test. The CT found no evidence of metastasis, though any relief needs to be tempered with the knowledge that contrast CT is fairly insensitive, and will only see tumours once they are at cm scale. The CEA showed another increase, from 4.5 to 4.9, a slight rate-of-rise increase as can be seen in the graph update. Still, there is no reason to alter my current thinking that while the disease may be recurring, there is still the possibility of post-operative chemotherapy effects.

The severity of the damage

News story from "The New Zealand Herald"
(Photos, Mark Mitchell and The Christchurch Press)

The Pyne Gould building, Canterbury TV and other buildings where most lives were lost are all believed to have been built before a succession of increasingly tough earthquake-resistant standards began in the mid-1970s.

A 2004 change to the Building Act required all local councils to adopt policies to strengthen such buildings to at least one-third of the current building standard.

But engineers say that almost all councils, except Wellington, have adopted merely "passive" policies which do not require strengthening old buildings except when their owners seek new building consents for alterations.

And Auckland University Associate Professor Jason Ingham, a management committee member of the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering, said the society advocated raising the requirement to two-thirds of the current standard.

"If you improve your building to only one-third of the building standard, it is still 20 times more likely than a modern building to fall down in an earthquake," he said. "At two-thirds, it's only something like three times as likely to fail."

Ironically, Dr Ingham and other international experts were in Christchurch when the quake struck on Tuesday holding a seminar aimed at getting councils to give more urgency to strengthening old reinforced masonry (brick, stone or concrete) buildings.

He said that, even after the first Christchurch quake in September, most councils had not identified buildings at risk in a major earthquake, contacted the owners or developed any plans for how to strengthen them.

"Everybody has to learn from every earthquake. Anyone who feels there is nothing to be learnt is just being naive," he said.

Another Auckland University engineer, Dr Quincy Ma, said Tuesday's building collapses did not necessarily show that the structures were not strong enough, because the quake was so violent.

"The ground motion in Christchurch was over what we expect for a 1000-year return period," he said. "We design for a 475-year return period."

This means the ground shaking from Tuesday's magnitude 6.3 quake was even more violent than Christchurch can expect from a magnitude 8 jolt on the Alpine Fault, which is expected every 300 to 400 years and was regarded as the test that buildings had to be designed for. The fault last moved 290 years ago.

Dr Ma said the fault that shook the city this week had not been identified as a major risk before.

"From the last [September] quake we thought all the lessons had been learnt, but that was just a dress rehearsal for the real test," he said.

Christchurch February 22

Just before 1 pm local time, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit 10km southeast of the city. Even though this quake dissipated nearly an order of magnitude less energy than the September 4 2010 quake (magnitude 7.1), its proximity to the surface and to the city centre made its destructive power much greater.

This time, people were caught in collapsing buildings and in falling masonry. The death toll is liable to be in the 100s. Tonight the rescue services are trying to get people out of those buildings.

For a flyover of the quake damage see below. You will see that the destruction is partial, though the majority of buildings which remained standing have sustained damage, some serious.


http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/video-aerial-views-quake-devastated-christchurch-3-12-4038584

5th wedding anniversary

Miang and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary by taking an Air New Zealand "Mystery Weekend" package. They sent us to Queenstown, a fairly lucky outcome for us. The place really is beautiful. We climbed to the top of Queenstown Hill (950 m), had lunch in Arrowtown, of course sampling the famous Arrowtown pies, visited rural galleries (oh, the lifestyle of artists in Central Otago), drove to Glenorchy and Paradise (one of the more spectacular drives in New Zealand), and enjoyed the delights of Queenstown cafes and restaurants.

Cousins reunion

My mother came from a family of nine girls, as tight-knit a bunch of women as you could find. Their husbands became brothers-in-law whose family life largely centered around the sisters and their off-spring, my cousins, all 38 of them.

Every few years the cousins gather. Their children are banned, so that we will avoid dividing into vertical family groups and instead horizontally connect. This year we met at the Kahuterawa valley near Palmerston North, in the home of Alistair and Anne Hall. This photo shows a lineup of some of my female cousins. What more can I say!

The Tora walk

The Tora Walk is a three day affair, where walkers cross over farmland to the South Wairarapa Coast, up that coast and then back across the third side of the triangle to the starting point. Each night is spent in farmhouse or "shearers quarters" accommodation and all food is supplied by the hosts, three local farming couples who have combined to create this experience. The food is superb and our bags are transported from cottage to cottage, our wine deposited in the fridge at each venue to be waiting for us on arrival. The cost is a mere snip at $415 per head for three nights, all meals inclusive.

http://www.toracoastalwalk.co.nz/

Miang and I did this journey (our third time) with Ed, Carol and Casey Samulski and our dear friend Margaret Brown who has just retired as Manager of the MacDiarmid Institute. Margaret took the first picture. She can be seen in the larger group photo, in the white top and white cap.

Apart from the last night, when the meal (magnificent always) is delivered to the table, the supplied and pre-prepared meal is cooked or heated by the party, with washing up an additional duty, so that all join together in communal activity. The walk can accommodate a party of 14, so that when a smaller group like ours participates, we get to met congenial fellow walkers with whom friendships are made by the end of day three.

Uncle Andy

On Sunday 6th February, we lost a beloved relative, Miang's Uncle Andy Lim, who lived in Sydney Australia. Miang flew to Sydney last week to be with the family and attend the funeral.

I would like to pay my tribute to Andy here.

Uncle Andy was a pioneer of education, a strong supporter of family and a man with a big heart.

Way back in the 1950s, Andy achieved the highest levels of education in chemical engineering in Australia and had a highly successful career as a senior technical manager in the oil industry.

I got to meet him much later in his life, but I took an immediate liking to him. He was a typical Lim, smart, tough, open-minded, wise and kind. He wanted to discuss with me subjects as diverse as quantum mechanics, economics and current affairs. His mind was as sharp as a knife. But best of all was his astonishing generosity and care. He, along with daughter Lily and son-in-law Anthony, was so helpful to Miang and me during my medical trips to Australia.

He was almost the first person I saw when I was coming round in ICU in St George hospital. That was typical of Andy. When he went on holiday he said to us-"have the house, and the Mercedes". That was typical of Andy.

And he did me the honour of sharing with me his confidences, talking to me man-to-man as a family member.

Andy was a vigorous man, way ahead of his time, who remained young at heart in his 80s. I am so lucky to have known him, even if for a short time. Miang and I will miss him very much

AMN-5

This last week has seen the 5th of our MacDiarmid Institute "Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology" conferences here in Wellington. 500 attendees, mostly international, met at the Michael Fowler Centre to hear talks by Nobel Laureate Sir Anthony Leggett, Cavendish Professor Sir Richard Friend, and a range of speakers young and old. For me, one of the best aspects of the meeting is that it has drawn to New Zealand, yet again, wonderful friends, Mark Warner, Suzanne Fielding and of course, Ed Samulski, from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. And Ed, on his 7th visit to New Zealand, brought with him wife Carol and son Casey. Last week we walked the Tora Wairarapa Coastal trail together, and I will post pictures from that walk soon.

Last night was the conference dinner and this picture of Ed and me says something of our mood. It was taken after a surprise event in which colleague Kate McGrath, and three of my ex-graduate students, Andrew Coy, Mark Hunter and Craig Rofe, came to the stage of the Town Hall venue, and gave personal tributes involving anecdotes illustrating my idiosyncracies. Craig spoke last with a wonderful korero followed by an electrifying haka, which I stood to receive, before we ended with a heartfelt hongi.

Ed is one of my dearest friends. He is also a comrade, having been through 42 irradiation sessions for prostate cancer. His PSA (prostate specific antigen) levels are now extremely low and his prognosis is good. Ed's trials took place at the same time as my own last year. Somehow, having a great friend fighting his own battle at the same time as me, gave me extra strength.

More on the awards dinner

Miang and I were given the chance to invite old friends along at the NZer of the year dinner. On the right is Pamela Miller and on the left is Richard Green and Jeanette Miller (no relation to Pamela). I think we all looked pretty good. It is fun to dress up.

The media madness has continued. I've added a link to an "OpEd" the DomPost asked me to provide, as well as a link another TV show below. It was "Good Morning" and I was sandwiched between a cooking spot and some Zumba dancers. It's a whole new demographic for science!

An astonishing story

Last night Miang and I flew to Auckland for the "New Zealander of the Year" awards dinner.
For the last 14 hours I have been in the middle of a media storm, not to mention the 100 emails and endless text messages.





Newspapers
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/4610988/Scientist-and-man-of-vision-NZer-of-the-Year
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4610844/Scientist-named-Kiwi-of-the-Year
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/new-zealander-year-announced-4011907
http://www.wanganuichronicle.co.nz/have-your-say/news/sir-paul-wins-a-top-nz-honour/3939260/
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/opinion/4628542/Path-to-prosperity-lies-in-technology-niches

TV interviews
http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast-news/new-zealander-year-professor-sir-paul-callaghan-3-15-video-4012076
http://tvnz.co.nz/good-morning/s2011-sirpaul-090211-video-4018870

Radio interview
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/streaming/Audioplayer.asp?filename=http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/podcasts/audio/03103528.mp3&heading=Sir%20Paul%20Callaghan%20-%20NZer%20of%20the%20Year&longhead=New%20Zealander%20of%20the%20Year,%20Sir%20Paul%20Callaghan,%20speaks%20to%20Mike%20Hosking%20about%20the%20award

I'm now off to the hills for a spot of hiking. No cellphone, no internet. Bliss!

Postscript:
I'm back now-with another full "Inbox". And to my relief, I got the news that my CEA had shown only a very small rise (see graph). I have checked with my Sydney oncologist and while he admits that the disease may be recurring, he also thought it might be possible that "post-operative effects" combined with my current capecitabine chemo regime, may be causing an elevated level.

We will just keep tracking this data. Meanwhile I feel monstrously well.

Robbie Burns and Heather

My good friend and fellow horn player Heather Thompson, wife of Steve, had her birthday today, on January 25, the birth date she has in common with Robert Burns. Naturally Heather wanted a Haggis party to share with her friends, and when she mentioned this idea to me, I unwisely burst into a rendition of Burns' Ode to a Fieldmouse. That was enough to earn me the task of delivering the Address to the Haggis.

Ridiculous, you may say, that one of Irish descent should attempt such a feat. And you may well be right. But for posterity, I share with you the event. Heather is the whisky pourer on the right of the group. Miang did the filming.

PS:The Haggis was delicious.

The Lamberts and the Lab Lunch

This weekend, our old friends, Rod and Joan Lambert have been visiting us from New Plymouth. After a tour of the Brake Exhibition at the Te Papa Gallery, we have been enjoying relaxing at home, albeit with a bit of extra company from the lab, during Sunday lunch.

Amongst the delights of the lunch were the accompanying children; Petrik and Ying's Ocean and Victor, and Mark and Jillian's Samuel and Thomas.

During lunch, Ocean discovered a copy of Ice Age 3 on DVD and asked if he and Samuel could watch it. Here they are, sharing the computer view, and completely entranced.

PS: The lunch was of course a magnificent feast, typical of Miang's genius, in which she was ably assisted by her loyal and uncomplaining vegetable cutter.

Visitors from Israel

This week Daniella Goldfarb and her husband Arnon, passed through Wellington as part of a multi-week tour of New Zealand. Daniella is a Professor at the Weizmann Institute and one of Israel's leading scientists, as well as being famous internationally for her work in Electron Paramagnetic Resonance. I was able to join them both for a delightful meal at a restaurant on the Wellington Waterfront. Foolishly, I was so engrossed in conversation that I forgot to get the waiter to take a photograph, so this picture of the two of them near Auckland, and supplied by Daniella through email, will have to suffice.

In 2014, Daniella takes over as President of ISMAR (International Society of Magnetic Resonance), the role that I had from 2008 to 2011.

Latest medical developments

It is a long time since I posted an entry. In part this has been because I have been taking the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful summer we are having, with some travel to see family and friends, and, on return to a balmy Wellington, to enjoy walks and little fishing forays with Miang in the evening. We have cast our lines at Makara beach, Titahi Bay and off the Miramar pensinsula, for two fish caught and one landed.

But the real reason I have delayed blogging is that I have been in a sort of "medical limbo" following a mid December CEA measurement which indicated a rise, from my famous 3.0 ng/ml, to 3.8. In proportional (or logarithmic) terms, this was actually a big rise, but still, down at the lower levels of measurement where the errors are probably on the order of 0.5 ng/ml. Hence, my oncologist and I resolved that we would not read too much into this rise, and await the next measurement in mid January. Today I got the result. 4.3 ng/ml. Disappointing, one might say.

So, this seems to be a real trend, not a statistical fluctuation. Miang and I spent some time discussing this with the very capable oncologist registrar who saw me at the hospital today. There seems to be a high probability that the cancer has not been vanquished by the Sydney surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Of course, I can always find some silver lining in the clouds of gloom. First, the latest fractional rise was less than the one immediately previous. You can see this very clearly in the logarithmic graph shown here. Second, I feel very well, having completely recovered from surgery with the various wound pains finally disappearing in the last couple of weeks. Finally the rate of rise may be sufficiently slow to give me many months of good health and normal activity.

There is a down side, I do have to admit. Essentially, I have run out of treatment options. Whatever cancer remains now has survived all the previous chemotherapy drugs. This is Darwinian evolution and natural selection at work. The new cancer cells are likely to be resilient to Oxaliplatin, Capecitabine, Irinotecan and possibly even Avastin. And that's about all there is on the menu, apart from the ancient 5FU, the workhorse of oncology from decades ago.

But, the fact remains that the sun is shining brilliantly as La Nina brings us the summer of my childhood memories. I will persist with the current oral chemotherapy, and with an increased dose. And of course, there is always uncle CC's vegetable juice. I am downing this elixir every morning, before my daily walk with Miang. Life seems not too bad.

Christmas at Waitarere Beach

Miang and I spent our Christmas at Waitarere Beach, along with Catherine, boyfriend Mike, and the family of Chris and Hiva. There were many magical moments with my grandson James, braving the waves, blowing bubbles in the breeze sweeping across the sand, and shelling peas for Christmas dinner.

Chris, Hiva, James and Thomas

On Monday this week, son Chris and his family arrived in New Zealand. Based in Palmerston North, they have made day trips and a weekend visit to Wellington, and they will join Miang and me at Waitarere beach for Christmas and Boxing day.

On our first expedition we went to the local playground in Khandallah, where James met met Mark Hunter's son, Sam. Both boys were very courteous, and when Sam fell over, James asked "are you alright?"

James, who is 3 years and 3 months, hadn't seen me for over a year, and so it took a little while to get to know "Granddad Paul", but by the time of his second visit, I was in great demand for reading stories, assembling jigsaw puzzles, and playing the horn, the latter being a source of horrified fascination.

Thomas seemed to respond well to my theory that all infants, when held, like to grip grandparent fingers, or have their feet dance on grandparent legs. He is such a sweet fellow, blessed with an extremely kind big brother.

James's favourite read was a curious book of "Fables" which Miang had bought, including geese with golden eggs, little boys crying wolf, and goats failing to look before they leap. What terrible things we adults do to young minds!

By the way, James is clearly reading. Is this something that 3+ year olds are supposed to do? Oh and he can also sing very well. Is it OK to boast about the cleverness of grandchildren? Such difficult questions I have to wrestle with.

Samoa

Samoa. That's where we have been for the last week.

Arriving at Faleole airport at 2 am, we were greeted at the exit by a young Samoan policeman, clutching a picture of me given him by my friend Peter Rodger, an economic advisor to the Samoan government, who was at that point in the departure lounge waiting to catch the same plane home to New Zealand. The policeman handed me a Jason's Samoa guide, annotated by Pete. It was a nice way to enter a new country and imagine that you are important, and Pete's notes turned out to be a treasure trove of good advice.

Samoa was a German Colony from 1900 to 1914, occupied by New Zealand troops in 1914, and run, sometimes badly, by a New Zealand administration until independence in 1962. The population of Samoa is 186,000. Another 131,000 New Zealanders identify themselves as being of Samoan ethnicity.

We spent 6 days on Upolu, the most populated Island of Samoa, staying in Aggie Grey's resort at the western end facing the big Island of Savaii. Aggie founded her business during WWII, looking after US Marines stationed in Samoa.

The resort was certainly a great place to relax, but our greatest pleasure was in getting out and about around the island. The roads here are for walking on, and drivers amble along at 40 km/hr. And as you circumnavigate the 200 or so kilometers on the perimeter road that bounds the island shore, or cross over the volcanic mountains from north to south, what you see, you, the inhabitant of the "prosperous world", is simply breathtaking.

Everywhere there are people, moving at a relaxed pace, cheerful and gracious to a fault. Children range freely. Young and old sit cross-legged in the abundant fale, groups walk the road to church, every day, and on Sundays in brilliant white clothing, and churches line this road, one after the other, in competing grandeur. Wildly coloured buses with wooden, glassless window frames bump along the road. And in the evening, children organise their own games, teenagers carry toddlers, youngsters play netball, groups of young women bathe in the lagoon, young men compete in frenzied rugby matches on grass verges or fields of varying size.

This Island is totally electrified yet the kids don't seem to bother with television or computer games here. They make up outdoor games. They run wild and free.

I remember a world like that 60 years ago in New Zealand.

I never saw an angry person in Samoa, not in the quiet but populous, villages, not in the tsunami-ravaged south east, not in the bustling markets of Apia, and certainly not on the immaculately gardened roads, where ambling utes carry kids unrestrained in the back or standing on the railings, dogs and pigs run amok, and strolling pedestrians wave at vehicles, even those driven by astonished palagi.

100 years of Physics at VUW

On Thursday this week, we celebrated 100 years of Physics at VUW. The early professors were all appointed on the recommendation of Rutherford, first Laby, from 1910 to 1914, then Marsden, who dashed straight back to the war in 1914, and then Florance who stayed for nearly 3 decades.

In my VUW student days the Head of Department was Darcy Walker, wearing the bow tie in the photo above. Standing to his left on the right hand side of the photo is Noel Chapman, the professor of Nuclear Physics during the 1960s. Chapman and Walker were my brother Jim's PhD supervisors. Jim is the handsome fellow near the centre of the photo, to Darcy Walker's right. It was because of Jim's example that I ended up doing physics. Behind them all is the control console of the 500 keV Van de Graaf accelerator, their research tool for low energy nuclear physics.

I remember one particularly inspiring teacher at Vic, the late Professor Norman Barber. When I took quantum mechanics with Norman, I fell in love with the subject. Norman's grandchildren, Jacqui and Felix are both current VUW students in chemistry and physics. Felix is lab assistant in our NMR research team.

I spoke at the celebration, taking the opportunity to give a brief sample of a Barber lecture on atoms. Norman's son Peter and daughter Mary were present, along with Mary's young son, Louis. I think I saw Louis's eyes light up when I drew, on the blackboard, those Barber 2p orbitals with their quantum mechanical phase. In front of the 150 people present, I was able to tell him that he may not have known his grandad, but he could take it from me that he had been a great scientist and a fine teacher.

It was a most enjoyable evening, with visitors staying on late to tour labs and to chat. Many of the older cohort were present, including Noel Chapman and Darcy Walker. Remarkable survivors, both of them!

The Victoria-Magritek team

Today, my esteemed friends and colleagues, Andrew Coy, Robin Dykstra, Craig Eccles and Mark Hunter, joined me in Auckland to receive the Prime Minister's Science Prize. This is a huge honour, but best of all, the prize recognises the teamwork that has made our lab and created the company, Magritek.

Why this five? It could have been for a hundred of our wonderful collaborators, past and present. But, consistent with the narrative of "science to business to positive impacts for New Zealand", we five are the scientist shareholders who started the company. The guy with the green tie is Prime Minister John Key.

For more background see
http://www.pmscienceprizes.org.nz/about/winners_2010/science.html

Pike River

The awful unfolding of this tragedy has dominated our thoughts since last Friday. The country is stunned. Today's Dominion Post cartoon by Tom Scott, captures that mood. One of our "folk poets", Gary McCormick, has written this.

SEVENTEEN (In memory of Joseph Ray Dunbar and all those who died in the Pike River Mine.)

Joseph Ray Dunbar was just seventeen.
One week ago - turned seventeen.
No doubt had a few drinks out
with his mates.

He'd been through a rough patch, someone said.
Who doesn't ??!
A boy from the Coast,even-eyed.
But he's gotten a job now.

New boots.
The making of him, someone said.
You get a lot of respect with a job.
Couldn't wait !

Probably had his lunch packed.
The unlined face, the big smile.
Probably had a way with the girls.
The local girls.

Couldn't wait !
The local girls are wearing black.
Mothers and sons and husbands too.
He probably ran the last hundred yards....

Joseph Ray Dunbar.
Climbed aboard and headed on down.
A smile and a wave and a joke amongst men.
The biggest day of Joseph's life.

You caught the train, Joseph.
You took the train too soon.
You caught the train before your time.

Gary McCormick reads his poem 'Seventeen' written for those who died in the Pike River mine.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/pike-river-mine-disaster/4386404/Audio-Gary-McCormick-poem-for-Pike-River-miners