March 14, 2012

John Derbyshire

In the first half of last year, the Derb mentioned that he'd been diagnosed with a form of lymphatic cancer. Now, he's started chemotherapy, as he writes in Taki's Magazine in Life at Half-Speed.

Best wishes, John.

By Steve Sailer on 3/14/2012

39 comments:

eh said...

Alles Gute Herr Derbyshire.

3/14/12, 1:59 AM
dearieme said...

"I have no interest in health and never have." So he's not yet fully assimilated as an American, then?

Anyway, best wishes to Derb.

3/14/12, 4:06 AM
John Derbyshire said...

Thanks, Steve. Is this the same critter you had?

3/14/12, 4:20 AM
Anonymous said...

Well, Orange County is about the 5th highest rent area but a lot of hispannics, so high rent doesn't stop illegal immigrants all the time but few blacks live in Orange County though. So, in that respects its better than Dallas and Houston that have a lot more blacks with a lot of hispanics.

3/14/12, 5:08 AM
Florida resident said...

I join best wishes to John Derbyshire.
Florida resident.

3/14/12, 7:03 AM
Nanonymous said...

Damn. Hope it all goes well.

One thing I still don't get: is cancer a "disease of civilization" or not? Many things seem to point to this possibility but almost invariably it all gets mixed with a huge doses of all kinds of quackery so that in the end it's hard to know what is believable and what's not.

3/14/12, 7:06 AM
Anonymous said...

May he have a full and speedy recovery!

3/14/12, 7:51 AM
Carol said...

Yes, best wishes from your ol Montana emailer Derb...

3/14/12, 8:33 AM
Mr. Anon said...

Best wishes to Mr. Derbyshire for a full recovery. I've always enjoyed his writing, and his point of view.

3/14/12, 8:43 AM
europeasant said...

I'm hoping he has a full recovery. I've enjoyed reading his stuff.

3/14/12, 9:19 AM
Anonymous said...

Derb is one of a kind...gotta keep him.

3/14/12, 10:20 AM
Anonymous said...

Best wishes. They can do amazing things this days.

I occasionally think to myself how lucky I (and others gnostics interested in the truth) are that Sailer didn’t die from his cancer.

3/14/12, 10:22 AM
SFG said...

Best wishes to Mr. Derbyshire!

3/14/12, 11:20 AM
XYZhu said...

I cannot think of anyone more perspicacious than John Derbyshire when it comes to writing about present-day America. He's in the same class as Pat Buchanan, Charles Murray, and Steve Sailer.

I hope John can spread his doom and gloom for many more years.

3/14/12, 11:25 AM
SFG said...

Piece of advice (I'll post this publicly in case there are any doctors around): there are an awfully huge number of types of 'lymphatic cancer'--diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and so on. Given that Derb said earlier his leukemia was 'almost nothing', I'm guessing he had CLL--unlikely that's what Steve had. It's important to make sure you don't have the type of leukemia mixed up.

3/14/12, 11:38 AM
Anonymous said...

is cancer a "disease of civilization" or not?

There is evidence that it correlates with civilization and is relatively rare or even non-existent among the pre-Neolithic, hunter-gatherers, less urban and more rural, etc.

60 years ago, pretty much nobody thought that pathogens were responsible for any cancers, but today we have discovered some of the pathogens behind certain cancers. Paul Ewald, who I think worked with Greg Cochran, believes that we'll eventually find that most or all the major cancers are due to pathogens.

Pathogens, their number, scope, variety, etc., are a major correlate of civilization. So a pathogen cause behind many cancers would make cancer a disease of civilization.

Of course other things correlate with civilization as well, so cancer could be a disease of civilization due to these various other things.

3/14/12, 12:04 PM
Anonymous said...

:(

3/14/12, 12:07 PM
Anonymous said...

Yes, good for old Derb, doing another job that most Americans won't do, except for Steve!
Robert Hume

3/14/12, 12:13 PM
Currahee said...

Mr D,
Please stay with us, you are an important person.

Your Constant Reader,
C.

3/14/12, 12:36 PM
Steve the Hebe said...

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Derbyshire briefly on a NR cruise in 2004. A clear voice of sanity and a consummate gentleman, Get well soon,Derb.

3/14/12, 1:22 PM
Anonymous said...

CLL can take a long time to kill one - plenty of time for Derb to get religion.

3/14/12, 1:35 PM
hbd chick said...

ditto what jay said:

"May he have a full and speedy recovery!"

3/14/12, 2:04 PM
Anonymous said...

Good luck to him.

Interesting how NR is so far to the center that their most conservative writer is a pro-abortion atheist.

3/14/12, 2:11 PM
Hal said...

From someone who loved John's splendid and hilarious book "We Are Dooomed" as well as his many postings on NR's Corner, I am praying for his speedy recovery. (Well not quite praying, since, like John, I'm reality-based, but you get the point...)

3/14/12, 2:12 PM
Anonymous said...

Best wishes to Derb. Nanonymous, I have no hard data to back this up, but my sense is it is a disease of civilization, insofar as it is only ever a concern of the civilized (with a few exceptions like children and younger adults like in Steve's case, whose cancers would almost certainly never be diagnosed absent civilization anyway, and simply chalked up to premature death).

Since humans are still mortal, something has to provide the final blow, be it cancer, heart disease, or car accident. as medical technology improves, people are living longer and are no longer dying from infection, or some kind of minor trauma escalating because there is no medical care, as in the past, and even today in many parts of the 3rd world, you increase your chances of dying from something else. Add in the right combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors, and I could see the odds of getting cancer approaching 1 for many people as they age. We may be able to detect it earlier and keep developing more effective treatments for it, but we may not ever be able to prevent the initial tumors from actually forming.

3/14/12, 3:06 PM
Harry Baldwin said...

As a fan of John Derbyshire's commentary and a faithful listener of Radio Derb, I am sorry to hear he is ill. Best wishes for his speedy recovery.

3/14/12, 3:32 PM
Anonymous said...

Best wishes, old man.

Try to keep your pecker up and all that.

Gilbert Pinfold.

3/14/12, 4:57 PM
dearieme said...

is cancer a "disease of civilisation"?: most cancers are diseases of ageing. So don't smoke, choose your parents carefully and cross your fingers.

3/14/12, 5:48 PM
Anonymous said...

Best wishes to Mr. Derbyshire from a fan. I've been through cancer myself - chemo, surgery, the whole thing. Eventually it went away and is a distant memory. You're in the NY area, so I'll recommend Sloan Kettering. They accepted my very unremarkable insurance policy, so they probably accept everything. It was the most expensive-looking and polite hospital experience I've ever had.

3/14/12, 6:13 PM
Nanonymous said...

most cancers are diseases of ageing

Many claim that even after careful correction for an increased life span, cancer rates are increasing (and more so in the industrialized world). Seems to me that the claims are rarely solidly supported, yet very persistent.

Lymphomas range from easily treatable to completely intractable. I had friends with both. Under 40 in both cases, too.

3/14/12, 7:18 PM
Anonymous said...

Best of luck Derb. Loved your Riemann book.

3/14/12, 7:46 PM
BrokenSymmetry said...

Already posted in the Takimag comments but worth repeating: best wishes for a speedy recovery, we need all the pessimists we can get.

3/15/12, 1:04 AM
Anonymous said...

get well

3/15/12, 9:01 AM
NOTA said...

There are a lot of different forms of cancer, and a lot of contributing things (nasty chemicals, radiation, viruses, age, inflamation). The nasty chemicals and radiation are partly civilization, but also tend to get better in richer, more advanced civilizations--my understanding is that US air and water are much cleaner now than in 1950, when we were a much poorer country. And some of the nasty chemicals are voluntary--cigarrette smoke and smoked /cured meats being obvious examples. At least some of the known viral causes of cancer have vaccines now--HPV and Hepatitis B, probably a couple others I don't know about.

3/15/12, 4:57 PM
Hereward said...

Very sorry to hear it. Hope he gets well soon. He's one of the best we have.

3/15/12, 9:47 PM
Roger Boylan said...

Get well soon, Derb. But please don't get any less gloomy. (Unlikely, admittedly, under the circs.) We need you the way you are, sui generis to a fault.

3/16/12, 10:45 AM
Matthew said...

This is one case where we prefer you to be optimistic. Get well, John Derbyshire. You are loved and admired.

3/16/12, 9:43 PM
Steve in Greensboro said...

Dear Mr. Derbyshire, I read your piece in Takis Magazine on chemotherapy with concern and will keep you in my prayers. I love your essays and hope it will be many, many years before I must do without them. I recall one from years ago about the WWII refugee women who ran into their first American soldiers, expected the worst (abuse at least) and instead got food and kindness. Regarding your article in Takis about science fiction, it sounds like we read many of the same authors during the same period. One I don't think you mentioned but I'd recommend is James H. Schmitz. Baen has reprinted most of his writings. "Witches of Karres" is a favorite. Cheers and a quick and complete recovery.

3/17/12, 9:38 PM
Anonymous said...

Stay strong, Derb!

3/18/12, 12:34 PM

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