I think my brain is settling in after all this lunch stuff.

I learned today that all breast cancer starts in the milk ducts, and that doctors don't actually know much about the anatomy of the breast. There may be six to eight ducts. And they figured that out by studying women at those leche groups who advocate for breastfeeding.

Dr. Love is developing a test for breast cancer that is intraductal, so instead of having to wait until your fifty and for a lump to show on a mammogram (which are helpful to something like only 30% of women), you'd be able to get a an intraductal exam (with a needle the size of a hair) and they could search for abnormal cells in the ducts, the same way they do it for cervical cancer and your PAP.

The idea is that you can then change the environment if cells are abnormal, making the ducts inhospitable for abnormal cells with medication, stopping the cancer before it starts.

I'm oversimplifying.

However! I signed up for the trial. She was having a really hard time finding young women not on birth control for subjects. It takes about an hour, and you go twice. She does the trials in West LA, and the hours are afterwork hours.

If any LAistas are interested in taking part, e me and I'll send you the info. Sounds like it's a chance to be part of something hugely important to women's health.

If any LAistas are interested in taking part, e me and I'll send you the info. Sounds like it's a chance to be part of something hugely important to women's health.

That sounds great, Allyson. If I weren't leaving, I definitely would. Is there an age cut off? I will see if anyone at work is interested.

Hmph. Well, TurboTax was being all funky about charging me, so eventually I gave up on them and used a different, more clunky-looking site, which not only didn't give me attitude but also filed my state return free. So there, TurboTax!

Is there an age cut off?

I think that right now, she's primarily looking for women under 40 who are not using birth control pills, who do not have two or more close family members who have had breast cancer.

I'll e you the info, though! Thanks!

Oh wait, I didn't mean "so there." I knew I wanted some phrase, but "up yours" seemed a little much -- what I wanted was "in your face, TurboTax!"

The mot juste is worth getting right even if nobody's reading.

In case anyone was wondering, I found my beloved video online.

Boys in eyeliner. Mmm-hmm!

Thanks, Allyson. I will ask around.

"Dog" is such a good first word.

That breast cancer stuff is interesting, Allyson. However I think my boobs are off limits for the moment.

Er, speaking of boobs, toddlers just adore them, don't they? As I recall from my babysitting days, the stage lasts well beyond toddlerhood. When does it end, the random grabbing of the breasts?

When does it end, the random grabbing of the breasts?

We talking boys or girls? Straight or gay?

And while Buff Diving I think I found a funny made on 9/11, Which makes me uncomfortable, but still funny:

Miracleman: Any indication as to, you know, WHY they hadda evacuate the Capitol?

Steph L.: Reagan has clawed his way out of his coffin and is looking for a tender young neck to bite?

Tommyrot: Rumsfeld and Cheney went berserk with jealousy when they were mistakenly told that Reagan had begun his ascension?

Oh, god NO. That wasn't 9/11 -- that was from just last summer (June 2004), after Reagan died. When his coffin was lying in state in the Capitol, there was coincidentally an evacuation of the Capitol. Hence my reference to Reagan clawing his way out of his coffin.

I don't think there were any jokes on 9/11.