There is something that has not been addressed in these postings about lumbar punctures.

Do you know that there are people who wouldn't have an LP if their life depended on it ? And I mean that literally. There are some people who do not go to the doctor FOR ANY REASON.

My friend's father had lung cancer, they found a spot on his lung and told him to come in a few weeks later so they could decide what treatment would be necessary. That was it. All he heard was "he had a spot on his lung". He never went back. He never went to another doctor again. He got sicker and sicker and would not go anywhere but to his bed. For some reason, they never had to rush him to the hospital. His wife, my friend's mom, was 62 and her husband was 74 when all this happened. She took care of him for one year. Then the people from hospice came so she could go shopping one day. The next day, my friend's dad died peacefully in his sleep.
I always wondered, if he had gotten treatment, if he could have beaten. it.
And forget about him ever allowing an LP.

And my friend around the corner, her huband was 63 and he had a pain in his stomach. He did allow some testing, they said he had colon cancer. That was it for him too. All he would allow was chinese herbologist and some kind of medicine they would rub on the outside of his belly and the herbologist gave him pills. Nothing worked. Only when he began hemmoraging did he allow his wife to call the doctor. That was it.

People's fears are preventing them from getting treatment. I know many people and not too many of them would ever go for a lumbar puncture. Even when I tell them that Alan went and because the guy used the fluroscope thingee, Alan felt nothing. They don't believe me. They all say: "Forget it, they're not doing that to me".

Thank god, we have these forums where we can bounce ideas off of each other and offer support. It's really neat!!