Barb73
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Test results
in HOPE
Bruce,
Anytime is a good time for Good News. I am delighted for you. Keep that going, and enjoy every moment "living in the moment."
BTW, Bruce, please do not ever feel guilty about being found early.
Personally, I wish that for all who go for testing.
You go and celebrate. It's a gift, dear fellow.
Barbara
- One smile from each of us (Barbara and Bill) and one for good measure. -
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/166163.php#
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The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 94 new national research and training grants totaling $45,097,000 to 61 institutions nationwide in the second of two grants cycles for 2009. The grants go into effect beginning January 1, 2010.
For more than 60 years, the American Cancer Society has funded research and training of health professionals to investigate the causes, prevention, and early detection of cancer, as well as new treatments, cancer survivorship, and end of life support for patients and their families. Since its founding in 1946, the American Cancer Society's extramural research grants program has devoted about $3.4 billion to cancer research and has funded 42 researchers who have gone on to win the Nobel Prize. Below are highlights of new grants.
Cancer Causes
Julian Sage, PhD, Stanford University has developed a mouse model of small cell lung cancer that may allow him to identify lung cancer stem cells. Those cells could provide an important platform for the development of more effective techniques for early detection and new treatments.
Curtis Schneider, PhD, California Institute of Technology, working with Dr. Jackie Barton, will investigate whether the recently identified loss of DNA repair pathways in tumor cells can be exploited for both therapy and for diagnostics, and has devised a strategy to develop compounds that could mark cells in the colon before they progress to cancer.
Titia de Lange, PhD, Rockefeller University, a new ACS Research Professor, is studying the role of telomeres in cancer. Telomeres are the protective caps on the end of chromosomes that limit how many times the cell can divide. Unlike normal cells, cancer cells develop ways to maintain the length and function of telomeres so they survive no matter how many times they divide.
Nicole Neel, PhD, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, working with Channing Der, PhD, is focusing on ways to block the RalB protein which is a target of the KRAS oncogene that is present in more that 90 percent of pancreatic cancers. RalB may be a key to allowing pancreatic tumor cells to metastasize.
Kyuson Yun, PhD, The Jackson Laboratory, is investigating whether a protein expressed at high levels in aggressive forms of many cancers including breast, colon and pancreas, may be specifically expressed in cancer stem cells in glioblastoma, the most common form of brain cancer. The study will provide a deeper understanding of the cancer stem cells and may provide insight into novel approaches to killing these cells.
Cancer Prevention
James F. Wharam, MB, BCh, BAO, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, is investigating whether a new type of health insurance - high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) - may threaten patients' access to crucial medical care by lowering screening rates. It will be the first study to examine this question on a national scale and the first to use a cutting-edge, innovative method for detecting the populations most at risk.
Ellen P. McCarthy, MPH, Ph.D., Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and her team will study the potential benefit of screening mammography in different clinical subgroups, particularly women age 75 and older, where optimal screening strategies for breast cancer are uncertain.
Six preventive medicine residency programs that offer special training tracks in cancer prevention and control were funded. These renewable grants were awarded to the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine, New York City Department of Health, University of California, San Diego, Griffin Hospital, and for the first time, the California Department of Public Health. The goal of this program is to increase the number of physician experts in disease prevention and health promotion dedicated to changing the impact of cancer on both individuals and population groups.
Detection and Diagnosis of Cancer
Linda T. Nieman, PhD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, will further develop and refine a new, non-invasive dual optical approach for identifying and localizing early stage bladder cancer. This approach has the potential to significantly add to the understanding of bladder cancer and to aid clinicians in detection and in assessment of therapeutic effectiveness for bladder cancer.
Cancer Treatment
Jennifer Cochran, PhD, Stanford University, is using a powerful technology called "directed evolution" to engineer designer proteins for use as therapeutic or diagnostic agents for cancer.
David Kadosh, PhD at the University of Texas Health Science Center At San Antonio is studying the invasive properties of one of the major fungal pathogens, Candida, which can be lethal to immunosuppressed cancer patients.
Joseph Kissil, PhD, Wistar Institute is testing a series of potent drug candidates that interact with signal transduction pathways in cancer cells, which carry information critical to the functions and growth of cells and tissues.
Joan Garrett, PhD, Vanderbilt University, working with Dr. Carlos Arteaga, is studying the development of drug resistance in breast cancer, particularly in relation to a gene related to HER2, called HER3.
Michelle C. Fingeret, PhD University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, is studying the devastating effects on quality of life of patients as they experience significant changes to their physical appearance and bodily function following treatment for facial cancer; and is studying an intervention that may alleviate their suffering.
Hendrik van Deventer, MD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will study a largely unstudied type of cell, called fibrocytes, which are critical for tumor metastasis. Dr van Deventer is exploring the possibility that two classes of drugs already in existence may block the function of the fibrocytes.
Cancer Survivorship
Qian Lu, MD, PhD, University of Houston, will test the cultural sensitivity and efficacy of an expressive writing intervention, demonstrated to provide psychological benefit to cancer survivors, among Chinese-speaking breast cancer survivors. Asian Americans are the only ethnic group with an increasing rate of breast cancer.
End of Life Support for Cancer Patients and Their Families
Kevin L. Rand, PhD, Indiana University, is studying the dilemma patients face near the end of life in making healthcare decisions in pursuit of multiple, potentially conflicting goals. These include choosing aggressive treatments in hopes of surviving as long as possible, or minimizing the burden of disease; and spending more time with family and loved ones, by choosing less aggressive interventions.
The American Cancer Society's research and training program emphasizes investigator-initiated, peer-reviewed proposals, and has supported groundbreaking research that has led to critical discoveries leading to a better understanding of cancer and cancer treatment. Grant applications are ranked on the basis of merit by one of several discipline-specific Peer Review Committees, each of which includes 12 to 25 scientific advisors or expert reviewers. The Council for Extramural Grants, a committee of senior scientists, recommends funding based on the relative merit of the applications, the amount of available funds, and the Society's objectives. No member of the American Cancer Society's Board of Directors or National Assembly may serve on a Peer Review Committee or as a voting member on the Council for Extramural Grants.
The Council for Extramural Grants also approved 74 research grant applications that could not be funded due to budgetary constraints. These "pay-if" grants represent work that passed the Society's multi-disciplinary review process but go beyond the Society's current funding resources, and which will be funded of additional monies become available. These grants serve as an important reminder that there continues to be promising research we would like to fund but cannot with our current resources.
Source:
David Sampson
American Cancer Society
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(Medicla News Today, Lung Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Breast Cancer; Cancer/Oncology, October 5, 2009)
Disclaimer:
The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not being posted with the intention of being medical advice of any kind.
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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/166081.php#
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Jill M. Siegfried, Ph.D., co-director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute's (UPCI) Lung and Thoracic Malignancies Program, has received a $1 million grant from the V Foundation for Cancer Research, an organization founded by ESPN and Jim Valvano, former legendary basketball coach of North Carolina State University. The grant will help support the establishment of new clinical trials for lung cancer patients at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's (UPMC) Cancer Centers.
"This award is especially exciting because it supports the translation of our work in the laboratory directly into two separate clinical trials, which we hope will benefit patients," said Dr. Siegfried. "It is particularly gratifying when the work in the laboratory moves from bench to bedside."
The first clinical trial is based on Dr. Siegfried's research, which found that estrogen acts as a proliferation agent in the lung, activating lung cancer development through pathways similar to those in breast cancer. In addition to examining estrogen's role as a lung cancer proliferation agent, Dr. Siegfried evaluated anti-estrogens to see if they could inhibit the effect of estrogen on lung tumor growth in animal models and determined which are the most effective at blocking the action of estrogen in the lungs.
According to Dr. Siegfried, her research demonstrated that it might be possible to inhibit lung cancer tumor growth in cancers that progress in response to estrogen. "We learned that some very basic, biological functions put women at risk for developing lung cancer. Now we know estrogen plays a role in the growth of some lung cancers and that gives us something to target in the clinical setting."
This research was supported by the UPCI Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in lung cancer, which is led by Dr. Siegfried. Recent results announced by the Women's Health Initiative in the medical journal The Lancet support Dr. Siegfried's hypothesis: women in that study who took hormone replacement medications containing estrogen were much more likely to die from lung cancer than those who did not. The Lancet publication cited Dr. Siegfried's research as an explanation for the findings.
The clinical trial at UPMC will be led by Athanassios (Ethan) Argiris, M.D., professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and clinical associate director of UPCI's SPORE in lung cancer. The SPORE is a federal grant awarded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to assist researchers in examining innovative detection and treatment strategies designed to improve survival outcomes and quality of life for patients with early to late-stage lung cancer.
According to Dr. Argiris, the phase II trial will study the use of an aromatase inhibitor, a class of drugs designed specifically to counteract estrogen production, in postmenopausal women with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. "We hope that by targeting estrogen we will be able to extend the lives of women with lung cancer. Moreover, we will have an opportunity to understand which women respond best to this treatment by examining the estrogen receptors found in their tumors."
Additionally, the V Foundation will support a phase I trial translated from previous SPORE-funded research conducted by Olivera Finn, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Immunology at Pitt. Lung cancer patients who enroll in the trial will receive a vaccine based on the protein cyclin B1. Dr. Finn discovered that this protein is inappropriately expressed by many lung tumors and causes a strong immune response. She hopes to boost the ability of the immune system to reject lung cancer by vaccination with portions of the purified cyclin B1 protein.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women worldwide. Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common type of lung cancer and represents about 80 percent of all lung cancer cases. Unfortunately, because symptoms don't appear in most patients until the disease is advanced, very few patients survive beyond five years.
Source
University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
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(Medical News Today, Lung Cancer, Clinical Trials/Drug Trials, Cancer/Oncology, October 4, 2009)
Disclaimer:
The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not being posted with the intention of being medical advice of any kind.
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Michele,
I am a caregiver, as are you. I am the only one taking care of Bill, 24/7. It is a very, very awesome task, dear Michele - full of doubts and second guessing.
There are days when I doubt myself, and second-guess things. That, of course, is to no avail. No one can second guess, nor do better than you have. You are amazing, and an inspiration to me.
You have my undivided attention as to what is occurring with your husband. I need that input you have so generously given to help me with Bill. I follow your lead.
God bless you, Michele, and please know that I am here anytime you may need.
If I had lung cancer (and only God knows if I ever will) I would hope for a caregiver such as you. I don't have the fortitude you have. I certainly wish I did.
Barbara
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Nick,
May I add my congratulations on the successful fundraising. It was worth it!!!
Also, adding a "Very Happy Birthday" to your Mom.
Barbara
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Michele,
I am so sorry for what you and your husband are experiencing. Hospice can be a very helpful move. My friends who have used hospice have told me only good things about the care. May you both have the same. I know from Bill having taken a fall last year, it is impossible to lift and move by oneself.
My prayers will continue for you both, Michele, and I am holding you and your husband in my thoughts.
Barbara
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Patti,
Thank you so much for the updating on Sandra. You are the best. It is very much appreciated. I am sorry to learn that she has a PE
, but as you have noted, it's better that she was where she could be treated for it. My prayers continue for her that she may be able to come home to her family soon.Barbara
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Barb,
That is wonderful!
Barbara
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"The authors add that their analysis combined results across different tumor types, so future studies should look at the effects of depression on different kinds of cancer."
Good question, Dana. It seems the study isn't complete, and needs further delving. Yes, it does matter what kind of options people have. You are right, and very perceptive.
This is why it is good to have input from various aspects.
Barbara
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Yes, Judy, you are right on with that analysis.
Until they stop fooling around, thinking that X-rays are the be all, end all, things won't move forward.
When a person has a constant cough, go the distance to a CT Scan, please.
Bill's late diagnosis was the result of a pulmonologist thinking that a former NY firefighter for 22 years (and we know all the compounds they experience, and a former smoker (with a constant, dry cough) could do with just two digital X-rays that seemed OK. Then, he sent him looking for acid reflux. What a sham.
What a tragic joke. This is why I advocate. I am so damned angry that people are most likely still being treated this way in many areas of this land.
Our second pulmonologist told us that if he had seen Bill first - the story would have been different. I know it would have been different. A year is a long time for cancer cells to do their damage.
I pray and hope that public awareness will finally realize that keeping to the "old ways" is no longer acceptable. Ignorance is not acceptable, and stigma is no longer a viable excuse for lack of funding.
Who cares where the disease emanates? It doesn't matter a hill of beans if we are a compassionate people. Besides, we are not so smart that we actually know 100% just where someone's lung cancer was derived.
May Canada be successful in what we apparently also need to do. We need more improved methods to kick this disease in the royal butt.
Stepping down from my soapbox, but no guarantee that I won't be ascending to it again.
Barbara
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It must be my aging mind, but I thought I had posted a comment re Greg's posting.
Anyway....the recent removal of Bill from chemo was precisely due to the toxic effects that were in more abundance than the benefit he was receiving.
So, yes, there is a real desire to encourage funding for the development of less toxic (or, better still, nontoxic treatments).
Thanks for the post, Greg.
Barbara
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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165229.php
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A nanomedicine research group led by a University of Toronto chemist has received a $5-million grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), giving them the green light to develop faster ways of detecting leukemia and lung cancer cells.
"This funding will lead to healthier lives for Canadians," says Gilbert Walker, a professor in U of T's Department of Chemistry and primary investigator of the Network for Bioplasmonic Systems (BiopSys). "Our first goal is to determine the presence of lung cancer at an earlier stage than is currently possible, which will permit faster screening. Our second goal is to develop similar devices for detecting leukemia that will greatly decrease the time needed for diagnosis."
The BiopSys network aims to speed up cancer diagnosis by incorporating an emerging technology known as plasmonics into existing procedures that use cancer markers found on the surfaces of cells. Plasmonics - a technique that produces waves of electrons when light hits a metal surface - offers significant opportunities for increasing the number of types of cancer markers that can be identified simultaneously.
"Bioplasmonics uses light illumination and engineers it for the extremely sensitive detection of biological molecules," says Walker. "BiopSys will develop technologies that allow for more selective detection of diseases and other health conditions that are evident on cell surfaces."
The BiopSys network is one of two U of T projects to receive a $5-million funding boost through NSERC's Strategic Research Networks program, announced today at McMaster University. The other - led by computer scientist Renée Miller, Bell Canada Chair of Information Systems at U of T - looks at developing better information management systems for business, scientific, and government organizations.
"We are delighted that two of the nine networks created today are based at U of T," says Professor Paul Young, U of T's vice-president (research). "These grants fund large-scale multi-disciplinary projects that have the potential to bring great benefit to society in the coming years, and this is exactly the kind of work that Professor Walker is leading. We will look to him and others like him who are working closely with collaborators in academia and industry for innovations that will improve the nation's economy and the quality of life of its citizens."
The network, which will receive NSERC funding of $1 million per year for five years, is unique in that it brings together experts from a wide range of disciplines and skill sets. U of T researchers in the Departments of Chemistry, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Physics and the Faculty of Medicine are involved, as well as scientists from the Universities of Ottawa, Victoria, Western Ontario and Windsor. The team also includes scientists from the École Polytechnique de Montréal and Toronto's Mt. Sinai and Princess Margaret Hospitals as well as industrial partners.
"We are extremely grateful to NSERC for its continued investment in excellence and for its support of U of T research," says University of Toronto president David Naylor. "The BiopSys network represents a unique partnership between universities, industry and government that will lead to revolutionary improvements in cancer diagnosis. The network brings together some of the best minds from a wide range of disciplines, including biochemistry, engineering and physics. Through its industrial partners, BiopSys will be able to transfer that knowledge into practice quickly, developing equipment of significant value to Canadians."
NSERC's Strategic Network grants aim to increase research and training in areas that could enhance Canada's economy, society and/or environment in the next decade.
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(Medical News Today, Main Category: Leukemia; Myeloma; Included: Lung Cancer; Biology/Biochemistry; Medical Devices/Diagnostics. Source: Sean Bettam, University of Toronto, September 26, 2009)
Disclaimer:
The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not being posted with the intention of being medical advice of any kind.
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http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/ ... 41b1f.html
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The doctors told Susan Smedley Gerber that her lung cancer wasn't caused by smoking but in many ways it didn't matter. She found herself facing the same stigma and same reactions that thousands of lung cancer patients fight in addition to their cancer.
"So much of the stigma that's connected with lung cancer is around smoking," said Smedley Gerber, who lives in Fitchburg with her husband and two children, 12 and 8. "When you are diagnosed with lung cancer that's the first thing you think of as a patient. It's the first thing other people think of whether it be the doctors, friends, family."
Lung cancer is the No. 1 cause of cancer deaths in the United States, killing more people than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney, and melanoma cancer combined. And the stark fact is that cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Because it's considered self-inflicted, and because of successful and increasingly hard-hitting anti-smoking campaigns, the public isn't as sympathetic to lung cancer victims as it is to those who get other ailments. And advocates working to combat that negative image say it not only affects how society judges lung cancer patients but also cripples funding for lung cancer research.
Lung cancer gets a fraction of the funding that other major cancers do. The federal government spent $1,249 per lung cancer death in 2009 compared with $27,480 per breast cancer death, according to the Lung Cancer Alliance.
Now a Madison group is trying to fight that. The National Lung Cancer Partnership is holding a 5K run/walk Sunday to help support its research, education and awareness programs and encouraging lung cancer victims to tell their stories.
Regina Vidaver, the group's executive director, said this lack of funding indicates that society values the life of somebody with breast cancer more than the life of somebody with lung cancer.
"It's still somebody's mother or father or sister or brother. They need the same kind of emphasis on their disease as does anybody else. They are just as deserving," she said. "People think, 'Well, you did it to yourself, you smoked. So why should we spend money on research because if you just don't smoke, you don't get it.' That's a fallacy."
Ray Rickert woke up to that fallacy when his non-smoking wife, Jodi Lou, was diagnosed with lung cancer. She died from the disease in April 2008, leaving him to raise their 2-year-old daughter.
He said he held the stigma himself before he became directly impacted by the disease. "I waved it off like a lot of people do: 'Oh, I don't smoke so I don't have to worry about that' and didn't give it a second thought," he said.
Jodi lived for two years after the diagnosis and was 34 when she died. The second annual Jodi Lou Lung Cancer 5K Run/Walk drew more than 300 people in June.
Rickert calls smoking the "scapegoat of lung cancer" and said the lung cancer stigma goes back to the surgeon general's message that he's heard since he was a child, tying smoking to lung cancer. "When you hear something for 30 years it kind of sinks in and you start accepting it," he said. "But along with that message there should be something else saying, 'Hey, there are other causes, too.'''
In the United States, 10 to 15 percent of those diagnosed with lung cancer are like Jodi Lou Rickert and have never smoked at all. That's some 20,000 to 25,000 people every year. Another 50 percent are former smokers.
"So they've done what they can do to prevent this disease," Vidaver said.
If you eliminated the smokers from the equation, non-smoking lung cancer would be the seventh- or eighth-most common cancer in the United States, said Dr. Toby Campbell, a lung cancer specialist at the UW Carbone Cancer Center and assistant professor of medicine at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
Campbell said lung cancer patients who've smoked are particularly hard on themselves. It's not uncommon for them to say, "'Well, I've brought this on myself. Everybody knows that I did this.'"
Many also say they don't deserve to have somebody care for them, he said. "So I think the stigma starts at the patient level," Campbell said. "But certainly society impresses upon smokers that whatever they got they deserved."
In reality, that could not be further from the truth, Campbell said. "I personally am not perfect and I don't know anybody who is. We don't blame diabetics who have gotten obese and thus have diabetes or heart disease for the condition that they find themselves in. We don't blame people with heart disease for having high cholesterol and eating poorly."
Smedley Gerber was 32 when she was diagnosed with a rare carcinoid tumor found in her lung. Even though her doctors said it wasn't caused by smoking, her first thought was about what she did wrong. She immediately thought back to the three stressful years in her early 20s, when as a social worker just out of college, she had smoked a pack a day.
"You go through this process, you are trying to find out the cause," she said. "And the bottom line is for so many cancer patients, you're never going to know because researchers and doctors don't know. Lung cancer is one of those where there are so many unknowns, which is why there needs to be more research into treatments, prevention as well as cure."
Smedley Gerber is alive 12 years after her diagnosis because she saw a doctor after coughing up blood and her cancer was caught early. She considers it a miracle that she is cancer-free and feels the responsibility to spread the word and advocate on behalf of lung cancer victims.
"I sort of liken the lung cancer awareness movement to the AIDS community back in the '80s as far as stigma is concerned," Smedley Gerber said. "They've done a phenomenal job, and I think the way to change funding and change awareness is person-to-person -- those of us who have been impacted telling our stories to make it clear that it's not a one-dimensional disease."
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(Wisconsinm State Journal, Article by Samara Kalk Derby, September 25, 2009)
Disclaimer:
The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not being posted with the intention of being medical advice of any kind.
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Kristi,
Your Dad had his loving family around him, with his son giving him CPR. Please know that you have our deep sympathy and offer our condolences to you and your family.
Years ago, when my husband Bill was just in his twenties, he received a call that his Dad had collapsed at early Mass on New Year's Day. It was his heart.
Bill ran over there on foot, and gave his father mouth-to-mouth. His father's blue eyes told Bill that he was gone. As with your Dad, his passing was painless.
Bill has never forgotten that moment in all of these years.
Please come back, and tell us how you are all doing.
Barbara
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(((Jana))),
Kasey's wisdom said it all.
Barbara
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I am not yet where you are in the journey, but you have given me pause to reflect.
I/we are in what will probably be the last steps in this walk, but your perceptions are a gift to us in my/our sojourn.
Thank you for posting this. I will hold it in my heart, and know that wisdom is a gift you offer while Bill and I continue, albeit, haltingly - our trek.
As the kids today say, "I hear you."
Barbara
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Michele,
Thank you for the link to check out the meds, and Patti, you made me laugh. I definitely needed that.
Glad that you have a home nurse, Michele. That should ease things, a bit.
Barbara
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http://www.asbestos.com/news/2009/09/19 ... nd-alimta/
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Mesothelioma Chemotherapy and the Use of Cisplatin and Alimta, Saturday, September 19th, 2009
When a patient is diagnosed with mesothelioma thoughts about prognosis naturally surface and questions about how to prolong a patient’s life typically arise. When a mesothelioma patient and their loved ones investigate treatment options to combat the cancer, chemotherapy is often explored.
The combination of Cisplatin and Alimta, two common chemotherapy medications, is often used in chemotherapy treatment for mesothelioma patients. Cisplatin is a platinum-based medication used to treat a myriad of cancers and frequently serves as the backbone of chemotherapy treatment for patients facing these illnesses. Alimta was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2005 and is typically used in combination with Cisplatin for patients battling non-small cell lung cancer or malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Cisplatin and Alimta are associated with side effects ranging from nausea to dizziness and patients report experiencing mild to severe side effects following treatment with the drugs. Patients often research the medications thoroughly and speak with a doctor at length to evaluate whether or not undergoing chemotherapy with these two medications is the best option.
Together Cisplatin and Alimta are considered to be among the most effective in treating malignant mesothelioma. In clinical trials testing the combination of the drugs, an additional three months were added on to the lives of mesothelioma patients. Chemotherapy medications generally work by targeting rapidly dividing cells and preventing the cells from creating additional cancerous cells. Through this process, healthy cells are often affected as well, causing certain side effects such as the loss of hair that is commonly associated with chemotherapy.
In addition to Cisplatin and Alimta, several other medications are utilized in chemotherapy for mesothelioma patients including Carboplatin, Onconase, Gemcitabine and Navelbine.
Unfortunately a cure for mesothelioma does not exist, but the use of chemotherapy treatment may prove effective in prolonging a patient’s prognosis. Patients who are advised not to undergo chemotherapy or do not wish to use chemotherapy in their treatment regimen may have additional options to combat the cancer. Radiation therapy or alternative therapies, such as the use of supplements or acupuncture, may also provide relief to mesothelioma patients.
Additional information about chemotherapy and mesothelioma treatment may be found through the
Mesothelioma CenterClinical Trial Seeks Mesothelioma Patients for Study
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(AsbestosNew.com, Mesothelioma and Asbestos News, September 19, 2009)
Disclaimer:
The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not being posted with the intention of being medical advice of any kind.
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Sorry, Michele, for the latest development.
Being monitored is needed, and hopefully, his health will improve. Hospitals are, as noted, can bring some good results. They have the meds.
When Bill was in recently, he was OK with it at the beginning, but when he began to complain, we knew he was getting better. Hoping the same for your husband.
Please let us know, when you are able, how things are going.
Keeping you and hubby in my daily prayers. Wishing you comfort,
Barbara
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I will be saying prayers that Sandra is OK.
Needless to say, I am concerned.
Thank you, dear Patti, for continuing your reach out to her. You are so thoughtful to keep trying. It isn't easy, but may you be successful in reaching her.
Barbara
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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164326.php
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A young Bethesda family is taking their personal battle with lung cancer to the National Mall in November, hosting a fundraising walk to benefit lung cancer research.
Breathe Deep DC -- a 5k walk on the National Mall on November 15th -- was conceived by Jerry Sorkin, a Bethesda father of two, who was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer two years ago. A non-smoker, Sorkin was treated for Hodgkin's disease, another type of cancer, in high school and again in college. The radiation that saved his life in the early 1980s is the likely cause of his lung cancer.
Sorkin says, "When I was diagnosed with lung cancer, I was stunned to learn how many people suffer from it, how little awareness there is for the realities of the disease, and how little money our country puts into research that would improve and extend patients' lives. I have quietly fought this disease with my family and friends. Together, we want to take the fight to the Mall and raise awareness and funding to fight back."
The statistics on lung cancer are staggering -- more than 150,000 Americans die from the disease each year. According to the National Institutes of Health, the majority of people diagnosed with lung cancer have already quit smoking or, like Sorkin, were never smokers at all. And, although lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in the United States, lung cancer research funding lags far behind other cancers. For example, the disease receives only 4% of the National Cancer Institute's budget, even though it causes about 30% of all cancer deaths.
Because governmental and corporate underwriting for lung cancer research is so scarce, LUNGevity Foundation has created a national grassroots movement, composed of volunteers like the Sorkin family. This grassroots approach has lead to great success for LUNGevity, which was named Fastest Growing Charity in the U.S. in 2009 by the independent Charity Navigator. One of the reasons for LUNGevity's success is that every dollar that it spends on research is matched -dollar-for-dollar- by its granting partners, such as the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association.
LUNGevity has partnered with the Arlington-based Corporate Executive Board, where Sorkin is a senior executive, as the title sponsor for Breathe Deep DC. Tom Monahan, chairman and CEO of the Corporate Executive Board, compared the goals of LUNGevity to those of his own organization. "LUNGevity's mission is to accelerate the learning about lung cancer for doctors, officials and society. That mission -- gathering facts, developing insights, changing minds, and enabling action -- is consistent with what we at the Corporate Executive Board do on our best days. We are delighted to support this organization and anticipate strong employee participation in the event. I encourage other organizations in Washington and around the country to devote their energy and resources to this fight."
What:
Breathe Deep DC 5k, a Fundraising Walk for LUNGevity Foundation
When:
Sunday, November 15 at 9 a.m. to NOON
Where:
The Grounds of the Washington Monument
For more information about the event, to register, or to make a donation, visit http://www.lungevity.org/dcwalk.
Source
The Corporate Executive Board Company
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(Medical News Today, Lung Cancer, September 17, 2009)
Disclaimer:
The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not being posted with the intention of being medical advice of any kind.
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Hi Kathi,
You are more than halfway there to THE QUIT when you express the desire.
That's how I finally did it. It has no relation to whether or not you are strong. The damned things are an addiction - plain and not-so-simple.I am a powerhouse, but had the darndest time trying to get off the cigarettes. Took me many tries over the years.
What did it for me was NOT advised for those going through chemo - nicotine gum. Nicotine can have a negative effect on the chemo.
Sorry not to have the answers on the Chantix, but according to anything I have read about chemo effects, not having nicotine helps with quelling side effects.
Wishing you much good luck on your QUIT. My sister did it cold turkey after seeing her Xrays 12 years ago. She hasn't had lung cancer, but had a collapsed lung and has had very weak lungs with quite a bit of scarring.
Her breathing improved greatly after the quit.
Barbara
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(((Kasey))).
You are tops.
September 17th or even the others - are awesome dates to celebrate. Any date that reminds us that you are a survivor is fantastic. Five years is wonderful.
Happy dances being done (have to be careful though) gingerly moving feet under chair to the tune, HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN.
I am celebrating with you in my heart. And yeah....to helmet stats.
Barbara
, but as you have noted, it's better that she was where she could be treated for it. My prayers continue for her that she may be able to come home to her family soon.
Hi Everyone!
in CAREGIVER RESOURCE CENTER
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Hi Bobby,
It's always a good day when members of this family drop by to say hello. Hope all is going well with you, Bobby. Please, let us know. We're here.
Wishing you peace and comfort in the loving memories of your dear sister.
Barbara