Barb73

It does sound funny to be happy for the pneumonia diagnosis, but to know it isn't the cancer causing the s.o.b. is far less worrisome. Now, to get Hank back to better health, and you can rest easier. Make sure you get some rest, as well, Gail Keeping positive, Barbara

Gracie, It's good to vent and let it all out of the system. Your sister will be in my positive thoughts for a rebound from this malaise. Wishing your sister every good outcome, Barbara

http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Prolonge ... 17852.html ARTICLE: . . . . . . . . . Prolonged Exposure To Carbon Nanotubes May Increase Cancer RiskCarbon nanotubes are as promising as they are dangerous, scientists warned, associating the effects they may have on human health with those of asbestos if inhaled. The study, published in Tuesday’s edition of the scientific journal Nature Nanotechnology, experimented with the effects of carbon nanotubes on mice, by injecting them into their abdomens. The consequences were as destructive for their lungs as the inhalation of asbestos. Andrew Maynard, co-author of the study, warned that if the carbon nanotubes would somehow get released into the air, and consequently inhaled, they would have disastrous effects, just like asbestos. It is well known that the longer the exposure to asbestos, the greater the risk of disease is. Studies have shown that asbestos can be found both in the air and in the water, and that people exposed to it can develop mesothelioma (lung cancer which manifests through chest pain, weight loss, and can only be detected through X-ray) and even prostate cancer in men. Carbon nanotubes have a lot of applications, and they are considered to be the material of the future, thanks to their extraordinary properties: they are strong, have electrical properties and work as thermal conductors. So far, multiple studies on the levels of toxicity carbon nanotubes can produce have been more than confusing. This time however, scientists warn that people who work with carbon nanotubes should be protected from the dangers of long exposure. As they begin to be used in a variety of products, from clothes to tennis rackets and bicycle frames, it is not OK to let people think it is safe working with carbon nanotubes, Maynard said, while at the same time saying he didn’t expect a tennis racket for example to become dangerous any time soon. Further tests need to be conducted, but it is important to trigger alarm signals on the potential dangers, rather than wait for people to get ill. The first to be exposed are of course the people who process carbon nanotubes, the study says, but scientists still want to investigate whether a broken or damaged product could trigger health problems. Previous tests on mice have shown that while carbon nanotubes have triggered the inflammation of the tissue when inhaled, the levels of toxicity in cells varied from high to no toxicity at all, which created a lot of confusion on whether this is indeed a toxic material.Carbon nanotubes manufacturers have already started taking precautionary measures, by using dust masks with respiratory filters for workers. However, not all findings were negative. Scientists concluded that not all nanotubes are dangerous: the study revealed that the short carbon nanotubes might not be harmful, compared to long carbon nanotubes, but that’s not a reason to believe we are safe. Professor Kenneth Donaldson from the University of Edinburgh, U.K., pointed out that this might be actually a sign that carbon nanotubes, along with the resulted products, could be made to be safe. However, that is something we might obtain in the future. For now, it is better to prevent the potential harmful effects of carbon nanotubes rather than wake up in forty years and feel sorry for not taking precautionary measures at the right time. . . . . . . . . . (eFlux Media, By Dee Chisamera, May 21, 2008) Disclaimer: The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not posted as medical advice of any kind.

http://demo.cancerconsultants.com/Conte ... ntID=42009 ARTICLE: . . . . . . . . . MVP Does Not Provide Benefit in Mesothelioma Patients The chemotherapy agent Navelbine® (vinorelbine) may improve outcomes for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. However, the combination chemotherapy regimen referred to as MVP (mitoxantrone, vinblastine, and cisplatin) does not provide any benefit for patients with this disease. These results were published in The Lancet. Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare cancer that develops in the tissue that covers the lungs and lines the interior of the chest. It is often caused by chronic exposure to asbestos. The majority of patients are not diagnosed until the disease has progressed to an advanced stage; treatment with surgery or radiation is not an option at this stage. Patients with this disease often experience symptoms such as shortness of breath, cough, pain, fatigue, and an inability to eat, which lessen their quality of life. Mesothelioma is fairly resistant to most therapies, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Therefore, finding a chemotherapy regimen or new therapeutic approaches that can improve quality of life or survival is essential for improving care for patients with this disease. Prior results have indicated that the chemotherapy combination consisting of Alimta® (pemetrexed) plus a platinum compound provides significant anticancer activity in patients with newly diagnosed mesothelioma. Researchers continue to evaluate different chemotherapy agents for the treatment of this disease. Researchers from England recently conducted a clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of MVP and vinorelbine in the treatment of MPM. This trial included 409 patients from 76 medical institutions in England and two in Australia. Patients were treated with either active symptom control (ASC), consisting of steroids, pain relievers, and agents to dilate lung passages; radiation therapy to relieve pain or pressure; ASC plus MVP; or ASC plus Navelbine. • There was no evidence that the addition of MVP provided survival benefit compared to ASC alone. • The addition of Navelbine to ASC provided a survival benefit compared with ASC alone, although this benefit was minimal. • No benefit in terms of quality of life was achieved with the addition of chemotherapy to ASC. The researchers concluded that the addition of MVP to ASC did not provide any benefit compared with ASC only for patients with MPM. However, results from the addition of Navelbine to ASC “suggested that vinorelbine merits further investigation.” Further evaluation of Navelbine is necessary to confirm these results. In addition, direct comparisons of Navelbine to Alimta are necessary to determine the potential clinical benefit of Navelbine among patients with MPM. . . . . . . . . . (Cancer Center, Cancer News, May 21, 2008) Disclaimer: The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not posted as medical advice of any kind.

http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu/resources ... &year=2008 ARTICLE: . . . . . . . . . The first randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial to evaluate pemetrexed (Alimta) as maintenance therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) shows that the drug significantly prolongs progression-free survival, with patients with non-squamous histology faring best. The findings were reported Thursday at a press conference hosted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, ahead of ASCO's annual meeting, which begins May 30 in Chicago. In the study, Dr. Tudor E. Ciuleanu of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iuliu Hatieganu in Romania and colleagues tested the safety and efficacy of pemetrexed against placebo in 663 patients with stage IIIB/IV NSCLC whose cancer had not progressed after four cycles of standard platinum-based first-line chemotherapy. Three to 6 weeks after completion of induction chemotherapy, 441 patients were randomized to pemetrexed and 222 to placebo. Pemetrexed is currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating NSCLC that has progressed despite previous chemotherapy. Post-induction maintenance therapy with pemetrexed was "very well tolerated," Dr. Ciuleanu said, "and the data revealed remarkably statistically significant 40% reduction in the risk of progression with pemetrexed and a doubling of median progression-free survival," from 2.6 months with placebo to 4.3 months with pemetrexed. Preliminary survival analysis revealed a 20% reduction in the risk of death with pemetrexed therapy. Median survival was 13 months with pemetrexed and 10.2 months with placebo. But Dr. Ciuleanu cautioned that "the overall survival data are preliminary and require careful interpretation at this time. The final survival analysis is expected to occur in the next 6 to 12 months." An analysis of efficacy based on histology showed a "consistent improvement in progression-free survival with pemetrexed therapy in the non-squamous histology," Dr. Ciuleanu reported. "Conversely, in the squamous population there was little change in progression-free survival with pemetrexed therapy, consistent with previous phase III trials." Based on this study, "we recommend giving pemetrexed after a patient completes initial induction therapy, but before cancer progression occurs," Dr. Ciuleanu said in an ASCO-issued statement. "This approach affords the greatest chance of killing stray cancer cells before they have a chance to contribute to tumor growth." . . . . . . . . . (Oncolink, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, By Megan Rauscher, Reuters Health, May 16, 2008) Disclaimer: The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not posted as medical advice of any kind.

Dear Lori, I am sorry to learn that the cancer may have returned, but also agree with those who recommend that a second opinion may be an excellent idea. It is always best to re-evaluate. There was a founder of another cancer board, a brave and inspirational gentleman, who was diagnosed originally as Stage IA, and within months was rediagnosed Stage IV. He was very successful for five years with chemo, and that was back prior to the newer drugs they now have, and more in the pipeline. Lung cancer is particularly tricky. There are no absolutes. We certainly wish this journey were easier, but there is hope. However, if this should be a recurrence, all the advice from the medical opinions should be weighed, and a plan put forth to attack it vigorously. Keeping hope alive, I send my best wishes for a good resolution to this for you. Barbara

Dear Gail, I am so sorry to know that Hank is in the hospital, but, on the other hand, it really is the better place to be when trying to locate the cause of the problem. Breathing problems are at the top of the list as medical dilemmas go. It is basic to quality of life. But, you know all of this, and this is a disturbing time for you. I would encourage you to keep hope alive because, if they find the cause, you and Hank can continue to wade through to moving Hank forward in his fight. I think of you often, Gail. You and Hank are in my daily prayers. Here's hoping that the doctors find a resolution to Hank's breathing issues, please God. We are rooting for a good result. Barbara

Hello Anne, There is always, it seems, a time for feeling "down" with this disease. We know the walk. I have been there as a caregiver and Bill has been there, as well, as a survivor. His comes out differently than my feelings. He exhibits frustration - especially when fatigued with chemo regimen. But, soon, bounces back with some new activity, or project. The good side, Anne, is that Bill (dx w/stage IIIB 3 1/2 years ago and became stage IV within the first year following his original dx) is still here enjoying life, and able to have many good chemo outcomes. We look ahead to even better treatments. God Willing, we are also looking forward to our celebrating our 53rd wedding anniversary this coming September, and Bill celebrating his 78th birthday in October. It's a happy goal. We love to "see ourselves" into the future. It's a bolster to our thoughts. Having "down" days is very normal, but goals are great to have. Keeping you in my thoughts, dear Anne, for good outcomes, and beautiful goals. Barbara

Hello Carol, and a warm welcome to you, I am very happy to "meet" you. It certainly is good to know that Ernie is out of the hospital. I "met" Ernie at another site quite a while back, of which we were members. His helpfulness in providing Bill (husband) and me with supplement information, which we are both appreciative, has given us much support. Ernie has been such a positive influence to so many. Please know that we are so glad that he will be posting a note. We will be looking forward to it. Keeping positive, Barbara (Bill's wife)

This was interesting and had a positive bent to it regarding Senator Kennedy's brain cancer: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/ ... 3776.shtml

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 113309.htm ARTICLE: . . . . . . . . . Noninvasive Oxygen Therapy Eases Final Hours, Days For Lung Cancer Patients For patients with end-stage lung cancer, noninvasive ventilation (NIV) may be more effective at reducing breathing difficulty than standard oxygen therapy, and has the added advantage of reducing patients' reliance on morphine, thus improving lucidity in their final days, according to research presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, May 20. For patients at this stage, even small comforts can be the difference between a peaceful or an agonizing death. "With oxygen therapy you might improve oxygenation of the whole body with a small cannula inserted into the nose," explained Stefano Nava, M.D., chief of the respiratory critical care unit at Istituto Scientifico di Pavia in Italy, who led the research. "NIV implies the application of a face mask connected to ventilator. The main advantage over oxygen is that NIV not only improve oxygenation, but also the work of breathing." This is the first research to compare the two therapies, and the first randomized controlled study to investigate the relief of respiratory distress in end-stage cancer patients. "It is surprising that in the literature there is nothing about the relief of respiratory distress in these end-stage cancer patients," said Dr. Nava. "The usual practice is giving standard oxygen therapy and/or morphine, but there is no evidence that these interventions work. This study may have important implications for both those patients and their families in the final, critical moments of their lives." Dr. Nava and colleagues enrolled 92 patients who met the criteria and agreed to be randomized to receive either oxygen therapy or NIV. Three-month mortality for the groups were 89 and 87 percent respectively, and was not significantly different between the groups. Roughly a third of each patient group was discharged alive after an average of two weeks. But while outcomes did not vary significantly, there were other striking differences: the researchers found that standard oxygen therapy took three hours to become effective, whereas NIV was able to relieve symptoms more quickly-- and after three hours, it remained as effective as standard therapy. Furthermore, the average use of morphine on the first 24 hours was significantly lower in the patients who received NIV. "By using NIV, the need of morphine was reduced, and thus its side effects," explained Dr. Nava. "This means in addition to important physical benefits to the patients, there are also great potential benefits in the communication with caregivers and relatives." "Keeping in mind that the patient should decide which treatment he or she would like, NIV may be proposed as an alternative treatment," he concluded. "In the subset of patients who could tolerate the treatment, NIV therapy may be an effective and more rapid treatment for improving dyspnea than standard oxygen therapy in end-stage cancer patients." . . . . . . . . . (Science Daily, Research News, May 20, 2008) Disclaimer: The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not posted as medical advice of any kind.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/05/ ... -test.html ARTICLE: . . . . . . . . . Doctors may have found a new way to detect lung cancer during its earliest stages using a simple blood test, according to research scheduled to be presented in Toronto this week. Investigated by doctors at the University of Pennsylvania, the non-invasive test would be the first of its kind for distinguishing between cancerous and benign lung lesions, which are traditionally screened for using CT scans. Detailed CT scans can detect a range of abnormalities, including scars or small areas of infection, but have a high false-positive rate that requires many patients to undergo extensive follow-up procedures like serial CT scans, PET scans or biopsies — even when only a small percentage of problems turn out to be cancer-related. "So this is a simple blood test in which [doctors] look at certain genes to see whether they can distinguish the people that coulddhave lung cancer versus the people who don't," said Dr. Peter Ellis, an associate professor in the oncology department at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. The new test was developed by taking blood from 44 people with early-stage lung cancer, as well as from 52 others who had no cancer at all. Researchers examined the blood for white blood cells that help regulate the immune system, and their relation to a large number of genes. Doctors found that if they looked at 15 particular genes, they were able to distinguish the people who might have lung cancer from those who didn't with about 87-per-cent accuracy. While a biopsy would be required to make a conclusive diagnosis, Ellis said the new test could help make early distinctions between "people who clearly don't have cancer and people who are very likely to have cancer. "If a simple blood test can distinguish between people who don't have cancer, then that really is, I think, a significant advance." The research will be presented by its American authors at the American Thoracic Society's 2009 International Conference in Toronto on Tuesday. Ellis said the test, as promising as it appears, is still a few years in the making before it could be available to the public. A similar blood test called a PSA is used to detect prostate cancer. . . . . . . . . . (CBSNews, Canada, Health, May 19, 2008) Disclaimer: The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not posted as medical advice of any kind.

This was such very sad news. So many in the media had called the news "grim." It made me wonder what, if any, treatments might be available for Senator Kennedy, and all of the thousands diagnosed each year with glioblastomas, and brain cancer in general from varied sources. My husband's WBR treatment last June, 2007, has made me particularly conscious of brain tumors, symptoms, and more specifically seizures. This article was in my email news this morning: http://patient.cancerconsultants.com/Ca ... 0treatment

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008 ... ion=justin ARTICLE: . . . . . . . . . Side effects from traditional cancer treatments could soon be a thing of the past thanks to the work of a group of Brisbane scientists. Doctor Nick Saunders from the University of Queensland says it should soon be possible to treat cancer patients with pain-free, highly-effective and selective chemotherapy. Traditional chemotherapy kills any dividing cells in the body, not just cancerous ones, and can cause severe side effects. Dr Saunders says the new developments should also help ease the community's fears about cancer and its treatments. "Unfortunately, because of the fear of cancer, people have a tendency to not present as early as they should," he said. "If people start to realise that the drugs that are coming through are going to be effective and not going to be associated with these side effects, then I think we'll see people presenting a lot earlier." He says the improvements should lead to a significant reduction in the number of people dying from cancer. "Whilst we certainly haven't cured cancer, I think over the next decade we're going to see some real advances in cancer treatments, and that should lead to a great deal more optimism amongst the community." Dr Saunders will present his research at a Brisbane Institute seminar today. . . . . . . . . . (ABC News, Australia, May 20, 2008) Disclaimer: The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not posted as medical advice of any kind.

http://www.njbiz.com/weekly_article.asp ... aID2=74425 ARTICLE: . . . . . . . . . Two hospitals in the Garden State have broken ground on new cancer centers, a familiar sight here and nationwide as patient demand mushrooms and competition among caregivers intensifies. AtlantiCare broke ground last month on a $32.5 million cancer center in Egg Harbor Township to consolidate and expand the cancer treatments and services currently spread throughout the nonprofit organization. AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, the main part of AtlantiCare’s system, is a 567-bed teaching hospital with campuses in Atlantic City and Pomona. Hackensack University Medical Center, a not-for-profit health care provider based in Hackensack, also broke ground in April on a new cancer center that will bring all of the hospital’s cancer-related offerings under one roof. Hackensack University Medical Center is a 775-bed teaching and research hospital affiliated with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Hospitals in general offer a wide range of cancer treatments and services. They diagnose cancer, provide chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and track the progress of treatments. On the service side, hospitals promote prevention in the surrounding communities, give nutritional advice to patients and provide financial counseling. Several factors are causing a surge in demand for treatment and services. “There’s an increased incidence of cancer in the nation and the New Jersey community,” says Terri Schieder, vice president for clinical development and integration at AtlantiCare. “There’s also increased survivorship. Patients are living longer with cancer so there’s a need for a lot more procedures and support services.” And because cancer occurs more often in older than in younger people, the nation’s aging population is also driving demand, she says. AtlantiCare’s new cancer center, scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2009, will be a one-stop site for all-inclusive cancer care, says Schieder. The facility will be designed in an aesthetically pleasing way, which means a lot of natural light and use of stone and wood in the walls, she says. Teri Guidi, president and chief executive officer of Philadelphia-based Oncology Management Consulting Group, says older cancer centers may not be “as attractive as today’s American health care consumer expects them to be. Consumers of all things have become increasingly fussy.” She says more people with cancer, and more people living longer with the disease, are causing hospitals and private-practice physicians to improve their cancer treatment and service offerings. But the cost is coming “perilously close to outstripping patients’ and insurers’ ability to pay for them,” says Guidi. For example, a linear accelerator, the machine used to deliver tumor-shrinking radiation to patients, costs millions of dollars, she says. To make cancer centers economically feasible, hospitals must draw a good mix of patients with and wtihout insurance—who cannot be denied treatment—and negotiate favorable reimbursement deals with insurers, says Guidi. Generating profits is important for hospitals because it gives them money needed to invest in new equipment and technologies, she says. “A linear accelerator has a shelf life of 10-to-12 years. You have to put some money away to replace it.” AtlantiCare has two linear accelerators, one of which costs $2.8 million, says Jim Nolan, senior vice president of finance at AtlantiCare. The hospital’s cancer center is an affiliate of the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Another costly piece of the cancer business puzzle is support services, which are generally not covered by insurers. Nolan says “some portion” of profits generated by chemotherapy and radiation therapy is used to fund such services. At AtlantiCare, they include social workers who help families deal with diagnoses and research coordinators who register patients for clinical trials that are testing experimental therapies. Barbara Tofani, director of the Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center, says, “We definitely lose money on support services.” Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center, an affiliate of Fox Chase Cancer Center, is part of Flemington-based Hunterdon Healthcare. Meanwhile, insurers are paying “less and less” for newer chemotherapy drugs because they are hesitant to reimburse for unproven therapies, which are often a patient’s last hope, says Tofani. Insurers also fail to take into account the expense of employing skilled workers, like oncology nurses who mix and administer complex and potentially harmful drug cocktails, she says. Reimbursement for radiation therapy is sufficient now but in the coming years insurers will probably tighten their wallets in that area as well, she says. Tofani says cancer centers are “extremely important” to hospital’s finances because of the “huge” revenue stream generated by a cancer diagnosis, but notes income is being squeezed by other centers. The competition can be intense. In December 2006, New York City’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, an internationally known facility, opened an outpatient site in Basking Ridge. The hospital probably built the new center in part because they were losing cancer patients in New Jersey to more convenient centers closer to their homes, says Tofani. “People can’t afford to stop working just because they were diagnosed with cancer,” she says. But to lower costs and reduce redundancy in certain areas, some hospitals have teamed up to offer cancer treatments and services, says consultant Guidi. Examples include the West Michigan Cancer Center, a cooperative program run by Bronson Methodist Hospital and Borgess Medical Center, and The Harold Leever Regional Cancer Center, a joint venture between Saint Mary's Hospital and Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut. . . . . . . . . . (NJBiz, Article By Thomas Gaudio, May 19, 2008) Disclaimer: The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not posted as medical advice of any kind.

Hello Carole, When Bill was being put on this regimen: carbo/taxol/Avastin, a nurse told us to NOT take any herbal supplements. OK. I took that seriously (Bill is, sort of, "along for the ride." I don't mean that as a put down. He is not into research, but trusts that I am "somewhat" out there reading and collecting data. Here's the thing about the nurse's advise to us - on our next visit to our onc - I told him about the herbal thing. He said (paraphrasing), "What?" "What supplement?" I told him, "No herbals." He replied, "What herbals is he taking?" My reply, "Green tea." He said, "Is that all? How much does he ingest?" Turns out - he can drink the green tea, and as long as he is not doing over a reasonable amount, our onc will be OK with it. My take on all of this is that there are no fast rules on all of this. However, we do not want to destroy the effect of the chemo, itself. That would be counterproductive. As God is my judge, Carole, I do not want to hurt Bill in any way, but it seems to me, after reading for 3+ years, that there are some things that the "cancer powers that be" do NOT really know. Barbara

Oh, Lynn - You have "walked-the-walk." I recognize your journey all too well. The meds? The treatments? The age? I don't know either. But, you have shared what is in my heart, some of the time. Of course, I cannot blame it on the German. Bill is only half German and the other half Irish. LOL So, he can be a half a kvetch but from which? Thank you for unloading some of your thoughts. I hope it helped you. I know, Lynn, that it certainly helped me and gave me a sense of being "normal." Even the soothing cry - the shower is the place I go. I can always say the soap got into my eyes. Hoping you continue to come here and know that you are not the only one who feels a bit better. This old gal does, as well. Barbara

Dear Karen, You are warmly welcomed here (not for the reason for your finding us, of course) but we are glad that your lung cancer was at an early stage. Having the chemo/radiation as an added precaution even though the lymph nodes were negative was, I believe, a good thing. Please let us know more about you, as the people here are all very supportive. Wishing you and your family continued blessings, and many joys in your lives, Barbara

Comment: I wonder why, of all the cancer survivors studied in this particular research, lung cancer survivors were not included. Yet, more than once smoking was mentioned in a behavioral context. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24670307/ ARTICLE: . . . . . . . . . Only 1 in 20 cancer survivors meet diet advice Most fall far below recommendations for food and fitness, study finds Just 5 percent of U.S. cancer survivors are meeting experts' recommendations on diet, physical activity and cigarette smoking, a new survey shows. But the more recommendations a cancer survivor did meet, the better his or her health-related quality of life (HRQoL), Dr. Christopher Blanchard, of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, and colleagues found. "It appears that meeting multiple lifestyle recommendations may not only be beneficial from a cancer recurrence/mortality perspective, but also from a HRQoL perspective," they write in the May 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. In 2006, the American Cancer Society issued three recommendations on healthy lifestyle behaviors for America's more than 10 million cancer survivors: get at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-strenuous exercise, or an hour of strenuous physical activity every week; eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily; and quit smoking. But research done in the U.S. and Australia has shown that many cancer survivors do not follow these recommendations. To investigate the percentage of U.S. cancer survivors who followed the recommendations, and see if doing so had a relationship to health-related quality of life, the researchers surveyed 9,105 survivors of six different types of cancer. Roughly 15 percent to 19 percent were eating at least five servings of fruit and vegetables daily, the researchers found, while 30 percent to 47 percent were getting the recommended amount of exercise. From 83 percent to 92 percent had quit smoking. Overall, 5 percent were meeting all three requirements, while 12.5 percent were meeting none. Fewer than 10 percent of survivors of any of the six cancer types were meeting two or more recommendations. Among breast, prostate, colorectal, bladder, uterine and melanoma survivors — all of the cancer types the researchers looked at — health-related quality of life rose steadily with the number of lifestyle recommendations met. In the general U.S. population, the researchers note, an estimated 49 percent meet physical activity recommendations, 24 percent meet the 5-A-Day requirement, and 79.5 percent do not smoke — the one area where cancer survivors in this study were doing better. "This suggests that a cancer diagnosis may have greater potential to be a 'teachable moment' across several cancer groups in terms of changing smoking behavior, but it may be less effective in changing physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption," the researchers say. . . . . . . . . . (MSNBC, Reuters, May 16, 2008) Disclaimer: The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not posted as medical advice of any kind.

Carole, I read an article recently, but didn't bother reporting it because there was a problem copying it onto the board. (It was chock full of ads and such.) I gave up on it. But, the fellow who wrote it (in his blog) mentioned that the ASCO meeting had so many items to report that he could not list them all. He had decided to mention only a few (of the many). I may go and search him out again - if I can find his report. Your oncologist is probably spot on. You certainly have company hoping that he knows. Barbara

Hi Randy, Yes, studies such as this have been going on, or ones similar to it, for years. I have been following this subject matter for four years, at least in various news items. This is the part in this particular item (a caveat) that jumped out at me: . . . . . . . . . Antitumorigenic effects for statins have been proposed, "although original reports had actually suggested the potential opposite, procarcinogenic effects of statins," Dr. Louise Pilote, of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and colleague write. "Despite massive amounts of data, the issue remains inconclusive." . . . . . . . . . Barbara

Hi David, Welcome to this warm and friendly board. It's a place of information, and a super group of survivors/family members, and friends. Let us know more as you move forward with your treatments? (PS: .... and venting can be good for the soul .) Barbara

http://www.cancerpage.com/news/article.asp?id=12220 ARTICLE: . . . . . . . . . High-dose lipophilic statin use is associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of cancer, according to results of a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Medicine. Antitumorigenic effects for statins have been proposed, "although original reports had actually suggested the potential opposite, procarcinogenic effects of statins," Dr. Louise Pilote, of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and colleague write. "Despite massive amounts of data, the issue remains inconclusive." In a retrospective observational study, the researchers examined the association between lipophilic statin use and cancer occurrence in over 30,000 patients discharged from the hospital after admission for acute MI in the province of Quebec. The team linked the Quebec hospital discharge summary database to the drugs claims database. The researchers defined high-dose statin use as a filled prescription, within 3 days after hospital discharge, at or above the statin-specific target dose, for any of the lipophilic statin medications (atorvastatin, simvastatin, lovastatin, or fluvastatin). Low-dose statin use was defined as a filled prescription, within 3 days after discharge, below the statin-specific target dose. Overall, 1099 subjects were hospitalized with a cancer diagnosis during follow-up for up to 7 years. The overall crude incidence rates of hospitalizations for cancer were 13.9, 17.2, and 20.6 per 1000 person-years among statin high-dose users, low-dose users, and non-users, respectively. The adjusted hazard ratios for high-dose statin use and low-dose statin use were 0.75 and 0.89 versus non-use, respectively. "This is the first study to suggest a dose-response effect of lipophilic statins on cancer occurrence," Dr. Pilote's team notes. "Future studies should provide additional evidence allowing the assessment of long-term effects of statins on cancer risk." . . . . . . . . . (CancerPage, Reuters, May 15, 2008) Disclaimer: The information contained in these articles may or may not be in agreement with my own opinions. They are not posted as medical advice of any kind.

I know, Carole. My wish is that one morning, when I read the news - voila - something will be that kills all types of LC - that dream is my motivation for reading. On days where there is nothing of import for any facet of LC, I wonder why they are not out there working their butts off researching. I find myself a little bit nutty about the news. It's a passion/obsession. Barbara

Tarek, Your thoughts about lung cancer are absolutely correct. It is a horrid disease. All that you have written about what you have done for your father is heartwarming to read. Having a wonderful son caring this much is so beautiful for him. I know from experience that when any one of our son's calls or visits my husband(Stage IV lung cancer survivor), he is very much comforted. Your love is evident, and your posting touched me deeply. May you receive comforting for yourself, as well. I send my good thoughts to you. What you have done in the name of love for your Dad is a blessing for him. Parents know when they are loved. Barbara