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Geoff

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  1. Geoff

    Anna Shearing

    Anna Shearing, 62: woman of faith, actress, loving wife, mother, sister, aunt, and friend. Anna Yvonne (Carparelli) Shearing, a woman of remarkable talent, beauty, love, and faith, went on to be with the Lord on October 6, 2004 at Calvary (Hospice) Hospital in New York after a courageous battle with lung cancer. She was 62. Anna was born and raised in Bangor, Maine. She graduated from John Bapst High School, in Bangor, in 1961 and the University of Maine in 1965. While in college, Anna, who had always displayed a remarkable talent for the arts, began a promising acting career. She participated in summer stock companies and completed graduate work at the University of Michigan that, in turn, led to an acting fellowship at The Hillsbury Classic Theatre at Wayne State University. After graduation she was selected to join the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and preformed there until her marriage. Anna married John A. Shearing in 1968. They had two sons, Geoffrey M. and James G. Shearing. Anna also raised Anne, Laura, and John, Jack’s children from a previous marriage. Anna devoted herself to her new family with great love and gave all she could to help them. Anna was especially interested in painting, interior design, and travel to Italy and Israel. However, she always seemed happiest when she was helping someone else. Anna was raised as a Roman Catholic and became a born-again Christian in 1983. Anna truly loved the Lord. Her Christian faith and spirituality were translated into action. She worked tirelessly for the Crisis Pregnancy Center philanthropy and contributed to many Christian groups. She was deeply involved with community Christian church groups wherever she resided. Her faith was a source of immeasurable strength and comfort to her and those around her. Anna’s legacy is the love and faith that she left her family and friends. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Anna has left firm friends in Hale’s Location, Plymouth, and North Conway, NH; New York City and Suffern, NY; and Port Murray, NJ. Her friends and relatives in Bangor, ME will miss her exceptional kindness, generosity and graciousness. She is survived by her husband, Jack; her children, Geoff, Jim, Anne, Laura, and John; eight grandchildren; her sister, Carmella, and her brother, Nick; and many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Anna’s memory be made to any of the following organizations: Lung Cancer Support Community (www.lchelp.com), 112 Hollywood Boulevard, Euless, TX, 76040; Calvary Hospital Fund (www.calvaryhospital.org), 1740 Eastchester Road, Bronx, NY, 10461; or the LUNGevity Foundation (www.lungevity.org), 4541 N. Ravenswood Avenue, Suite 303, Chicago, IL, 60640.
  2. Geoff

    VAccine

    Here is a good site for info: http://www.dendritic.info/ Check the trials section for trials
  3. Geoff

    Update on Mom

    Hey Gang, I wanted to give everyone an update. Mom is resting fairly comfortably in the hospital. They are trying to straiten out her pain meds so that she is pain free but not wonked out. She has begun having lower back pain probably from the cancer so they will more than likely give her radiation for that. We are fortunate to have a big family so someone is with her 24/7. I’m still investigating treatment options and will probably get her on TM and phenylbutyrate. I’m also investigating the possibility getting her some Avastin. I think most of the Docs are not willing to give her interthecal chemo because she is so weak. Also she has already had WBR recently so they cant give her much more of that either. The Docs at Sloan have given her a prognosis of weeks and I and the family are waying quality of life issues. Prayer is my major source strength and hope. On the drive to the hospital yesterday I was praying as I usually do, and I noticed that the car in front of me had the license plate AMIRICL. God is good. All the best and prayers for all, Geoff Here is an abstract on the phenylbutyrate: Sodium 4-phenylbutyrate induces apoptosis of human lung carcinoma cells through activating JNK pathway. Zhang X, Wei L, Yang Y, Yu Q. Pulmonary Center, Department of Medicine, and Department of Biochemistry, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02118. Sodium 4-phenylbutyrate (PB) has been used in the therapy of urea cycle defects for many years. Recently, it has been shown to cause cellular differentiation, growth arrest, and apoptosis in certain malignancies. We have analyzed the effects of PB on human lung carcinoma cells. PB has distinct patterns of effects on different lung carcinoma cells, inducing apoptosis in NCI-H460 and NCI-H1792 cells, causing G1 arrest in A549 and SK-LU-1 cells, but having no effect on a non-transformed bronchial epithelial cell line HBE4-E6/E7. We investigated the role of MAP kinase family members, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), JNK, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), as well as other important cell survival signaling molecules in PB-induced apoptosis. We observed activation of JNK and ERK by PB in the lung cancer cells. JNK was activated only in the two apoptotic cells, whereas ERK was activated in both the apoptotic and the growth-arrested cells, demonstrating a correlation between apoptosis and activation of JNK in response to PB. Both JNK inhibitor and JNK RNA interference (RNAi) inhibited PB-induced apoptosis, whereas MEK inhibitor did not, supporting that apoptosis induced by PB is through activation of JNK. De novo protein synthesis is required for the PB-induced JNK activation and induction of apoptosis. However, the production of known upstream activators of JNK, namely Fas/Fas ligand, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, TNF-beta, and TRAIL, are not altered by PB treatment. Therefore, PB activates JNK through an unidentified and cell type-specific mechanism. Understanding of this mechanism is of therapeutic value in treating cancer patients with PB. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
  4. Hello all, Mom is currently in Calvary Hospice Hospital because of her weakness due to the mets to her brain lining. We are starting Iressa tomorrow please pray that it does it’s job. All of our spirits are as good as can be expected. Calvary is an excellent place and the Docs and staff are some of the nicest I’ve met. I am also trying to line up immune system therapy if we get some success from the Iressa. As always thank you for the prayers, Geoff
  5. Congratulations Peggy! God bless you and your husband both. Best, Geoff and Melinda
  6. Hi all, Mom has started having trouble with her balance and memory. She is on neurontin so I hope that she is having side effects from that. I would appreciate it if you say a prayer so we can get this sorted out. Thanks and God bless, Geoff PS Melinda is on the mend and doing well.
  7. All, I just found out that mom’s spinal MRI checked out clean. No evidence of cancer in the spinal column. This means that her brain is probably OK too. Obviously we are thrilled. She is still having problems swallowing but we have a prescription for a medication to treat thrush so hopefully that’s what it is. Thanks everybody for the prayers and support! Geoff
  8. Geoff

    today

    Thinking and praying for you Ray. Geoff
  9. Thats great Cheryl, Melinda and I are praying for a good scan, and Happy Birthday! Geoff
  10. Dear friends, Mom is out of the hospital and home. In a nutshell the Docs still aren’t really sure what’s going on. According to the MRI there may be a thickening of the brain lining near the back of mom’s brain. I have not actually read the report yet but our radiation onc (who I really respect) said that it was inconclusive. He ordered a MRI of mom’s spine (we’ll get the results next week) because apparently this type of met usually is associated with cancerous cells in the spinal fluid and there would be evidence of cancer in the spinal column as well. He is not anxious to rush into more brain radiation before more facts are in so we are in a wait and see mode, which is fine with me. We are also going to do some tests to see if the trouble mom is having with keeping food down is a form of thrush (yeast infection). I’d be really happy if it was because we need to get to the bottom of that issue. The good news is that the 4 brain mets that are left in mom’s brain are continuing to shrink! Thanks again for the prayers. They are really lifting us up. We are all in very good spirits and I am grateful to God and all here. My very best and prayers for all, Geoff
  11. Geoff

    Depressed

    Angie, My heart goes out to you. I know that even though your dad is frustrated by this illness he knows that you love him, and that you did what you did out of love and concern. Hang in there, your doing the best you can. Prayers for you, your dad and the family, Geoff
  12. Congratulations on finishing treatments Fay! Prayers for you as always, Geoff
  13. Melinda and I are praying for your situation Betty. God bless, Geoff
  14. Melinda and I are praying for your situation Betty. God bless, Geoff
  15. Geoff

    Happy again

    Great news Ray! God bless you are certainly in my prayers. Best, Geoff
  16. sorry posted twice by accident
  17. Here is a link to a spread sheet of survivors and a story of a survivor. http://www.cancerpage.com/special/survi ... cancer.htm Stories of Hope Alice Kincaid Diagnosed in 1998 at age 70 Nonsmall cell lung cancer Before I begin, I want to dedicate my story to our beloved daughter, Shollie, who lost her battle with cancer within months of my diagnosis. She fought courageously and always with consideration for all of us who were suffering with her. She continues to be our inspiration. When I was first diagnosed at age 70 in September 1998 with stage 1V NSCLC that had metastasized to the spine and was told it was inoperable, my first thought was "I can’t accept this!" I didn’t want to be told any of the usual statistics because I didn’t want those words hanging there. So, from the beginning, I tried to allow only good thoughts to enter my mind. I’ll have to admit that just before each scan, I would be a little worried. However, the good thoughts were reinforced when my daughter, Lori, simply commented "Mom, there are survivors in every kind of cancer!" And these words are with me still! So it began---first, four weeks of radiation treatments followed by several weeks of rest for my body to recover (this was hard---I wanted to get started) and then a clinical study at Vanderbilt Cancer Center. In this I was given an experimental angiogenesis inhibitor (prinomostat) in conjunction with six chemotherapy treatments using Taxol and Carboplatin. I had complete trust in my doctors and the treatments and I believe this sort of attitude has a great deal to do with how well your body accepts the radiation, the chemotherapy, all drugs, needles and things that are part of it. During all the treatments, I practiced visual imagery and believed that it helped. I imagined the radiation burning up the tumor on the spine and the chemo going in to my body and killing mutant cells. I visualized friendly wolves appearing in my lungs to eat up the cancer. I had been told it was nebulous so I had two of my wolves stretching it out so other wolves could come in and take big bites out of it. I also had them attack any scarring that remained. I know there are skeptics of this idea, but if I thought it was working, why not try? My treatment included a CT scan a few days before each chemo, and the results were reported to us the day of each chemo. I cannot describe the excitement we all felt when told the day of the fourth chemo that the tumor had disappeared! To this day it has not returned and even the scarring is gone from the tumor in the lung and the one on the spine! We thank God for this every day. The experimental drug’s effectiveness was later found to be statistically insufficient to warrant further study so the manufacturer shelved it. I believe I may have been one of the ones it did help. Only God knows why I am so fortunate, but many factors other than the actual medical treatments, played important rolls. Primarily, I think the prayers of my church family, my friends and countless others, my attitude and determination combined with the love, encouragement and support of my devoted husband and my children, produced these incredible results. I was included in prayer chains at home and away and I feel truly blessed by this. It has been almost four years since my diagnosis, and I feel good, am fairly active, volunteer at a hospital, and cherish each day!
  18. Hey guys, Mom has been having headaches recently and trouble keeping food down. We took her to the ER where they did a MRI of the brain. Unfortunately there is some new tumor activity in the brain lining itself. I'm not really sure what this means yet in terms of treatment options etc. I'll find out tomorrow. Please keep us in your prayers in the meantime. Mom is pain free and in Good spirits which is obviously a blessing. Thanks as usual and God bless, Geoff
  19. Renne, I'm so sorry you have to endure this. Melinda and my prayers are with you and Scott and all of your family. May God give you strength, Geoff
  20. Maureen, Check into the use of Whey protein. It has some neat anti-cancer properties and is one of the most easily digestible forms of protein that exist. It is also used to prevent cachexia (wasting asociated with cancer). Products such as Prosure use whey as the main ingredient. The brand I have been giving mom (I actually use it as well) is Designer Whey. Whey also contains lactoferrin a potent anti-cancer agent that can be taken as a stand-alone supplement as well. Here is a link to an article on whey: http://www.zongoo.com/article6783.html I’ve also cut and pasted the article below: By Shane Ellison M.Sc. Over the past 100 years, cancer has advanced from the status of an obscure and fairly rare disease to a more prominent position as the #2 killer of American people. In 1900 the incidence of cancer was 1 in 500 among Americans. Today cancer claims 1 out of 3 lives, and the percentage is still climbing. Despite the increased use in chemotherapy cancer continues to claim more lives than ever before. Regardless, effective alternative therapies are rarely discussed by physicians and the pharmaceutically-dominated media. Whey protein isolate is an excellent example of a safe and effective cancer fighter that is rarely discussed. In the hunt for natural anti-cancer drugs, researchers have found that whey isolate delivers a unique protein known as lactoferrin to the body. Lactoferrin, only found in whey isolate, elicits the production of glutathione within our body. Glutathione has a multitude of roles which serve to protect us from cancer. Glutathione is a natural antioxidant and is found in every cell of the body. It helps clean up metabolic by-products known as free radicals. An imbalance of glutathione and free radicals has been shown to induce a myriad of various forms of cancer. Furthermore, glutathione is a powerful detoxifying agent. Through a process known as "conjugation", it rids the body of cancer causing substances, known as carcinogens, by attaching to them and escorting them out of the body and into the toilet. An increase in glutathione may not be the only mechanism by which whey isolate fights cancer. In biochemistry, glutathione is classified as a phase II enzyme (enzymes are compounds that carry on many of the "life oriented" chemical functions at the cellular level). Because whey increases the production of glutathione it is both logical and scientifically sound to assume that whey also increases the production of other phase II enzymes like trypsin and chymotrypsin. Together, trypsin and chymotrypsin are also known to be powerful inhibitors of cancer and are considered to be the body's natural "cancer fighters". Scientists at Johns Hopkins and Tsukuba University in Japan have confirmed this. Researcher Paul Talalay, M.D stated that: "20 years of research confirms that raising the levels of phase II enzymes [glutathione, trypsin and chymotrypsin] can offer a highly effective way to achieve protection against carcinogenesis (development of new cancer)". This potent inhibition action of phase II enzymes is not hard to explain. Phase II enzymes fight cancers by destroying "trophoblast cells". These cells act as a protective shell to cancer by shielding it from our immune system, thus allowing it to proliferate. Without this protective shell cancer becomes an easy target for the body's immune system to destroy. Among peer reviewed scientific journals, the evidence for whey's cancer curing ability is mounting rapidly. Anticancer Research published the following: "This non-toxic dietary intervention, which is not based on the principles of current cancer chemotherapy, will hopefully attract the attention of laboratory and clinical oncologists."(1) Cancer Letters stated: "Epidemiological and experimental studies suggest that dietary milk products [such as whey] may exert an inhibitory effect on the development of several tumors."(2) Enthusiastically reported by researchers at the Department of Food Science & Technology at Ohio State University demonstrated that glutathione levels in prostate cells were increased by 50% as a direct result of whey isolate supplementation containing lactoferrin. (3) They concluded by stating the following: "This represents a potential mechanism by which whey protein isolate can provide protection against the development of prostate cancer" Researchers at Lund University in Sweden reported that the use of whey in combination with an unnamed component of human breast milk, have demonstrated the ability to kill all the known types of breast cancer cells! Their peer-reviewed paper published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry suggested that when consumed by the body, whey proteins selectively induce "programmed cell death" AKA suicide among breast cancer tumors. (4) This is known scientifically as apoptosis. Scientists in Japan announced that lactoferrin (from whey isolate) significantly inhibits colon, esophagus, lung, bladder and tongue cancer in animal models.(5) And last but not least, there is very strong evidence that whey proteins render cancerous cells more vulnerable to chemotherapy and radiation while protecting healthy cells from their devastating side effects! But unlike chemotherapy and ionizing radiation, whey proteins have no toxic side affects. Whey literally does the patient no harm. The World Health Organization recently reported that the number of new cancer cases worldwide is expected to increase by 50 percent over the next 20 years, partly because "poor nations are adopting unhealthy Western habits". To avoid this and live cancer free, use whey isolate (not whey concentrate). Also, if your whey isolate contains sugar or artificial sweeteners, it is very likely that ALL benefits derived from using whey isolate are negated! Finding a good whey isolate is tricky but they are out there! We promise. About the Author Shane holds a Master's degree in organic chemistry and has first- hand industry experience with drug research, design and synthesis. His web site www.health-fx.net provides the best medicine available, including whey isolate. Sign up at the site and get a $10 voucher and our newsletter for free! References 1. Anticancer Res 2000 Nov-Dec;20(6C);4785-92 2. Cancer Lett 1991 May 1;57(2):91-4 3. K. D. Kent. Et al. Dept. of Food Science and Technology, Ohio State Univ. 2002 Annual Meeting and Food Expo. 4. J. Biol. Chem. Chemistry 274:6388-6396, 1999 5. Foods Food Ingredients J. Japa No. 200 (2002)
  21. For any one interested check out my post in the new treatment section. Best, Geoff
  22. Dianne, I applaud your proactive attitude. I become more and more convinced that one needs to take a very aggressive attitude towards this disease and ones treatment. You’re in my prayers, Geoff
  23. Ginny, Melinda and I think and pray for you and Earl often. God bless you, Geoff
  24. Geoff

    He has given up

    Sharon, I pray for strength for you and you father during this trial. God Bless, Geoff
  25. Geoff

    Asking for prayers

    My heart goes out to you. I will be praying for you and your brother. Geoff
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