Battling Cancer

What’s the Vans Warped Tour got to do with cancer?

First for the uninformed:

You may be familiar with Vans as primarily the maker of those great checkerboard slip ons worn by Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

The company (making skateboarding shoes since 1966) also makes a variety of other footwear and accessories primarily geared to skateboarders, snowboarders, BMX riders and Motocross enthusiasts. Check them out at Vans.com.

The Vans Warped Tour began in 1995 and is a combination multi-stage concert, festival and skateboarding exposition/competition.

This year’s Warped Tour will be hitting 46 cities across the United States and Canada.

(check out the schedule )

One of the great things about the tour is the huge non-profit benefit. This year’s tour teams up with 16 organizations including, Boarding for Cancer and the newest affiliation with Astron Clinica to provide free skin cancer screenings to attendees of the tour. MoleMate skin cancer screening system will be used to raise awareness of skin cancer in youth.

Read the press release here.

More on MoleMate:

MoleMate System helps the practitioner identify skin cancer and make clinical decisions based on technology that evaluates and measures melanin, haemoglobin and collagen in the top 2mm of the skin.

Learn more about this patented technology at the Astron Clinica site.

Skin Cancer Facts From the American Academy of Dermatology:

• Over 1 million new cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed in the United States alone in 2008
• 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their life
• Melanoma is the most common type of cancer for young adults 25-29 years of age
• Melanoma is the second most common cancer for young adults 15-29 years of age
• Melanoma is increasing faster in females 15-29 (possibly due to high risk tanning behavior)
• One American dies of melanoma almost every hour
• Melanoma diagnosed in individuals 10-39 is highly curable with a five-year survival rate exceeding 90 percent

So find a concert date near you and get the screening!!

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Source: CBC News

Death count mounts in breast cancer test fiasco

Last Updated: Friday, February 22, 2008 | 5:30 PM NT
CBC News

The number of deceased patients involved in a controversial series of breast cancer tests in Newfoundland and Labrador is significantly higher than previously thought, officials said Friday.

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I’m very happy to have to the opportunity to share with you an interview that I recently had with Mary Pat Boyd, owner and creative genius behind Boyd Silver Works, a unique custom jewelry design service specializing in cancer awareness pieces. Mary Pat is a two-time breast cancer survivor and a tireless advocate for cancer awareness and prevention through her volunteer work with the American Cancer Society. When I first came in contact with Mary Pat, I was intrigued and inspired by her stories of grace and strength under very trying circumstances. We’ve since become fast friends, and I’m so glad that she’s agreed to share her story with Batting Cancer readers.

How does your spina bifida affect your daily routines?I was 3 days old when I had the spina bifada surgery and there was early concern about hydrocephalus.  Aside from the possibility that the early radiations may have caused my cancer, my adult life has not been affected by the spina bifada.

Your business, Boyd Silver Works, is focused solely on creating beautiful cancer awareness jewelry. How did you first start making your works of art? I’d been working with metal for some time before my first cancer diagnosis, but my cancer awareness jewelry line began with the Silver Ribbon Ring that I designed while going through the first cancer battle.  I began making awareness jewelry because I wanted to share hope through jewelry design.   

Have you always been in a creative profession?Always.  I’ve worked in various mediums throughout the years but I really enjoy the metal working a lot.     

Before you were diagnosed with breast cancer the second time, you had difficulty convincing your doctor that something was wrong. What advice would you give to someone who is currently having trouble communicating with their doctor? My first cancer was estrogen negative.  The second cancer (in the same breast) was Paget’s Disease.  The mammogram for the second cancer didn’t reveal the tumor and my doctor didn’t think that I had cancer again.  I know my body though; and a nagging feeling hung over me so I sought a second opinion.  Women need to realize that we’re entitled to more than one medical consultation.  If you doubt what someone is telling you, seek advice from someone else.  And if you don’t have a good rapport with one doctor, then find a different one.  This is your body and you need to be an advocate for yourself.

Describe your volunteer work with the American Cancer Society.I’m proud to be a volunteer through the Reach to Recovery program that the American Cancer Society offers.  We’re certified volunteers who interact with cancer patients and survivors.  The ACS attempts to match volunteers with patients based on cancer similarities, etc.  It’s a wonderful outreach program.    

You’ve had to face a number of personal struggles in your life — what do you consider your greatest sources of strength?I talk to cancer patients, survivors, and their loved ones often so I know that my own story is very unremarkable.  Their stories touch my heart and humble me.  I draw a lot of strength from those that I’m in contact with and I’m proud to be a voice in the war against cancer.  I honestly believe that we can make a difference, and that belief gives me strength and propels me forward.

What would you like to share with readers who are currently undergoing cancer treatment? Statistics clearly show that an early diagnosis will prolong one’s life or save a life, so it’s important to do monthly self exams.  And get that mammogram!  A mammo can’t detect all cancers, but it’s a terrific tool against the disease.  Also, a cancer patient often feels alone and isolated, but she doesn’t need to carry her cancer fears bottled within.  There are many volunteers and caring people who will listen to her concerns, so I think it’s important that she reach out to others for help.  Talk with your family, friends, and medical experts.  You’re not alone in this battle.   

Some individuals find that their relationships with friends and family members undergo a great strain after they are diagnosed with cancer.  What advice would you give to caregivers and friends of cancer patients?  More →

During his 1970 inaugural address, American President Richard Nixon declared a War on Cancer. Promising to allocate at least $100 million in funding to investigate the causes for what was then the second-leading cause of death in the United States, Nixon followed through in 1971 by signing the National Cancer Act. Key objectives of this act included infusing basic sciences research funding, ramping up clinical trials and making the National Cancer Institute a free-standing body under the National Institutes of Health.

Nearly forty years later, physicians and scientists are making great strides in better understanding the etiology, management and treatment in all forms of cancer. Recently, the American Society for Clinical Oncology released a report entitled, Clinical Cancer Advances 2007: Major Research Advances in Cancer Treatment, Prevention, and Screening. This annual review, which is available as a .pdf, podcast, and slideshow at the People Living With Cancer website, includes the following highlights: 

Primary Liver Cancer Patients Get the Option for Systemic Treatment: Until recently, surgical techniques were the first line of treatment in liver cancer patients because response to chemotherapy was so poor. In 2007, results of a large study showed that advanced liver cancer using sorafenib (Nevaxar), a targeted chemotherapeutic, lived 44 percent longer than patients who did not. More →

Because so many of members of my extended family have been diagnosed with cancer, I have always been keenly aware that I may have a stronger genetic predisposition for cancer than other individuals.

Growing up, my parents always stressed the importance of being vigilant when it came to proper screenings and making smart lifestyle choices that could help decrease my risk of major diseases.  One of my best friends, Carey Grayson, understood what I was going through.  In recent years, she’s had a staggering number of family members undergo their own battles with cancer.  Recently, I asked her to comment on her own thoughts about being in a high-risk cancer family.  Below is her reply:

There are so many questions that people have about cancer. The problem is that it never occurs to anyone to ask them until their lives are touched somehow by the disease. I know because I have been there six times now. More →

Today’s guest commentary is by Amanda, a cancer research scientist, on the high cost of anti-cancer drugs.

Can you put a price on life? What a complex and interesting question, and one that I have never really thought much of before. But this is the question that many cancer patients face when considering the coming months of costly treatment options after their initial diagnosis.

While many insurance companies cover a percentage of the drug treatment costs, the price of new cutting-edge treatments are astronomical. For example, herceptin is a drug that prescribed to women who have breast cancers that overexpress a receptor called HER2. This type of cancer is very aggressive, and tends to grow and spread more quickly than HER2-negative tumors. Treatment with herceptin is the only option for women having this type of cancer. However, the drug is by no means cheap. Months of treatment can reach $25,000-$50,000 a year. The approximate cost of a three week infusion of herceptin is about $5,000. If the insurance company covers 70% of the cost, you will still be left with $1,500 that is not covered.

This figure only takes into account type of treatment. Depending on the type of cancer, combinational therapy may be the only option for patient survival, with two to three different types of drugs that the patient must pay for or face certain death. After a few months, this adds up, and most working class families cannot afford it. And the question once again returns: can you put a price on life?

Why are these treatments so expensive? More →

I just recently came across a really great blog this week called Discussing Breast Cancer. Written by two-time breast cancer survivor Karen Lynch, it’s a funny, poignant, and honest look at living through the diagnosis. Here’s a few of my favorite posts from the last couple of weeks:

Cancer Doesn’t Wait until after the Holidays, Part I of III
First in a series of practical advice for cancer patients on why it may be advisable to “reframe” during the holidays.

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Imagine this: You go in to your doctor’s office for a cancer screening and go home safe in the knowledge that you are disease-free. Later, you get a call from stating that you were given incorrect information. That’s what happened to several women in Ireland in a scandal that’s rocking the country.

Last month, seven women who were previously given the “all clear” from a breast cancer screening performed at Portaloise Hospital were told that they may have been misdiagnosed. The women were identified after concerns over how to read mammograms prompted a review of 3,000 cases.

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I’m still stuck here on the couch sick, but I’ve got great news – because she had such a great time guest posting for me last week, Amanda is back to Battling Cancer for another essay.  Having worked directly across her benchtop space for years, I’ve always told her that she’s got way too much personality for her stodgy lab environment.  Maybe I can talk her into joining the ranks of bloggers who actually are encouraged to have a good time on the job!  At the very least, be expecting her and her unique views as a regular contributor for the new content makeover that we’ll be rolling out soon.

I am one of the lucky persons out there who absolutely adores her mother. She is not only my mother, she is my best friend and the one that I turn to when life is just crumbling around me. About 10 years ago, my mom had to have a hysterectomy to correct some problems associated with the birth of my sister (she was messing things up even way back then [Ed. note -- just kidding!]). I didn’t really give it much thought until my grandmother developed breast cancer and had to have a mastectomy. To me, it is a no-brainer. Cancer in boob, get rid of boob. End of cancer = happy me.

The surgery was extremely upsetting to my mom, though. She swore to me that if she developed breast cancer, she would not get a mastectomy, no matter what the prognosis was. She said that if she were to lose her breasts, too, there would be no parts of her left that made her a woman. Naturally, I sat there in shock. How could my mom not opt to save her life? They are just breasts! You can survive without breasts! In this day and age, they can replace them, and make them perkier to boot. I even offered to go through the procedure with her. I would gladly give up both my breasts to save my mom. No matter how much I argued, she would not back down, and to this day maintains that in the event of cancer, she will proceed without the mastectomy, even if it means certain death. I cannot comprehend how anyone would take this kind of gamble with their life, but the ultimate choice is hers, and I have to respect that. More →

Moving from a state inhabited by less than 2 million people to a city that’s home to more than twice those numbers is quite a shock, and little drives that point home more for me than the news.  Since I’ve spent the last few days parked on the couch with my laptop (I’ve got strep throat — it’s my right to stay in my pajamas all day), I’ve seen video footage of arson, murder, suicide, a hostage crisis at the mall, and a building collapsing in on itself.  It can be downright numbing to see all those bad vibes. 

But today, I just heard the most uplifting news from that little clinic down the road:  University of Texas-MD Anderson breast cancer patient Linda Sanchez gave birth to healthy baby Isabella Marie last night after having been in chemotherapy while pregnant.

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