Battling Cancer

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 →

Here’s a quick glance at a few interesting cancer research studies that have come out recently, edited here for your weekend reading pleasure — enjoy!

Transplanting killer cells into cancer patients: Apparently, there are some people just aren’t prone to getting cancer due to a higher than normal healthy stock of immune system soldiers called granulocytes. Wake Forest University-based Dr. Zheng Cuit and his colleagues are looking to see if they can transplant some of those natural born killer cells into cancer patients — um, as long as it’s not flu season.

Average cancer-killing ability appeared to be lower in adults over the age of 50 and even lower in people with cancer. It also fell when people were stressed, and at certain times of the year.

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I know that I’m not saying anything new with this post, but after reading an recent article answering the question “Did the Marlboro Man Die of Lung Cancer?”, I had to wonder if there was anyone else out there aware of the sharp, poetic irony associated with the death of not one, but two men who played the role of the Marlboro Man in ads for Marlboro cigarettes. Didn’t they get the memo that smoking is bad?

To be fair, at least thirteen men have played the Marlboro Man throughout the years and only two have died of lung cancer: Wayne McClaren in 1992, and David McClean in 1995. And also to be fair, at the time these gentlemen began their stints on the Marlboro Man ad campaign, cigarettes were not yet associated with a high risk of cancer development and more importantly, smoking was supposed to be cool.

Fortunately, times have changed, and we are now fully aware of the deadly risks associated with tobacco use and cancer. A quick search on the American Cancer Society web site states that smoking is responsible for 1 in 5 deaths in the US alone, and that tobacco use accounts for about 30% of all cancer deaths and 87% of all lung cancer deaths.

Anyway, back to the whole Marlboro Man ad campaign: what a racket that was! That was quite possibly the most genius ad campaign ever conceived. What woman has not dreamed of a rough and rugged cowboy, noticeable stubble enhancing an unbelievably handsome-as-sin face, wearing chaps and riding up on a stallion complete with a saddle made for two? This was a brilliant advertising strategy. Who cares if this guy is lighting up? He’s smoking hot! (Okay, that was bad — I admit it.) More →

There is an article in today’s Winnipeg Free Press by Jen Skerrit ..

Source: Winnipeg Free Press - Cancer Meds For Those Who Have The Cash

Alternate Source: Therapeutics Daily - Cancer meds for those who have the cash

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Thursday August 3, 2006

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP): Music legend Freddy Fender has been diagnosed with incurable cancer after tests showed he has several tumors on his lungs.

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“I feel very comfortable in my life,” Fender told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. “I’m one year away from 70 and I’ve had a good run. I really believe I’m OK. In my mind and in my heart, I feel OK. I cannot complain that I haven’t lived long enough, but I’d like to live longer.”

Fender started his career in the late 1950s and hit the Billboard charts with “Before The Next Teardrop Falls,” “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights,” and “You’ll Lose A Good Thing.”

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Benny Parsons found out two weeks ago that he has lung cancer. (Photo: AP)

07/26/2006

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)- Former NASCAR champion Benny Parsons has been diagnosed with lung cancer and began chemotherapy treatments Wednesday.

Parsons, the 1973 Cup champion and currently a NASCAR commentator on NBC and TNT, was diagnosed two weeks ago after he had trouble breathing.
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