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Posts with tag spread
Posted Aug 30th 2007 9:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Cancer Survivors, Today, I Am Grateful
The following post is one of a series of posts appearing Monday through Friday on The Cancer Blog. This feature -- Today, I am grateful -- allows me to share with readers my appreciation for all the treasures in my life, both big and small. In my post-cancer world, I find It healing for my soul to be mindful of the good in my life. It is my pleasure to share my gratitude with you.
The night before my lumpectomy, way back in December 2005, I was consumed with fear, worry, and panic. Since I'd found it, the lump in my left breast had been sitting untouched for nearly two weeks. I imagined the mass spreading with each day and believed I could detect its growth each time I felt for it. A doctor told me if it was growing like I thought it was, my tiny pea-sized tumor would be the size of an apple within days.
My fears were unfounded and irrational. I know that now. But during the moments of uncertainty that filled my days between diagnosis and prognosis, I had no direction. I had only my wandering mind for company. The waiting really is the hardest part. Once faced with the specifics of our diseases, we can take action.
Continue reading Today, I am grateful
Posted Aug 21st 2007 7:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Colon and Rectal Cancer, Politics, Daily news
White House press secretary Tony Snow says his resignation has nothing to do with cancer and everything to do with money. According to sources from the Bush administration, he will step down from his position. Snow, however, is not making an announcement at this time.
Snow did tell conservative talk-show host Hugh Hewitt that financial reasons prevent him from serving the remainder of the Bush administration.
"I'm not going to be able to go the distance, but that's primarily for financial reasons." Snow said. "I've told people when my money runs out, then I've got to go."
Continue reading White House Press Secretary Tony Snow announces resignation
Posted Aug 9th 2007 7:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Pink products, Cancer Survivors
I like to find meaning in ordinary life events. Like my dreams, for example. The other day, I had a dream about a friend from high school. In my dream, this friend was a doctor at my local hospital, where all my cancer poking and prodding takes place. It makes sense this guy was a doctor -- last I heard from him, he was in medical school. Where he practices medicine, I had no idea. But maybe my dream was a clue. Maybe it was sign this old pal is right here in Gainesville, Florida.
Nope. I did a Google search and he's in Ohio -- right where we graduated from high school and he attended medical school. Not so much meaning in that dream. That's OK. I'm on to my next life interpretation now.
Ever since I was diagnosed with breast cancer my brother-in-law has been wearing a pink bracelet -- the one that says:
Share Beauty. Spread Hope. For almost three whole years, the same rubbery band has been hanging from his wrist. Everyone in my family started out with one of these trinkets of support. And every one of us has since abandoned our pink fashion statement -- everyone except for Jack. He has stood firm in his support. I'm not sure he ever took that thing off. What a guy.
Continue reading On broken cancer bracelets
Posted Jul 24th 2007 9:15AM by Kristina Collins
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Drug, Clinical Trials
Tykerb (lapatinib) may be effective at shrinking breast cancer tumors in the brain, researchers say. This drug is called a targeted therapy because it can kill cancer cells and leave normal cells alone. Tykerb targets HER2 and EGFR, two proteins that function abnormally in breast cancer cells.
A study was conducted that included 241 breast cancer patients with brain metastasis that continued to progress after radiation treatment and Herceptin therapy.
The study concluded that nearly half of the patients, 46 percent, experienced at least a twenty percent reduction in the size the the brain tumors.
The researchers concluded "Tykerb has promise in the treatment of brain metastasis".
Posted Jul 21st 2007 10:00PM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Lung Cancer, Colon and Rectal Cancer, Daily news, Celebrity news
"When and if the end comes, no one will approach it better than you," said Larry King to Tammy Faye Messner during a live television interview Thursday night.
Friday morning, the end arrived -- Tammy Faye lost her long and courageous battle with inoperable cancer. She was 65.
A Christian singer, evangelist, entrepreneur, talk show host, reality show star, and former wife of disgraced televengalist Jim Bakker, Tammy Faye was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1996. She defied all medical predictions after her disease spread to her lungs in 2004, and she lived on with an inspiring amount of grace and dignity. Weighing only 65 pounds and battling almost constant pain, she
spoke with Larry King just days ago -- with both her trademark make-up and a smile on her face -- and she talked openly and candidly about her death. She didn't know when her time would come. But she was ready.
The end has come for Tammy Faye. Surely, no one approached it quite like her.
Posted Jul 15th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: All Cancers, Environment, Diets, Exercise, Smoking, Sunday Seven
Who knows which pieces of cancer information floating around out there are actually true? I don't. Do cell phones cause cancer? Some say
yes, some say
no, I say
I'm confused! Luckily, I happened upon this
Discovery Health article that highlights a variety of myths and then offers the lowdown on each one. Here are seven of them:
Myth #1. There is currently a cure for cancer, but the medical industry won't tell the public about it because they make too much money treating cancer patients.Chalk this up to urban legend. And consider this: doctors, laboratory scientists, and their families and friends die of cancer at the same rate as everyone else in the United States. How about this: medical breakthroughs happen all the time and are quickly applied. Think about antibiotics and vaccines -- like the polio vaccine -- that have transformed health care. How about this? Not too long ago, less than one in 10 kids with leukemia survived 10 years. Now, the cure rate is nearly 80 percent. Seems like progress to me.
Continue reading Sunday Seven: Seven top cancer myths
Posted Jul 13th 2007 6:32PM by Martha Edwards
Filed under: Prostate Cancer, Drug, Clinical Trials, Research
There's good news for prostate cancer patients who've had the disease spread to other parts of the body -- a new treatments, currently being tried out on hundreds of patients with promising results. The drug is called GVAX and it's referred to as a vaccine, although it doesn't work like most vaccines in the sense that it is administered after diagnosis and progression of the disease. According to
this news story, GVAX works by adding prostate cancer cells to the body, but these new cells are unable to replicate.
Several members of my family have battled prostate cancer to varying degrees of success, and I know that it's really widespread. So this is great news, and I hope GVAX is the miracle the prostate cancer is looking for.
By the way, if you have prostate cancer, they're recruiting patients for their clinical trials.
Posted Jun 4th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Drug, Kidney Cancer, Research, Daily news
New cancer drug Torisol was
approved on Wednesday by the FDA for use with renal cell carcinoma, an advanced form of kidney cancer.
Torisol, also known as temsirolimus, is an enzyme inhibitor made by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and has shown promise for prolonging patient survival. It's the third kidney cancer drug approved in the past 18 months -- the other two are Nexavar, intended to delay disease progression, and Sutent, for tumor size reduction.
Many kidney cancer patients are cured by surgery. About 35 percent of patients, however, experience a recurrence or a spread of the disease. Until just recently, there were no effective drugs to control these issues. Now there are several -- and Torisol is the one showing modest improvement in survival for patients with the most advanced tumors. Further study will indicate whether or not the drug is useful for patients with less extensive metastatic disease.
Posted May 26th 2007 9:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Daily news, Sports
Kelly Jo Dowd, mom of 14-year-old golf sensation Dakoda Dowd, died of breast cancer in her Palm Harbor, Fla. home Thursday night. She was 42.
Dowd spent years battling the disease that had spread to her bones, liver, and brain. She also spent years waiting to see her young daughter play in an LPGA event. Her wish came true last spring.
"I'm prouder today than I was yesterday that my daughter has the courage and strength to play with these LPGA professionals," Dowd said after the Ginn Clubs & Resorts LPGA tournament. "And I feel great right now. I feel great. My dream came true out here."
Continue reading Kelly Jo Dowd, mom of teen golf pro, dies of cancer
Posted May 18th 2007 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Drug, Research, Daily news
Drugs currently in trials for obesity and diabetes may soon be fast-tracked for use in the fight against breast cancer. Typically, it takes many years to research and develop new drugs. But these already-developed drugs, if successful, could reach the market much quicker.
The drugs, believed to work by blocking the enzyme PTP1B, could help breast cancer patients because the enzyme is found in high levels in about 40 percent of these patients.
Studies on mice show blocking production of the enzyme significantly slowed tumor development. In some cases, it stopped the spread of the cancer and it might even stop some tumors from forming.
Continue reading Diabetes drug may be fast-tracked for breast cancer
Posted May 16th 2007 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Skin Cancer, Cancer by the Numbers
We're still basking in the hot sun, bronzing our bodies in tanning beds, and playing outdoors without slathering on the sunscreen. What will it take, I wonder, for our society to catch on, to take real steps toward preventing skin cancer?
It seems education isn't enough. Most of us know by now all it takes is one bad sunburn to increase our risk of skin cancer, yet we continue to collect burn after burn after burn. Perhaps like all habit-forming behaviors -- think smoking -- it takes something tragic in our lives to inspire change. When someone we know gets lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking or someone we know develops melanoma after years of sunbathing, maybe we get the hint. Maybe
Now, I know you don't personally know this young woman -- she calls herself
Miss Melanoma -- but I suggest you read her
story. And I recommend you take what happened to her -- she lost part of her foot to melanoma and is currently battling a spread of the disease -- and allow it to really sink in, allow it to motivate you to take cover from the sun, before something like this happens to you. Because it can.
Continue reading Cancer by the Numbers: Melanoma
Posted Apr 27th 2007 9:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Skin Cancer, Melanoma, Blogs, Cancer Survivors
She's cute and spunky and full of life. She's Miss Melanoma, and her mission is simple: to raise awareness about skin cancer. Her slogan --
Attitude is everything. You're living with melanoma, not dying from it -- sums up this survivor girl, also known as Lori Lee, whose main goal is to get a Surgeon General's warning in every tanning bed salon window.
Think about this:
Miss Melanoma has a website. It's a spot for readers to learn, explore, RANT, even curse at cancer. "We won't censor your thoughts," she writes. "And we promise someone here will get exactly what you're saying."
The site features news, articles, artwork, shopping, and Miss Melanoma's personal blog, which is simply captivating. And quite shocking too.
Miss Melanoma, who learned in 2005 that a mole on her right foot was the absolute worst form of skin cancer, has endured the amputation of part of this same foot and aggressive treatment for a disease that began spreading up her leg and into her lymph nodes. And now, right now, Lori Lee is awaiting news from her surgeon about whether or not a likely cancerous lymph node deep in her pelvis can be surgically removed.
"Is it weird what a relief it is to be fighting cancer again?" she blogs. "It's something only a cancer survivor can understand, I think. You just don't know until you've been there. It's the new abnormal, people. Sitting around waiting for it to return when every doc you see tells you it's most likely coming back will drive you up the walls. Knowing that it's here and it's really just one lymph node and that we can treat it, that's a relief. I know. I can't explain it."
I urge you to think some more about Miss Melanoma, visit her website, her blog, and even send her your warm wishes as she continues living -- not dying -- from cancer.
Posted Apr 24th 2007 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Research, Daily news
A new study of mice implanted with human breast cancer cells shows the spread of the disease to the lungs -- a common metastasis site -- is caused by the abnormal activation of four specific genes working together.
The study, published in the journal
Nature, indicates that shutting off the genes one by one can slow the growth and spread of this cancer. But turning off all four at one time almost completely stops the process. In mice anyway.
These genes are no strangers to researchers who have known for some time about their existence and functions. They just know more about them now.
The four genes work together at every step of the metastatic process to allow a breast tumor to develop blood vessels, let tumor cells enter the vessel walls and lungs, and permit them to pass out of the lung vessels and resume growth. New analysis shows that blocking these genes significantly reduces the tangle of blood vessels, making it harder for cancer cells to escape.
Researchers, who say the four genes are among 18 they associate with breast cancer metastasis, report that one implication of this study is clear: combined use of drug therapy may be more effective at inhibiting the activity of multiple gene targets.
Posted Apr 19th 2007 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Drug, Lung Cancer, Research, Daily news
More and more media reports are mentioning the potential merits of marijuana. The most recent headlines say the active ingredient in the drug cuts tumor growth in common lung cancers in half and greatly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread.
Researchers at Harvard University tested marijuana's main ingredient, delta-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, in both lab and mouse studies and say their experiments are the first to show THC inhibits the growth of cancer.
Researchers are not certain why THC inhibits tumor growth, but it could be that the substance activates molecules that arrest the cell cycle. THC may also interfere with angiogenesis and vascularization, which promotes cancer growth.
There is a long way to go in the study of THC. Yet "the beauty of this study is that we are showing that a substance of abuse, if used prudently, may offer a new road to therapy against lung cancer," says Anju Preet, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of Experimental Medicine.
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Former televangelist Tammy Faye Messner -- formerly Tammy Faye Bakker -- posted Tuesday on her 
