South Carolinians Against Lung Cancer

CDC: State-Specific Trends in Lung Cancer Incidence and Smoking --- United States, 1999--2008

2011-09-17T14:05:00.000-04:00

September 16, 2011

What is already known on this topic?

Cigarette smoking causes lung cancer in men and women. Wide variations in state tobacco control efforts, smoking prevalence, and lung cancer incidence have been observed in the United States. Lung cancer incidence has been decreasing for the past several decades among men but not among women.

What is added by this report?

Lung cancer incidence is beginning to decrease among women and is continuing to decrease among men in most states. Lung cancer rates are declining more rapidly in the West, which corresponds with smoking behavior; states with low smoking prevalence and high quit ratios are concentrated in this region.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Decreases in lung cancer incidence provide compelling evidence for state tobacco control policies, such as increasing tobacco excise taxes, enacting smoke-free laws, and funding policies to assist smokers in quitting. To continue these decreases in lung cancer incidence, current tobacco control funding for states needs to be increased to implement and sustain successful programs to reduce cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke exposure.

Read more.

2011-09-14T11:40:00.000-04:00

Saturday, September 24, 2011 - 10:00am - 12:00pm

Register Online

Folly Beach, South Carolina

Please consider attending the Kites for a Cure™, on Folly Beach, an extraordinary family event in honor of Keisha Kirkland.

Dr. Keisha Kirkland, was diagnosed with Stage 3 Lung Cancer. As a healthy, athletic, non-smoker, we were all shocked at this devastating news. Keisha and her husband, former Clemson and NFL pro-bowl linebacker, Levon Kirkland have partnered with the national non-profit organization Uniting Against Lung Cancer (UALC) and all proceeds from this event will benefit the research programs of UALC.

Kites for a Cure will gather families and friends together to enjoy a beautiful afternoon on the beach, while bringing greater lung cancer awareness to Folly Beach area.

With a $25.00 donation, you will receive a kite you can decorate and a T-shirt. Event will take place in front of Tides Folly Beach

Study: Pfizer lung cancer pill may double survival - WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina |

2011-06-06T22:41:00.001-04:00

Study: Pfizer lung cancer pill may double survival - WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina |

By LINDA A. JOHNSON
AP Business Writer

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A much-anticipated drug for advanced lung cancer from Pfizer Inc. appears to double survival over standard drugs against tumors with a certain genetic mutation, according to research presented Sunday.

The drug, called crizotinib, would be the first targeted treatment for the roughly 50,000 people who get this cancer each year worldwide. It might eventually produce annual revenue for Pfizer exceeding $2 billion.

The first overall survival data for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with the drug, called crizotinib, showed 74 percent were still alive after a year and 54 percent after two years, researchers announced at a huge cancer specialists conference.

Median overall survival, a key measure, hasn't been determined because more than half the 82 patients are still alive.

Read more.

Thousands raised for local deputy fighting cancer

2011-06-06T22:33:00.002-04:00

Thousands raised for local deputy fighting cancer:
"Hundreds braving the hot weather, riding out to combat cancer."

by Fraendy Clervaud
Posted: 6-4-2011

Nearly three hundred people riding to combat lung cancer Saturday afternoon at Ryan's Ride.

They braved the hot temps to help raise money for Richland County Deputy Mark Ryan who's battling stage four lung cancer.

Sheriff Leon Lott invited folks from across the Midlands to take part.

Ryan is the single father of three daughters.

Organizers say the event raised a total of $10,315.

The money will help with Ryan's mounting medical bills.

"I think without today's event it would make or break him. It's vital to him getting his medical bills paid and its just great to see this event happen for him in his honor," says Master Deputy James Stone.

Participants signed up at Rays Place in Ballentine and than started to ride around Lake Murray.

The second benefit ride will take place July 23, 2011. For more information about the event call 803-309-8888.

Orlando Health launches lung cancer screening program

2011-06-06T22:12:00.000-04:00

Orlando Business Journal
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2011, 3:10pm EDT

Orlando Health launched a lung cancer screening pilot program June 1 targeted at smokers and ex-smokers.

The pilot program at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center-Orlando’s Rod Taylor Thoracic Care Center will focus on current and former smokers age 55 to 74, and will use low-dose radiation and CT scans to look for nodules

that don’t typically show up on X-rays. The hospital expects 20 percent of the people screened to need further testing and 2 percent to need treatment for lung cancer.

More than 18,000 people in Florida are expected to be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2011.

The cost of the test will be discounted from $1,500 to $375.

Read more: Orlando Health launches lung cancer screening program | Orlando Business Journal

New SmartState Endowed Chair to develop cancer drugs in S.C.

2011-06-06T22:07:00.000-04:00

via lowcountrybizSC

Top scientist will be based at S.C. College of Pharmacy, help lead state’s Cancer Drug Discovery Center of Economic Excellence

SOUTH CAROLINA, SC - May 26, 2011 - One of the nation’s leading cancer drug researchers has moved his work to South Carolina thanks to the state’s SmartState Program (previously known as the CoEE Program).

Dr. Patrick Woster will be based at the S.C. College of Pharmacy (SCCP), where he will help lead the Center of Economic Excellence in Cancer Drug Discovery and become the SmartState Endowed Chair in Medicinal Chemistry. Woster is one of four endowed chairs supported by the Cancer Drug Discovery Center, a Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Center in which the University of South Carolina is a partner.

Read more.

Deputy deals with devastating cancer diagnosis

2011-05-24T11:45:00.000-04:00

Fellow deputies holding benefit ride to help with medical bills

By NOELLE PHILLIPS - nophillips@thestate.com

For most of his life, Richland County Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Ryan has served his community.

He has been a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician. He has raised money for the American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, Easter Seals and Muscular Dystrophy Association. He has helped families recover from fires that destroyed their homes.

Now, it’s time for Ryan to be on the receiving end of the help, as he battles advanced lung cancer.

Photo - TIM DOMINICK - tdominick@thestate.com

“It makes me feel good to do that kind of stuff,” Ryan said. “Being a recipient is difficult.”

To help Ryan with his medical bills, fellow deputies have organized Ryan’s Ride: A Dam Ride for Cancer on June 4 at Lake Murray.

They also are wearing black and red bracelets to show support for him and his three daughters, ages 14-20.

Ryan has been a deputy with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department for three years but is on short-term disability. He has health insurance, but the bills still pile up.

Sheriff Leon Lott said he hired Ryan because he knew a man with devotion to single-handedly raise three girls would make a good deputy.

“His heart is in the right place with what he wanted to do,” Lott said.

Monday, Ryan and his daughters agreed to talk with reporters, a tearful interview for the girls as they watched their father talk about his disease, his love for them and his fellow Richland County deputies.

“It’s been very emotional for me,” Ryan said. “I’m proud to be a part of this organization, and I’m honored they’re helping me like this.”

If you go -

Ryan’s Ride: A Dam Ride for Cancer will be June 4 around Lake Murray.

The first vehicle will leave at 11 a.m. from Ray’s Place on Dutch Fork Road in Ballentine. The ride ends at 5 p.m. at the same location with a barbecue and silent auction. Motorcycles, convertibles and other automobiles are welcome to participate.

Registration is $25 per person and includes a T-shirt.

For more information or a registration form, email ryansryde@gmail.com.

Read the entire article here.

NASCAR legend Owens prepares for the homestretch

2011-05-24T11:30:00.000-04:00

By MIKE HEMBREE
For the Herald-Journal
GoUpstate.com

It's a long way from the dusty leavings of what once was a country road — Reidville Road — in Spartanburg to the newly rarefied air of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

A certified pioneer of stock car racing. Winner of hundreds of races as a driver. A championship car builder and team owner. An innovator in racing safety.

Owens' racing story is interwoven with that of NASCAR — with the notable exception that his story predates NASCAR's.

Read more about NASCAR legend Cotton Owens' career and both he and his wife's battles with lung cancer.

South Carolina High School senior awarded John Atkinson Lung cancer Foundation Scholarship after losing parent.

2011-05-24T11:19:00.000-04:00

The John Atkins Lung Cancer Foundation is proud to announce their out-of-state scholarship recipients: Jovanna Davis of Florida, Christiana Allen-Pipkin of Michigan, Sandra Whaley of South Carolina and Sharmae Young of Missouri. Congratulations to all of you!

About the John Atkinson Lung Cancer Founation

The foundation is providing leadership by increasing awareness of lung cancer and advocating for increased funding for research. We are dedicated to erasing the stigma that lung cancer can only happen to smokers. The foundation was named for John Atkinson, a nonsmoking father of three and devoted husband, who died of lung cancer in June of 2009 at the age of 40. The foundation carries the torch that John lit in the battle to end lung cancer.

To increase awareness of lung cancer in order to prevent the disease, to erase the stigma associated with lung cancer, to advocate for increased funding for lung cancer research, and to provide scholarships to students who have lost a parent to lung cancer. For more information - www.johnatkinsonfoundation.org

Cancer Survivors Day Celebration at Georgetown Hospital System in the Lowcountry

2011-05-24T11:08:00.000-04:00

Cancer Survivors Day Celebration
on Sunday, June 5, 2011 from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM
Event is free & open to all local cancer survivors and caregivers
Location - Wachesaw Conference Center, 4367 Riverwood Drive, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

Georgetown Hospital System is hosting a First Annual Cancer Survivors Day Celebration, sponsored in part by Waccamaw Oncology, and held in conjunction with National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation, Inc.

The "Chain of Survival" themed event will feature presentations from a two-time cancer survivor, a caregiver and oncologist. Displays and information will be available on such topics as support groups, cancer rehabilitation programs, nutritional needs, transportation and more. Refreshments will be offered.

Chain Project
A unique project recognizing survivors will be displayed at the event. Names, diagnosis and length of survivorship will be written on laminated paper links to form a chain. Survivors who wish to participate in the chain project should email their information to dmagnanelli@georgetownhospitalsystem.org.

The finished chain will be displayed at Francis B. Ford Cancer Treatment Center in Georgetown after the June 5 event.

Steve Spurrier is participating in the Palmetto Health Foundation McDaniels Golf Classic & VIP Auction - June 16th & 17th.

2011-05-24T11:02:00.000-04:00

Mark your calendars for the 2011 McDaniels Golf Classic and VIP Auction benefitting the Palmetto Health Foundation. The auction will be held Thursday, June 16 at The Zone and the tournament will be held Friday, June 17 at Fort Jackson Golf Club. Auction tickets are $100 each and are available online. Call Anna Saunders at 434.2830 for more information.

Treatment Shows Promise in Quelling a Type of Lung Cancer

2011-05-24T10:52:00.000-04:00

Personalized Medicine Leads One Patient to Ask, "Can I go Scuba Diving?"
By Lisa Marshall of CU Medicine Today
University of Colorado School of Medicine

(May 2, 2011) The words "adenocarcinoma of the lung" required no further explanation. As a physician herself, Gene Burges knew what they meant.

"I told my husband, ‘I’ve had a really wonderful life,’" says Burges, 64, who received her grim diagnosis in April 2009. "I knew it was the end."

But nearly two years later, the dermatologist and associate professor at Medical University of South Carolina has kicked the chronic cough and night sweats, and—according to her grateful sons—has returned to her "energetic self." After watching the glowing orange beacons of cancer disappear from her scans, she went so far as to buy a new house this year.

Read more.

Upstate Hospital First In SC To Offer New Lung Cancer Surgery

2011-03-11T14:59:00.001-05:00

Surgeon, Robot Team Up For Procedure
Mike McCormick, WYFF News 4 Reporter

Lung Cancer: The Bold and Beautiful Perspective

2011-01-31T13:54:00.003-05:00

Read comments from Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, promoting an upcoming episode of The Bold and the Beautiful airing on February 7th on CBS. The show will shed light on lung cancer and feature several famous surivors. Newmark lost his own father at a young age when he was only 13.

ALCMI Board Member with SC Ties

2010-08-10T15:06:00.003-04:00

Harvey I. Pass, MD is Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Surgery, and the first Division Chief of Thoracic Surgery/ Thoracic Oncology at NYU School of Medicine. He joined NYU Medical Center in 2005 to lead the Division of Thoracic Surgery and Thoracic Oncology. His previous positions include Chief, Thoracic Oncology at the Karmanos Cancer Institute, and Head of the Thoracic Oncology Section of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Pass received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and his M.D. from Duke University. He completed his surgical residency at Duke and University of Mississippi. He completed his residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Pass also completed a fellowship in Thoracic Oncology at NCI.

The Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI)
is dedicated to catalyzing and accelerating the discovery, development and delivery of new and more effective treatment options for Lung Cancer patients.

The State reports: Senate approves 50-cent cig tax increase

2010-05-06T12:54:00.003-04:00

House vote to override expected veto to be close
By JOHN O'CONNOR and RODDIE BURRIS - joconnor@thestate.com rburris@thestate.com

NASCAR vice president of corporate communications and former Darlington president Jim Hunter is a lung cancer warrior...

2010-05-06T12:47:00.002-04:00

"Jim Hunter is back doing to the two things he loves the most — being at the race track and playing golf.

That wasn’t the case seven months ago when the former Darlington Raceway president was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer in his right lung Oct. 31."

Read more.

from The State back in January: Love, faith, provide armor in cancer fight for Maddens

2010-05-06T12:41:00.002-04:00

Love, faith, provide armor in cancer fight for Maddens

In memory of Mr. Herman Madden.

Abraxis' Abraxane meets lung cancer study goal

2010-03-17T21:10:00.001-04:00

Abraxis BioScience's Abraxane meets key treatment goal in lung cancer study

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Abraxis BioScience Inc. said Wednesday its drug Abraxane met key treatment goals in a late-stage lung cancer study.

The company said Abraxane with Taxol, in combination with chemotherapy, improved the overall response rate of patients in the 1,052 patient study. The study focused on patients receiving initial treatment for lung cancer and compared the Abraxane combination with patients only receiving Taxol and another chemotherapy, carboplatin.

Abraxane is already approved as a breast cancer treatment. The company expects to ask for FDA approval as a lung cancer treatment in 2011.

Shares of Abraxis jumped $12.77, or 32.1 percent, to $52.62 in morning trading. The stock has traded between $24.52 and $57.60 over the last 52 weeks

The Post and Courier: Cigarette tax increase a winner

2010-03-16T19:55:00.002-04:00

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Letter to the Editor

The South Carolina state Senate can play a pivotal role in improving critical health concerns by passing legislation to increase our state's lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax to at least a dollar a pack. Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of premature death in this state.

It costs each household in South Carolina an estimated $560 annually for smoking-caused government expenditures, regardless of whether a household member smokes.

We all know health care costs from smoking are enormous, in tax dollars and medical costs. Often overlooked is the personal cost of lung cancer, emphysema and heart disease to those stricken and to their families, friends and co-workers. Almost everyone has had that experience.

H.3584, legislation to increase our seven-cent cigarette tax, was sent to the Senate nearly a year ago. Our state is contemplating deep budget cuts with severe consequences that will affect many of our citizens. Increasing the cigarette tax will reduce overall smoking (and youth initiation to smoking) while raising state revenues at the same time. Bringing H.3584 to a vote in the Senate cannot come soon enough.

A significant cigarette tax increase is a win-win-win solution for South Carolina. It is a public health win that will reduce smoking and save lives, a fiscal win that will raise needed revenue and reduce smoking-caused health care costs, and a political win because raising cigarette taxes has the strong support of the public.

How many reasons do we need?

June Deen

Director of Advocacy
American Lung Association in South Carolina and Georgia
Gadsden Street
Columbia

This letter was also signed by: Nancy Cheney, director of government relations, South Atlantic Division of the American Cancer Society, and Yardley Steedly, S.C. director of government relations, the American Heart Association.

New Way to Treat Inoperable Lung Cancer

2010-03-16T19:26:00.001-04:00

New Way to Treat Inoperable Lung Cancer

Young cancer survivor touches senator

2009-12-03T11:33:00.002-05:00

from NEWS & RECORD
news-record.com

Greensboro, North Carolina
By: Doug Clark, Staff Writer

Good Morning America: Did a Devoted Husband Find a Cancer Breakthrough?

2009-12-03T11:20:00.003-05:00

Mayo docs identify gene for lung cancer growth

2009-09-08T21:32:00.001-04:00

Jacksonville Business Journal reports -

“Lung cancer stem cells appear to be the major drivers in many common lung cancers, and in order for a therapeutic treatment to be effective, it has to disrupt these cancer stem cells,” said Dr. Alan Fields, the study’s senior author and chair of the Department of Cancer Biology at Mayo Clinic Florida. “We show that aurothiomalate, the agent now being tested in lung cancer patients, can, in fact, target these cells.”

The study was funded by grants from the National Cancer Institute, the V-Foundation and the American Lung Association/LUNGevity. Other Mayo Clinic researchers who participated in the study were Dr. Roderick Regala, Dr. Rebecca Davis, Alyssa Kunz, and Dr. Andras Khoor. Also collaborating on the study was Michael Leitges of the University of Oslo.

Read more here.

Check out the Upstate Women's Show - Featuring Lung Cancer Survivor, Keish Kirkland of WYFF 4

2009-08-19T17:53:00.011-04:00

Keish Kirkland, weather forecaster at NBC's WYFF Channel 4, will share her story - "Living with a Life Altering Diagnosis...Lung Cancer."

See her at the Upstate Women's Show
Friday, August 28th at 11 am on the Entertainment Stage at Greenville's Carolina First Center

ASCO: The August Bulletin from Cancer.Net

2009-08-19T17:43:00.005-04:00

Check out the August Bulletine from Cancer.Net - trusted cancer information from the American Society of Clinical Oncology

THIS MONTH ON CANCER.NET: Olympic swimmer Eric Shanteau and ASCO leaders visit Wall Street, going back to school and work after cancer, where to turn for questions on clinical trials, and much more!

WYFF4 reports: Upstate University To Impose Fines On Smokers

2009-08-19T15:34:00.002-04:00

Lander University Imposes Fines On Student, Faculty Smokers

GREENWOOD, S.C. -- Lander University is preparing to give added emphasis to its status as the first state college or university in South Carolina to ban the use of tobacco products on its campus, a prohibition that was introduced with the start of the fall semester in 2007.

Lander president Daniel Ball accepted the recommendations of a committee that he appointed to come up with a strategy for introducing the tobacco-free policy to newcomers, and reminding returning students, faculty and staff that the use of tobacco is not allowed anywhere on Lander property. The ban includes campus parking lots and the university’s off-campus student housing facilities. The smoking ban also applies to visitors.

Read more.

Jacksonville.com reports: Times-Union reporter free to fly again after cancer fight

2009-08-12T23:39:00.003-04:00

After 8 weeks of chemotheropy, tests come back cancer free.
By Jessie-Lynne Kerr

The news from the doctors last week was very positive - the latest PET/CAT scan showed no return of the cancer that was discovered in my lungs March 10.

They even said I could attempt to return to a somewhat normal, at least for me, way of life and try the things that got put on hold while I fought the cancer.

The combination of aggressive chemotherapy and twice-a-day radiation killed the tumors after just eight weeks. Another week of chemo followed, depleting my white blood cell count and necessitating shots of Neupogen to stimulate the bone marrow to make more.

Most of June was spent getting daily low-dose radiation to the brain, since small-cell lung cancer, the type I have, has a tendency to return with a vengeance and go to the brain.

It was painless, but it took its toll in other ways.

My eyebrows now must be deftly drawn and brushed on each morning with the latest from Maybelline.

And the radiation killed parts of the stubble that had begun to reforest my bald scalp. At first it looked as if it continued to grow in that pattern, I would be sporting a Mohawk.
But soon, some of that melted away, too. Now it is just a circular patch of very dark stubble on the very crown of my head, and a rather ugly misshapen patch below. And I can't blame it on being a rookie at football camp.

Didn't someone famous once say that a woman's crowning glory was her hair?

It is hard to imagine that now in my case.

I faced reality and took care of some necessary stuff we don't like to talk about because it means we are confronting our own mortality. I have paid for my cremation and for the interment of my ashes at the memorial garden at church. A lawyer prepared my will, designation of health surrogate, living will and all that legal stuff to spare my son the tasks.
Cleared to go on my own way for three months without any further treatment, except for a monthly irrigation of the port in my chest to facilitate getting chemo, I am to call the radiologist if I experience any bone pain, seizures or cough up bloody mucous.

He told me it could be up to three months before the overwhelming fatigue I am experiencing eases up. My esophagus, which was burned by the radiation, is healing nicely and I am not too worried about the 20 pounds or so that I've lost due to a poor appetite because I was (and still am) overweight. But for those of you trying to lose some weight, find another way.

My lung doctor told me I was doing great but when I told him of my anxiety waiting to get the results of the latest scan, he told me that is called "scanxiety." I had a tendency to think the worst whenever a felt a twinge that seemed somehow different.

After all this, you would think I'd be due a vacation, right?

Well I have one planned. In February I bought a round-trip airline ticket to New York to attend a Hall of Fame induction ceremony at my high school on Staten Island. I had to cancel because of the lung cancer.

But now I have been cleared to fly again and I plan to go to New York the first week of October and visit a cousin. We plan to drive up to her cabin in the Adirondacks for a few days and take in Mother Nature's repainting of the landscape.

Life - now - is good. And with only a 20 percent chance I'll be here in five years, every moment is too precious to waste.

Read more.

USA Today reports: Surgeon general pick 'would do anything to heal'

2009-07-16T19:09:00.002-04:00

President Obama on Monday nominated for surgeon general an influential rural family physician who has spent the past two decades caring for a shrimping community along the Gulf Coast.

Obama said Regina Benjamin understands the needs of the poor and uninsured and is a tireless promoter of wellness programs, making her qualified to be America's advocate during health care reforms.

Benjamin founded her non-profit clinic in 1990 for a diverse community of 2,500 near her home in Bayou La Batre, Ala., and had to rebuild it three times. It was destroyed twice by hurricanes and once by fire. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Obama said, she mortgaged her own house for the reconstruction and told the pharmacy to send her patients' bills to her when they couldn't afford their medicine.

"And for all that she's seen and overcome, she represents what's best about health care: doctors and nurses who give and care and sacrifice for the sake of their patients, those Americans who would do anything to heal a fellow citizen," Obama said. "When people couldn't pay, she didn't charge them. When the clinic wasn't making money, she didn't take a salary for herself."

Benjamin, 51, became the first African-American woman to be named to the American Medical Association's board of trustees in 1995 and last year received one of the MacArthur Foundation's $500,000 "genius grants." After graduating from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 1984, she worked in Alabama as part of her obligation to the National Health Service Corps, a Department of Health and Human Services program that places physicians in underserved communities in exchange for tuition reimbursement.

Public health also has become "very personal" to her.

"My father died of diabetes and hypertension. My older brother and only sibling died at age 44 of HIV-related illness. My mother died of lung cancer because as a young girl, she wanted to smoke, just like her twin brother. My uncle Buddy, my mother's twin, is at home right now on oxygen struggling for each breath because of the years of smoking."

Those preventable diseases, she said, were why her family wasn't present with her at the nomination announcement: "While I cannot change my family's past, I can be a voice in the movement to improve our nation's health care and a nation's health for the future."

Read more.

USA Today reports: Did toxic chemical in Iraq sicken GIs?

2009-07-16T18:55:00.003-04:00

Larry Roberta's every breath is a painful reminder of his time in Iraq. He can't walk a block without gasping for air. His chest hurts, his migraines sometimes persist for days and he needs pills to help him sleep.

James Gentry came home with rashes, ear troubles and a shortness of breath. Later, things got much worse: He developed lung cancer.

David Moore's postwar life turned into a harrowing medical mystery: nosebleeds and labored breathing that made it impossible to work, much less speak. His desperate search for answers ended last year when he died of lung disease at age 42.

What these three men — one sick, one dying, one dead — had in common is they were National Guard soldiers on the same stretch of wind-swept desert in Iraq during the early months of the war in 2003.

These soldiers and hundreds of other Guard members from Indiana, Oregon and West Virginia were protecting workers hired by a subsidiary of the giant contractor, KBR Inc., to rebuild an Iraqi water treatment plant. The area, as it turned out, was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, a potent, sometimes deadly chemical linked to cancer and other devastating diseases.

Read more.

LA Daily News reports: Equality and better treatment sought for lung cancer patients

2009-07-03T11:28:00.001-04:00

As an emergency physician, Dr. Michael Weitz battles illnesses to save the lives of others.

In his own personal fight with lung cancer, he is battling the stigma that his disease carries.
Weitz, who is one of the 215,000 people diagnosed each year with lung cancer, knows what others think: "You did it to yourself," the Woodland Hills man said.

But Weitz never smoked cigarettes - did nothing he knows of that would infect the delicate tissue of his lungs.

Yet even for those with lung cancer who have never smoked, the condition comes with a negative stereotype. They often are asked, "Did you smoke?"

It's a perception health advocates say needs to be shattered. Why, they ask, should state or federal funding toward the detection and treatment of lung cancer be any different than, say, for illnesses associated with obesity, alcoholism or other kinds of cancer?

"We have to get to the point of saying it doesn't matter," said Kim Norris, a Los Angeles resident who founded the Lung Cancer Foundation of America.

The foundation's goal is to raise enough funds to lead to lung cancer research and treatment. The five-year survival rates for all stages of lung cancer haven't changed in decades, a result of little progress toward finding better treatments, Norris said.

Norris and others note that research for lung cancer treatment remains "under-funded, under-researched and under-reported," because government funders view it as the "the black sheep" of cancers.

"Just because smoking is legal - and the Department of Defense once handed out cigarettes during wars - doesn't mean (those who smoked) deserve (lung cancer)."

Read more.

SCCA: SC Cancer Registry publishes 10-year report

2009-07-03T11:00:00.002-04:00

June 17, 2009

DHEC's S.C. Cancer Registry publishes first 10-year report

The S.C. Central Cancer Registry has published its first 10-year report of cancer trends in the state, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced today.

"This report is a milestone for the state," said DHEC Commissioner Earl Hunter. "Cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths and illness. It is critical not only to be able to track the number of deaths, but to have information on the number of people who have been diagnosed with the disease. This cancer survival data provides another avenue to measure the burden of cancer on our residents."

"The S.C. Central Cancer Registry has maintained national standards of quality, timeliness, and completeness evidenced by certification from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries each year since 1997," he said. "Meeting those standards in all categories assures that the data are valid and reliable for use in the healthcare and research communities across the state and nation."

According to the report, deaths due to cancer decreased by 18.2 percent from 1996 through 2005 for all races and genders combined. The total incidence for all cancers decreased by 3.2 percent over the 10-year period.

"Decreasing cancer death rates is a sign of progress in the fight against cancer," he said. "But there is still much to be done. The report shows that there are still cancer disparities, as indicated by the differences in cancer death rates among races."

The five leading types of cancer were prostate, lung, breast, colorectal and bladder. The five leading causes of cancer deaths were lung, colorectal, breast, prostate and pancreatic.

Five-year observed survival rates for all cancers combined in the state were 51.4 percent, meaning a little over half the patients with cancer survive for five years. The median survival time, which is the time at which half the patients with cancer are still living, was 66.5 months or about 5.5 years. Survival was highest for white females (55.8 percent), followed by white males (50.3 percent), black females (47.1 percent) and black males (44.6 percent).

Cancers with the poorest survival for all race and gender groups in order from the poorest to the best were liver, pancreatic, lung, brain and esophageal.

"The survival data will help our public health efforts by providing insights about where our next steps need to be for the best results as we work to fight cancers," Hunter said.

For more information and data from this report, please visit the DHEC Web site or you may call the Cancer Registry toll-free at 1-800-817-4774.

ABC News reports: Senate Votes for FDA to Regulate Tobacco

2009-06-13T11:51:00.003-04:00

Years in the Making, Senate Votes to Give FDA Power to Regulate Tobacco

Times have changed now that even tobacco states have smoking bans. Today, after two weeks of wrangling and a decade of considering the change, the U.S. Senate endorsed increased regulation of tobacco.

Senators voted 79-17 to regulate tobacco in the same way the government regulates everything else you put in your body -- from Froot Loops to aspirin.

At Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, organization president Matthew L. Myers called the vote "a truly historic victory" and "the strongest action Congress has ever taken to reduce tobacco use."

"Forty-five years after the first U.S. Surgeon General's report linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer, the most deadly product sold in America will no longer be the least-regulated product sold in America," Myers said in a statement.

The bill would give the federal government the power to regulate cigarette ingredients, to ban the marketing of "light cigarettes" and to require graphic warning labels.

Read more.

The New York Times: George MacPherson, Theater Producer, Dies at 78

2009-06-09T11:09:00.002-04:00

George MacPherson, a theater producer who helped bring down the curtain on bus-and-truck road shows and usher in the big-box-office age of polished national touring companies, died on Wednesday in Orangeburg, S.C., where he lived. He was 78.

The cause was lung cancer, said his daughter, Morag.

Mr. MacPherson, who got his first taste of show business glamour as a veterinarian with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, helped theater producers maximize returns on their shows by sending out touring companies with high production values and first-rate performers to markets beyond the big cities.

This approach, restructured in the early 1980s at American Theater Productions, where he was executive director, led to increased subscription sales and a boom for the tour business, which nearly doubled its gross revenues from 1988 to 1991.

“In those days, touring was pretty rudimentary,” said Miles Wilkin, the chief executive of the tour producer Broadway Across America. “George was adept at working with New York producers, acquiring shows and then realizing their full potential on the road.”

Read more.

Men with cancer bond in support group

2009-06-07T23:56:00.002-04:00

It was about five years ago when Walt Beigegrain flopped onto his bed, crossed his arms and felt a lump on his chest.

“What is that?” he wondered. About five weeks later, after summoning the courage to seek help, his doctor initially confirmed that yes, he had a lump, but it couldn’t be breast cancer, because men don’t get breast cancer. Another physician echoed those same thoughts.

However, tests showed a different story, and Beigegrain’s breast cancer was in Stage II, which is a treatable phase.

“I figured, ‘So what, I have breast cancer,’ ” he said. “I can deal with that.”

Beigegrain did deal with that. He had the tumor removed in surgery. He now can talk openly about his breast cancer, but he knows other men suffer alone after being diagnosed with breast cancer or any other form of the disease.

They needn’t.

For the past few years, a local all-male group, Men Against Cancer Helping Others, or MACHO, has been attracting more members than any of the numerous cancer-support groups for women organized through St. Mary’s Hospital, said Debra Hesse, coordinator of cancer survivor programs for St. Mary’s Cancer Center.

At a recent meeting, men gathered around tables at a coffee shop near the hospital and greeted one another with strong handshakes and pats to the back.

Dressed in blue jeans, button-up shirts or T-shirts and sneakers or hiking boots, the men stick to an agenda that usually includes a guest speaker and review of a book related to cancer.

But outside of those general guidelines, men said they’ve grown to feel free to be themselves, and conversations can include guys asking each other advice about their battles with similar forms of cancer or tips on how to be a better husband to a spouse with the disease.

But the reason the meetings work, they said, is because a group dynamic helps ease the stigma men feel about getting cancer.

Also the focus is neither a “prayer session, or a pity party,” they said.

“The male instinct is, if there’s a problem, I need to fix it,” said Michael Appel, the lead pharmacist who helps run meetings.

Read more.

Science Daily reports: Stem Cell Protein Offers A New Cancer Target

2009-06-07T23:51:00.001-04:00

A protein abundant in embryonic stem cells is now shown to be important in cancer, and offers a possible new target for drug development, report researchers from the Stem Cell Program at Children's Hospital Boston.

Last year, George Daley, MD, PhD, and graduate student Srinivas Viswanathan, in collaboration with Richard Gregory, PhD, also of the Stem Cell Program at Children's, showed that the protein LIN28 regulates an important group of tumor-suppressing microRNAs known as let-7. Increasing LIN28 production in a cell prevented let-7 from maturing, making the cell more immature and stem-like. Since these qualities also make a cell more cancerous, and because low levels of mature let-7 have been associated with breast and lung cancer, the discovery suggested that LIN28 might be oncogenic.

Now, publishing Advance Online in Nature Genetics on May 31, Daley, Viswanathan and colleagues show directly that LIN28 can transform cells to a cancerous state, and that it is abundant in a variety of advanced human cancers, particularly liver cancer, ovarian cancer, chronic myeloid leukemia, germ cell tumors and Wilm's tumor (a childhood kidney cancer). They believe that overall, LIN28 and a related protein, LIN28B, may be involved in some 15 percent of human cancers. By blocking or suppressing LIN28, it might be possible to revive the let-7 family's natural tumor-suppressing action.

"Linking this protein to advanced cancer is a very exciting new result," says Daley, Director of Stem Cell Transplantation at Children's, and also affiliated with Children's Division of Hematology/Oncology, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. "It gives us a new target to attack, especially in the most resistant and hard-to-treat cases."

Read more.

Science Daily reports: Brain Irradiation In Lung Cancer

2009-06-07T23:47:00.002-04:00

A national Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) study led by a Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center physician at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee has found that a course of radiation therapy to the brain after treatment for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer reduced the risk of metastases to the brain within the first year after treatment.

"With improved treatments for non-small cell lung cancer, patients are living longer and we are seeing more brain metastases," says study author Elizabeth Gore, M.D. "This study compared the efficacy of prophylactic (preventive) cranial irradiation (PCI) vs. observation in these patients, and found that those not receiving cranial irradiation were two and one-half times more likely to develop brain metastasis than those who did."

Read more.

Looking for volunteers in the Midlands Area to help me organize a Free To Breathe 5K Lung Cancer Awareness Walk...

2009-06-05T15:25:00.008-04:00

I'm looking for fellow volunteers/advocates that may be interested in helping me organize a Free To Breathe Lung Cancer 5K Awareness Walk in Columbia. Possibly Saturday, November 14, 2009 at the Riverfront Park in downtown Columbia. (November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month)

Everyday is still a struggle, since losing my mother in 2007. My faith, family, and close friends keep me going. My dream is to one day bring a state chapter of the National Lung Cancer Partnership here to South Carolina, to support survivors and caregivers, as well as, raise money for much needed research.

The National Lung Cancer Partnership is a group of leading doctors, researchers, patient advocates, and lung cancer survivors who are working together to improve treatments for lung cancer patients. They raise research dollars through their Free To Breathe campaign, a 5K fundraising awareness walk.

You can find more information here:

Free To Breathe - Fundraising for Lung Cancer Research and Awareness

The National Lung Cancer Partnership

Our neighboring state of North Carolina started the first state chapter in 2006 and have many events planned for this year. I'd love to one day do the same here.

Please consider helping me.

While I Breathe, I Hope...for a CURE for Lung Cancer!

Angie B. Derrick

You can send me a message here, or at scagainstlungcancer@gmail.com

Lung Cancer Deaths Rise With Hormone Replacement Therapy

2009-06-04T12:04:00.001-04:00

Doctors once thought that hormone therapy, or HRT, could protect women from chronic diseases, especially heart disease. However, a new study by U.S researchers released on Saturday indicated that the use of hormone-replacement therapy by menopausal women increases their risk of death from lung cancer by 60 percent after five years.

The trial studied the use of Wyeth's combined estrogen/progestin hormone-replacement therapy, Prempro. Dr. Rowan Chlebowski of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles led the analysis and presented results at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Florida.

The study examined non-small-cell lung cancer, by far the most common type. While the study found no big difference in the number of lung cancers that developed in hormone users after five years on the pills and more than two years later, lung cancer proved fatal in 46 percent of hormone users who developed it versus 27 percent of those given placebos.

The study gave 16,608 women either Prempro or placebos. It was stopped in 2002 when researchers saw more breast cancers in those on Prempro, but researchers continue to follow women in the study.

Lung cancer is the world's top cancer killer. In the U.S alone, there were more than 215,000 new cases and nearly 162,000 deaths from it last year.

Transgene sees cancer deal this summer

2009-06-04T11:55:00.002-04:00

Transgene expects to strike a worldwide partnership agreement this summer for lung cancer vaccine TG4010, a possible blockbuster, that could speed up the French biotech's plans to become a pharmaceutical group.

Next to advanced non-small cell lung cancer, TG4010 could work on several other cancer types like prostate and breast cancer, possibly making it a rival to Roche's Avastin.

Read more.

Newsday.com reports: Bill to regulate tobacco products a sharp departure for industry-friendly Congress

2009-06-04T11:43:00.003-04:00

In the half-century since the surgeon general issued his culture-changing report linking smoking to lung cancer, the tobacco industry has had little trouble defeating efforts to regulate cigarettes and other products. That could change this year.

The Senate is debating legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration authority to control ingredients going into tobacco products, restrict marketing and ads aimed at young people, and ban words such as "light" or "low tar" that may mislead people about the health risks of smoking.

The legislation, said Matthew Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, is "by far the strongest bill to reduce tobacco use that this nation has ever seriously considered."

Myers and other supporters, such as the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association, say the stars may finally be aligned for decisive action on the tobacco issue. The House passed a similar bill by a wide margin and President Barack Obama supports it. It also commands a majority in the Senate, although tobacco-state senators say they won't give up without a filibuster fight.

Read more.

From Japan: 1 in 8 with lung cancer show asbestos exposure, study finds

2009-06-04T11:34:00.002-04:00

Pleural plaques, or a thickening of lung membranes due to asbestos exposure, were found in one in eight lung cancer patients, according to medical research papers jointly released Monday by 12 medical institutions in Japan.

The research team said the number of people who died from asbestos-related lung cancer might amount to several thousand people a year.

About 60,000 people die from lung cancer each year in the nation.

In fiscal 2007, only 660 people were recognized as suffering from asbestos-related lung cancer and thus eligible for government aid, indicating that many lung cancer patients are excluded from the aid as the exposure has not been confirmed as the cause of their diseases.

Between 2006 and 2007, the 12 medical institutions in six prefectures, including Tokyo, Hokkaido and Aichi, examined 471 patients, aged 26 to 94 who were diagnosed with nonmetastatic lung cancer, to check if they had developed pleural plaques.

The 12 institutions belong to the Japan Federation of Democratic Medical Institutions.
The research team discovered pleural plaques in 28 patients, or 5.9 percent, through chest X-rays, and in 58 patients, or 12.3 percent, through high-resolution computer tomography.

Pleural plaques were detected through the CT scan mainly in people engaged in professions involving repeated asbestos exposure, with 14 out of 35 patients working in the construction industry and six out of 23 in the metal manufacturing and processing industry.

Read more.

WYFF4 of Greenville: Keisha Kirkland Extends Thanks For Support

2009-06-03T16:48:00.003-04:00

On the last day of her treatment for stage three lung cancer, WYFF News 4 Weather Anchor Keisha Kirkland extended a video thank you to all viewers for the messages and calls of support.

Kirkland was diagnosed in November and shortly afterward underwent surgery to remove the upper right lung mass.

Go here to view what Keisha has to say in her own words.

An opinion from LA Times: Tobacco regulations are no regulations at all

2009-06-03T15:25:00.002-04:00

A proposal to put cigarettes under FDA supervision is so limited that it's really a smoke screen for Big Tobacco.

This week, the U.S. Senate is considering legislation that would, for the first time, give the Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco products. Numerous anti-smoking and health groups support the legislation. So does this mean Congress is finally on the verge of stepping up to take on Big Tobacco?

Hardly. The bill in question was crafted, in part, by the nation's leading cigarette company, Philip Morris, as part of a deal worked out between the tobacco giant and an anti-smoking group -- the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The health groups supporting the legislation have been seduced by the few concessions that Philip Morris dangled before them and have lost sight of the long-term damage that this bill will do to the public's health.

The legislation would do a few good things, including requiring stronger warning labels on cigarette packages and limiting cigarette advertising directed at youths. But the bill's fine print contains numerous loopholes inserted to appease Philip Morris. In the end, it ensures that federal regulation of tobacco products will remain more about politics than about science.

Read more.

USA Today reports: Using CT scans to screen for lung cancer may carry risks

2009-06-03T15:06:00.003-04:00

Lung cancer screenings may carry hidden dangers, researchers announced Saturday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Orlando.

The National Institutes of Health is running a large study to find out if screening patients with CT scans can save lives. Some doctors are already offering the screenings in the hopes of finding tumors early, when they might be more curable. Lung cancer kills more people than any other tumor, with 215,000 new cases a year and 162,000 deaths, according to the American Cancer Society.

But the scan's results aren't always clear or easy to interpret, leading to false alarms.
People who are screened have a 21% chance of being unnecessarily frightened by findings that initially seem suspicious, but turn out to be benign, says lead author Jennifer Croswell.

Yet the exams, performed with CT scans, can produce more than just anxiety, according to Croswell's report, a pilot study for the ongoing National Lung Screening Trial, which includes 50,000 patients.

Suspicious findings can lead to invasive follow-up exams, such as biopsies or even surgeries in which doctors crack open the chest to access to the lungs, Croswell says.

Out of 1,600 smokers and ex-smokers in the study who had the CT scans, 40 had real cancer, but eight had unnecessary surgery for non-cancerous conditions.

Yet Croswell can't say whether the screenings actually helped anyone. That's because the larger study hasn't gone on long enough to show whether screening saves lives, she says. And because lung surgeries are risky, she says it's possible for the screenings themselves to cause death.

CT scans also expose people to radiation, which increases the risk of cancer, says Peter Bach, a pulmonologist at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Other research has suggested that tumors found through screening could be much less lethal than lung cancers that are found because they cause symptoms, so that finding these slow-growing cancers may not help anyone. Also, longtime smokers or ex-smokers could die of other causes, such as heart attacks or strokes, long before their cancer becomes a threat.

In fact, people who get CT scans are 100 times more likely to get a false alarm then they are to die of lung cancer, says Bach, the author of a 2007 study on lung cancer screening.

The American Cancer Society does not recommend lung screenings and they are not covered by insurance, Bach says. Insurers do cover follow-up tests and lung cancer treatments.

Go here to see what other readers think.

Science Daily reports: Drug Combination Improves Outcome For Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

2009-06-01T01:08:00.002-04:00

A new, international study found that the combination of two drugs delays disease progression for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Results from the Phase III "ATLAS" trial were presented May 30 by Dr. Vincent Miller of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

The goal of the study was to determine whether adding erlotinib (Tarceva®), a targeted agent, to maintenance therapy with bevacizumab (Avastin®), an agent commonly used as a component of treatment for advanced NSCLC would delay disease progression. Maintenance therapy involves using one or more agents of a chemotherapy regimen, but not the entire regimen, to delay disease progression and possibly improve survival after patients have previously received stronger standard chemotherapy, which can have significant side effects.

"This is the first study to show the addition of erlotinib to maintenance therapy prolongs progression-free survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer," said Dr. Miller, a thoracic oncologist at MSKCC and one of the study's lead authors. "Knowing which patients will get the greatest benefit from this combination, based on the identification of biomarkers, will be an important next step in this research," Dr. Miller added.

Read more.

Science Daily reports: Activated Stem Cells In Damaged Lungs Could Be First Step Toward Cancer

2009-06-01T01:04:00.001-04:00

Stem cells that respond after a severe injury in the lungs of mice may be a source of rapidly dividing cells that lead to lung cancer, according to a team of American and British researchers.

"There are chemically resistant, local-tissue stem cells in the lung that only activate after severe injury," said Barry R. Stripp, Ph.D., professor of medicine and cell biology at Duke University Medical Center. "Cigarette smoke contains a host of toxic chemicals, and smoking is one factor that we anticipate would stimulate these stem cells. Our findings demonstrate that, with severe injury, the resulting repair response leads to large numbers of proliferating cells that are derived from these rare stem cells."

Stripp said this finding could be related to the increased incidence of lung cancer in people with chronic disease states, in particular among cigarette smokers.

The findings were published in the advance online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of May 25.

Read more.

Lung Cancer Alliance Calls American Cancer Society's Claim of Progress Selective

2009-05-31T23:35:00.002-04:00

Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) said that the American Cancer Society's claim of "progress in cancer fight" earlier this week was based on "selective culling of statistics and ignores the dismal truth that we have made very little progress on the most lethal cancers, including lung cancer, which causes one in every two cancer deaths, or in metastatic cancer of any kind."

LCA President & CEO Laurie Fenton Ambrose agreed that progress has been made with certain cancers such as breast, prostate and colon which have widely accepted screening tests for early detection and ACS deserves credit for promulgating information to the public on the importance of these tests.

"But this is not time to be celebrating when half of all cancers still have survival rates of less than 50% and when we are facing a 45% increase in the overall number of new cancer cases by the year 2030," she said, citing a recent report on the upcoming tidal wave in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

"There could be no stronger wake-up call," she said. "We can't continue to tout selected changes in incidence and mortality rates over a limited number of cancers over a limited period of time. We have to step back and look at the big picture and try to figure out why we have not done better and where we have to go from here."

Read more.

Dr. West of GRACE says, Hats off to Bonnie J. Addario: Reaching out to Oprah in a BIG Way

2009-05-31T23:31:00.002-04:00

Read more.

Top NC advocate of smoking ban has lung surgery

2009-05-28T01:22:00.002-04:00

The powerful state House Democratic leader who drove the Legislature to pass a statewide indoor smoking ban had surgery Tuesday to remove part of his lung, his legislative aide said.

House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson, had surgery at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem and was recovering in the hospital's intensive care unit, his legislative assistant, Carol Bowers, said after speaking with the legislator's wife, Ellen.

Holliman had a lower lobe of his right lung removed, Bowers said. Test results will determine later whether the removed section was cancerous, Bowers said. He was in stable condition Tuesday, hospital spokeswoman Freda Springs said.

Holliman, a former smoker, previously had a cancerous tumor removed from his lung in September 2007. He also was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1999, but declared himself cured in 2005.

Holliman's surgery came a week after he was collecting plaudits from Gov. Beverly Perdue as the driving force behind legislation that will ban smoking inside restaurants and bars when it takes effect in January. Perdue called the law a turning point for the state that remains the country's largest tobacco grower.

Read more.

The State reports: SC legislators try to end shortened session

2009-05-21T10:43:00.001-04:00

South Carolina legislators appear to be heading home without final deals worked out on big issues.

Thursday's adjournment will come with no final agreements on raising the state's cigarette tax and there's little expectation the Senate will be able to move a bill adding new restrictions to the state's payday lending industry.

The Legislature set a 5 p.m. deadline to adjourn. That's two weeks earlier than usual and comes after the House and Senate both took several weeks off without pay to save money.

That's left a last-minute scramble to deal with legislation. The Senate has to deal with 30 budget vetoes.

Lawmakers will return briefly in June to deal with vetoes. They've also allowed themselves the option of coming back to deal with budget problems later in the year.

The State reports: Isotope shortage could delay cancer tests

2009-05-21T10:39:00.002-04:00

Canadian officials have again shut down a nuclear reactor that produces much of the world's radioactive isotopes used to diagnose cancer patients through medical imaging.

Patients in line for medical tests to diagnose cancer and heart ailments may have a longer wait as hospitals try to conserve a scarce supply of isotopes, doctors say.

The latest shutdown of an Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. nuclear reactor at Chalk River, Ontario - which provides about half the global supply of isotopes used in medical imaging - is expected to last about a month as technicians repair a leak of heavy water.

Government-owned AECL said Tuesday it has enough medical isotopes for the coming week, but will unable to meet demand by Saturday.

The AECL said its NRU reactor was shut down last Thursday after a power outage. The leak was discovered shortly after that.

The 52-year-old reactor was ordered closed by Canada's nuclear regulator in 2007 until mandated safety upgrades had been completed. The nearly monthlong shutdown that resulted sparked a critical global shortage of medical isotopes used in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and heart ailments, and only ended when Canada's Parliament voted to bypass the regulator's order.

Another lengthy shortage will force hospitals to delay non-urgent tests, said Dr. Karen Gulenchyn, a nuclear medicine expert who helped advise former Canadian health minister Tony Clement during the last isotope shortage in December 2007.

"It may mean that if you have an elective study booked ... that patient is going to be deferred and have to wait until the situation is resolved," she said.

Read more.

The State reports: A taste of help to keep cancer patients' pounds up

2009-05-21T10:25:00.002-04:00

The statistic is shocking: Severe malnutrition and weight loss play a role in at least one in five cancer deaths. Yet nutrition too often is an afterthought until someone's already in trouble.
A move is on to change that, from hospitals that hire fancy gourmet chefs to the American Cancer Society's dietitians-on-call phone service.

With cancer, you've got to "bring a lot more nutrients to each spoonful of food," Certified Master Chef Jack Shoop is learning. A former restaurateur, he's newly in charge of the kitchen at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Philadelphia.

Don't underestimate the added temptation should the result resemble Bon Appetit: "The visual heartiness, and the actual heartiness, of these foods has to be understood for them to embrace it," Shoop insists.

Tempting the palate is a huge hurdle: At diagnosis, up to a quarter of patients already have their appetite sapped, and most treatments can bring side effects that worsen the problem. Aside from the well-known nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, some cancers inhibit absorption of the nutrients patients force down. Not to mention strangely altered taste, mouth sores, dry mouth, difficulty swallowing and constipation.

About half of all cancer patients eventually suffer serious weight loss and malnutrition, a wasting syndrome called cachexia where they don't just lose excess fat but vital muscle. A healthy person's body adjusts when it doesn't get enough calories, slowing metabolism to conserve nutrients. A cancer patient's body doesn't make that adjustment; metabolism even may speed up.

The National Cancer Institute estimates cachexia is the immediate cause of death for at least 20 percent of cancer patients, although advanced cancer might have eventually claimed many of them.

How much weight loss is too much? The institute defines patients as at-risk when they've lost more than 10 percent of their usual weight. Other research suggests that patients who lose more than 5 percent of their pre-cancer weight have a worse prognosis than people who can hang onto the pounds.

For their best shot at doing that, the American Cancer Society urges patients to ask to be assessed by a registered dietitian up front, right at diagnosis. While that's common at designated cancer centers where dietitians work on-staff, it's not routine elsewhere and surveys suggest just a third of patients have access to cancer nutritionists where they're being treated.

"Patients who are well-nourished as they're going through treatment have shorter hospital stays, are better able to tolerate treatment," not to mention have better quality of life, says Colleen Doyle, nutrition chief at the society, which offers nutrition advice through its hot line at 1-800-ACS-2345.

Desperate patients often hunt their own nutrition advice on the Internet but can't tell the good from the bad. The No. 1 Web-perpetuated myth: that sugar feeds tumor cells. Not true, says Maureen Huhmann, who chairs the American Dietetic Association's oncology nutrition group. In fact, protein-packed milkshakes and smoothies can literally be lifesaving for some patients.

"I don't want people to start losing weight because they cut foods out of their diet when they don't really need to," says Huhmann.

Then there are people overweight when diagnosed who delight at shedding pounds - until they learn they're not just losing fat but muscle, too.

"You can be overweight and even obese and still be malnourished. It's a dilemma," says Carolyn Lammersfeld, the Cancer Treatment Centers' nutrition director who works with Shoop, the chef, to help patients find palatable options.

Typically, a cancer patient needs as much as twice the protein of a healthy person and about 10 percent more calories. Some tumors bring bigger nutritional threats than others: Gastrointestinal and lung cancers tend to cause more weight loss than breast cancer.

Anti-nausea medications developed in the past decade bring relief to many patients, although they're not always covered by insurance. Among options are a synthetic version of an ingredient from marijuana; cancer experts don't promote smoking marijuana although some advocates claim it helps. Doctors also can prescribe appetite stimulants and, for worst cases, feeding tubes.

But eating by mouth is best, and dietitians can offer tips to help: Snacking throughout the day instead of trying to force down large meals can help, and high-fat or high-fiber foods make nausea last longer.

In his Philadelphia hospital cafeteria, Shoop gives taste tests to introduce patients to healthful foods they may never have tried: Quinoa, a grain with the same amino acids of meat, or Arctic char, a salmon-like fish but less fatty.

Doing his own butchering allows Shoop to make stocks and sauces with the bones to add even more protein to meat dishes. Garnish with mushrooms, he advises, for a bit more.

And he teaches caregivers how to add 400 extra calories and 20 grams of protein to a simple smoothie, milkshake or oatmeal - using whole milk or yogurt, some protein powder, and grinding up fruits, nuts and flax seed.

"If you're not getting answers, keep searching," says Lammersfeld. "People need to know that weight loss and not being able to eat is not a good thing during cancer treatment."

The State reports: Study links cigarette changes to rising lung risk

2009-05-21T10:21:00.002-04:00

It may be riskier on the lungs to smoke cigarettes today than it was a few decades ago - at least in the U.S., says new research that blames changes in cigarette design for fueling a certain type of lung cancer.

Up to half of the nation's lung cancer cases may be due to those changes, Dr. David Burns of the University of California, San Diego, told a recent meeting of tobacco researchers.

It's not the first time that scientists have concluded the 1960s movement for lower-tar cigarettes brought some unexpected consequences. But this study, while preliminary, is among the most in-depth looks. And intriguingly it found the increase in a kind of lung tumor called adenocarcinoma was higher in the U.S. than in Australia even though both countries switched to so-called milder cigarettes at the same time.

"The most likely explanation for it is a change in the cigarette," Burns said in an interview - and he cited a difference: Cigarettes sold in Australia contain lower levels of nitrosamines, a known carcinogen, than those sold in the U.S.

That's circumstantial evidence that requires more research, he acknowledged.

Read more.

Time for the "Golf for Conner" fundraiser golf tournament!

2009-05-15T10:32:00.007-04:00

Join The Christopher Conner Foundation in making the 2nd Annual Golf for Conner Tournament a success! They are looking teams, sponsors, and silent auction items for the 2nd annual "Golf for Conner" tournament. Any donation would be greatly appreciated. The foundation realizes times are tough, but every little bit counts. Please help them get the word out to as many people as possible.

Please visit the "Golf for Conner" group page on Facebook.

Below is some more information on the tournament, as well as a link to the registration and sponsor forms.

Thanks for your help!

http://www.ccoflexington.com/Adobe%20links/GolfforConner%20Reg%20forms.pdf

Time for the "Golf for Conner" fundraiser golf tournament!!

The link above will allow you to print the registration form & also the sponsor form. Send them in ASAP!!

What:Golf Tournament fundraiser event in honor of our dear friend Chris Conner.

This event will host an array of musical talent throughout the day into the eveningincluding a Silent Auction. All profits will go towards an Educational Fund for his son Ace Conner & also to support the Christopher Conner Foundation.

Where: The Country Club of Lexington1066 Barr RoadLexington, SC 29072

When:Wednesday, May 20th, 2009Morning & Afternoon Tee Times7:30 am Registration, Shotgun Start at 8:30 am (30 teams)12:00 pm Registration, Shotgun Start at 1:30 pm (30 teams)

Silent Auction:Forms attached

If anyone has contacts they may be able to collect an Auction Item from, it would greatly be appreciated!

Contacts:

Brad Alewine, Shannon Howard Pooser, Molly Palmer Lowder, Brent Caughman, Charles Wilkie

"Golf for Conner"

PO Box 566Lexington, SC 29071

golfforconner@hotmail.com

803-214-2226

May's Issue of Woman's Health Magazine reports: When a Fit Body Fails You

2009-05-15T10:03:00.002-04:00

Being active, not smoking, and eating right can go a long way toward protecting you against lung cancer. But it's not always enough.

Emily Miner gave up smoking at age 6. "I was on a camping trip with my cousins," the 39-year-old Californian recalls. As the family sat around the campfire, her uncle lit a cigar. Intrigued by the sharp scent of the smoke, Emily persuaded him to let her try it. "I took a huge puff and turned green," she says. "That was it for me."

Thirty years later, Emily was a picture of healthy living: She ran a family winery in Napa Valley with her husband, Dave, had two young daughters, and was training for a half—marathon. So the discovery that a deadly disease was ravaging her was nothing short of shocking.

It started out as back pain, a recurring twinge. When an MRI showed a tumor on her spine and spots on her lungs, Emily and her oncologist assumed it must be breast cancer that had spread, a diagnosis not unknown in young, healthy women. No one was prepared for the biopsy result, which showed that Emily had lung cancer that had metastasized to her spine.

The number of lung cancer deaths among American women has grown by 600 percent since 1950. The disease is highly fatal, killing more women each year than breast and all gynecologic cancers combined. Today, one in every 16 women will develop lung cancer. And though the increase in its incidence is most likely due to a surge in the number of women smokers, nonsmokers aren't immune, says Michael Thun, M.D., vice president emeritus and research director of epidemiology for the American Cancer Society.

"No one's risk is zero," Emily says emphatically. "Look at me."

Read more.

The State reports: Higher cigarette tax will make S.C. more physically and fiscally fit

2009-05-14T15:03:00.002-04:00

Most people know that smoking carries a major health impact. A recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health confirms that smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. It is a primary cause of lung cancer, heart and vascular disease and emphysema, is associated with many digestive cancers, bladder cancer, breast cancer, reproductive disturbances, is a contributor to age-related mental decline and so on.

Most, however, do not consider that smoking also exacts a significant fiscal toll on our state.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control estimates that every pack of cigarettes sold generates $7 in smoking-related health-care costs and lost worker productivity. That cost is paid by every taxpayer, every private health insurance customer (individual and business) and by employers — regardless of whether any of them smoke or not. As such, smoking creates both physical loss in the form of damage to life and health, and fiscal loss in the form of medical treatment for smoking-related illness and lost worker productivity.

Some would consider this a hidden tax that every citizen pays to treat the deadly habit of a few.
One of the most effective ways to drive down this human and financial toll is to reduce the number of smokers by helping people choose not to smoke in the first place.

The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids says that every 10 percent increase in the real price of cigarettes reduces overall cigarette consumption by 3 percent to 5 percent. It reduces the number of young-adult smokers by 3.5 percent and the number of kids who smoke by between 6 percent and 7 percent. Cigarette price increases also reduce the number of teenagers who start smoking. That has an important long-term effect as 90 percent of smokers say they began smoking as a teenager.

The sooner South Carolina enacts an increase in the cigarette tax, the sooner our state starts to save lives and reduce the toll. We make an investment in our physical and financial health today and tomorrow. Fewer people begin to smoke, and more smokers quit. We, our children and grandchildren enjoy healthier, longer, more productive lives. We spend less emotion and money treating illness and disease.

The S.C. Tobacco Collaborative and our partners strongly urge our legislators to consider South Carolina’s physical and fiscal health, and pass the cigarette tax increase this session. We cannot afford to wait.

Mr. Bowie is executive director of the S.C. Tobacco Collaborative, a partnership of individuals, organizations and agencies committed to reducing the toll of tobacco use in South Carolina. He is a S.C. native and resident of Chapin.

WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham, NC reports:

2009-05-14T13:23:00.003-04:00

The North Carolina Legislature voted to pass a broad smoking ban Wednesday.

The measure would ban lighting up in all enclosed restaurants and bars.

The final 62-56 vote came in the House where Majority Leader Hugh Holliman urged fellow House members to support the Senate version of the bill.

The Senate version bans smoking in nearly all restaurants and bars. It leaves out workplaces where children visit, which the House agreed to last month.

Holliman said the Senate version would be a good step toward protecting the public from secondhand smoke.

According to the state Division of Public Health, secondhand smoke is responsible for $289 million in state health care costs resulting from lung cancer and other diseases.

While the bill is meant to protect the public's health from second hand smoke, it provides some exceptions to private clubs, cigar bars and non-profit establishments and some feel like that is discrimination.

Opponents of the smoking ban also argue it violates the right of business owners to choose whether to allow smoking, and of their patrons.

"The bill that we have before us that we are being asked to vote on is as I've said before a terrible intrusion - a terrible governmental intrusion of personal freedom," Harnett County Rep. David Lewis said.

The bill now goes to Governor Beverly Perdue for her approval, and she has indicated she will sign it.

Read more.

The New York Times: Doctor Sounds Alarm Ahead of Tobacco Vote

2009-05-11T21:05:00.002-04:00

For three decades, Dr. David M. Burns has written and edited some of the seminal work on tobacco science and the hazards of modern cigarettes: surgeon general’s reports, National Cancer Institute monographs, World Health Organization studies.

And he is hardly a dispassionate scientist. As a pulmonologist who has cared for hundreds of smokers who died of lung cancer, he is an unabashed campaigner against smoking.

That is why, with the Senate just weeks away from a vote on landmark legislation to regulate tobacco, Dr. Burns, 61, is now willing to sidestep the protocols of peer-reviewed science. He wants to sound one more alarm about the dangers of smoking.

Dr. Burns says he has new information, based on two years of study, indicating that cigarettes — even the supposedly safer ones — pose a much higher risk of lung cancer than before the surgeon general first declared them a health hazard in 1964.

He said the risk of a smoker’s developing lung cancer may be twice as high as it was then, even though tar and nicotine have been reduced.

Read more.

Mail Online from the UK reports: Women smokers get lung cancer earlier than men, says study

2009-05-11T20:58:00.001-04:00

Women are more vulnerable to the deadly side effects of smoking than men, a lung cancer study found.

Research into patients with the disease found women tended to be diagnosed at a younger age than men - even though they had smoked fewer cigarettes.

They were also more likely to develop one of the most common forms of the cancer, researchers said.

It adds to the growing pile of evidence suggesting that women are more vulnerable to the cancer-causing chemicals, or carcinogens, in tobacco than men.

The study looked at 683 lung cancer patients treated at a Swiss clinic between 2000 and 2005. It found that female smokers were statistically most likely to develop adenocarcinoma - a common form of lung cancer - and were more likely to be diagnosed with the disease at an earlier age.

Study leader Dr Martin Frueh, from St Gallen Canton Hospital in Switzerland, said: 'Our findings suggest that women may have an increased susceptibility to tobacco carcinogens.'

Read more.

The Post and Courier reports: Tax increase may be stubbed out

2009-05-08T12:31:00.001-04:00

Vote by Senate panel ignites debate that's likely to delay proposals until January

South Carolina smokers probably won't have to pay an extra 50 cents for a pack of cigarettes this year, thanks to a legislative battle that's broken out in the session's final days.

And because of that same conflict, low-income workers probably won't get help this year paying for health insurance.

"The cigarette tax proposals may be delayed until January with no clear-cut agreement over how to spend the money," said Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau. "It's a straight-up tax increase."

A decision Thursday by the Senate Finance Committee opens up a major fight on the Senate floor that likely won't be resolved with only six legislative days left before the anticipated summer adjournment.

Read more.

The Greenville News reports: Bill to raise cigarette taxes goes to Senate floor

2009-05-08T11:31:00.002-04:00

A bill to raise the tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack was sent to the Senate floor this morning (Thursday, May 7, 2009) but without any plan to spend the revenue.

The 16-5 vote by the Senate Finance Committee comes two days after the panel deadlocked on the issue over disagreement on how to spend the money.

The panel this morning specified only that $5 million be spent for lung cancer research at the Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston. The remainder of the projected $144 million to be collected beginning July 1 would go into a trust fund.

Lawmakers would decide later how the funds would be spent.

Read more.

The State reports: Committee OK's 50-cent hike to SC cigarette tax

2009-05-07T11:33:00.001-04:00

South Carolina's cigarette tax would increase by 50-cents per pack under a plan advancing through the Legislature.

The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday voted 16-5 to raise the nation's lowest per pack tax from 7 cents to 57 cents.

The nod came after lawmakers scrapped plans to use the $145 million that would be raised by the tax to set up a new health insurance program for the state's low-income residents.

Instead, much of the money would go to a trust fund for future health care needs. Some $5 million would go to a cancer research center at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

South Carolina's cigarette tax hasn't been increased since 1977.

The Boston Herald reports: Cancer sidelines Jerry Remy, voice of Red Sox

2009-05-07T11:30:00.002-04:00

Jerry Remy, the voice of the Red Sox [team stats] for more than 20 years, is fighting the aftereffects of lung cancer and will be out of the broadcast booth indefinitely.

Remy underwent surgery late last year, NESN revealed yesterday, and has since battled an infection and pneumonia.

On his Twitter site, Remy said he suffered his setback as he left for spring training. “In hindsight, it was a mistake to go and I am paying the price for it now,” he wrote.

He added he’ll be back in time “to take the team all the way to the 2009 World Series.”

Read more.

The State reports: Backlog may snuff cigarette tax hike

2009-05-05T15:35:00.003-04:00

Advocates of raising the state’s lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax are worried a legislative backlog could prevent the bill from becoming law until the Legislature returns next year.

The Senate Finance Committee today is expected to vote on the plan, which would raise the tax by 50 cents a pack. The $139 million the tax is expected to raise would help employers purchase health insurance for low-income employees, or for those employees to purchase insurance directly.

The bill has widespread support, but lawmakers said the delays over payday lending, stimulus money and other legislation mean the cigarette tax might run out of time this session.

“It’s a very real possibility,” said Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee. “It’s not an impossible jump, but there’s a lot of things ahead of it.”

Peeler said he has heard little opposition to the bill so far. Sen. Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee and chairman of the subcommittee studying the bill, expected minor changes to the House plan.

Lawmakers said one change would use tax revenue to fund the Hollings Cancer Center and another amendment might change the way smokeless tobacco products are taxed.

Read more.

Contact your Senator now!

Routine Exam May Have Been Life-Saver for Greenville's WYFF Weathercaster Keisha Kirkland

2009-04-23T17:44:00.002-04:00

If you're young and healthy, it's easy to think that there's not much reason to worry about your health and that an annual physical is something that other, older people have to think about, not you.

But for WYFF 4 Weathercaster Keisha Kirkland, getting that annual physical may have just saved her life.

Keisha, 36, said that she felt perfectly healthy, but because of a family history of heart disease, she had some tests run several months ago.

Her heart was fine, but doctors found that she had the beginning stages of lung cancer.
"I’ve never smoked. I’m young, you know, in shape, I exercise, eat well," Keisha told WYFF News 4's Jane Robelot. "But, hey, I’m still dealing with this."

Dr. James Stephenson of Greenville Hospital System, Keisha's surgeon, said discovering the cancer was almost as unlikely as her chances of having it.

"She decided to have a calcium scoring test to look for heart disease due to some family history," Stephenson said. "Just by chance this abnormal area in her lung was noted on that scan."

Read more.

Read Keisha Kirkland's Bio.

Dr. Joan Schiller, National Lung Cancer Partnership President, was nominated to receive the Lynn Kotsiantos Lifetime Achievement Award

2009-04-23T14:39:00.005-04:00

Congratulations!

Dr. Joan Schiller, Partnership President, was nominated to receive the Lynn Kotsiantos Lifetime Achievement Award by the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago (RHAMC). The award is made every year in honor of Lynn, a young mother who died from lung cancer.

Dr. Schiller will accept the award at RHAMC's May 7th Inspiration benefit for women's lung health in Chicago, IL.

Spring issue of CR magazine reports: The High Costs of Cancer Mortality

2009-04-23T14:05:00.002-04:00

A new analysis helps put research funding into perspective
By Hannah Hoag

...new studies found that at least 25 percent of cancer’s costs could be attributed to lung cancer. In 2008, an estimated 161,840 people died of the disease in the U.S., far more than died of any other cancer. The researchers further calculated that if lung cancer mortality rates declined by 1 percent annually, the value of life lost in 2020 due to lung cancer would drop from a projected $433 billion to $355 billion. A 4 percent annual decline in these mortality rates would put the estimated value of life lost to lung cancer in 2020 at $192 billion.

“The issue with lung cancer is that we are so naive about what we really know,” says Regina Vidaver, the executive director of the National Lung Cancer Partnership. “We need more knowledge in every single aspect, certainly in understanding [cell] signaling pathways and where they go wrong in cancer initiation and drug-resistance development.”

Even so, Laurie Fenton Ambrose, the president and chief executive officer of the Lung Cancer Alliance, is optimistic that a 1 percent annual decline in mortality is possible with additional funding for lung cancer research, including efforts aimed at finding cancers earlier. “Most cancers that have seen improvements are due to a more robust mechanism to detect their cancers early,” she says.

Read more.

Lung Cancer Alliance to Canadian Medical Association Journal Editorial on Lung Cancer Screening

2009-04-23T13:53:00.003-04:00

Monday, April 20, 2009: Last week, the Canadian Medical Association Journal published an editorial discussing lung cancer screening. In the piece, they misrepresented LCA's position on lung cancer screening. In addition, they came to the conclusion that the best use of funding for lung cancer would be in tobacco control and cessation programs. LCA President & CEO, Laurie Fenton Ambrose, sent in a Letter to the Editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal clarifying LCA's position on lung cancer screening and urging those within the community to address the disease in a comprehensive manner with tobacco cessation programs, early detection and treatment research.

View the Canadian Medical Association Journal Editorial

LCA's response: (Text Below)

Dear Editor,

The editorial in the April 14, 2009 Canadian Medical Association Journal entitled "A Pause for Thought on Lung Cancer Screening", by M.B. Stanbrook and K. Flegel accuses the Lung Cancer Alliance of having "promoted" CT screening for lung cancer. For the record, our position is that those at high risk for lung cancer (those with greater than 20 pack year smoking history, those with a family history of lung cancer, those with exgtensive exposure to asbestos, radon, Agent Orange and other carcinogens) should speak with their doctors about the risks and benefits of a CT scan.

Please note that we emphasize those at high risk, not population based screening. Even before mammograms and psa testing became widely accepted population based screening tests in the US. (The 5-year survival rates for those cancers are now 88% and 99% respectively and whether or not screening played a role in this increase in survival rates you can debate). The 5-year survival rate for lung cancer is still only 15%.

Lung cancer is far more lethal for the individual patient and in its overall public health impact. Nearly one in every three cancer deaths in the United States is due to lung cancer and only 16% of patients are being diagnosed at an early, most curable stage. Advances in CT scanning now present an alternative to late stage diagnosis for those at hight risk and recent papers coming out of ongoing European trials are further refining the process of CT screening.

Certainly we can look forward to a simple biomarker to further refine the optimal population subset for a CT scan, and we have adocated strongly for reseach funding in these areas. But in the meantime are you suggesting that those at high risk should do nothing? Your conclusion is: "In the meantime, given how much we know about the prevention of lung cancer, targeting smoking avoidance and cessation, rather than detection and management of lung cancer, would seem a better investment."

Sadly this statement ignores the fact that over 50% of lung cancer is being diagnosed in people who have already quit, many of them decades ago. Another 15 to 20% have never smoked. Without considering these individuals,any investment analysis in lung cancer in 2009 and the future is incomplete and suspect.

Sincerely,
Laurie Fenton Ambrose
President & CEO
Lung Cancer Alliance

The New York Times: Voices of Lung Cancer

2009-04-23T10:58:00.002-04:00

Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the country, killing more than 160,000 people a year. Yet the disease remains low on the list of cancer funding priorities. In 2006, the National Cancer Institute spent $1,518 for each new case of lung cancer and $1,630 for each lung cancer death. By comparison, the agency spent $13,452 per death on breast cancer, which takes 41,000 lives annually.

Read more.

Breath of Hope: Lung Cancer The Invisible Disease

2009-04-20T23:10:00.003-04:00

A new lung cancer documentary has been released and has started airing on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Stations across the country.

“Breath of Hope: Lung Cancer The Invisible Disease” is an hour long documentary that profiles lung cancer survivors from across the country, including LCA-MA advocate Kevin Brumett.

Hosted by Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress S. Epatha Merkerson of Law and Order fame, “Breath of Hope” attempts to eradicate the stigma of lung cancer by sharing the perspectives of survivors and their families as well as information from leading experts in the field.

The documentary, produced by CRW Productions in partnership with CancerCare and with input from LCA, has aired in more than 15 major markets, showing the true face of the disease in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Denver, Orlando, Indianapolis and Knoxville, TN.

For more information about “Breath of Hope”, or to see where and when it will air, please visit the documentary website, http://breathofhope.net/.

HealthDay News reports: Urine Test Could Gauge Smokers' Lung Cancer Risk

2009-04-20T14:56:00.003-04:00

Those with higher levels of a compound had nearly 9 times the risk, scientists say

By Randy Dotinga HealthDay Reporter

SUNDAY, April 19 (HealthDay News) -- Someday, a simple urine test might spot smokers at highest risk for lung cancer, scientists report.

The research is still in its preliminary stages, and it may be years before such a test becomes publicly available. But if it works, the urine-based screen could give added motivation to smokers who can't find other reasons to quit, said study author Dr. Jian-Min Yuan, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota.

Read more.

Moonlight and Magnolias Gala - sponsored by the American Cancer Society of Greenville

2009-04-20T14:19:00.012-04:00

Moonlight and Magnolias Gala - Saturday, May 9th - Downtown Greenville

Your support of the American Cancer Society’s mission of health awareness, research, education, advocacy and service is vitally important. At the Moonlight & Magnolias Gala, we honor and celebrate cancer survivors who benefit from your generosity in beating this dreaded disease. These survivors inspire us with their courage, strength, and zest for life.

Visit with these marvelous individuals and hear their inspiring stories in the “Voices and Faces” section on their website: http://www.moonlightandmagnolias.com/index.php

South Carolina Cancer Alliance meeting - Friday, April 24th in Columbia

2009-04-20T14:02:00.006-04:00

Register TODAY for the next meeting of the SC Cancer Alliance to be held Friday, April 24, 2009 at the Columbia Conference Center located at 169 Laurelhurst Avenue, Columbia, SC. The meeting will begin at 9:30 AM with task force meetings.

We have a great agenda lined up for you for this meeting, including:

“NCI Designation & What it Means for South Carolina” Carolyn E. Reed, MD MUSC Hollings Cancer Center

“Clinical Trials Matching Service” Simbonika Spencer, MPH of the American Cancer Society

“SCCA Legislative Update” Ted Riley, Esq., SCCA Lobbyist, Riley, Pope & Laney, LLC

You won’t want to miss this great meeting. Register online at www.sccanceralliance.org. Please submit any questions to Laura Stuckey at laura.stuckey@sccanceralliance.org

The mission South Carolina Cancer Alliance is to reduce the impact of cancer on ALL people in South Carolina. The SCCA is a 501(c)3 organization. To donate, go to www.sccanceralliance.org.

News from Winston-Salem: Local Radio DJ Remains Upbeat About Battle With Cancer

2009-04-10T11:22:00.001-04:00

A beloved local radio DJ gave his first media interview on Friday about his recent battle with lung cancer.

Bill Dobson, who goes by "Brother Bill" on his afternoon radio show at WTQR-FM, in Greensboro, announced several weeks ago that he was undergoing surgery to treat the disease.

Dobson said he had been experiencing pain for a year and a half but struggled to get a conclusive diagnosis.

"Everybody thought it was everything from arthritis to you name it," Dobson said in an interview on WTQR Friday morning.

Read more.

The New York Times: New Yorkers Often Exposed to Cigarette Smoke, Study Finds

2009-04-09T22:08:00.001-04:00

More than half of all nonsmokers in New York City have elevated levels of a nicotine byproduct in their blood indicating recent exposure to cigarette smoke, a city health department study has found. The figure is surprisingly high given the city’s stringent public smoking ban, among the toughest in the country.

Some 56.7 percent of nonsmokers living in the city were found to have elevated levels of the nicotine metabolite cotinine, compared with an average 44.9 percent of nonsmokers nationwide. Among the ethnic groups studied, nonsmokers of Asian descent were most often affected, with 68.7 percent of those examined showing elevated blood levels of cotinine.

The long-term health consequences of the finding are not known, but secondhand smoke is estimated to account for at least 35,000 deaths from heart disease and 3,000 deaths from lung cancer in nonsmokers nationwide each year.

Researchers with the health department said they were unsettled by the finding, which they called “puzzling.”

Read more.

The New York Times: Constantine Papadakis, Drexel University President, Dies at 63

2009-04-09T22:05:00.001-04:00

Constantine N. Papadakis, the president of Drexel University, died on Sunday, three days after taking medical leave. He was 63.

The cause was pulmonary complications of lung cancer, which was in remission, a statement from Drexel said. Dr. Papadakis raised the endowment, enrollment and profile of Drexel, a onetime commuter school.

Read more.

Science Daily reports: Young Women Warned Of Lung Cancer Risks

2009-04-06T00:07:00.002-04:00

Seventeen people are still dying from lung cancer each week in Northern Ireland despite a small improvement in survival rates for the disease.

The figures are revealed by a report launched April 3 by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) at Queen's University Belfast.

The NICR is holding a joint launch April 3 with Macmillan Cancer Support which has released its own report on the experience of patients living with lung cancer and their carers in Northern Ireland, highlighting that services are not meeting their needs.

The Queen's report, entitled Monitoring care of patients with lung cancer in Northern Ireland diagnosed 2006, details the facts of the disease from the numbers of people diagnosed, to trends, treatment and survival.

It looked at the experiences of more than 2,200 lung cancer patients over a decade and points to a fall in cases for men under 65 but not for women in this age group. Lung cancer now kills more women than breast cancer in Northern Ireland.

While highlighting the need for continued work to prevent the condition in all sections of the population by addressing smoking, it also acknowledges the commitment of staff who treat patients with the disease.

Read more.

Former Argentine President Raul Alfonsin dies

2009-04-02T11:46:00.000-04:00

Raul Alfonsin, the Argentine president who guided his country's return to democracy following a military dictatorship that left thousands missing, died on Tuesday. He was 82.

Alfonsin's personal doctor, Alberto Sadler, said he died of lung cancer. The government declared three days or mourning.

Read more.

Ex-studio boss behind 'Heaven's Gate' dies at 70

2009-04-02T11:44:00.001-04:00

Former United Artists movie executive Steven Bach, who oversaw the 1980 debacle "Heaven's Gate" and later wrote a memoir about it, has died.

Bach, who spent the last decade teaching literature at Bennington College, died of lung cancer March 25 at his home in Arlington, agent Robert Lescher said Tuesday. He was 70.

Read more.

US court dismisses smoking appeal

2009-04-01T11:24:00.001-04:00

The US Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by cigarette maker Philip Morris over a $79.5m award to the widow of a long-time Oregon smoker.

The court upheld a 1999 ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court in favour of Mayola Williams.

Having heard arguments in December, the judges said in a one-sentence order that they were not passing judgement on the legal issues presented.

The judgement has grown to more than $145m with interest.

Jesse Williams died of lung cancer in 1997 having smoked for 40 years.

Mrs. Williams sued the cigarette manufacturer for fraud on behalf of her husband.

Read more.

N.C. nears House vote banning smoking in public

2009-04-01T11:19:00.001-04:00

North Carolina legislators were facing a narrow vote on a proposed law that would ban smoking at indoor restaurants, bars and any other places people are working.

The House was scheduled to vote Wednesday on legislation that advocates say aims to eliminate the dangers of secondhand smoking. Opponents said it takes away a business owner's choice.

Read more.

Say 'thank you' to smokers

2009-03-30T11:35:00.003-04:00

The Daily Gamecock's Emily Weithman, second-year broadcast journalism student, says "thank you" to smokers and weighs in on the cigarette tax debate.

Well, I never thought I'd say this, but hooray for smokers.

Yes, that's right, I am condoning smoking. Make no mistake, I still despise the habit, but since the 50 cent-a-pack tax increase looks like it's finally going to pass this year, I say, full speed ahead Marlboro lovers.

South Carolina has historically had the lowest cigarette taxes in the nation, a statistic that was almost changed last year when the House and Senate approved a 50-cent increase. However, there was disagreement over how the money should be spent and so the House could not override Gov. Mark Sanford's veto.

This year, all that is subject to change with the new plan modeled after Oklahoma's federal match plan, which uses the extra money to help low-income or high-risk residents obtain health insurance.

Read more.

Carolinian Staff burns smoking ban from both ends

2009-03-30T11:17:00.002-04:00

from The Independent Student Newspapter of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

"There is currently a university rule banning smoking within 25 feet of any building entrance. When we were contacted by the Eta Sigma Gamma, the National Health Education Honorary, about their plans to petition that the distance be increased to 100 feet, it spurred some conversation in our newsroom."

Read more.

Mayo Clinic - Even a little smoking can do great harm

2009-03-29T15:18:00.002-04:00

Q: In my 20s and early 30s, I was a pack-a-day smoker who tried frequently to kick the habit. For the past 13 years, I have smoked only periodically — about six days a year (when getting together with college friends). On those days, I smoke about two packs a day. What is the risk to my health posed by those six days of heavy smoking?

A: Your risk of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is clearly lower now than when you smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. There is no data that can accurately answer your question. We do know that there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke, whether it's from smoking or inhaling secondhand smoke. By smoking occasionally, you definitely increase your chances of developing a tobacco-related disease, particularly heart disease.

Read more.

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A Week in the Life Of a Lung Cancer Survivor

2009-03-28T21:07:00.001-04:00

Being alive and dragged at is a heck of a lot better than the alternative, so full speed ahead it is. Maybe the medicines will help the rash. The cold is much better already. Hopefully the rash means the Tarceva is working and my next scan will be a thing of beauty. Maybe the girls will win tonight’s volleyball game and the Cubs will win the World Series. See, there’s my old optimist finding the sunlight once again.

www.nationallungcancerpartnership.org

Read more.

Lung Tube coming April 23rd

2009-03-28T19:19:00.004-04:00

LungTube–Carol Lin Reports

The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and Carol Lin Reporting are teaming up to bring you the most provocative, compelling and relevant stories about Lung Cancer patients and caregivers—their solutions, stories of survival and what it means to be “One In A Million.”

Stories, reported by award-winning, veteran broadcast journalist and former ABC News and CNN anchor/correspondent Carol Lin, will help the world understand the courage of survivors, the need for early detection and the truth that Lung Cancer is everyone’s challenge. You’ll meet Doreen Schmitt, NEVER-smoker, mother of three, who is outwitting her fatal diagnosis with grit and courage even as her husband is battling colon cancer. Then there’s Gabby, age seven, whose own diagnosis has made her the youngest of heroes as she raises awareness. This is just a taste of what’s to come.

Read more.

Mesothelioma Cause Reconfirmed

2009-03-27T19:26:00.000-04:00

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IRAC) reconfirmed this week that all commercial asbestos fibers cause lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Read more.

A simple puff may save smokers' lives

2009-03-27T18:23:00.002-04:00

Blowing into a tube could help find people at increased risk of getting lung cancer.

The test, called a spirometry, is used to diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, also known as smoker's lung or emphysema.

A study by Kiwi researchers has found people with COPD are six times more likely to get lung cancer than smokers without the disease.

But project leader associate professor Robert Young of Auckland University said spirometry tests should be given more often, especially as many doctors already had the equipment.

"It's not used all that much. This is not really acceptable, as nearly all patients with lung cancer express feelings of guilt or regret that they smoked and wished they had given up sooner."

Read more.

Reuters reports: Novartis-Antisoma lung cancer drug tested in Japan

2009-03-26T19:17:00.001-04:00

Clinical trials of an experimental lung cancer drug being developed by Novartis AG (NOVN.VX) in partnership with Britain's Antisoma Plc (ASM.L) have been extended to Japan.

Antisoma said on Wednesday that the Phase III programme evaluating ASA404 as a first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer was now enrolling patients in Japan -- an important step towards a potential application to sell the drug in the country.

Read more.

Reuters reports: Cancer cure rates on the rise in Europe: study

2009-03-26T19:13:00.002-04:00

More Europeans are beating cancer, perhaps due to more widespread screening and earlier diagnosis, according to a study published on Tuesday.

The study compared two periods -- 1988 to 1990 and 1997 to 1999 -- and found that the proportion of men and women cured of lung cancer rose from 6 percent to 8 percent, stomach cancer cures from 15 percent to 18 percent and colorectal cancer cure rates went from 42 percent to 49 percent.

Read more.

Carotenoid supplements tied to lung cancer risk

2009-03-26T19:06:00.001-04:00

Based on the findings from a new study, it appears that people who take higher than recommended doses of carotenoid supplements hoping to keep from getting sick, may actually be doing themselves harm. The long-term use of beta-carotene, retinol, and lutein supplements at doses higher than in multivitamins, increases lung cancer risk, especially in smokers and former smokers, according to investigators from the Vitamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) study.

High-dose beta-carotene supplements increase the lung cancer rates in high-risk individuals, even though carotenoids from dietary sources tend to lower risk, Dr. Jessie A. Satia and co-researchers note in the American Journal of Epidemiology. "Whether effects are similar in the general population is unclear."

Read more.

USA Today reports: Lawsuit targets Lake County polluters

2009-03-26T18:43:00.003-04:00

Ron Kurth grew up in Gary and worked in the steel mills, and he raised his family in the region near the outskirts of Chicago. And he always wondered about the smoke and smog that overcast the Lake Michigan shoreline.

"It's just a horrible atmosphere ... bringing a family up in this area," he said.

Kurth, who has a 16-year-old daughter who attends high school in Crown Point, decided someone ought to do something about the pollution, and Wednesday, he did.

He filed a lawsuit on behalf of his daughter against 11 northwest Indiana industries, including U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal, claiming the air pollution they emit from their smokestacks endangers the long-term health of Lake County children. The lawsuit seeks class action status on behalf of thousands of the county's schoolchildren.

The complaint cites a study that appeared in USA Today earlier this year that reported children in the heavily industrialized county are exposed to higher levels of airborne toxins than elsewhere in the United States, based on EPA data on air quality outside 127,800 schools nationwide.

Four schools in East Chicago -- Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, East Chicago Lighthouse, and Eugene Field Elementary School -- ranked in the study's first percentile, among the most polluted air.

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USA Today reports: Granholm wants to halt Mich. asbestos inspections

2009-03-26T18:37:00.002-04:00

Michigan's environmental regulatory agency says it no longer can afford to inspect buildings scheduled for demolition or renovation to prevent asbestos releases into the air.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm's proposed budget recommends dropping the Department of Environmental Quality program designed to ensure compliance with federal asbestos rules. Significant exposure to the fibrous mineral is believed to boost risk of lung cancer and other respiratory illnesses.

If the Legislature approves, responsibility for conducting inspections and punishing violators will revert to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's regional office in Chicago, which critics say lacks the resources to do an adequate job.

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The Los Angeles Times: Dying for some red meat? You may be

2009-03-26T18:27:00.001-04:00

There are many explanations for how red meat might be unhealthy: Cooking red meat generates cancer-causing compounds; red meat is also high in saturated fat, which has been associated with breast and colorectal cancer; and meat is high in iron, which also is believed to promote cancer.

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The Post and Courier reports: Cigarette tax increase gets 1st review

2009-03-25T13:25:00.002-04:00

Charging smokers more for a pack of cigarettes as a way to help uninsured South Carolinians gain health care coverage will face its first hurdle before a legislative panel today (Tuesday, March 24th).

House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, crafted a proposal to raise the state's lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax to 57 cents a pack. The tax, set in 1977, currently is 7 cents a pack, well below the national average of $1.21.

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The State reports: Some SC teens call for cigarette tax hike

2009-03-25T13:10:00.002-04:00

Dozens of South Carolina teenagers are calling on lawmakers to raise the state's lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax.

Members of a youth anti-tobacco group came to Columbia on national Kick Butts Day to urge legislators to hike tobacco taxes and fund smoking prevention programs like theirs. About 6,700 teens statewide ages 13 to 17 participate in Rage Against the Haze.

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South Carolina Kids 'Kick Butts' on March 25

2009-03-23T11:22:00.003-04:00

On Kick Butts Day, kids turn the tables on Big Tobacco with events that range from "They put WHAT in a cigarette?" demonstrations to mock-funerals for the Marlboro Man to rallies at state capitols. Activities in South Carolina include (all events are on March 25 unless otherwise noted):

Youth from the South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative in Columbia will encourage state legislators to pass a significant increase to South Carolina's cigarette tax. Time: 11 AM. Location: 1101 Gervais Street, South Carolina State House (Rotunda), Columbia. Contact: Kelly Davis (803) 479-0411.

At Cleveland Park, the Greenville Family Partnership in Greenville will be displaying household products that contain the same dangerous chemicals as cigarettes, such as ammonia and arsenic. Time: 2 PM. Location: 150 Cleveland Park Drive, Greenville. Contact: Alesia McFarlin (864) 467-4099.

Note to the media: For a list of Kick Butts Day events in South Carolina visit www.kickbuttsday.org/events. Additional information about tobacco, including state-by-state statistics, can be found at www.tobaccofreekids.org.

WIS News: 5K race hopes to raise awareness of how to quit smoking

2009-03-22T13:33:00.002-04:00

Are you ready to kick some butt, as in cigarette butts?

The South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative and several other groups are teaming up for their 3rd annual "Strong Bodies Kick Butts" 5K race.

Read more.

Science Daily reports: Lung Cancer: Molecular Scissors Determine Therapy Effectiveness

2009-03-19T21:28:00.001-04:00

In the past few years, a number of anti-cancer drugs have been developed which are directed selectively against specific key molecules of tumor cells. Among these is an antibody called cetuximab, which attaches to a protein molecule that is found in large amounts on the surface of many types of cancer cells.

When this surface molecule, called epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGF-R for short, is blocked by cetuximab, the cancer cell receives less signals stimulating cell division.

Clinical studies of non-small cell lung cancer, which is the most frequent type of lung cancer, have shown so far that only part of the patients treated with cetuximab benefit from the treatment. Therefore, doctors are urgently searching for biomarkers which reliably predict responsiveness to the antibody therapy.