Stand Up To Cancer

I hope that everyone involved in SU2C, from you to me, are unwavering in our optimism and in our belief in what can be achieved if all of us affected by cancer (that's everyone) work together toward one common goal. This is hard, but it's also what's right: we can make cancer history. But sometimes, some weeks--and this happens to be one of them--we look around the news and are reminded of just how hard a problem we face, just how cruel this disease can be, and just exactly why we must work as hard as we can.

Since last Thursday, cancer has taken journalist Leroy Sievers, NFL hall-of-famer Gene Upshaw and John Challis, a Pittsburgh teenager whose diagnosis with terminal cancer at the age of 16 inspired him to live his life to the fullest in the time he had left.

Sievers, an NPR commentator and author of the My Cancer blog, passed away on Friday, seven years after he was initially diagnosed with colon cancer. "I don't think that the cancer is ever quiet," he wrote just a few weeks ago. "It always seems to be probing or looking, trying to find a place it can cause trouble." He was 53.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-08-17-sievers-death_N.htm

Upshaw lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Thursday. Executive director of the NFL Players Association and a hall-of-famer thanks to his years playing with the Raiders, Upshaw was only 63.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/21/obit.upshaw/?iref=hpmostpop

In the two years following his cancer diagnosis, John Challis played for his high school's football and baseball teams, threw the first pitch at a Pirates game and spent a day with Yankees star Alex Rodriguez. "He was a very brave boy," A-Rod said. "Very smart. He had a huge heart. I was just proud that I got to spend a whole day with him . . . It's something that I'll be inspired by for the rest of my life."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2008125241_apobitchallis.html?syndication=rss

With so many people still dying from cancer at unbelievably young ages, it's more imperative than ever that we renew our focus on finding a cure.

In other news, integrative medicine continues to strengthen its status as a legitimate part of the medical arsenal against cancer. Indian pharmaceutical company IPCA Laboratories is shifting its focus to ayurvedic, or biological, medicines, in hopes of commercializing a new approach to cancer treatment.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=587f3da2-0615-4636-bd9b-78121b923002&&Headline=IPCA+bets+on+ayurvedic%2c+biological+cancer+therapy&strParent=strParentID

And in other drug news, remember when we talked about how turmeric has been shown to fight cancer? Well, now scientists are taking the next step - creating synthetic molecules from compounds based on the spice.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080817223644.htm

There's been a lot of conflicting information about the HPV vaccine recently, which is why I was happy to read this Slate article by Sydney Spiesel, MD, that breaks down common misconceptions about Gardasil. "The vaccine seems quite safe and very effective--especially when compared with the risks of not immunizing," he says. "I wish it were a lot cheaper. I also wish it could be given to younger children and to both boys and girls (both would get some benefit, though girls more)." Here's an idea: call it the cervical cancer vaccine, not the HPV vaccine. Then everyone's happy!

http://www.slate.com/id/2198325/

Since I started out with bad news, I'll finish on a cheerier note. As you may have heard, comedienne Christina Applegate is officially cancer-free after a prophylactic double mastectomy. And now she's using her influence to educate women on the power of screening MRIs and genetic testing. (Sound familiar?) "I'm going to have cute boobs 'til I'm 90," she said. Way to keep your chin up!

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1937109820080819

That's it for this hot August week, but we'll be back next Thursday with more required reading. Until then, generate some heat of your own over in the forums!

--SU2C web crew