Stand Up To Cancer

Well, things are finally settling down again in America. The election's over, so now all eyes are on President-elect Obama - including the eyes of the cancer community. In this commentary from SU2C friend Lance Armstrong, Obama is urged to redouble the government's commitment to fighting cancer now.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/09/armstrong.cancer/

Meanwhile, scientists at Washu St. Louis have successfully decoded the complete DNA of a cancer patient for the first time. "This is the first time that we've been able to look at the entire set of genes from a cancer patient," said one of the clinicians involved in the study. "And that's key because that's going to help us understand what goes wrong."
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-11-10-voa31.cfm

In other research news, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have developed a method for viewing individual breast cancer cells for several days at a time. The technique has yielded new information on how cancer cells invade tissues and reach blood vessels in the early stages of metastasis.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/546378/

Speaking of breast cancer, here's a new way to raise awareness: through a film festival. Next week Toronto will play host to the Breast Fest Film Festival (great name, right?), which aims to use the expressive power of film to educate audiences. And what's the opening night feature? Living Proof, of course, the Lifetime movie about SU2C friend Dr. Dennis Slamon.
http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/November2008/11/c7242.html

There are plenty of ideas from Canada we should be stealing down here in the good ol' US of A. Here's another one: stricter bans on farm pesticides, which have been shown to pose a cancer risk to farmers, rural residents and possibly even the general eating public.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081112.wpesticides12/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20081112.wpesticides12

We don't see a lot of news about brain cancer, but here's an exciting development: researchers at Tel Aviv University have determined that some people are genetically predisposed to the disease, just like some people are more susceptible to breast, colon and prostate cancers. Scientists now hope to find genes associated with brain tumors to better determine who is at risk.
http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=45362654

Finally, did you know that November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month? The campaign centers on raising awareness and education the American public about the causes of the most lethal form of cancer. To learn more about Lung Cancer Awareness Month, visit the Lung Cancer Alliance online. And to read about this year's Great American Smokeout on November 20th, click here.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20081110/LOCAL1803/811100391/1267/LOCAL01

A side-note: Glam.com has featured SU2C holiday gift items on their blog, including photos of celebrities sporting our star necklaces. Read the Glam.com article: Holiday Gifts That Stand Up To Cancer.

That's it for now. Check back with us Thursday to learn more!

--Cat