Stand Up To Cancer

As we near the end of an inspiring and historic week in America, I can't help but be excited about all the change and progress our country has seen in the past forty years - and hope that soon we'll see some change in the way our country tackles the issue of healthcare in general and cancer specifically. President-Elect Obama has spoken in the past of his mother's battle against cancer. Sadly, he also lost his grandmother to cancer this week, one day before becoming the country's first black president.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6095465.html

We launched a star in Madelyn Dunham's honor. You can view and add to it here:
http://www.standup2cancer.org/constellation-launch?starId=14977

Earlier this week, the University of California San Francisco launched BreastCancerTrials.org, a free online service that allows women diagnosed with or at risk for breast cancer to find clinical trials. "Every advance in our understanding and treatment of breast cancer has come from clinical trial results," said one of the docs involved with the project. "The more we can empower our patients to find out about and participate in trials, the faster we will be able to complete trials, and the sooner this new knowledge will translate into better care and outcomes for all patients."
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2008/11/06/free-web-site-lists-breast-cancer-clinical-trials.html

There's actually some good news for migraine sufferers this week. New research indicates that women who get migraines may have a much lower risk of developing breast cancer than their headache-free peers. Turns out most migraine triggers in women are hormone-related, same way breast cancer can be hormone-related.
http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/news/20081105/migraines-may-cut-breast-cancer-risk

And now some not so cheery news. The LA Times reports that new research out of Harvard shows that B vitamins and folic acid, while useful in many ways, don't cut cancer risk. Because these supplements help with DNA synthesis and repair, some had theorized that they might be natural cancer-fighters. No cigar this time, though.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2008/11/folic-acid-and.html

Did you know that worldwide, stomach cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related death? Researchers had previously identified risk factors including a high-sodium diet, smoking and H. pylori bacterial infection (seen mostly in underdeveloped nations). Now Columbia scientists have identified elevated levels of a single immune system protein as a major contributor to the disease, proving that chronic inflammation really does significantly raise risk.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081105135126.htm

Finally, this week Michael Crichton, bestselling author of Jurassic Park and many many other novels, died of cancer after a long, private battle with the disease. As anyone who's ever spent an entire day lost in the underseas world of Sphere can attest, we just lost a fantastic imagination. (Seriously, read it.) He was 66.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aYJs56Zfe_X0&refer=muse

To end on a light note, see Christina Applegate on the set of Samatha Who?
http://www.imnotobsessed.com/2008/11/06/christina-applegate-on-the-set-of-samantha-who

That's it for this week - see you next Thursday . . .

--Cat