People ask me this from time to time, though it's not as popular a salutation as it was in the 1730s. In that decade, if the answer went beyond "not much," the town crier often got involved.
These days, with the fast pace of modern technology and 24-hour news cycles and this whole internet fad, the answer is often "everything." So the whole "what's new" thing doesn't lend itself to brief stop-and-chats in the same way it did in the colonial period.
With Stand Up To Cancer's online creative content, we're always working to make sure that the "everything" part is true. Given the relative newness of the website itself, however, it might be good to give a primer on what's worth watching and reading on SUTV and SU2C Magazine. The answer? Again, everything. (Along with cancer, SU2C is also where the end of humility begins.)
There are 21 articles in the magazine and 10 videos spanning the channels of SUTV. In particular this week, if you haven't read the first installment of Alicia Sky Varinaitis' series of personal essays, Insane in the Membrane, then I really don't know what to say to you. Also, Cindy Chupack, Emmy winner and one of the creative minds behind that TV show Sex and the City, reminisced for us about the joys of getting a mammogram on your birthday while preparing to get married, enduring what she coined "the breast sandwich." Turns out it was an incredibly positive experience. (For readers, too.)
The incomparable Jerome Groopman M.D. -- scientist, author, and eternal skeptic of cancer research initiatives -- also wrote about what makes this project different from all other projects, and you don't need a Passover Seder to understand what he means.
Similarly, if you haven't watched Larry David's plea for help or the Daily Show's profanity-laced (but bleeped for office viewing) assault on cancer, then you aren't having enough fun.
Didn't get around to seeing the David Fincher (Fight Club, Panic Room) directed SU2C PSA? Then you haven't yet shed tears over a Stand Up To Cancer public service announcement.
And if you want to understand the urgency of this (and every) moment in cancer research, read and watch the Why Now video and article.
As for new creative content this week, you'll have a chance to see and get involved in an effort to spark greater government support for progress against cancer. As you know, our elected representatives have been forced to sit up and take notice of the growing crisis represented by cancer of late. Here's hoping they're going to stand up as well.
You'll get a chance to read more on what this whole translational research deal is about (it's in layman's terms -- that part of the translation will have already been done).
Truth is, there really aren't videos or articles posted on this site or upcoming that we aren't proud of and we hope they'll make you proud to be part of SU2C, and empowered to make the cause yours. Next week we'll do another roundup of whatever we've got that's both new and good (everything).
If you like, love, are indifferent, or just want to sound off about articles or videos, send an e-mail (blog@standup2cancer.org), post a comment below, or think on it and share your thoughts on our upcoming message board (you'll be able to find it right here in the Forums section of the magazine). We do want to hear from you.
Until the next blog post, thanks for continuing to help make SU2C a success.
Win a chance to sit in Stand Up To Cancer's celebrity phone bank!
On September 5th, Stand Up To Cancer will be holding a national televised fundraiser to be broadcast on ABC, CBS, and NBC. Winners will have the opportunity to sit among A-list celebrities coming together to raise funds for innovative cancer research.
Recently, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter wrote to SU2C about renewing and refocusing the energy of the federal government to push for progress in the war on cancer.
As the Senator's message points out, we have the power to make a crucial difference in how the United States government treats cancer and those affected by it. In order to do so, we have to act to put pressure on our elected representatives.
Dear Members of the Executive Leadership Committee:
I want to congratulate you on your September 5, 2008 "Stand Up to Cancer" television special and your innovative idea of raising funds from private sources for cutting-edge research.
Senator Tom Harkin and I have been, in a way, conducting our own fund-raising campaign--doubling the appropriation for the National Institutes of Health from $13 billion in 1998 to $26 billion in 2003. Unfortunately, since that time, our efforts have fallen short. Funding for medical research has become stagnant, not even keeping pace with inflation. Research grants have been trimmed back or eliminated all together. Ideas for testing bold new approaches to treating disease have been shunted to the back burner. Worse yet, promising young investigators--the future scientific leaders--have been discourages from entering this field of study.
I am asking that during your private fund-raising efforts, you call call on your viewers to raise their voices and demand that funding for the National Institutes of Health be doubled once again to $60 billion.
Particular attention should be given to the Members of Congress who have not been supportive, such as those who voted against stem cell legislation and increases for biomedical research funding in appropriations bills.
Once again, I commend you for your efforts on behalf of myself and the millions of Americans who are searching for new treatments in their fight against disease and disability.
Together we can be an unstoppable political force for increasing our investment in biomedical research. I thank you for joining me in this fight.
My Best,
Sincerely,
Arlen Specter
Ranking Member
Subcommmittee on Labor, Health
and Human Services and Education
Let our government know that we are paying attention, that the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute need help, and that they need help now: Go to the Get Involved page and e-mail Congress.
Members of The Stand! If you would like your picture to be included in our "on-stage" version of The Stand during the September 5 show (airing on ABC, CBS and NBC), please email us a high resolution photograph. Please include your data from The Stand, including, name, status (i.e. 'touched by,' 'in the fight', 'newly diagnosed').
Inspired by the three big networks (ABC, CBS, NBC), banding together on Sept. 5th to air our televised show, we wanted to create that same kind of unity and movement online.
Thus, the Virtual Stand-Up, which will also take place on the 5th all day and anyone, not just network anchors, can get involved--bloggers, video podcasters, cancer research advocates as well as countless others online that are personally affected by the disease.
We all have the opportunity to show that everyone can stand up in their own ways by updating their Facebook or MySpace status to say "Stand Up To Cancer," on the big day, blogging about cancer and the need for research funds, twittering about SU2C, adding an email signature, etc.
If you're one of the few who haven't been following the story of Ben Teller through his "vlogs" (video + blog = vlog) over on SUTV, now's your chance to get caught up before he posts his last SU2C vlog today. Ben was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma as a teenager, but he's not letting that keep him from having fun - or from helping others. By selling $5 "cuck fancer" bracelets to help raise funds for cancer research, Ben really has, as he would put it, made cancer his bitch.
Check out Ben's vlogs here, and make cancer your bitch by donating to SU2C!
Cancer kills more kids in the US than any other disease. This week SU2C co-producer Katie Couric and the ever-adorable Abigail Breslin were in Philly at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia filming a segment for the big show. One of the kids they met, ten-year-old Pearce Quesenberry, is coping with a deadly form of brain cancer. She'll appear on the show with Abigail to tell America what it's like to be a kid with this horrible disease.
"People think 'Oh you have cancer it's really bad', but it's really bad. Like all the stuff you have to go through yeah. It's a lot," said Pearce.
She is getting experimental treatment. It's the kind of cutting edge research that Stand Up to Cancer may help pay for.
"Without funding you can't do experiments. Without funding you can't make discoveries. Without discoveries you can't deliver new cures to patients," said Dr. Tom Curran, Cancer Researcher at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Check out a video of Katie, Abigail and Pearce here.
With your help, SU2C will help create a brighter future for kids like Pearce. Be a part of the effort by donating now and don't forget to tune in on September 5 to find out what Abigail and Katie learned in Philly!
If you're one of the few who haven't been following the story of Ben Teller through his "vlogs" (video + blog = vlog) over on SUTV, now's your chance to get caught up before he posts his last SU2C vlog today. Ben was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma as a teenager, but he's not letting that keep him from having fun - or from helping others. By selling $2 "cuck fancer" bracelets to help raise funds for cancer research, Ben really has, as he would put it, made cancer his bitch.
Check out Ben's vlogs here, and make cancer your bitch by donating to SU2C!
New as of 8/30:
Ben is now making his cuck fancer bracelets available for purchase at: cuck-fancer.com
Have you seen the blogger donated video for Stand Up To Cancer yet? Over 30 bloggers and online sites donated photos of themselves holding signs that state why they are standing up to cancer, E.G. For my mom, hope, healthy boobs, whatever their connection to cancer is and why they are tired of this disease affecting their life and taking life. Thus, showing how all of us are affected by cancer. After all, no one is immune to the effects.
Besides the contributed photos, New York singer and songwriter Jennifer O'Connor, donated her song Sister, which is unfortunately based on her own cancer story.
A big congratulations - and thank you - to the winners of SU2C's film challenge. We invited filmmakers all over America to focus their cameras on cancer, and the results were incredibly inspiring. Entries were judged by a panel of Hollywood luminaries including Laura Ziskin, Lauren Shuler Donner, Sherry Lansing, Greg Mottola, Julie Taymor and Robert Greenwald; their three favorites are, in ascending order:
Amanda Boggs is the creative force behind the choreography, direction and editing of this video. In this short, dance inspires people to come together and stand up to cancer.
In second place is a short that demonstrates the power of memory. "This film tells the tragic, unimaginable, and magical loss of my brother and sister to Glioblastoma Multiforme, the deadliest form of brain tumor," writes Justin Rubin. Check it out to learn what he means by "no next."
Jesse Ash's deceptively simple images (co-animated by Ryan Dennie) offer a child's perspective on loss. "Sometimes I dream of a magical cure," says the narrator. With SU2C's help, maybe that dream will come true one day.
A huge thanks, again, to all the talented filmmakers who submitted their work to SU2C, and congratulations to all our winners!
In the run-up to the big show last week and in its aftermath, lots of news outlets stepped up to give the issues surrounding cancer proper context and attention. Below are several highlight passages from a piece in the latest edition of Time magazine by Bill Saporito, a cancer survivor himself. To read the entire article, pick up the September 15th issue of Time this week or click here.
"For an increasing number of cancer activists, researchers and patients, there is too much death and too much waiting for new drugs and therapies. They want a greater sense of urgency, a new approach that emphasizes translational research over basic research--turning knowledge into therapies and getting them to patients pronto. The problem is, that's not the way our sclerotic research paradigm--principally administered by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI)--is set up. "The fact that we jump up and down when cancer deaths go from 562,000 to 561,000, that's ridiculous. That's not enough," says Lance Armstrong, 36, the cyclist and cancer survivor turned activist through his Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF).
"A new and more radical approach is being taken by groups like the newly formed Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C), which plans to finance research designed to deliver big leaps and home runs rather than the incremental improvements that are more typical of mainstream science. The new focus for funding grants, said Dr. Eric Winer, chief scientific adviser to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, in a conference address, is results: "What we want to see is research that is going to change the number of women that are diagnosed with, or more importantly, die of, breast cancer within the foreseeable future." Others, like the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), are trying a no-nonsense business model to speed drug development.
"Doctors and scientists understand the frustration and the fear, and they don't necessarily mind the nudge. "We do need to change. Something needs to be done differently," says Tyler Jacks, director of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. "We have a lot of new insight, and we need to have a whole new collection of drugs, a new armamentarium."
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"The New Paradigm
"These are precisely the kinds of challenges that gave rise to Stand Up to Cancer, the advocacy group organized by CBS newscaster Katie Couric and eight other women, all of them connected to Hollywood, including Spider-Man producer Laura Ziskin, who has breast cancer. Says Couric, who lost her husband and sister to cancer: "It was clear to me and other people that this borders on the ridiculous. You ask yourself: What can be done?" SU2C has a scheduled Sept. 5 launch with an unprecedented three-network simulcast, hosted by Couric, Brian Williams and Charles Gibson. It features a roster of stars, including a performance by cancer survivor Melissa Etheridge and a film by Errol Morris (who produced Standard Operating Procedure, an acclaimed documentary about Abu Ghraib abuses). "I will make you laugh," says Ziskin, who produced the show. "I will definitely make you cry." But so, too, would any name-your-disease telethon.
"It's what happens next that is different. SU2C will not distribute funds to research institutions. Instead, it will assemble dream teams of scientists across disciplines and institutions, and they will work collaboratively on projects designed to deliver a product of sorts--as opposed to an academic paper--within a defined time period. Says Ziskin: "They can only get funded if they can produce a treatment."
"To vet and choose the projects, SU2C has recruited a high-powered scientific advisory committee chaired by Phillip Sharp, a Nobel Prize--winning cancer researcher at MIT. The selected projects will then be monitored by the American Association for Cancer Research. "What I hope to do is identify areas where we could accelerate progress, particularly in areas where there's need--ovarian, pancreatic, glioblastoma," says Sharp.
"Additionally, 20% of the funds raised will go to higher-risk projects with potentially greater paybacks. It's a science version of throwing it long. "If you run the same play every time, you're not going to win the game," says Armstrong. One of SU2C's advisers was the late Judah Folkman, a famed cancer scientist whose pathbreaking theory that tumors grow via angiogenesis (creating their own blood supply) was resisted for decades. "There may be other Judah Folkmans out there," says Ziskin. "We don't want them wandering around for 40 years."
"SU2C is not the only independent group shaking things up. The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation used a pay-for-results funding model that has more to do with Silicon Valley than Big Pharma to support research that in four years got four new treatments to patients--Thalomid, Velcade, Revlimid and Doxil. That's about six years faster than the decade it usually takes for such drug development and rollout. Multiple myeloma is a rare cancer of the bone marrow that sickens about 20,000 Americans each year--precisely the uncommon form of the disease that often falls into the research cracks. The MMRF benefited from the aggressive work of founder Kathy Giusti, a multiple-myeloma survivor and former pharmaceutical executive. When she and her group first raised enough money to start funding research, she faced a feeding frenzy of research applicants. "They will do what they have to do to get grant money. They're desperate," she says.
"The MMRF made sure it got the most from its grant dollars by adopting an enforced-collaboration model in 2004, linking work at four cancer centers into a consortium managed by PricewaterhouseCoopers and providing them all with patients, tissue samples and a set of targets and goals. "The odds of a cure coming from one center are nil," Giusti says. "You need a mutual fund to fight cancer." From not having a single drug in the pipeline, the MMRF now has 30, half of them in clinical trials. The average lifespan of a multiple-myeloma patient has been extended by three years, to seven.
"If the MMRF model works for a single, specialized cancer, it's not clear that a group like Stand Up to Cancer--which is casting a far wider research net--will show the same results. But clinicians say it's worth trying. "There needs to be a mechanism whereby we can bring groups of people together from different institutions in one group," says DuBois, who is part of SU2C's scientific panel. At the same time, there is hope that the 20% of grants SU2C is setting aside for outside-the-box research will yield something semimiraculous."
Show night. We've been waiting nearly a year for this. Preparing, helping in any way we could. Sure, Stand Up To Cancer is where the end of cancer begins, and in a way the show was the start. But it was also the end of the beginning, if that makes any sense. And we were freaking out. We had helped conceive of, helped build a website, been a part of making the show a reality, and now we couldn't of course head into the truck where Director Louis J. Horvitz and producer Laura Ziskin and an amazing tech crew were about to work their magic. Like passengers on a commuter flight, we had to let the pilots take control. Now, on the precipice, we had to resign ourselves to simply going along for the ride. So we snuck into the house at the Kodak and snagged a few seats. And then we looked at each other and smiled. You could feel the electricity in the building, the lump in your throat rising, the work and ideation and sometimes frustration maybe we hoped we hoped we hoped becoming reality and success. Louis got on the loudspeaker to thank the crowd, to thank the networks, and to let us know we were 1 minute from an hour of live tv. We locked eyes again, remembering that getting a show of this magnitude in under an hour wasn't going to be a cakewalk, even for people as world-class qualified as Louis and Laura. The house lights came down, and the Manifesto began to play. Did we mention the Sidney Portier is a Godhead? Ridiculous. As the hour wore on, with Patrick Swayze's appearance propelling a theater and hopefully millions of viewers to rise up out of their chairs, Jamest Taylor and Sheryl Crow delivering a heartbreaking rendition of "Fire and Rain," Errol Morris's film package on survivors, the Simpsons, the Divas, Brad Garret, Dana Delaney. Don't mean to just list every star but we're still awed that this happened (under an hour!) We began to forget the anxiety we felt everytime the crowd applauded and the seconds grew longer, everytime a line was delivered with an extra word, a song sung with an extra chord, and just sank into the show. We couldn't help it. No matter how many times you see Errol's film and we've seen it a lot), you can't help but tear up. Specific to cancer but universal it's about family and community and sadness and finaly empowerment and in a way embodies the whole show, the entire message: this sucks. It's sad. It's terrifying. And we have to do something about it. And it was funny and Jack Black hit the nail on the head and relieved the sometimes tension of rich people asking for your money just by shining a light on it in his Jack Blackian way. Meryl Streep reminded everyone that we (the pubic) have gotten together to beat seemingly unbeatable odds with terrible disease(Polio) before, anf through a confluence of celebrity pleas and public donations, no less. The musical performances were mindnumbing. When Melissa Etheridge delivered her Stand For Life (a special for SU2C version of I Run For Life), we snuck up on stage at the end, along with a few others from the crowd. Everyone was smiling. Everyone was remarking that they'd never been quite so proud to be part of a benefit like this (believe us, this was one of many benefits that these stars get invited to). For many, this was too special, too impactful, and possibly too influential and revolutionary to be anything but exceptional, even in the exceptional world of charity work.
We cried during the show and we cried afterward because it had happened. Because it was an unqualified success. Because now things really begin. We hugged and laughed when we saw Laura. The entire thing was surreal, and after so much planning and work, lighting fast. But it was also unendingly rewarding. We believe this will make a difference. It will because of those of you who watched and donated and continue to build these moments of triumph into a movement and force that doesn't stop until we win, until the need for a show like this and an organization like Stand Up To Cancer no longer exists.
We had so many favorite moments in the show (all of them, really, though finding out we hadn't gotten in on time and not gotten cut off at the hour mark was a pretty startling and gratifying moment in itself), but the fact that the show started, that it happened, that things have really begun, the moment the lights went down and we found out it was really and truly happening, that was our highlight. You?
SU2C is building a movement - and we couldn't do it without the generosity of the American people, who can always find a few dollars to spare for a good cause even in tough economic times like these.
Of course, sometimes a cash windfall comes from an unexpected source. Just ask Casey Taylor, the college student from Austin who was surprised to find an Olympic gold medal in a velvet box under her seat on an airplane. Taylor reunited the medal with its owner, swimmer Brendan Hansen, and in return was awarded $8,000. So what did she do? Donate half to the Red Cross and half to SU2C! Check out a video from the Today Show in SUTV (under Uprising) to learn more.
Thanks, Casey - your generosity is definitely appreciated!
With the 2008 presidential election just a week away, do you know the candidates' stance on health care in general and cancer in particular? Both Senator McCain and Senator Obama have pledged to increase federal funding for cancer research, among other measures, and both have sections on their websites dedicated to their plans. Check 'em out:
McCain: http://www.johnmccain.com/issues/healthcare/fc.htm
"He will work to better coordinate the efforts between the government sector and the private sector, especially with a focus on translational research so new discoveries in laboratories can be translated quickly and more efficiently to patients' bedsides . . . Importantly, John McCain recognizes the need to understand the reasons behind the onset of cancer are just as important as the research to treat it. He has co-sponsored legislation that would create research centers that would study environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer."
Obama: http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/healthcare/Fact_Sheet_Cancer_FINAL.pdf
"Their plan will provide additional funding for research on rare cancers and those without effective treatment options; for the study of health disparities and evaluation of possible interventions; and efforts to better understand genetic factors that can impact cancer onset and outcomes . . . When cancer patients and cancer survivors change health insurance plans, their new insurance companies currently have the ability to deny them insurance benefits because of their "preexisting" condition. The Obama-Biden plan will end insurance company discrimination."
Oh, and in case you missed it, both senators took a few minutes to summarize their plans for SU2C:
To watch the full September 5th Special, click here.
This past September 5th, Stand Up to Cancer launched in a powerful way. Thanks to a landmark broadcast on three major networks, the passion, support and dedication of leading doctors and scientists, and generous contributions from the entertainment community, corporate sponsors and the general public, we raised more than $100 million for innovative cancer research projects. Now, to paraphrase Tony Kushner, it is time to let the great work begin:
In early October, Lisa Paulsen, Noreen Fraser and I (representing the Executive Leadership of SU2C) traveled to Philadelphia to attend a dinner on the eve of the inaugural meeting of the Stand Up To Cancer Scientific Advisory Committee. Dr. Raymond DuBois, president, and Dr. Margaret Foti, chief executive officer, of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), our scientific partner, hosted the dinner. Nineteen of the twenty Committee members, including the two representatives of the SU2C Advocate Advisory Council, attended the meeting. Nobel Laureate Dr. Phillip Sharp presided over the meeting, along with vice chairs, Dr. Brian Druker and Dr. Arnold Levine. For Lisa, Noreen and me, it was our first time meeting many of these extraordinary scientists who have generously agreed to donate their time and expertise to our mutual cause.
We already knew Dr. Sharp and Dr. Druker, of course, both of whom were featured in the Stand Up To Cancer broadcast. Dr. Sharp took me around before the dinner and gave me a personal introduction to a number of the other attendees, including Dr. Levine who was a key figure in the discovery of the p53 tumor suppressor gene; Richard Kolodner who has done seminal work in genetic recombination and DNA repair; Tak Mak who co-discovered the T-cell receptor, a key component of the immune system; Cecil Pickett from Biogen Idec, who is a world expert in drug development; Vicki L. Sato, whose expertise is in both drug development and business in the biotechnology and pharmaceuticals industries; and Samuel Wells, who, Dr. Sharp reminded me, is the only surgical oncologist on the Committee, and is a pioneer in treatments for thyroid and other endocrine cancers. It was a heady experience to have this much brain power together in one room. But what was really rewarding was to hear first-hand how genuinely excited and challenged they all were to be such an important part of this endeavor. To learn more about our Scientific Advisory Committee go to: http://www.standup2cancer.org/su2c/advisory.
In July, the AACR put out a broad call for ideas for cancer research "Dream Teams," reflecting the following general SU2C principles:
SU2C is committed to improving the outcomes for cancer patients by raising awareness of the importance of the problem and providing significant incremental resources to apply to its eradication. SU2C understands that its goals can only be achieved through the support of very high quality research and has formed a partnership with AACR to facilitate the distribution of research support in a fashion that both promotes the highest quality science and adheres to the specific priorities of SU2C:
SU2C aspires to support proximal translational research. By this we mean both laboratory and clinical research bridging the gap between basic science and the bedside, clearly focused on the problem of human cancer, with a discernible potential to lead to the development of markedly better treatments or preventions for this disease as rapidly as possible. SU2C places the highest priority on initiatives with the greatest potential to translate within the funding period and that address the greatest unmet medical need.
SU2C believes that open communication, collaboration and cooperation between the best scientists and clinicians is essential to moving the research agenda forward as rapidly as possible and is therefore critical for cancer patient welfare. SU2C therefore wishes to foster group efforts and discourage individual and institutional competition in its funding activities.
SU2C wishes to promote goal-directed research. While it is understood that true innovation and major improvements in cancer prevention and treatment will begin with the best basic laboratory research, projects that are most consistent with SU2C objectives will unambiguously embody and specifically articulate a clear bedside objective.
SU2C is committed to maximizing the efficiency with which scientists pursue the research objectives we support. We therefore wish to minimize the time spent in preparing proposals and awaiting funding and optimize the time spent on SU2C projects. Noreen, Lisa and I addressed the group at dinner and thanked them for their commitment. We also each encouraged them to think boldly in their upcoming meetings; to think out of the box; and to think about what will get better treatments to patients in the fastest way possible. It was gratifying when Dr. Sharp, Dr. Druker and Dr. Levine each took the podium to address the group. Dr. Levine spoke about how far we have come since Nixon's war on cancer. How in those days we thought all cancers were caused by viruses. How we have subsequently learned about the effects of chemicals and carcinogens; about the role of aging in cancer; and most importantly about how genetic changes can cause cancer. Indeed, technology has given scientists so many new tools and they now understand the mechanisms of cancer so much better. Dr. Levine reinforced that cancer researchers are on the cusp of real breakthroughs.
Dr. Druker then told the story of a colon cancer patient who asked him when there would be better treatments. He told the patient things were moving forward and that new treatments were just down the road. The patient was not satisfied. When Dr. Druker went home and recounted this to his wife, she reminded him that you cannot ask a cancer patient to have "patience". We need answers now, and Dr. Druker and cancer researchers around the world are committed to finding them. Finally, Dr. Sharp said that the entire Committee understands that the SU2C leadership, and the public we continue to rally, have given them an incredibly difficult challenge, but that they were all really turned on by that challenge and dedicated to doing their very best to deliver results.
We left the dinner more excited than I think we had been throughout the entire year we had been working on SU2C. This was what we had been working and waiting for. The next morning these scientists would meet to discuss their charge from the SU2C and to evaluate the proposals that were submitted. This meeting marked the beginning of an important process to identify the most exciting team projects to be supported by SU2C funds. In the coming weeks and months, Dr. Sharp and the vice chairs of the Committee will be updating all of us on their progress. I will do my best to pass on their findings to all of those who have generously supported our cause. But for all of us who were in the room October 9th, I can tell you there was a feeling of enormous excitement that the end of cancer has begun.
This is Debbie Quesenberry. Our daughter Pearce was on Stand Up To Cancer. Just thought I would give you an update and maybe you can pass it along to everyone else involved with SU2C.
Pearce completed her fourth and final treatment in early October. Her last round of chemo was horrible; Pearce was terribly ill. After completing treatment, Pearce had an MRI. That MRI showed a new area of concern. Needless to say, we were terribly upset. The doctors told us if the area of concern did turn out to be another tumor, they would not treat it. We spent the next three weeks in a complete panic waiting for the next MRI.
Pearce had the MRI on November 11th. The doctors called yesterday to tell us her MRI was clear and the area of concern was gone! Pearce Quesenberry has completed treatment and is NED: No Evidence of Disease.
We can't wait to come back next year as SURVIVORS from this horrible monster. We are having a party for Pearce -- we are celebrating her "Kicking Cancer's Butt!"
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Hi, I'm Pearce Q. I participated in the Stand Up To Cancer event in September. It was so inspirational to see all the survivors. I had gone through 31 radiation treatments and four rounds of aggressive chemo. When I heard stories about survivors' journeys it made me feel good. It gave me strength to push through all the hard times.
I would like to thank everyone who donated and everyone who made this event possible. I gained so much hope when I found out how many people had donated. I know that one day cancer will be nothing and no one will ever have to suffer again. I had a great time and can't wait to come back next year as a survivor.
To Our Members, SU2C Supporters, and the Cancer Community,
As you know, Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) kicked off on September 5th with a star-studded televised fundraising event that aired simultaneously on all three major U.S. television networks and, indeed, all over the world. The results were amazing: to date, more than $100 million has been raised for cutting-edge translational cancer research programs that hold great promise to improve the quality of patient care and save lives.
We and our colleagues on SU2C's Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) have been entrusted with the wonderful, albeit weighty, responsibility of selecting "Dream Teams" of investigators--groups of top researchers from institutions in the U.S. and abroad who will combine their multidisciplinary expertise to address critical areas in translational cancer research.
The call for ideas for Dream Team projects that was issued by SU2C's scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), was quite novel, so none of us had an informed expectation about the response it would elicit. From every vantage point, the submissions were extraordinary:
We received 237 ideas. Given that the teams can include a leader and up to eight principal investigators, as well as two patient advocates, that number reflects the input of thousands of scientists with a broad array of expertise. The process clearly inspired applicants to think creatively about how they could reach across natural boundaries, of both institutions and nations, to collaborate more effectively and accelerate progress.
The ideas covered many different cancer sites and encompassed a wide spectrum of topics--from prevention, personalized medicine and targeted drugs, angiogenesis, immune therapy, stem cells, epigenetics, and microRNAs, to the use of emerging technologies such as molecular imaging and nanotechnology--that are increasingly important in cancer research.
One of Stand Up To Cancer's important goals is to assure that the projects we support have sufficient resources to really make an impact over the course of the grants' three- year duration. Seventy percent of SU2C's funds will go to translational cancer research Dream Teams. Depending on the scope of each project, the total grant for each Team may reach approximately $15 million over the three-year period, assuming that milestones and objectives are being satisfactorily pursued and achieved.
Making these recommendations is a formidable challenge that each of the 20 SAC members (scientists and clinicians who are experts in translational research, as well as two patient advocates) takes very seriously. We held an intensive two-day meeting last month where the discussion and analysis of the submissions was always rigorous and often spirited. Committee members initially ranked each submission. We then focused on the top 25, which was narrowed to a group of 16. Ultimately, we selected eight ideas to pursue further.
The three of us who serve as the SAC Chairperson and Vice Chairpersons then met with the prospective leaders of each of these eight highly rated Teams. It was a great privilege, during these conversations, to have an opportunity to share with them the Committee's suggestions to help shape the content of the ideas as well as the constitution of the Teams. We came away from these meetings thrilled with the quality of the science being proposed and impressed by the commitment of these prospective leaders to translate scientific discoveries to the clinic to improve patient care.
These eight groups have now been asked to submit comprehensive proposals describing their research plans, which the Committee will review within the next few months to make final recommendations about which of these exciting projects to fund. We anticipate that the final Dream Teams will be selected in the spring. Clearly, there will be much to do going forward to complete agreements and initiate the work of these multi-institutional teams.
Stand Up To Cancer is also offering Innovative Research Grants which will provide significant support for early career investigators whose novel, high risk ideas--while they may have great potential for translational application--are often not funded by conventional sources. The request for letters of intent for these grants has been issued by the American Association for Cancer Research, and is posted on the AACR website, www.aacr.org.
For those of us who have been involved in science for many years, being a part of Stand Up To Cancer is an exhilarating experience. The opportunity to confront many of the traditional barriers to research progress head-on doesn't come along often, and SU2C is designed to do just that. The scientific review process is rigorous and transparent, and a great deal has been accomplished in a short period of time. We believe that SU2C has the potential to quicken the pace of translational research by combining the talent, skills and experience of the nation's and world's top investigators to tackle some of the most critical issues confronting biomedical researchers today. In addition, it is likely that talented young investigators at these institutions will be involved with these important team science projects.
Rapidly moving new research discoveries out of the lab and into the clinic in order to save lives is what Stand Up To Cancer is all about, and it is a goal that honestly seems within reach. We will continue to provide you with periodic updates and progress reports.
Sincerely,
Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D.
Chairperson, SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee
Institute Professor
David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA Watch Translating Science, a SUTV video with Dr. Sharp
Arnold J. Levine, Ph.D.
Vice Chairperson, SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee
Professor
Institute for Advanced Study
Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Princeton, NJ
Brian J. Druker, M.D.
Vice Chairperson, SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee
Professor of Medicine
Oregon Health Sciences University Cancer Institute
Portland, OR Watch Finding A Better Way, a SUTV video with Dr. Druker
Raymond N. DuBois, M.D., Ph.D.
AACR President
Member, SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee
Provost and Executive Vice President
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX Watch Taking A Chance, a SUTV video with Dr. DuBois
Read Making It Personal, an article from Dr. DuBois in the SU2C Magazine
Just a quick note to let you guys know that, just like you're reading our blog entries, we're reading your comments. It is our intention to make the site as informative and interactive as possible. Most recently, the leaders of Stand Up To Cancer's Scientific Advisory Committee posted an update on where we stand with assembling Dream Teams and the incredible response they received from scientists and researchers from all over the world. We work closely with our colleagues at the American Association for Cancer Research to reply to inquiries that require deeper knowledge of the subject matter so that we are providing the most accurate information available. Thank you for being a part of the SU2C community. We love hearing from you!
This holiday season, Stand Up To Cancer is hoping that you will join our end-of-the-year "Dedication Team Challenge."
Team Challenges are a great way for people who have been touched by cancer to band together and make a difference. Our last Team Challenge was incredibly successful, raising over $100,000 in just 20 days.
Especially in the weeks leading up to the holidays, we are reminded of those we love who are or have been affected by cancer.
Between the dates of December 16th and Midnight December 31st EST, we are asking each team to raise at least $1000 dollars in honor of someone who has been affected by cancer.
The team that raises the most money during the dates of the challenge will be announced on network television in 2009 and will have the opportunity to have a loving dedication to the team's honoree read on the air. Both new teams and old teams are eligible to participate.
Its hard to ignore it: this holiday season, many of us are feeling the pressure of bad economic times. Team Challenges allow us all to give just a little bit, but at the same time feel like we are contributing in a much bigger way.
Whether you give a dollar or 100, whether you start a team or make a donation to an existing one... the important thing is that we all take a moment to get involved.
Join us in our fight to make future holidays cancer-free for every family. Thank you.
Congratulations to director David Fincher for his nomination for the DGA Award in the Commercials category for his work in 2008 on the Stand Up To Cancer PSA 'Standing Up'.
Mr. Fincher's other current nominations include: a DGA Award in the Features category for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", as well as a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Director "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".
Congratulations as well to Eddie Vedder on his Grammy nomination in the category Best Rock Vocal Performance for his song "Rise".
SU2C is excited to announce that this week ReachMD, the XM Radio station for medical professionals, will be featuring an interview with Dr. Raymond DuBois, provost and executive vice president of MD Anderson Cancer Center and president of the AACR.
Dr. DuBois is presenting the first in a series of updates on SU2C's progress scientific progress, team formation and research grants.
Check it out here and don't forget to check back for more from SU2C and ReachMD!
Schedule for the week of January 26 (All times Eastern):
In 2008, SU2C asked you to stand up and join us, and you did. Within months, more than $100 million was raised for research tailored very specifically to get new treatments out of the lab to the patients who need them -- from the "bench to the bedside" -- in an accelerated timeframe.
While the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) received 237 submissions to the Dream Team "call for ideas," that number represents the input of literally thousands of scientists, since the teams are required to have members from multiple institutions. The SAC analyzed all of these responses in the Fall, selecting eight finalists. Each group then developed a comprehensive proposal, with the two team leaders from each appearing before the SAC in person to make their case.
As scientific review processes go, this is an extremely novel approach, and we are happy to report that the finalist team leaders found it invigorating! The SAC is closing in on its recommendations as to which Dream Teams to fund, and the potential benefit to patients is central to their evaluation.
The Committee is also beginning its review of the approximately 400 proposals received for Innovative Research Grants, which will be awarded to individual scientists who are at a relatively early point in their careers. Their creative ideas would likely be considered too high-risk by conventional funding sources, but have the potential for high-reward in terms of translating into new treatments. We are on track to announce the first round of Dream Team grant recipients in the Spring, and the Innovative ones later in the year.
This is an exciting time at Stand Up To Cancer, and you, our donors, made it happen. Thank you again for standing with us. We'll provide another update soon.
SU2C needs your help in the SXSW Charity Smackdown, where celebrities compete and charities win. The contest, which runs from March 16th to March 26th, teams up celebrities and bloggers in raising as much money as possible for different charities. SU2C's team is headed by none other than Corbin Bleu of High School Musical. Go Team Corbin!
Donate to Team Corbin between March 16th and March 26th and help SU2C's team win the Smackdown. Not only will your generous donations help support groundbreaking cancer research, but if SU2C wins, Smackdown partner PayPal will throw in an additional $5,000 to help even more. Contributing is easy - just visit the Smackdown site to make a donation via PayPal, and remember, even a dollar helps when every dollar counts!
Looking for another way to get involved? We know times are tight, so why not pitch in by spreading the word? Just add the PayPal Fundraising Widget to your blog, website or MySpace page. And don't forget to tell your friends!
Thanks, as always, for your generosity and help, and go Team Corbin!
Thanks to an outpouring of support from philanthropists, people from all walks of life, corporations and public-spirited organizations across the country, we have a chance to strike a real blow against cancer, which still claims more than half a million American lives each year. For me, as for so many, the fight is personal.
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), the charitable initiative launched in May 2008, announced the first round of three-year grants this week, totaling $73.6 million. The money is going to SU2C "Dream Teams" of top scientists at different institutions to help them get promising new treatments to cancer patients -- and do it fast.
Cancer took both of my parents -- my father died of lung cancer in 2005 and my mother of ovarian cancer just two years later. I have many friends who are contending with the disease, and we will all somehow be touched by cancer some day.
I am privileged to run the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the collective philanthropy for the television and film businesses. We've been part of an extraordinary coalescing of people within the entertainment community around two ambitious goals this past year: convey to the American people that we are on the cusp of great advances in cancer research, if only we can all come together to support this research; and facilitate new and better ways for scientists doing the research to work together. From the person who can contribute $1 to the corporations and philanthropists who can make a multi-million dollar gift, each and every one of us can make a difference.
ABC, CBS and NBC led the way by donating the air time for a simultaneously broadcast fundraising special last September, and over 100 people from the film, TV and music worlds volunteered their time to participate. Sheryl Crow, Christina Applegate and Melissa Etheridge, wearing shirts with the simple word "survivor," sang, standing side by side. Katie Couric, Charlie Gibson and Brian Williams reported on promising cancer research. Patrick Swayze, Meryl Streep, Beyoncé, James Taylor, Robin Roberts, Salma Hayek, Jimmy Fallon, Dana Delany, Forest Whitaker and many, many others took part.
Donors at all levels responded enthusiastically, and after the broadcast, $100 million had been raised for cancer research programs.
Raising the money was one challenge; devising a model for investing the funds in projects with the greatest potential to bear fruit in a compressed time-frame is quite another. Our scientific partner, the prestigious American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and a core group of scientists developed a roadmap centered on getting new therapies to patients quickly. The clear starting point was that Stand Up To Cancer will fund only "translational" research, which is all about moving science out of the lab and into real-world treatments in the clinic, where they can save cancer patients' lives.
The plan was designed to hit impediments to progress head on, such as the natural boundaries and competitiveness that can exist between research centers. Requiring the "best and the brightest," both from different institutions and disciplines, to collaborate is at the heart of SU2C's Dream Team approach.
When Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp of MIT signed on to chair the committee that would recommend which teams be funded, other august scientists quickly followed. Painstakingly narrowing the initial 237 team ideas to five team grant recipients was a complicated, time-consuming and -- particularly for the finalists -- uniquely interactive process.
The five teams chosen include more than 200 researchers, with representatives from cancer advocacy groups participating to ensure that the patient's point of view is always taken into account. The projects touch on many of the most innovative areas in cancer research, which increasingly focus on deciphering genetic and cellular events that cause cancers to occur and allow them to spread, and on developing interventions that will prevent or reverse these events.
Sherry Lansing, Katie Couric, Laura Ziskin, Noreen Fraser, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Ellen Ziffren and Kathleen Lobb are the core group, as well as myself, from the entertainment and media businesses who worked to develop SU2C. For Laura and Noreen, this is intensely personal as they are cancer survivors. As a tribute to my parents and on behalf of my colleagues, as well as everyone else in our industry and all the scientists involved, I can tell you we are in it for the long haul. And we hope the American people will be, too. The breadth and number of proposals that were received points to how many promising projects are out there going unfunded. Donating to support cancer research, especially in today's economy, is challenging, but working together, we can all stand up to cancer, ending it once and for all.
--Lisa Paulsen, President and CEO of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF)
Last week Stand Up To Cancer celebrated its first birthday and announced the 2009 SU2C Dream Teams. These five exciting projects will receive $73.6 million in funding from SU2C over the next three years. To learn more about the Dream Teams, check out SU2C Mag.
ABC, CBS and NBC covered the announcement on their morning shows. If you missed it, you can watch here:
In the past year, we've been awed and inspired by our SU2C community. You've shared your stories with us and with each other; you've launched over 30,000 stars in our Constellation and raised over $150,000 through team challenges. You joined us for our big show, helping raise over $100 million for translational research - without which none of this would be possible. Your generous contributions will support the Dream Teams' work, and we want to take a minute to thank you, again, for being a part of our community.
We're very proud of our first Dream Teams, but we know that this year was just the beginning. The battle is far from over, and there were many meritorious scientific proposals that we were unable to support this time around. Help us keep the research moving forward by spreading the word to friends and family or by making another donation - no amount is too small to make a difference.
Thanks again for helping make SU2C what it is today - we couldn't have done it without you!
On Saturday, SU2C celebrated the one-year anniversary of our televised fundraising event on CBS, NBC and ABC. That night, millions of Americans joined together to raise over $100 million for translational cancer research. We want to thank you, yet again, for being a part of SU2C. Your generous donations, your involvement and enthusiasm and support, have made our organization what it is today, just a short 365 days later.
We'd also like to pass along a few words from Marge Lees. Marge was watching the show that night, along with so many of you, and it inspired her to get her first-ever screening for colorectal cancer--a screening that resulted in a diagnosis and treatment. (You can learn more about her story here.) Now, a year later, she writes:
"Today is the anniversary of the Stand Up 2 Cancer show that saved my life. I just wanted to say thanks. I actually went to the MD who diagnosed me the other day, and he said had I waited until this year I would have been in real trouble. Because of Stand Up 2 Cancer and David Archuleta, my life is pretty good right now. Thanks again."
Marge has good reason to celebrate - and so do we! To check out just a bit of what we've done in the year since our inception, check us out on YouTube. And thank you all, one last time. We never could've done it without you.
Stand Up To Cancer has crafted a new campaign to demonstrate that it is "Up2" all of us to stand up in the fight against cancer. As creative director/copywriter Janet Champ eloquently stated, "The fight against cancer isn't just up to someone else. It isn't just up to our neighbors or our relatives, or up to the rich or the famous, or up to doctors or scientists or politicians or some distant lab. Ending cancer is 'Up2' all of us."
SU2C set out to share this inspiring idea in a new PSA and print campaign called "Up2." It's Up2 you, it's Up2 me - it's Up2 all of us.
We asked Jesse Dylan to direct the spots and shoot the print campaign. Through his company Free Form, Jesse and his colleagues endeavor to create messaging and communications at the leading edge of the dialogue about health, social activism, global philanthropy, and ultimately compassion. Stand Up To Cancer's mission - to accelerate collaborative cancer research - was a natural fit.
During our first production planning call, we learned that our line producer, Sheila, had just received word that her sister had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Reminders of the urgency of our mission are never more than one story away.
We invited people to come show how it is Up2 each of us to fight against cancer by signing the Up2 wall. Our wall was signed by athletes, actors, musicians, scientists, researchers, nurses, patients, grandparents and kids, those touched by cancer, survivors - anyone who could come to set and share why it's Up2 each of us to end this disease.
SU2C's fantastic outreach team contacted our ambassadors, scientists, celebrities, and friends of the cause. Staffers, family members, and volunteer background players all came out on an early Sunday morning, and hung in there with us through a couple of long days of shooting.
Naturally we are thrilled that so many wonderful people came out to share their support, including Rob Lowe, Renee Zellweger, Mandy Moore, Kristin Chenoweth, Michael Strahan, Monica, Billy Bob Thornton, Derek Fisher, Robin Tunney, Diane Kruger, Rashida Jones, Minka Kelly, Travis Pfimmel and Sofia Vassilieva. A very special guest to join us at the Up2 shoot was DW Moffett. Don came directly to our set from his flight from Afghanistan to represent the Pablove Foundation, which was founded to improve the lives of children with cancer, in honor of Don's son's best friend Pablo Castelaz.
Stand Up To Cancer has made a wonderful friend in musical genius Dave Stewart, who, together with Ann Marie Calhoun, created a new anthem for Stand Up To Cancer, which provides the score for the Up2 PSAs, with a special guest vocalist appearance by Joss Stone.
In writing Stand Up To Cancer's anthem, Dave Stewart shared that his intention was to create a song that is not afraid to use the word "cancer." An extended Up2 PSA that features Dave Stewart's anthem is coming soon!
Special thanks go to DDB, Janet Champ and Rick McQuiston, Jesse Dylan and his team at Free Form - especially Priscilla Cohen, Sheila Tighe, Justin Giugno (our patient editor!), Janine Crisculo, Wonder Serra and everyone there. Many thanks to Dave Stewart and his team - Ned Douglas, Tony Quinn, and Kori Bundi - and the inimitable Joss Stone for sharing her soul and making the Up2 campaign rock.
Hope you like it.
- Bedonna Smith, SU2C Producer
"What never ceases to amaze me is that EVERYONE has a personal connection to cancer. Throughout the day crew members would come up to me to tell me how important it was to them to be working on this particular shoot because of how cancer has affected their lives. The line producer had just learned her sister was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The camera man's brother was in treatment. The caterer's mother had breast cancer. Everyone is connected and invested in finding the cure. We must find the cure!" --Pam Williams, SU2C Executive Producer
- By Laura Ziskin
This is Debbie Quesenberry. Our daughter Pearce was on Stand Up To Cancer. Just thought I would give you an update and maybe you can pass it along to everyone else involved with SU2C. 
