tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38258646969506132602024-03-13T22:29:22.026-07:00Relay For Life of Polk County ArkansasRichard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-62737311755860415542015-02-24T14:04:00.000-08:002015-02-24T14:04:00.584-08:00Relay For Life Funds Cancer Fighting Research<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is my article as published in the February 19, 2015 issue of <a href="http://www.menastar.com/">The Mena Star</a>.<br />
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Do you know a child who survived leukemia? Do you have a mother, sister or aunt whose breast cancer was found early thanks to a mammogram? Do you have a friend or coworker who quit smoking to decrease their risk of lung cancer? Each of these individuals benefited from the American Cancer Society’s research program funded by Relay For Life.<br />
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Every day scientists supported by the American Cancer Society work to find breakthroughs that will take us one step closer to a cure. The Society has long recognized that research holds many answers to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.<br />
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As the largest source of non-profit cancer research funds in the United States, the American Cancer Society spends approximately $130 million each year on research. Since 1946, the Society has invested a total of $4.5 billion in research. The investment has paid rich dividends: the five-year survival rate has almost tripled since 1946, and diagnosis and mortality rates have declined each year since 1990.<br />
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Investigators and healthcare professionals in universities, research institutes and hospitals throughout the country receive grants from the American Cancer Society. If the Society had more money available for research funding, nearly 200 more outstanding applications considered outstanding could be funded.<br />
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You can help fund more of these applications by participating in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life. More funding means more cancer breakthroughs and more lives saved.<br />
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Teams from around Polk County are busy raising funds for this important cause. The Relay For Life of Polk County will be held on Friday, May 29th starting at 6:00 P.M. in Janssen Park. Volunteers from Polk County will join with more than 5,200 communities across America who host their own Relay For Life events. Since 1985, Relay For Life has raised more than $4 billion for the fight against cancer. It is the most successful not for-profit event in America. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to be a part of the amazing community event.<br />
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To sign up for this year's Relay For Life of Polk County or for more information on the local event go to <a href="http://www.relayforlife.org/polkar">www.relayforlife.org/polkar</a>Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-16780261675329959592013-07-01T13:29:00.001-07:002013-07-01T13:29:46.147-07:00Things the Tobacco Industry Doesn't Want You to Know<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As Big Tobacco attempts to clean up its image, now is a good time to remind you of some facts the industry would like you to forget:<br />
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Smoking-related health conditions are a leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for nearly one of every five deaths annually.<br />
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Every year, tobacco use kills more Americans than HIV, drug and alcohol abuse, suicides, murders and car accidents combined.<br />
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Secondhand smoke accounts for approximately 50,000 deaths in the United States every year.<br />
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If tobacco farmers around the globe were to grow food instead, they could feed more than 70 percent of the world's 28 million malnourished people.<br />
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In 2012, cigarette companies spent nearly $27 million lobbying government agencies and members of Congress.<br />
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Big Tobacco companies market covertly to teens, despite publicly stating that youth should not smoke.<br />
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Each year, the industry spends more than $400 per customer on special promotions, coupons, mailers and other direct marketing efforts to make sure current smokers don't kick their addictions.<br />
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Now, companies are pushing expensive and unregulated e-cigarettes. What's more, e-cigarettes are offered in a variety of flavors that young children and teens could find especially appealing, like cherry, grape, vanilla and strawberry.<br />
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The health effects of e-cigarettes are still unknown. Medical associations and regulatory bodies are concerned that e-cigarettes are nothing more than a "gateway" to a nicotine addiction.<br />
<br />Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-63913900560248211092013-04-03T16:23:00.000-07:002013-04-03T16:23:14.486-07:00Relayers Make Certain Funding Available For Research<br />
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Dr. Kris Gast is a board-certified radiation oncologist. She has been in practice for 21 years, the last 13 at Fort Smith Radiation Oncology in Fort Smith. Her column, Cancer Demystified, appears the first Wednesday of every month in the Times Record.<br />
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This months column was titled, "Relayers Make Certain Funding Available For Research".<br />
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I’ve heard the government has decreased funding for cancer research. What will cancer researchers do? Where will the money come from to find a cure for cancer?<br />
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Back in 1946, no funding for cancer research, federal or otherwise, was available. Mary Lasker, an American health activist and philanthropist, was the first person to address this problem and to see research funding as the best way to promote public health. The American Cancer Society Research Program was “born” because of Lasker’s fundraising.<br />
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Things we take for granted — things we assume have always been there — are present only because of the American Cancer Society. The extensive list of medical advancements made possible through the ACS is impressive.<br />
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Since 1946, the ACS has funded 46 scientists who went on to win the Nobel Prize. The pap test for cervical cancer, chemotherapy for childhood leukemia, the double helix of our genetic material, the link between smoking and cancer, the link between sex hormones and breast and prostate cancer, the idea of combining multiple chemotherapy drugs and the discovery of growth factors have all been discovered by funded researchers of the American Cancer Society.<br />
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All of these that we take for granted were funded by money raised by volunteers, and all before 1960.<br />
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Since the 1960s, the ACS has continued to be responsible for significant health tools. For example, the ACS can be thanked for the $1 million invested in the 1970s to demonstrate that the mammogram was the best tool to detect breast cancer early.<br />
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In 1974, an ACS-funded scientist discovered that the drug Tamoxifen could prevent breast cancer. By 1981, ACS-funded scientists had discovered the technique to sequence DNA, and they developed the PSA (prostate specific antigen) test for prostate screening.<br />
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What is the source for the funding of these important past and potential future medical advancements? The American Cancer Society has one staff member for every 400 volunteers. Who are these volunteers? They are you and I.<br />
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Every year around the world, volunteers raise money by participating in Relay For Life. Relay For Life is an organized, overnight community fundraising walk where teams of people camp out around a track with members of each team taking turns walking around the track to symbolize the journey cancer patients take.<br />
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In addition to raising money for continued research, Relay For Life benefits our local cancer patients by providing gas vouchers for treatment, hosting “look good feel better” programs and providing trained cancer information specialists who can answer questions 24 hours a day, every day of the year, toll-free at (800) 227-2345.<br />
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In summary, the American Cancer Society not only uses money raised to fund researchers working tirelessly to find a cure for cancer but also gives back at the local level through their programs.<br />
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The best way the community can help in this fight is to participate in their local Relay For life.<br />
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Because cancer never rest or sleeps, neither do Relayers.<br />
Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-54035762750048352662013-03-24T08:37:00.004-07:002013-03-24T08:37:58.357-07:00Colonoscopy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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March is <a href="http://www.morebirthdays.com/blog/featured/%E2%80%9Clook-who%E2%80%99s-talking%E2%80%9D-peter-campbell-on-colorectal-cancer-awareness-month-2/">Colon Cancer Awareness Month</a>. Over the past few decades, more people have been surviving colon cancer, and fewer people have been dying from it. This is thanks to improvements in colon cancer screening. Screening can find colon cancer early before symptoms develop, when it’s easier to treat. Screening can also find growths called polyps so they can be removed before they turn into cancer.</div>
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For the past 7 years I have been a volunteer for the <a href="http://www.cancer.org/">American Cancer Society</a>. One of the things that <a href="http://www.cancer.org/">ACS</a> talks a lot about is early detection. Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States among men and women, and is expected to cause about 50,000 deaths during 2013. The fact is that colon cancer is highly treatable. If it’s found and treated early, the 5-year survival rate is about 90%. Because many people are not getting tested, only about 4 out of 10 are diagnosed at this early stage when treatment is most likely to be successful. </div>
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The <a href="http://www.cancer.org/">American Cancer Society</a> recommends regular colon cancer screening for most people starting at age 50. People with a family history of the disease or other risk factors should talk with their doctor about beginning screening at a younger age. Regular screening is one of the most powerful weapons for preventing colon cancer. If polyps are found during colon screening, they can usually be removed before they have the chance to turn into cancer. Screening can also result in finding cancer early, when it is easier to treat and more likely to be curable.</div>
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When I went to my family doctor for a physical earlier this year he told me that I should think about a colonoscopy. A colonoscopy is one of those things that no one want to think about. I decided that I had to practice what I preach about screening and early detection. I found it a bit ironic that I scheduled a colonoscopy during <a href="http://www.morebirthdays.com/blog/featured/%E2%80%9Clook-who%E2%80%99s-talking%E2%80%9D-peter-campbell-on-colorectal-cancer-awareness-month-2/">Colon Cancer Awareness Month</a>.</div>
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According to the <a href="http://www.cancer.org/">American Cancer Society</a>, your lifestyle choices affect your colon cancer risk. You can lower your risk by eating more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, and less red meat (beef, lamb, or pork) and less processed meat (hot dogs and luncheon meat). You should limit alcohol to no more than than 1 drink a day. You can help lower your risk for colon cancer by getting more exercise and staying at a healthy weight. Smoking also increases the risk,so if you smoke, try to kick the habit. </div>
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I am at a higher risk for colon cancer than the general population because of my family history. My Uncle Delbert lost his battle with colon cancer several years ago. I lost not only an uncle, but a friend and someone who was willing to help anytime. I will never know if his outcome would have been different if he had been screened for colon cancer. By the time his cancer was found it was in advanced stages. I feel certain that screening would have prolonged his life. Along with my uncle, the majority of Americans do not receive the <a href="http://www.cancer.org/">American Cancer Society</a> recommended colon cancer screening. How many lives would be saved if more people were screened?</div>
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If you haven't been screened for colon cancer please talk to your doctor. If you think that a colonoscopy will be unpleasant, just talk to someone who had colon cancer. Go ahead and do it. If I can do it anyone can. The life you save may be your own.</div>
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<br />Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-62863810987981187902013-02-15T18:34:00.000-08:002013-02-15T18:34:05.547-08:00Moderate Drinking Increases Cancer Risk<br />
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New research shows that even a single alcoholic drink per day can increase your risk of developing certain types of cancer, including breast cancer in women.<br />
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Though people have long believed that a glass or two of wine can be good for your heart, the new study, conducted in conjunction with researchers in the U.S., Canada, and France, shows that the cancer risks far outweigh any heart-healthy benefits.<br />
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"Alcohol has long been known and recognized as a human carcinogen, so even some alcohol consumption raises your risks," Dr. Timothy Naimi, an alcohol researcher at Boston University's School of Public Health and a physician at the Boston University Medical Center who helped design and direct the study, stated. "On the balance of all people who begin drinking, many more people are killed by alcohol than helped by it."<br />
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"No public health body or clinical body recommends that people start drinking to improve their health," he added.<br />
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The research, published Friday in the American Journal of Public Health, relied on existing data about cancer deaths, alcohol consumption, and risk estimates from other scientific studies. It marks the first time that researchers have examined alcohol-related cancer rates in 30 years.<br />
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They found that alcohol could be blamed for about 20,000 cancer deaths each year, or 1 out of every 30 cancer deaths in the United States, which was about what they expected. But while heavy drinkers faced the highest risks, about a third of those deaths were among people who drank only small amounts of alcohol—1.5 alcoholic drinks or fewer per day. And it didn't matter what type of drink was consumed; standard servings of beer (12 ounces), wine (5 ounces), and hard liquor (1.5 ounces) all contain the same amount of alcohol.<br />
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While more men die from alcohol-related cancers than women (men do tend to drink more), women have more adverse consequences from drinking, not only because they tend to have less body mass than men, but because they also metabolize alcohol less efficiently. The study found that about 6,000 female breast cancer deaths each year—or 15 percent—could be attributed to alcohol consumption; for men, cancers of the mouth, throat, and esophagus were the most common types of alcohol-related cancer. Alcohol is also linked to cancer of the liver, colon, and rectum.<br />
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The study also eliminated the common misconception that Europeans, especially in France and Germany, are healthier than Americans even though they drink plenty of alcohol. If Europeans are healthier, Naimi said, it's not likely because of their drinking habits: The number of cancer deaths attributable to alcohol in Europe was higher than in the United States.<br />
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Researcher acknowledge that people are unlikely to give up alcohol altogether. "In general, drinking less is better than drinking more, and for people who drink excessively it's something to think about," Naimi said. "Alcohol is a big preventable cancer risk factor that has been hiding in plain sight." <br />
Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-43173491030690412532013-02-13T13:14:00.001-08:002013-02-13T13:14:43.699-08:00Proton Therapy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A staggering 99 percent of prostate cancer patients treated with proton therapy believe they made the best treatment decisions for themselves, according to a new report released today at the National Proton Conference in Washington, D.C. The report analyzed outcomes and satisfaction of approximately 6,400 prostate cancer patients, more than 80 percent of whom received treatment at Loma Linda University Medical Center's (LLUMC) James M. Slater Proton Treatment and Research Center.</div>
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"This report reaffirms the results we've seen from our patients for the past 22 years and supports the mountain of evidence regarding the efficacy of proton therapy," said Jerry D. Slater, M.D., chairman of the LLUMC center. Dr. Slater and Dr. David A. Bush, vice-chairman of the department of radiation at LLUMC, recently co-authored a similar study entitled "Multi-Institutional Patient-Reported Quality of Life After Proton Therapy for Prostate Cancer Compared to Non-Treated Men."</div>
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The just-released report was commissioned by the National Association for Proton Therapy (NAPT) and conducted by Dobson DaVanzo & Associates, LLC, an independent health economics and policy consulting firm. It looked at patient-based outcomes analysis and included personal questions that provided meaningful data that helps physicians make treatment decisions.</div>
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Not only did approximately 99 percent of the patients surveyed believe they made the best treatment decision for themselves, but an almost equal number - almost 98 percent - reported that they had recommended proton therapy to others.</div>
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Additional key findings of the report included:</div>
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-- Approximately 96 percent of patients were satisfied or extremely satisfied with proton therapy.</div>
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-- Ninety-two percent of patients reported that their quality of life was better or the same today than it was before their treatment. Only 8 percent stated that their quality of life was worse.</div>
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-- Ninety-two percent of respondents reported that physical health or emotional problems did not interfere, or interfered very little, with their social activities.</div>
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-- Those who completed proton therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer had similar urinary, bowel and hormonal health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) measures compared to healthy individuals. For patients who received hormone therapy in addition to proton therapy, lower sexual HRQOL measures were reported. However, when looking at patients who received only proton therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer and who did not receive hormone or photon therapy, proton therapy patients reported lower HRQOL than healthy individuals in only one category, "sexual bother," which refers to annoyance related to their sexual symptoms.</div>
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In addition to prostate cancer, proton therapy is effectively used to treat many different types of cancer. The outcomes of the NAPT report can be attributed to the pinpoint accuracy of the highly targeted proton beams. According to Dr. Slater, "Proton therapy is extremely effective as a treatment for prostate cancer because the targeted proton beams spare surrounding healthy tissue and minimize the typical side effects from standard photon beam radiation including incontinence and impotence."</div>
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Since LLUMC introduced modern proton treatment for cancer into the mainstream in 1990, there have been countless studies and trials that have shown proton therapy to be the treatment of choice for many types of cancer. Over the years proton treatment has been refined and, coupled with leading-edge technology, has become one of the best treatment options for doctors and patients. While prostate cancer remains one of the primary uses for proton therapy, the pinpoint accuracy of the proton beam also makes it a highly effective form of treatment for many other types of tumors including those found in the head, neck, lung and breast.</div>
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About LLUMC's Proton Treatment and Research Center</div>
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Established in 1990 Loma Linda University Medical Center Proton Treatment and Research Center was the first hospital-based proton therapy center in the world. Today the center uses proton beam technology for many types of cancers and has treated more patients than any other proton treatment center in the world. The center is part of LLUMC's comprehensive health system, which is widely respected as a healthcare leader pioneering work in such areas as organ transplants, proton treatment for cancers, cardiac care, physical rehabilitation, and acute pediatric and adult care as well as treatments for chemical dependence and other behavioral disorders. The health system - which includes Loma Linda University Medical Center and Children's Hospital, LLUMC - East Campus, Behavioral Medicine Center, Heart and Surgical Hospital, LLUMC-Murrieta and physician clinics - collectively sees over 30,000 inpatients and about 750,000 outpatient visits a year. </div>
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Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-70420805258639488422013-02-06T06:35:00.003-08:002013-02-06T06:36:19.154-08:00I Fought Fears So My Wife Could Fight Cancer<br />
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Today's post is written by Cameron Von St. James. He contacted me and offered to tell his story to our readers. We corresponded and he sent me his story. It is both compelling and informative. Here is his story of his personal battle with cancer as a caregiver.<br />
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<b>I Fought Fears So My Wife Could Fight Cancer</b><br />
by Cameron Von St. James<b> </b><br />
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The most terrifying day of my life was November 21, 2005. It was that day that my wife Heather was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, just three months after giving birth to our first and only daughter, Lily. My life was never the same after receiving that news, but in the years that we battled cancer, I learned lessons that will last me a lifetime.<br />
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Heather's reaction to the news was pure shock. She looked like she wasn't there anymore. When we were confronted with questions about her treatment and care options, I took over and answered for her. I had to. She was too scared, shocked into silences, and I didn't blame her. I knew she needed help, and I chose the best treatment option for us at the time, which was to travel to Boston to see Dr. David Sugarbaker, a renowned specialist in the treatment of mesothelioma. Travel was tough on us because we had a newborn daughter at the time, but it was just another obstacle for us to beat together.<br />
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During the first two months of our battle, our lives were utter chaos. I worked, took care of Lily at home, took care of the bills, and cared for Heather as she endured the hell of cancer. It was an emotionally draining time and I cried many nights, fearing that I wasn't doing enough, even though there were times when I knew I was doing too much. There was no choice. If we were going to beat this thing and raise Lily together, we had to do anything we could. Heather's energies were focused on getting well, mine were pulled in every other direction.<br />
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Medical bills soon piled up and financial pressures were at an all-time high. We had to travel to Boston for treatments and soon the bills were skyrocketing. For the first time in my life, I accepted financial help from family and friends when they offered it. In this war, anything went. We simply had to take every possible avenue of help that we could if we were going to make it. My strongest advice for any caregiver or cancer patient is to accept every offer of help that comes your way. There is no room for pride in a fight with cancer, and even the smallest offer of help, be it a meal, a shoulder to cry on or a kind word of encouragement, can be a weight lifted off your shoulders and at the very least will remind you that you’re not alone.<br />
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I'm so proud of Heather for what she endured during this time and the beautiful person she remained during it. Today, over seven years after her mesothelioma diagnosis she is cancer-free and healthy. Lily has her mother, something that I feared she wouldn't be able to experience.<br />
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Two years after Heather’s diagnosis, I returned to school to get my college degree, with the lessons I learned through my family’s fight against cancer. I received my degree in Information Technology and graduated with high honors. I was able to share some of these experiences during my graduation speech, an honor that I readily accepted when it came my way. The lessons I learned during Heather's battle with cancer are the most valuable of my life, and I shared them with my fellow graduates that day, telling them that within each of us is the strength to accomplish impossible things. Heather and Lily were in the audience to cheer me on, and that was the greatest reward of all.<br />
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Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-2609696292579234122013-02-04T08:12:00.003-08:002013-02-04T08:12:55.321-08:00Cryoablation and Hope<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As the webmaster of the Relay For Life of Polk County Arkansas Facebook page and blog, I am always looking for interesting and informative material to bring to the readers. Until just a few weeks ago, cryoablation as a cancer treatment was something I had never heard of. The situation that brought about my learning of cryoablation is personal. Today my Mom goes in to the hospital for treatment on her kidney tumor. As you can see from the CT scan capture it is a large tumor. The procedure that the doctors are going to use is cryoablation.<br />
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Cryoablation uses hollow needles through which cooled, thermally conductive, fluids are circulated. Cryoprobes are inserted into the tumor. When the probes are in place, the cryogenic freezing unit removes heat ("cools") from the tip of the probe and by extension from the surrounding tissues. The most common application of cryoablation is to ablate solid tumors found in the lung, liver, breast, kidney and prostate.<br />
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The concept of cryoablation is relatively new in cancer surgery for any disease. Traditionally, surgeons have treated cancer by literally cutting it out. In contrast to this approach, cryoablation is a different concept in that cold energy is used to destroy the cancerous tissue at the exact site where it exists in the body. Cryoablation is particularly well suited to kidney cancer.<br />
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Cryoablation is a very promising new approach to kidney cancer. This kind of new treatment is why I am a strong supporter of cancer research. I have spent the last six years doing all that I can to raise money for cancer research through the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life. As I was researching this procedure I came across the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Library website. I found these words about Renal Cryoablation that were written in 2008. "Early results have demonstrated that it may offer an alternative for the treatment of renal masses with the advantages of minimal complications, spared renal function, decreased overall costs and equivalent oncologic efficacy. Long-term results are required in order to apply this minimally invasive technique to a broader spectrum of patients". Just five years ago the procedure that will be used on my Mom tomorrow was a brand new technology. It has only been available in Arkansas for two years. <br />
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Several large medical centers have produced data demonstrating that kidney cancer is cured in approximately 97 percent of patients who undergo cryoablation with a follow-up of three years. Because it is such a new procedure , 10 year follow-up information on patients having undergone cryoablation is not yet available. Some of the data is showing 98 to 100 percent cure rates.<br />
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I know that at Relay For Life events we often hear that we are raising money to find a cure. Cancer is not just one disease, it is many many diseases. Sometimes when we see how many people are affected by cancer and how much misery suffering and sadness it causes it seems hopeless. In my work for the American Cancer Society people often tell me that there will never be a cure because cancer is a big business and the doctors and pharmaceutical companies would suppress a cure if it was found. What a sad way of life it is for these people who have no hope. One of the things that Relay For Life events around the world focus on is providing people with hope. Hope is why we Relay!<br />
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I like a statement that the American Cancer Society released recently. "Together with our millions of supporters, we save lives and create more birthdays by helping you stay well, helping you get well, finding cures and fighting back against this disease. Thanks to research funded by the American Cancer Society, many cancers that were once considered a death sentence can now be cured and for many more people their cancer can now be treated effectively". It is way to simplistic to be focusing on a cure. The American Cancer Society is focusing on "cures". The fact that many cancers that were once considered a death sentence can now be cured should give us hope. The fact that six years ago when I got involved with Relay For Life the treatment that my Mom will undergo tomorrow would not have been available to her gives me hope. The 97 to 100 percent cure rates that have been seen with renal cryoablation gives me hope. Relay For Life gives me hope. <br />
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<br />Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-37734940943428320622013-01-28T14:39:00.000-08:002013-01-28T14:39:12.057-08:00Five Myths About Colorectal Cancer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1RhPQ_iFmxxWGa5RdpuOlvLLBRW2lznMJOcq5eQtm84LvEyXUXeDBtgItTJhX6XvM_58Yn5F1ZBJqtP5a5IIxwm2DtitAVZdjVXN6dCgWZ5hlwwsuZwAyUvZ75G0w0MvOTO0kbGQIV6o/s1600/Black-Lady.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582226299625773554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1RhPQ_iFmxxWGa5RdpuOlvLLBRW2lznMJOcq5eQtm84LvEyXUXeDBtgItTJhX6XvM_58Yn5F1ZBJqtP5a5IIxwm2DtitAVZdjVXN6dCgWZ5hlwwsuZwAyUvZ75G0w0MvOTO0kbGQIV6o/s400/Black-Lady.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 215px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
Many times, colorectal cancer can be prevented. Still, it's one of the 5 most common cancers in men and women in the United States. Colorectal cancer is also one of the leading causes of cancer death in the United States. Don't let these 5 common myths stop you from getting the lifesaving tests you need, when you need them.<br />
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Myth: Colorectal cancer is a man’s disease.<br />
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Truth: Colorectal cancer is just as common among women as men. Each year, about 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and about 50,000 die from the disease.<br />
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Myth: Colorectal cancer cannot be prevented.<br />
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Truth: In many cases colorectal cancer can be prevented. Colorectal cancer almost always starts with a small growth called a polyp. If the polyp is found early, doctors can remove it and stop colorectal cancer before it starts. These tests can find polyps: double contrast barium enema, flexible sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, or CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy).<br />
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To help lower your chances of getting colorectal cancer:<br />
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* Get to and stay at a healthy weight.<br />
* Be physically active.<br />
* Limit the amount of alcohol you drink.<br />
* Eat a diet with a lot of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and less red or processed meat.<br />
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Myth: African Americans are not at risk for colorectal cancer.<br />
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Truth: African-American men and women are diagnosed with and die from colorectal cancer at higher rates than men and women of any other US racial or ethnic group. The reason for this is not yet understood.<br />
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Myth: Age doesn’t matter when it comes to getting colorectal cancer.<br />
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Truth: More than 90% of colorectal cancer cases are in people age 50 and older. For this reason, the American Cancer Society recommends you start getting tested for the disease at age 50. People who are at a higher risk for colorectal cancer -- such as those who have colon or rectal cancer in their families -- may need to begin testing at a younger age. Talk to your doctor about when you should start getting tested.<br />
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Myth: It’s better not to get tested for colorectal cancer because it’s deadly anyway.<br />
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Truth: Colorectal cancer is often highly treatable. If it is found and treated early (while it is small and before it has spread), the 5-year survival rate is about 90%. But because many people are not getting tested, only about 4 out of 10 are diagnosed at this early stage when treatment is most likely to be successful. Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-48266449077793964262013-01-27T11:19:00.003-08:002013-01-27T11:19:41.872-08:00Coping With Cancer<br />
This article is titled "Coping With Cancer" and subtitled "How To Support A Friend Or Family Member Dealing With Cancer". It was written by Allan R. Handysides, who is a board -certified gynecologist and is the Director of the Health Ministries Department of the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">COPING WITH CANCER</span></b><br />
By Allen R. Handysides<br />
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Cancer is not a single disease entity. Rather, it includes a spectrum of disorders that share a common mechanism. Advances in diagnostic capabilities and the use of population-screening techniques have resulted in cancers being detected in their very early stages-even in "precancerous" stages. It's this capacity to diagnose early cancer that may have softened its image in the minds of many; but cancer is still a malignant and often lethal condition. On the other hand, fear often induces denial or paralysis.<br />
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Svetlana was a young Russian physician, newly arrived in Canada with her two delightful children. She was studying for Canadian exams that would permit her a medical residency slot. Her engineer husband supported them financially. She came to see me for routine Pap smears. To my surprise, the report came back indicating "abnormal cells of unknown derivation." The pathologist I used was a proven expert, and I took the report extremely seriously. Colposcopy, endocervical curettage, and endometrial biopsy were all noncontributory to a diagnosis, so I performed a laparoscopic exam.<br />
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Upon first viewing the peritoneal cavity, it appeared pristine and healthy, just like its 34-year-old owner. Closer inspection, however, revealed a gelatinous,pale,blueberry-sized lesion on the left ovary. I carefully biopsied it, and then turned my scope to visualize the rest of the cavity. Aided by the magnifying capacity of the laparoscope, I found the peritoneum to be dotted with tiny salt- grain-sized flecks, also of a clear, pale, jelly-type nature. These, too, I biopsied.<br />
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A few days later the reports came back, indicating "ovarian/peritoneal cancer." It was clearly widespread and at a late stage, although of very recent onset. She had a particularly virulent form of cancer, and despite the full panoply of therapies, she was dead within five years; as would be 84 percent of people with such widespread cancer.<br />
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I recount this story to emphasize the lethal nature of some cancers. I could equally tell of astounding recoveries that, even to a seasoned, skeptical clinician such as I, appear miraculous. I have experienced 50 years of mind-boggling advances in medicine and seen dogged, relentless physicians battle this disease; and yet, I've also witnessed a mysterious groundswell against "standard treatments" that seems to mirror a postmodern mind-set of there being no absolutes, only what we as individuals personally believe. In such a milieu the repeated call for an evidence-based rationale for therapy often goes unheeded.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Alternative Therapies</b><br />
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Many people decide to use what they erroneously term "alternative therapies." An alternative route would take you to the same destination; in the case of cancer, an alternative therapy should provide equal or nearly equal chances of cure. People often do not realize that once a therapy has been shown to be an "alternative" with supporting evidence, it becomes a part of the "standard therapy"-although possibly rated as a second or third alternative.<br />
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In Adventist circles lifestyle elements that have been shown to possibly reduce risk of contracting cancer are often promoted as cures. An illustration of the difference between prevention and cure is that of behaviors that lower the risk of a broken leg and the measures required to promote its healing. Prevention and cure are totally different "animals," and while we strongly recommend lifestyle measures for prevention, it's dishonest, negligent, and frankly dangerous to suggest that such measures are curative"<br />
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There is absolutely no reliable statistical basis to suggest that diet can cure cancer. In the community of church members are those who sometimes choose to interfere with the treatments being recommended by health professionals. Such self-appointed "experts" may hold a degree in some different field, but without trepidation opine about another person's best course of action. Some go so far as to indicate that a person taking standardized therapy must lack faith. What can one know about another's level of spirituality or faith? No wonder the Lord commands us to "judge not." Does this mean lifestyle measures are useless for treatment? No, but the evidence isn't there. It's not "illogical" to suggest lifestyle might be a good "adjuvant" approach, but not an "alternative."<br />
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<b>Undergoing Tests</b><br />
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Many hesitate to undergo all the tests their doctors suggest they take. Indeed, there are doctors who order more tests than are necessary, often from a mind-set of covering every base and protecting themselves against claims of negligence. In situations of cancer, however, exact staging of the disease strongly influences the selection of treatment, so full exploration permits a more appropriate selection.<br />
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<b>Finding a Doctor</b><br />
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A question some ask is "How can I find a suitable doctor to treat my cancer?" Experiences recounted online are not always reliable. One rule of thumb is if a primary-care physician is routinely careful, thoughtful, and gives you full attention, you can safely trust that they will use the same concern in finding you a specialist.<br />
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Good doctors encourage second opinions. Very often physicians associated with a teaching institution are more knowledgeable, while the doctor running a high-volume practice might be more "technically skilled." Never feel awkward about asking for a second opinion, but keep in mind that it's "bad form" to switch doctors without including the referring physician in the decision. Perfect honesty with your physician will be appreciated, and may actually teach the caregiver about patients' perceptions.<br />
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<b>Supporting Someone </b><b>With Cancer</b><br />
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Perhaps an important area to explore is how to be supportive of that friend, church member, or family member who has been diagnosed with cancer. Unsolicited opinions are probably about as welcome as insistence of your favorite color scheme or sofa for your friend's new family room. Unless you are a qualified expert, you would be wise to keep your opinion to yourself; indeed, if you are an expert, your advice will probably be to listen to the patient's own similarly qualified experts.<br />
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Support should be given in a general-not a specific-way. Hope is the greatest gift you can give a patient with cancer. Despite dreadful statistics, there are always those who defy the odds. Hope can positively influence outcomes. Hope builds faith, so build the patient's hope and faith.<br />
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You want the patient to feel uplifted by your contact, and you transmit support more fully with loving, prayerful interaction rather than prescriptive, dogmatic talk. A hug and a touch often do far more than your favorite lecture on the benefits of pomegranate juice.<br />
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When an individual chooses a course of action, especially if it has been based upon expert advice, the wisest course of action for a friend is to affirm such a choice. If you feel compelled to share your "cherished beliefs," do so as an addition, not a replacement, of the chosen therapy. It's often forgotten that the good Lord gave us all freedom of choice. If He is so gracious, shouldn't we be gracious too?<br />
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<b>Messengers of Hope</b><br />
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Everyone who contracts cancer or has a family member with cancer is barraged with advice. In the Adventist community there are "guilt trippers," who assert the condition is a direct consequence of some neglected lifestyle imperative, as well as some "extremists," who insist their particular concoction is a "surefire" cure. The advice to all of us would best be to "lay off" of such gratuitous, often ill-founded advice. Be kind,loving, hopeful, reassuring, optimistic, and pleasant. Take the person out for a nice meal or other happy diversion. Pray with them, but don't be too sanctimonious. Rejoice in the gospel message, but don't paint a dark picture of sin and it's effects.<br />
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Ask yourself, "How does my interaction buoy this dear soul's spirit?" If you can't make the patient cheerful, at least don't contribute to depression. The gospel is good news, so let's be messengers of hope!<br />
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Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-79714986330881212162013-01-23T13:25:00.001-08:002013-01-23T13:25:36.880-08:005 Fundraising Tips<br />
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As you get started with your fundraising for Relay For Life, we want to share some simple tips to help. Following these steps will make your Relay experience fun and meaningful and will also help you raise even more to support the fight against cancer.<br />
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<b>Tip #1 – Go online</b><br />
Your friends and family will appreciate the option to make their donations online AND they will likely give more. In fact, last year, the average offline donation was 60 percent less than the average online donation<br />
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<b>Tip #2 – Set a goal</b><br />
Setting a fundraising goal is one of the easiest and most effective ways to motivate yourself and your donors to raise more money. The visible goal and progress meter on your personal fundraising page encourage your donors to help you be successful and also help them to feel part of that success.<br />
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<b>Tip #3 – Personalize your page</b><br />
Why do you Relay? Sharing your story and a photo with your donors results in a stronger personal connection and motivates them to give more. Participants that take the time to customize their personal fundraising page raise more money. A lot more money.<br />
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<b>Tip #4 – Get started early</b><br />
Your Relay event may feel very far away. But, by getting started today, you have more time to raise more money. Relay participants who register early and start fundraising right away typically raise twice the amount of those participants who start closer to their event.<br />
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<b>Tip #5 – Pledge yourself!</b><br />
Put your money where your heart is and show your donors that you have invested in achieving your own goal. Motivate them to give by giving yourself.<br />
Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-26821494670161246682013-01-22T13:33:00.000-08:002013-01-22T13:33:18.120-08:00Your Dollars At Work<br />
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For nearly a century, the American Cancer Society has fought for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. By taking what we have learned through research and turning it into what we do, the American Cancer Society has contributed to a 15 percent decrease in the overall cancer death rate between the early 1990s and 2005. That means that about 650,000 cancer deaths have been prevented and created the potential for more birthday celebrations. Overall, 11 million cancer survivors in America will celebrate a birthday this year.<br />
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Thanks in part to the generous contributions to the American Cancer Society Relay For Life, the Society is saving lives by helping people stay well and get well, by finding cures, and by fighting back. These are just a few examples of how contributions make a difference in the Society’s lifesaving mission.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Helping people stay well</b></span><br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The American Cancer Society Quitline®, a telephone counseling service, doubles a person’s chances of quitting tobacco for good.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The American Cancer Society develops guidelines for recommended cancer screenings and nutrition and physical activity, so people know what tests they need to find cancer early and how to help prevent the disease.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The American Cancer Society provides tips, tools, and online resources to help people set goals and stay motivated to eat healthy and maintain an active lifestyle.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Helping people get well</b></span><br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The American Cancer Society’s phone lines are open every minute of every day and night to help connect people with the answers they need. Each year, they provide information, help, and support to the nearly one million individuals who call 1-800-227-2345.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In addition, the American Cancer Society’s website, cancer.org, offers access to the latest information and news on cancer and helps people locate programs and services in their area. Each year, more than 23 million individuals visit this trusted resource.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The American Cancer Society offers an online support community for cancer survivors and caregivers to share stories and find support. Since 2000, more than 93,000 survivors and caregivers have been brought together for comfort and support through the Cancer Survivors Network.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The American Cancer Society assists cancer patients in need with getting transportation to and from their treatments and offer help with free lodging for cancer patients and their caregivers. The American Cancer Society Hope Lodge® has helped more than 30,000 cancer patients and their families save tens of millions of dollars in lodging costs each year by providing a free place to stay and a community of support while they undergo treatment far from home.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Through its clinical trials matching service, the American Cancer Society connects patients with thousands of different treatment options.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With sites at hospitals and treatment centers across the country, the American Cancer Society Patient Navigator Program provides one-on-one guidance to people facing cancer through every step of their journey.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Finding cures</b></span><br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The American Cancer Society has had a hand in nearly every major cancer breakthrough of the last century, including confirming the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer, establishing the link between obesity and multiple cancers, developing drugs to treat leukemia and advanced breast cancer, and showing that mammography is the most effective way to detect breast cancer.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The American Cancer Society is the largest private source of cancer research in the United States, having spent more than $3.4 billion on cancer research since 1946.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The American Cancer Society spends approximately $130 million each year on cancer research.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The American Cancer Society funds researchers with cutting-edge ideas, often early in their careers. Of the researchers chosen for Society funding, 46 have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, the highest honor in scientific achievement.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Fighting back</b></span><br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The majority of Americans are now covered by a smoke-free law, thanks in part to the efforts of the American Cancer Society and the nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The American Cancer Society helps mobilize communities to fight back against cancer with events such as Relay For Life and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer®.<br />
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•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The American Cancer Society has helped uninsured, underinsured, and low-income women get breast and cervical cancer screening tests and follow-up treatment since 1991 and, along with ACS CAN, we have successfully fought for legislation protecting this care.<br />
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<a href="http://www.cancer.org/">To learn more about the American Cancer Society, visit cancer.org. </a><br />
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<a href="http://www.relayforlife.org/">To learn more about Relay For Life, visit RelayForLife.org</a><br />
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Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-8888815729414609002013-01-17T20:32:00.002-08:002013-01-17T20:32:46.806-08:00Sky Lanterns<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/windshieldman/8384791919/" title="IMG_5948 by richies, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5948" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8219/8384791919_a5cb05ca10.jpg" width="266" /></a><br />
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Article published in the January 17, 2013 issue of The Mena Star<br />
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After being rained out in December, the Relay For Life Sky Lanterns event was held Tuesday evening outside Rich Mountain Community College. The sky lanterns serve as both a fundraiser for Relay For Life, but also a special opportunity to honor friends, family, and loved ones who have battled cancer.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/windshieldman/8384791421/" title="IMG_5965 by richies, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5965" height="266" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8500/8384791421_56fe95cb4f.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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On the evening, 51 sky lanterns were purchased and launched into the night sky, glowing as they rose and floated out of sight. The evening also served as the 2013 Relay Kick-Off event. The event raised over $1,200 for the Relay For Life Polk County organization.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/windshieldman/8384791559/" title="IMG_5959 by richies, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5959" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8370/8384791559_a53047ea64.jpg" width="266" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/windshieldman/8384791329/" title="IMG_5967 by richies, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5967" height="266" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8365/8384791329_b059cc4d4f.jpg" width="400" /></a>Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-49677306808223572812013-01-17T14:20:00.003-08:002013-01-17T14:20:45.777-08:00How Is My Donation Used?<br />
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Thanks in part to the generous contributions to the American Cancer Society Relay For Life, the Society is saving lives by helping people stay well and get well, by finding cures, and by fighting back. These are just a few examples of how your contributions make a difference in the Society’s lifesaving mission.<br />
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<b>Helping people stay well</b><br />
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Our telephone counseling service, the American Cancer Society Quitline®, doubles a person’s chances of quitting tobacco for good.<br />
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We develop guidelines for recommended cancer screenings and nutrition and physical activity, so people know what tests they need to find cancer early and how to help prevent the disease.<br />
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We provide tips, tools, and online resources to help people set goals and stay motivated to eat healthy and maintain an active lifestyle.<br />
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Helping people get well</b><br />
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Our phone lines are open every minute of every day and night to help connect people with the answers they need. Each year, we provide information, help, and support to the nearly one million individuals who call us at 1-800-227-2345. In addition, our Web site, cancer.org, offers access to the latest information and news on cancer and helps people locate programs and services in their area.<br />
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We offer an online support community for cancer survivors and caregivers to share stories and find support.<br />
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We assist cancer patients in need with getting transportation to and from their treatments and offer help with free lodging for cancer patients and their caregivers.<br />
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Through our clinical trials matching service, we connect patients with thousands of different treatment options.<br />
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With sites at hospitals and treatment centers across the country, our American Cancer Society Patient Navigator Program provides one-on-one guidance to people facing cancer through every step of their journey.<br />
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<b>Finding cures</b><br />
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We’ve had a hand in nearly every major cancer breakthrough of the last century, including confirming the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer, establishing the link between obesity and multiple cancers, developing drugs to treat leukemia and advanced breast cancer, and showing that mammography is the most effective way to detect breast cancer.<br />
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We’re the largest private funder of cancer research in the United States.<br />
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We fund researchers with cutting-edge ideas, often early in their careers. Of the researchers chosen for Society funding, 44 have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, the highest honor in scientific achievement.<br />
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<b>Fighting back</b><br />
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The majority of Americans are now covered by a smoke-free law, thanks in part to the efforts of the Society and our nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).<br />
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We help mobilize communities to fight back against cancer with events such as Relay For Life and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer®<br />
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We have helped uninsured, underinsured, and low-income women get breast and cervical cancer screening tests and follow-up treatment since 1991 and, along with ACS CAN, we have successfully fought for legislation protecting this care.<br />
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By supporting Relay For Life, you help make the American Cancer Society’s mission possible, and that helps us all move closer to our ultimate goal: a world with less cancer and more birthdays.<br />
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For more information about programs and services of the American Cancer Society, please visit www.cancer.org or call 1.800.227.2345 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-75327598343604165782013-01-17T14:17:00.000-08:002013-01-17T14:18:29.871-08:00 20% Lower Risk of Death From Cancer <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Annual statistics reporting from the American Cancer Society shows the death rate from cancer in the US has fallen 20% from its peak in 1991. “Cancer Statistics, 2013,” published in the American Cancer Society’s journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and its companion piece “Cancer Facts & Figures 2013,” estimates the numbers of new cancer cases and deaths expected in the US this year. The estimates are some of the most widely quoted cancer statistics in the world.<br />
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A total of 1,660,290 new cancer cases and 580,350 deaths from cancer are projected to occur in the US in 2013. Between 1990/1991 and 2009, the most recent year for which data is available, overall death rates decreased by 24% in men, 16% in women, and 20% overall. This translates to almost 1.2 million deaths from cancer that were avoided.<br />
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Death rates continue to decline for lung, colon, breast, and prostate cancers, which are responsible for the most cancer deaths. Since 1991, death rates have decreased by more than 40% for prostate cancer, and by more than 30% for colon cancer, breast cancer in women, and lung cancer in men. The large drop in lung cancer is attributed to reductions in smoking, while the large drop in prostate, colon, and breast, cancer is attributed to improvements in early detection and treatment.<br />
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While the rates of new cancer cases are declining for most cancer sites, they are increasing among both men and women for melanoma of the skin, and cancers of the liver and thyroid.<br />
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The reports call for applying existing knowledge about fighting cancer across all segments of the population, especially groups in the lowest socioeconomic bracket, as a way to speed progress against cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that about one-third of cancer deaths in 2013 will be caused by tobacco use and another one-quarter to one-third will be related to overweight or obesity, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition.<br />
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“In 2012, Americans had a 20% lower risk of death from cancer than they did in 1991, a milestone that shows we truly are creating more birthdays,” said John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society.<br />
<br />Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-81166194061875345652013-01-09T12:59:00.003-08:002013-01-09T13:03:52.109-08:005 Ways to Stay Positive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With the new year here, this month is filled with people making resolutions, some often too taxing to keep up throughout the year, but all with good intentions of bettering oneself. For a cancer patient, their life may feel too controlled by their diagnosis to make many changes or resolutions. There are many ways for cancer patients to make small, positive changes in their life that can help their health and outlook on their disease and life.
Here are five excellent ways for cancer patients to make 2013 a year of positive thoughts and actions!<br />
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<b>1. Have a positive view</b><br />
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Everybody has stressors, but if you can do one thing to feel less stressed and more in control, that will help. For example, you can clean up some clutter which will give you a sense of control and help you stay positive.
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<b>2. Visualize positivity</b><br />
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Sit down and imagine something positive that could happen to you in 2013. Imagine you are better and it might help you feel better.<br />
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<b>3. Choose to do positive activities</b><br />
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Do things that make you feel good and help you stay positive. Add some music to your life. If you listen to uplifting music if can help you feel better. Watch programs that have an uplifting message, whether they are dramas or comedies. Be with friends that make you feel good. Make it a point in 2013 to connect with people who you want to get to know better or spend time with old friends that help you stay positive.<br />
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<b>4. Keep moving </b><br />
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Think about one small physical activity you can do to improve your health and that will help improve your outlook on life. A daily walk is a great place to start.<br />
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<b>5. Get enough sleep</b><br />
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When people are rested they feel better and have more energy to have a positive outlook on life. Take naps even for just 10 minutes it will help you stay refreshed and relaxed.Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-79657181345300720252013-01-04T08:29:00.000-08:002013-01-04T08:29:31.672-08:00Even Intermittent Smoking Is Risky<br />
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Do you occasionally have a cigarette, maybe not even every day? Although people resolve to quit smoking in the new year, you might think only heavy smokers need to quit. But that isn't the case.<br />
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Light or intermittent smoking has become a very common pattern for people of any age. Many of these people do not feel addicted to tobacco and do not even call themselves "smokers." There are, however, some real risks associated with any level of smoking. Non-daily smoking, or smoking 1-5 cigarettes a day, was first noticed as far back as 1989 because it was a stark contrast to the more common pattern at that time -- 20 to 30 cigarettes a day. At that time, very light smokers were labeled "chippers" (a term that also referred to occasional users of opiates who appeared to not be addicted). Chippers didn't appear to smoke to relieve withdrawal, and sometimes didn't smoke for a day or more.<br />
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Number of 'chippers' growing<br />
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Since that time, occasional smoking has become a lot more common. The number of U.S. smokers who claim to not smoke every day increased 40% between 1996 and 2001. In fact, half of U.S. smokers claim to be light or intermittent smokers. Some of this is likely due to the increasing restrictions on smoking in public places and workplaces, and the stigma of being thought of as a smoker. Having less disposable income might also be a factor that accounts for lighter smoking in some racial/ethnic groups, (and why this pattern of smoking is very common in developing countries).<br />
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Young adults and college students in particular engage in light or intermittent smoking. Many of them reject the idea that they could be called a "smoker" because they report smoking only in social settings such as at parties, or only when then experience stressful events or are angry. Some of these smokers may feel a need to smoke when drinking alcohol.<br />
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Some light or intermittent smokers, particularly young adults, believe that their lighter smoking does not present health risks. And because they don't see themselves as smokers, they don't intend to "quit."<br />
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Even light smoking poses risks<br />
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No cigarette is without risk, however. Smoking even as little as 5 days out of the month can lead to more shortness of breath and coughing. What's more, smoking just 1 to 4 cigarettes a day can increase the risk of dying from heart disease and all causes, like cancer. For women, the news is even worse: women's risk of lung cancer from light smoking is greater than men's when compared to never- smokers of both genders.<br />
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Other light or intermittent smokers were once heavier daily smokers who have begun to cut down on their smoking on their way to quitting. Cutting down on smoking may make it easier for some smokers to finally kick the habit, and this is probably a worthwhile strategy as long as the smoker can keep the end goal in mind, which is not using tobacco products at all. But smoking 4-5 cigarettes daily can also lead to withdrawal symptoms after 24 hours of abstinence, so some light smokers probably are addicted.<br />
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Although we need more research to understand the causes and consequences of light and intermittent smoking, one danger is that this pattern may lead to people gradually smoking more and more, which increases the difficulty of quitting. Given the dangers of any level of smoking, research is also needed to help us understand how best to persuade chippers about the risks of light and intermittent smoking.<br />
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Fortunately, there are many resources available to help smokers quit that are based on scientific evidence, whatever the level of smoking. These include calling a telephone quitline for support, medications such as Chantix or Zyban, and even online chats and text messages that can give advice and support to smokers when they experience cravings during a quit attempt.<br />
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If you smoke - even if it's only a few cigarettes a week - take advantage of these resources and get the help you need to quit.<br />
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Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-10431155359297392812012-12-12T08:21:00.000-08:002012-12-12T08:28:11.074-08:00Heredity and Cancer<br />
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Heredity and Cancer</h1>
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Cancer is such a common disease that it is no surprise that many families have at least a few members who have had cancer. Sometimes, certain types of cancer seem to run in some families. This can be caused by a number of factors. Often, family members have certain risk factors in common, such as smoking, which can cause many types of cancer.</div>
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But in some cases the cancer is caused by an abnormal gene that is being passed along from generation to generation. Although this is often referred to as <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">inherited </i>cancer, what is inherited is the abnormal gene that can lead to cancer, not the cancer itself. Only about 5% to 10% of all cancers are inherited. This document focuses on those cancers.</div>
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DNA, genes, and chromosomes</h1>
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Cancer is a disease of abnormal gene function. Genes are pieces of <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">DNA</i> (deoxyribonucleic acid). They contain the instructions on how to make the proteins the body needs to function, when to destroy damaged cells, and how to keep the cells in balance. Your genes control things such as hair color, eye color, and height. They also can affect your chance of getting certain diseases, such as cancer.</div>
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An abnormal change in a gene is called a <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">mutation</i>. The 2 types of mutations are inherited and acquired (somatic).</div>
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<li style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #565454; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Inherited gene mutations are passed from parent to child through the egg or sperm. These mutations are in every cell in the body.</li>
<li style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #565454; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Acquired (somatic) mutations are not present in the egg or sperm. These mutations are acquired at some point in the person's life, and are more common than inherited mutations. This type of mutation occurs in one cell, and then is passed on to any new cells that are the offspring of that cell.</li>
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Genes are found on long strands of DNA called <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">chromosomes</i>. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell. We inherit one set of chromosomes from each parent. Each chromosome can contain hundreds or thousands of genes that are passed from the parents to the child. Every cell in your body has all of the genes you were born with. Although all cells have the same genes and chromosomes, different cells (or types of cells) may use different genes. For example, muscle cells use a different set of genes than skin cells use. The genes that the cell doesn't need are turned off and not used. The genes that the cell is using are activated or turned on.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 22px; line-height: 25px;">Genes and cancer</span></div>
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Genes seem to have 2 major roles in cancer. Some, called <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">oncogenes</i>, can cause cancer. Others, known as <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">tumor suppressor genes</i>, stop cancer from developing or growing. More information about oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes can be found in our document, <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.cancer.org/ssLINK/oncogenes-and-tumor-suppressor-genes-toc" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(148, 178, 220); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #3067b3; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_top">Oncogenes, Tumor Suppressor Genes, and Cancer</a></i>.</div>
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<i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Oncogenes </i>are mutated forms of certain normal genes of the cell called<i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> proto-oncogenes</i>.<i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </i>Proto-oncogenes are often genes that normally control what kind of cell it is and how often it grows and divides. When a proto-oncogene mutates (changes) into an oncogene, it turns on or activates when it is not supposed to be.<i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </i>When this occurs, the cell can grow out of control, leading to cancer.</div>
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<i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tumor suppressor genes</i> are normal genes that slow down cell division, repair DNA mistakes, or tell cells when to die (a process known as <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">apoptosis </i>or programmed cell death). When tumor suppressor genes don’t work properly, cells can grow out of control, which can lead to cancer.</div>
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A tumor suppressor gene is like the brake pedal on a car. It normally keeps the cell from dividing too quickly just as a brake keeps a car from going too fast. When something goes wrong with the gene, such as a mutation, cell division can get out of control.</div>
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An important difference between oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes is that oncogenes result from the <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">activation</i>(turning on) of proto-oncogenes, but tumor suppressor genes cause cancer when they are <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">inactivated </i>(turned off).</div>
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Even if you were born with healthy genes, some of them can become changed (mutated) over the course of your life. These mutations are known as <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">sporadic</i> or <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">somatic</i>, meaning they are not inherited. Sporadic mutations cause most cases of cancer. These mutations may be caused by things that we are exposed to in our environment, including cigarette smoke, radiation, hormones, and diet (although in many cases there is no obvious cause). More gene mutations build up as we get older, leading to a higher risk of cancer.</div>
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When someone has inherited an abnormal copy of a gene, their cells already start out with one mutation. This makes it all the easier (and quicker) for enough mutations to build up for a cell to become cancer. That is why cancers that are inherited tend to occur earlier in life than cancers of the same type that are not inherited.</div>
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When should I worry?</h2>
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When many cases of cancer occur in a family, it is most often due to chance or because family members have been exposed to a common toxin, such as cigarette smoking. Less often, these cancers may be caused by an inherited gene mutation. (These are called family cancer syndromes.) Certain things make it more likely that an abnormal gene is causing cancers in a family, such as</div>
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<li style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #565454; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Many cases of an uncommon or rare type of cancer (like kidney cancer)</li>
<li style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #565454; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cancers occurring at younger ages than usual (like colon cancer in a 20 year old)</li>
<li style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #565454; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">More than one type of cancer in a single person (like a woman with both breast and ovarian cancer)</li>
<li style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #565454; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cancers occurring in both of a pair of organs (both eyes, both kidneys, both breasts)</li>
<li style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #565454; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">More than one childhood cancer in a set of siblings (like sarcoma in both a brother and a sister)</li>
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Before you decide that cancer runs in your family, first gather some information. For each case of cancer, look at:</div>
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<li style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #565454; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Who is affected? How are we related?</li>
<li style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #565454; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">What type of cancer is it? Is it rare?</li>
<li style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #565454; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">How old was this relative when they were diagnosed?</li>
<li style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #565454; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Did this person get more than one type of cancer?</li>
<li style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #565454; list-style: disc; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Did they smoke or have other known risk factors?</li>
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Cancer in a close relative, like a parent or sibling (brother or sister), is more cause for concern than cancer in a more distant relative. Even if the cancer was from a gene mutation, the chance of it passing on to you gets lower with more distant relatives.</div>
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It is also important to look at each side of the family separately. Having 2 relatives with cancer is more concerning if the people are related to each other (meaning that they are both on the same side of the family). For example, if both relatives are your mother's brothers it means more than if one was your father's brother and the other was your mother's brother.</div>
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The type of cancer matters, too. More than one case of the same rare cancer is more worrisome than cases of a more common cancer. And having the same type of cancer in many relatives is more concerning than if it is several different kinds of cancer. Still, in some family cancer syndromes, a few types of cancer seem to go together. For example, breast cancer and ovarian cancer run together in families with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOC). Colon and endometrial cancers tend to go together in a syndrome called hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), also known as Lynch syndrome.</div>
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The age of the person when the cancer was diagnosed is also important. For example, colon cancer is rare in people under 30. Having 2 or more cases in close relatives under 30 could be a sign of an inherited cancer syndrome. On the other hand, prostate cancer is very common in elderly men, so if both your father and his brother were found to have prostate cancer when they were in their 80s, it is less likely to be due to an inherited gene change.</div>
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When many relatives have the same type of cancer it is important to notice if the cancer could be related to smoking. For example, lung cancer is commonly caused by smoking, so many cases of lung cancer in a family of heavy smokers is more likely to be due to smoking than to an inherited gene change.</div>
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Types of cancer</h2>
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For many types of cancer, a portion of those cancers are linked to a family history. Breast, ovarian, prostate, and colon are some of these cancers. Some of these are discussed briefly here, but only to help explain heredity and cancer. Please refer to the American Cancer Society specific cancer site documents for more information about a particular type of cancer and its genetic components, diagnosis, and treatment.</div>
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Breast cancer</h3>
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Many women are concerned that breast cancer seems to run in their family. A woman who has a first-degree relative (a mother, sister, or daughter) with breast cancer is about twice as likely to develop breast cancer as a woman without a family history of this cancer. Still, most cases of breast cancer, even those in close relatives, are not part of a family cancer syndrome caused by an inherited gene mutation.</div>
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The chance that someone has an inherited form of breast cancer is higher the younger they are when they get the cancer and the more relatives they have with the disease. Inherited breast cancer can be caused by several different genes, but the most common are <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">BRCA1</i> and <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">BRCA2</i>. Inherited mutations in these genes cause hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOC). Along with breast and ovarian cancer, this syndrome can also lead to male breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, as well as some others. This syndrome is more common in women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent than it is in the general US population.</div>
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Women with a strong family history of breast cancer may choose to undergo genetic counseling to estimate their risk for inherited breast cancer. They then can choose to be tested to find out if they have a breast cancer gene mutation. If a mutation is present, the woman has a high risk of developing breast cancer. She may start getting mammograms at an age younger than 40, have special breast cancer screening tests, or take other measures to try to reduce her risk of getting breast cancer.</div>
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Colon cancer</h3>
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One cause of hereditary colon cancer is a disease called familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). People with this disease start getting colon polyps by their teen years, and over time may have hundreds of polyps in their colon. If left alone, at least one of these polyps will become cancer. The gene for this syndrome is called <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">APC</i>, and testing for mutations in this gene is available. If FAP is diagnosed early in life, surgery to remove the colon is often used to stop the cancer from developing.</div>
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The most common inherited syndrome that increases a person's risk for colon cancer is called hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), or Lynch syndrome. People with this syndrome have a high risk of colorectal cancer. Most of these cancers occur before age 50. People with HNPCC may also have polyps, but they only have a few, not hundreds as in FAP. HNPCC also leads to a high risk of endometrial cancer (cancer in the lining of the uterus) in women. Other cancers linked with HNPCC include cancer of the ovary, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, kidney, brain, ureters (tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder), and bile duct.</div>
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HNPCC is caused by mutations in one of the DNA repair enzyme genes MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS1, or PMS2. Mutations in these genes can be found through genetic testing. Another option for people with colorectal cancer is to have the tumor tissue tested for changes that can be caused when one of these genes is faulty. These changes are known as microsatellite instability (or MSI). Having normal findings (no MSI) implies that HNPCC is not present and that the genes that cause it are normal.</div>
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Someone who is known to carry an HNPCC gene mutation may start colonoscopy screening at an early age (such as during their early 20s) to find cancers and polyps early. Some people even have surgery to remove of most of the colon to try to prevent cancer from starting. Women with HNPCC may choose to be screened for endometrial cancer. Some even have their uterus removed after they have finished having children.</div>
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Childhood cancers</h3>
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Like adult cancers, most childhood cancers are not inherited. They are caused by mutations acquired during the child's life. Some of these may even have occurred before the child was born (while still in the womb). A few types of childhood cancers are known to occur more often in some families. Some of these are due to hereditary cancer syndromes.</div>
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<b style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Retinoblastoma:</b> This is a childhood cancer that starts in the eye. It can be caused by an inherited mutation in the tumor suppressor gene <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rb</i>. In about 1 out of 4 children with retinoblastoma, the abnormal gene is in every cell in the body. In most of these cases, this is due to a new mutation (gene change) in the sperm or egg. In some cases though, the abnormal copy of <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rb</i> was inherited from a parent.</div>
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Even though the child has a remaining normal copy of the <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rb</i> gene, he or she is likely to develop this cancer. This is because there is no backup to stop the mutated gene from making abnormal cells if the remaining healthy <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rb</i> gene stops working in even one cell.</div>
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Patients with the hereditary form of retinoblastoma are more likely to get tumors in both eyes. They also have an increased risk of developing other types of cancer, including cancers of the bone, brain, nasal cavities, and a type of skin cancer (melanoma).</div>
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<b style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Li-Fraumeni syndrome:</b> This syndrome occurs when a person inherits a mutation in the gene for p53 (<i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">TP53</i>, a tumor suppressor gene). A normal gene for p53 stops the growth of abnormal cells. People with a <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">TP53</i> gene abnormality have a higher risk of childhood sarcoma, leukemia, and brain (central nervous system) cancers.</div>
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Li-Fraumeni syndrome also raises the risk of cancers of the breast and adrenal glands. One study showed that 15% of Li-Fraumeni patients who had cancer were diagnosed later with a second cancer, and some developed a third and fourth cancer later on.</div>
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Genetic counseling and testing</h1>
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People with a strong family history of cancer may want to find out about their genetic makeup. This knowledge may help the person or other family members in planning health care for the future. Since inherited mutations affect all cells of a person's body, they can often be identified by genetic testing that is done on blood samples. Genetic counseling and testing may be recommended for some people with a strong family history of cancer. For more information on genetic testing, refer to our document, <a href="http://www.cancer.org/ssLINK/genetic-testing-what-you-need-to-know-toc" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(148, 178, 220); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: #3067b3; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_top"><i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Genetic Testing: What You Need to Know</i></a>.</div>
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Future directions</h1>
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The Human Genome Project is an international program devoted to determining the complete DNA sequence in humans. Although all the genes have been listed, there is still a great deal to learn about what protein each gene makes. Researchers need to find out how each gene fits into the body’s activities at the cellular level and the effect that activity has on diseases such as cancer.</div>
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The hope is that the Human Genome Project will some day provide a single reference to all human genetic information, including cancer genes and markers. The impact this project will have on the future of cancer is profound. You can read more about the Human Genome Project on the Web at <span style="color: #3067b3;"><span style="border-bottom-color: rgb(148, 178, 220); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px;">www.genome.gov</span></span>.</div>
Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-79712957878650091922012-11-16T20:00:00.001-08:002012-11-16T20:03:14.184-08:00Regina Lawry - Hero of Hope<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I’m Regina
Lawry, from Mena, Arkansas.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">I’m a
caregiver and I’m 1 out of 7.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">I’m the only
one in my immediate family that has never had a cancer diagnosis.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">When I was a
little girl in the early 60’s I went out collecting money for ACS with my
mother. At that time the ACS would send
out envelopes and ask people to take them around their neighborhoods. I can remember asking her why we were doing it
and she would tell me, “You never know who it might help.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">In 1975 she
was diagnosed with leukemia. In the 70’s
leukemia was a death sentence. There was
no treatment. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">She would
get so weak. I remember her coming to my
house one day and she was too weak to even open the screen door. It was as if mom’s blood would just
disappear. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">At that time the only thing
they could do for her was to give her platelets or whole blood. They were giving her several units of whole
blood and or platelet every week. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">It was the
ACS that developed apheresis (the technology to separate the platelets from the
whole blood). This technology is used in
many other medical applications also. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">At that time
the family was responsible for replacing the blood that was used for her. We all donated and were always scrambling to
find other donors. The Local ACS office
donated over 100 units in her name. I’m
not saying that this is a service that is provided by ACS. It’s just how much they care.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">The doctors
decided to remove her spleen and hopefully stop the loss of blood. While she was in the hospital they asked her
to participate in a bone marrow study.
They were studying the progression of the disease. She was told that it would not benefit her,
but would hopefully help others later on. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">They told
her that it was painful. It was done
with a local and they had to drill into the hip bone and remove the
marrow. We tried to talk her out of it,
but she insisted that she would do it.
She said, “You never know who this might help.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">In December
of 1976 she lost her battle with cancer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">In the
summer of 1996 (20 years later) a bone marrow transplant saved my sister
Lenora’s life. In February of that year
she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">I took care
of her 6 weeks during her transplant. It
was the hardest thing I have ever done.
As a caregiver you are completely exhausted all of the time and you are
watching some you love go through something so difficult. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">My brother
Duane was her stem cell donor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">ACS is still
funding platelet and stem cell research.
The ACS does NOT fund embryonic stem cell research. I repeat the ACS does NOT fund embryonic stem
cell research. That was important to me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">A few years
later my sister Roberta was diagnosed with bi-lateral breast cancer and
underwent a double mastectomy along with chemotherapy. She is still cancer free. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Not long
afterwards my sister Bunny was diagnosed with breast cancer and chose to have a
double mastectomy. It was caught early
and no further treatments were required.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">After
Roberta’s treatments and recovery she became involved in Relay for Life in
Enumclaw, Washington. She invited all of
us to come to Enumclaw and support her in the Relay. We all went, because that’s the kind of
family we are and we wanted to help her through her healing process.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">I cannot
tell you what it meant to me when I watched my siblings walk arm and arm around
that track in the survivor lap. Then
when I saw my mother and my father’s luminary bags during the luminary ceremony
I knew it was something that I had to be a part of. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">I returned
to Enumclaw for a few years for Relay.
Then one day I got a luminary form in my bank statement. They were having a Relay in Polk County. I called the number on the form, signed up a
team, raised $7000 and have been the chairman of the Polk County Relay for 5 years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Not too long
ago on Facebook I saw that my cousin Michael was diagnosed with leukemia and
was getting ready to undergo a bone marrow transplant. I called him and we talked about my mother and
what she had done. We cried and we
laughed. 36 years later bone marrow and
stem cell research is still saving lives. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">The money
that is raised helps long term. We may
not see the results today but ACS researchers save thousands and thousands of
lives. I know, because I’ve seen it
first hand through things like Blood apheresis, bone marrow studies, stem cell
research and various drugs and chemotherapies. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">So why do I
Relay? It’s my legacy. I want my grand-children to know what my
mother did for love. She would have
endured it all for a stranger, but ended up doing it for those she loved. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">I want there
to be treatments if they ever need them.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">I’m Regina
Lawry and I Relay BIG in Polk County, Arkansas. </span></div>
Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-86595078951035119452012-11-14T13:33:00.000-08:002012-11-14T13:40:20.731-08:00Great American Smokeout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bLP7zQvHK0JU5SE2o50H3ugN3vjXbMsgB3y3NVwPdkIliYDtQ-C2NmRr9xJlL8p3VK7Ny5Hn6gN_2outROAoQq-pz0D1mKg-CAIAWWisH9A5TX-NhvbilmPQLZbL9eFfRKhApkxa4fy1/s1600/SMOKEOUT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bLP7zQvHK0JU5SE2o50H3ugN3vjXbMsgB3y3NVwPdkIliYDtQ-C2NmRr9xJlL8p3VK7Ny5Hn6gN_2outROAoQq-pz0D1mKg-CAIAWWisH9A5TX-NhvbilmPQLZbL9eFfRKhApkxa4fy1/s1600/SMOKEOUT.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Every year, on the third Thursday of November, smokers across the nation take part in the American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout. They may use the date to make a plan to quit, or plan in advance and then quit smoking that day. The event challenges people to stop using tobacco and helps people know about the many tools they can use to quit and stay quit.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #400058; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"></span><span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">In many towns and communities, local volunteers support quitters, publicize this anti-smoking event, and press for laws that control tobacco use and discourage teens from starting.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #400058; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"></span><span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Research shows that smokers are most successful in kicking the habit when they have support, such as:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Telephone smoking-cessation hotlines</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Stop-smoking groups</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Online quit groups</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Counseling</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Nicotine replacement products</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Prescription medicine to lessen cravings</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Guide books</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Encouragement and support from friends and family members</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #400058; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"></span><span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #400058; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"></span><span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Using 2 or more of these measures to help you quit smoking works better than using any one of them alone. For example, some people use a prescription medicine along with nicotine replacement. Other people may use as many as 3 or 4 of the methods listed above.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #400058; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"></span><span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Telephone stop-smoking hotlines are an easy-to-use resource, and they are available in all 50 states. Call us at 1-800-227-2345 to find telephone counseling or other support in your area.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #400058; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"></span><span style="color: #565454; line-height: 16.883333206176758px;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Support is out there, but the most recent information suggests that fewer than 1 in 3 smokers reports having tried any of the recommended therapies during their last quit attempt.</span></span></span><br />
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Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-33378354909476040362012-10-21T10:00:00.001-07:002012-10-21T10:00:34.847-07:00Hope Floats<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/windshieldman/8107368151/" title="IMG_3730 by richies, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_3730" height="266" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8107368151_22a862a529.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
The Hope Floats - Wal-mart 67 Relay For Life team held a innovative and interesting fundraiser on October 20, 2012. When people made donations to the team their name was written on the bottom of a rubber duck. The ducks were then taken to the middle of the pond at Rich Mountain Community College and set adrift.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/windshieldman/8107377850/" title="IMG_3710 by richies, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_3710" height="266" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8056/8107377850_13ebd8d991.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
When the ducks were set adrift, Lady, a black lab, was sent into the water to retrieve a duck. The name on the first duck retrieved received a 40" flat screen HD TV, the second a Nook e-reader and the third a rocking chair.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/windshieldman/8107368299/" title="IMG_3715 by richies, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_3715" height="266" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8329/8107368299_eb233da1c4.jpg" width="400" /></a>
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="230" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QI8WA91T7FM" width="409"></iframe><br />
<br />
It was a breezy day, and when all of the rubber ducks had been blown to shore, the kids present had a great time collecting the rubber ducks from the lake.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/windshieldman/8107368533/" title="IMG_3714 by richies, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_3714" height="266" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8043/8107368533_8437b98757.jpg" width="400" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/windshieldman/8107376848/" title="IMG_3738 by richies, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_3738" height="266" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8469/8107376848_129ea7d90e.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
It was a great fundraiser and over 2200.00 was raised for Relay For Life.Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-57632239903685000032012-10-19T21:10:00.000-07:002012-10-20T05:17:54.447-07:00Brandi Sachs - Volunteering to Find a Cure<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Citizen of the Week by LeAnn Dilbeck - Published in the October 17, 2012 issue of The Polk County Pulse.<br />
<br />
Family is an integral part of who so many of us are. But for many it goes much deeper and defines who we are. A statement that can be said for this week's Citizen, Brandi Myers Sachs. And family is who has inspired one of her greatest passions...an active outspoken champion of the Polk County Relay For Life.
"It was devastating," says Myers through tears when she remembers getting the call that her Aunt Peggy had pancreatic cancer. Her aunt underwent treatments but lost her battle within only a few short months of diagnosis. Brandi had known of others with cancer but had never had the devastating illness strike so bitterly close to home and says she regrets now taking so long to become involved in helping to find a cure.<br />
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"When you become involved with Relay, you are helping to find a cure...97 cents of every dollar raised goes to research," says Sachs, and it is in that she finds great healing. "It's too late for my aunt but it's not too late for my mom or your aunt or your daughter...or on and on." Through grief and loss, Brandi has discovered a passion that she chooses to champion a cause and make a profound difference...a difference that she may never actually see but finds inspiration and comfort in knowing she was part of a larger cause that worked to eradicate an illness that has devestated families across the globe.<br />
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Brandi moved to Mena with her parents Don and Judye Myers along with brothers Cotye and Justin when she was just two. Don had been sent on "assignment" by his father to open a Sonic Drive-In. And that he did. The Myers Sonic Drive-In became a cornerstone business on the corner of Cherry and Hwy 71 as well as part of at least two generations of teenagers' memories that made the drive-in a regular weekend and after-school hangout spot. In 2000, the family made a very tough decision to discontinue their Sonic franchise and the restaurant became Myers Cruizzers Drive-In. "It was a really big decision for my Dad but he believed as long as we continued to give good service we'd be fine." Brandi said the business barely experienced a hiccup and the customers continued to turn-in day after day.<br />
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Now the three siblings share the responsibility of running the same drive-in that was such a big part their own childhood. Brandi graduated from Mena High School in 1991 and married her husband, David, in 1996. The couple have two children, Ridge age 14, and Brickie, age 10. "My life didn't begin untill I had them," sand Brandi.<br />
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She said the family enjoys camping, four-wheeling, and just spending time together. Each of the Myers siblings have homes near their parents, Don and Judye.<br />
<br />
Just as passionate as her advocacy for cancer, Brandi wants her children to have the same childhood she had where her parents instilled the values and beliefs she still carries today. "You want to raise them right...raise them so they know how to make the right choices."<br />
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Brandi also enjoys photography but even in her hobby it is in her appreciation for family that she finds fulfillment. When asked what she found the most fulffilling about her photography, she said immediately and simply, "preserving those memories for the families."<br />
<br />
Quite satisfied raising her family in the same hometown where she was raised, Brandi enjoys working at the drive-in, being a wife and a mom. When asked where she saw herself in ten years, she said, "well, I hope as happy and as blessed as I have been the last ten!"<br />
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Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-39130997566968273182012-10-03T07:32:00.003-07:002012-10-03T07:32:54.457-07:00Newly Diagnosed? Top 5 Questions You Should Ask Your Care Team <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hearing the words “you have cancer”
is enough to send any mind spinning. You may have a million questions
running through your head, and you may not know where to start when it
comes to asking for information about your diagnosis and treatment.
However, opening up a dialogue with your care team is the best way to
get the answers you need to make informed decisions about your health.
The list below will help you ask the right questions as you start your
cancer journey.<br /><br />
<br />
<ol style="list-style-position: outside;">
<li><b>Exactly what kind of cancer do I have?</b> All cancers start with an uncontrolled growth of cells in the body, but different kinds of cancer behave very differently.
They may grow at different rates and respond to different treatments –
and not just because they affect different parts of the body. There can
also be sub-types of breast cancer, for example, that behave differently
from other sub-types of breast cancer. Learning your exact diagnosis
and the l name of your cancer is the first step in understanding your
diagnosis and helping others understand it, too. </li>
<li><b>What stage is my cancer, and what does that mean? Staging i</b>s a concise way to describe the size of a particular cancer growth and
also how far the cancer may have spread beyond where it started.
Cancers can range from stage I to stage IV, with stage I describing the
smallest tumors located in only one area of the body and stage IV
describing larger growths or cancer that has spread. The stage is very
important in making decisions about the best treatment, for example a
stage I breast cancer will be treated very differently from a stage IV
breast cancer. Knowing the stage also can help your doctor talk to you
about how likely you are to respond to treatment and survive the cancer.
Ask your doctor to explain what stage cancer you have and why it was
staged that way. You may need to have some additional tests or even
surgery for doctors to fully stage your cancer.</li>
<li><b>What are my treatment choices?</b>
There may be more than one way to treat your cancer. Learning about the
effectiveness, potential side effects, and long-term outcomes of different cancer treatments can help you make the best decision about the next steps in your care.
Ask what the goal of the treatment is: Are you working to get rid of the
cancer, keep it from spreading, or simply relieve some symptoms? Also
ask what the long-term effects of potential treatments might be. Some
treatments can permanently affect your fertility or other bodily
functions or increase your risk of a second cancer in the future. </li>
<li><b>What will life be like during treatment?</b>
Knowing what to expect on a day-to-day basis during treatment can help
you feel more calm and prepared as you move forward. Ask about the
basics, such as where your treatment will take place, how long it will
last, and how often you will need to go. Also ask how the treatment
might impact your daily activities: Will you still be able to attend
work or school? Drive a car? Travel? Get an idea of how the treatment
might impact your body, too. Will it be painful or cause physical side
effects such as hair loss or fatigue? If you get details in advance, you can make a plan for how you will cope with these factors if and when they happen.</li>
<li><b>How much will it cost?</b> Although money may be the last thing you want to talk about, cancer will likely impact your finances as well as your body. After talking with your doctor about treatment
options, talk with your insurance company or the financial office of
your hospital or clinic to get a clear idea of how much your care will
cost. Ask about the costs of any treatment and about the costs of
medicines or any home care services you may need. If you need help
paying for your care, ask to talk with a social worker who may be able
to guide you to resources to help you. </li>
</ol>
Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-85780281173782594002012-09-29T11:26:00.001-07:002012-09-29T11:30:12.416-07:00The Most Effective Breast Cancer-Fighting Organization in the World<div align="center" style="text-align: left;">
<i>Written by W. Phil Evans, M.D., F.A.C.R.,</i><i> the director<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> of </span>the Center for Breast Care at the University<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> of </span>Texas Southwestern Medical Center. </i><br />
<br />
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</div>
As a radiologist specializing in breast imaging and an
American Cancer Society volunteer for many years, I have a unique
perspective on life-saving early detection with mammography and the
extraordinary role<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> of </span>the Society in breast cancer care. Over the years, I have had to tell many<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> women </span>that they have breast cancer, and the Society has always been there for them.<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> Today, </span><span id="dtx-highlighting-item">one </span><span id="dtx-highlighting-item">of </span><span id="dtx-highlighting-item">every </span><span id="dtx-highlighting-item">two </span><span id="dtx-highlighting-item">women </span>newly diagnosed with breast cancer reaches out to the Society for help and support. In<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> every </span>community, we provide free information and services–when and where it’s needed.<br />
<br />
Doctors know that when found early rather than late, breast cancer is much easier to treat, and the chance<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> of </span>survival
is significantly greater. The Society has helped translate this
knowledge into action that has improved and saved many lives by
increasing public awareness<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> of </span>breast
cancer, developing screening guidelines, and providing clinician
education programs. For years, the Society has recommended that<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> women </span>begin
screening at age 40 with yearly mammography and clinical breast exam.
Largely due to screening and improved treatments, the breast cancer
death rate has decreased by over 30% since 1990 and will approach a 40%
reduction by 2015.<br />
<br />
Although screening mammography is very effective in reducing
breast cancer deaths, it does have limitations. Mammography detects most
but not all breast cancers early. A clinical examination and breast
awareness are part<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> of </span>the screening process for<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> women </span>at average breast cancer risk. If you have a strong family history<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> of </span>breast
and/or ovarian cancer, genetic testing may be appropriate to determine
if you have a gene mutation that places you and possibly a member<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> of </span>your family at a higher risk<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> of </span>developing
breast cancer. Additional imaging with ultrasound and/or MRI in
addition to mammography may be recommended for those at high risk.<br />
<br />
While we do not yet know how to prevent breast cancer, research
supported by the Society suggests how a woman may reduce her breast
cancer risk by:<br />
<ul>
<li>Maintaining a healthy body weight throughout life,</li>
<li>Engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity, and</li>
<li>Reducing alcohol intake to no more than<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> one </span>drink per day.</li>
</ul>
For<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> women </span>diagnosed
with breast cancer, the Society is ready to help around the clock in
communities nationwide. The National Cancer Information Center
(1-800-227-2345 or cancer.org) is staffed 24/7 with specialists who
answer calls and e-mails and monitor chat room discussions. They assist
patients and caregivers with information requests and service
referrals. We provide emotional support for the newly diagnosed both in
person and online, transportation assistance to and from treatment,
free lodging if treatment is far from home, free wigs and help with
treatment-related side effects, and tips, tools, and resources for
nutritional needs during treatment, recovery, and survivorship.<br />
<br />
The Society passionately fights back against breast cancer through Making Strides Against Breast Cancer –the largest ne<span id="dtx-highlighting-item">two</span>rk<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> of </span>breast
cancer events in the nation, uniting more than 270 communities to fund
the fight. The walks are 3-5 miles and the walkers raised more than $60
million last year to find cures and save lives. In addition, through the
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Ne<span id="dtx-highlighting-item">two</span>rk (ACS CAN), our nonpr<span id="dtx-highlighting-item">of</span>it,
nonpartisan, advocacy affiliate, breast cancer remains a top priority
for our nation’s lawmakers. Through ACS CAN, we support federal
legislation that will increase access to treatment for breast cancer
patients and quality<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> of </span>life
for survivors. Moreover, ACS CAN has lobbied Congress for continued
support the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program
(NBCCEDP). This program helps low income, uninsured, and underinsured<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> women </span>obtain access to screening and treatment and has provided over 10 million screening exams to four million<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> women</span>,
finding more than 52,000 breast cancers. Finally, ACS CAN urges
Congress to robustly fund breast cancer research that will improve
prevention, detection, treatment, and survivorship.<br />
<br />
The American Cancer Society has played a role in nearly<span id="dtx-highlighting-item"> every </span>major breast cancer breakthrough in recent history and will continue the work until the disease is defeated.Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3825864696950613260.post-75502028128401816402012-09-27T20:15:00.000-07:002012-09-27T20:15:15.308-07:00Local Relay Leaders Attend Leadership Summit Article published in the September 27, 2012 issue of The Mena Star<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/windshieldman/8016379394/" title="Relay Cheerleaders by richies, on Flickr"><img alt="Relay Cheerleaders" height="266" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/8016379394_4eb385aacf.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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<div id="yui_3_2_0_1_1348791424268356">
<div class="yiv861347642MsoNormal">
The <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1348801929_0">American Cancer Society</span> held the Mid-South Division
Relay For Life Leadership Summit September 21<sup>st</sup> and 22<sup>nd</sup>
at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Arkansas.<span>
</span>Four members of the Relay For Life of Polk County committee attended the
Summit; Richie and Regina Lawry, Crystal Mos, and Debbie Welch.<span> </span>The purpose of the Summit was to inspire
hope, courage, and determination in the fight to eliminate cancer. If there is
one word that defines Relay For Life it is "hope".</div>
<div class="yiv861347642MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1348791424268353">
The Relay For Life Leadership Summit welcomed over 1,200
volunteers from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and
Kentucky.<span> </span>The theme of the Summit was
Dream Big - Hope Big - Relay Big.<span> </span>Cancer
is a BIG foe.<span> </span>To defeat it we are going
to have to Dream BIG, Hope BIG and Relay BIG.<span>
</span>In 2011, Arkansas held 71 Relay For Life events with 1,534 teams and
2,990 cancer survivors participating. Arkansas Relayers are looking for bigger
things in 2013.<span> </span></div>
<div class="yiv861347642MsoNormal">
<span></span>Relay For Life represents the hope that those lost to cancer
will never be forgotten, that those who face cancer will be supported, and that
one day cancer will be eliminated.<span> </span>Relay
For Life is more than just a fundraiser. It’s a life-changing experience. At
Relay, every person in the community has a chance to celebrate, remember, and
fight back. And every person who participates joins others around the globe as
part of this worldwide movement to end cancer.</div>
<div class="yiv861347642MsoNormal">
The Relay For Life of Polk County attendees came back
determined to dream big, hope big and Relay big.<span> </span>If you would like to be a part of something
big, call Regina Lawry at 479-234-1608.</div>
</div>
Richard Lawryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03680320073463221740noreply@blogger.com0