LUNG cancer will soon kill more females than breast cancer as women lag behind men in getting the anti-smoking message, according to the latest snapshot on Australian cancer rates.
Today's report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals that women who took up smoking in the 1970s and 1980s are now paying the price, as lung cancer outstrips breast cancer as a cause of death for the first time.
The report, Cancer In Australia: An Overview 2008, predicts that lung cancer rates in women are expected to grow by 0.4 per cent a year until 2010 but will fall by 1.1 per cent for men.
"It's tragic because there is not a lot you can do to prevent breast cancer but there is no reason for having so many people diagnosed with lung cancer when it stems from smoking," the chief executive of the Cancer Council of Australia, Ian Olver, said yesterday.
He called for a price rise on cigarettes and continued graphic advertising campaigns outlining the broad range of smoking's side effects, such as cardiovascular and gum disease.
"One in five people are smokers, so the advertising campaigns are graphic, but they need to remain as intense as they are now to make sure people get the message," he said.
"The Government needs to step up its efforts in reducing smoking-related deaths, and that really means price control and social marketing or advertising campaigns."
More than 100,000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in 2005, and that number is expected to grow by more than 3000 extra cases each year to 2010, as the population ages.
The most common cancer is still prostate, with 16,349 new cases diagnosed, followed by colorectal (7181), melanoma (6044), lung (5738) and lymphoma (2373).
Testicular cancer had the highest survival rate, with 97 per cent of sufferers still alive five years after diagnosis, followed by thyroid cancer (93 per cent) and skin cancer (92 per cent). Pancreatic cancer had the lowest survival rate, with 4.6 per cent of sufferers alive five years after diagnosis.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Non-Surgical Procedure To Blast Lung Cancer
If you made a New Year's resolution to quit smoking, here's more incentive to stick with it: More than 150,000 Americans will likely die of lung cancer this year.
Quitting can greatly reduce your chance of getting sick, but cancer isn't completely preventable. The good news is tumors are having a harder time hiding these days with a new, non-surgical procedure.
Ceil Hall cherishes memories galore; this Wisconsin farm girl who married the love of her life Charlie, 58 years ago. Her decades of photos show children and grandchildren.
Although some more recent images document some uninvited guests. A cancerous tumor was found in each of Hall's lungs. It was metastatic cancer, meaning it had spread, first to a chest muscle.
"Three months later there was another one, and that was on my spine. That was also treated with CyberKnife. And three months after that there was another one on the adrenal gland," said Hall.
She was immediately scheduled for surgery and was offered chemotherapy as follow-up care.
Instead she opted to attack each tumor with CyberKnife. It basically delivers pinpoint, targeted radiation to tissue at two to three times the saturation of conventional radiation in a fraction of the time.
"Each beam is pretty weak," said Dr. Andrew Fink, HealthEast Medical Director of Surgery. "But then rotates slightly, and shoots another beam. Rotates slightly, shoots another beam. Does that 150 to 200 times."
The advantage is greater precision to blast the tumor with every beam, while healthy surrounding tissues are mostly spared.
"You can see how close it is to the kidney ... the bowel, the spinal cord, the aorta. These are all what we call critical structures," said Fink.
Fink said CyberKnife is often a good option for those whose medical complications would make standard surgery too risky. A study currently underway comparing it to surgery for early stage lung cancers shows it to be quite promising.
"We're able to kill that cancer at least 80 percent of the time, which is comparable to surgery," Fink said.
Hall has had no new growths in six months. She also was spared the down time from surgery and the side-effects of chemo, and she is amazed by the technology.
"A robotic machine can deliver radiation. And as you're lying on the table breathing, the machine breathes with you," recalled Hall.
Hall is a former smoker, but she quit nearly 30 years ago. For those of you who'd like a little free help quitting and for a virtual tour of how the CyberKnife works, click on the links below.
Free Help To Quit Smoking
CyberKnife Virtual Tour
Quitting can greatly reduce your chance of getting sick, but cancer isn't completely preventable. The good news is tumors are having a harder time hiding these days with a new, non-surgical procedure.
Ceil Hall cherishes memories galore; this Wisconsin farm girl who married the love of her life Charlie, 58 years ago. Her decades of photos show children and grandchildren.
Although some more recent images document some uninvited guests. A cancerous tumor was found in each of Hall's lungs. It was metastatic cancer, meaning it had spread, first to a chest muscle.
"Three months later there was another one, and that was on my spine. That was also treated with CyberKnife. And three months after that there was another one on the adrenal gland," said Hall.
She was immediately scheduled for surgery and was offered chemotherapy as follow-up care.
Instead she opted to attack each tumor with CyberKnife. It basically delivers pinpoint, targeted radiation to tissue at two to three times the saturation of conventional radiation in a fraction of the time.
"Each beam is pretty weak," said Dr. Andrew Fink, HealthEast Medical Director of Surgery. "But then rotates slightly, and shoots another beam. Rotates slightly, shoots another beam. Does that 150 to 200 times."
The advantage is greater precision to blast the tumor with every beam, while healthy surrounding tissues are mostly spared.
"You can see how close it is to the kidney ... the bowel, the spinal cord, the aorta. These are all what we call critical structures," said Fink.
Fink said CyberKnife is often a good option for those whose medical complications would make standard surgery too risky. A study currently underway comparing it to surgery for early stage lung cancers shows it to be quite promising.
"We're able to kill that cancer at least 80 percent of the time, which is comparable to surgery," Fink said.
Hall has had no new growths in six months. She also was spared the down time from surgery and the side-effects of chemo, and she is amazed by the technology.
"A robotic machine can deliver radiation. And as you're lying on the table breathing, the machine breathes with you," recalled Hall.
Hall is a former smoker, but she quit nearly 30 years ago. For those of you who'd like a little free help quitting and for a virtual tour of how the CyberKnife works, click on the links below.
Free Help To Quit Smoking
CyberKnife Virtual Tour
Study examines racial disparities in survival among patients diagnosed with lung cancer
Disparities in survival among black patients diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer are not seen when patients are recommended appropriate treatment, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Lung cancer causes more deaths in the United States than any other cancer, according to background information in the article. Pulmonary resection—or surgery to remove a portion of the lung—provides the best chance for patients with early-stage disease to be cured. "Black patients with early-stage lung cancer have lower five-year survival rates than white patients, and this difference in outcome has been attributed to lower rates of resection among black patients," the authors write. "Several potential factors underlying racial differences in the receipt of surgical therapy include differences in pulmonary function, access to care, refusal of surgery, beliefs about tumor spread on air exposure at the time of operation and the possibility of cure without surgery, distrust of the health care system and physicians, suboptimal patterns of patient and physician communication and health care system and provider biases." Of these, access to care is often considered the most important of factors underlying racial disparities.
Farhood Farjah, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues designed a study to address whether differences in survival persist when evaluating only patients who had been recommended to receive optimal therapy, in this case lung resection. Patients recommended for therapy were considered likely to have "cleared" at least one major hurdle of access to care. The investigators analyzed data from 17,739 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer between 1992 and 2002 (average age 75, 89 percent white and 6 percent black) and who were recommended to receive surgical therapy. They tracked whether or not the patients underwent surgery, and their overall survival, through 2005.
While black patients recommended to surgery had lung resections less frequently than white patients (69 percent vs. 83 percent, the authors write. After adjustment, there was no significant association between race and death.
Several possible explanations exist for the differences in rates of surgery, the authors note, and these may be important for understanding patient decision-making and improving care delivery systems. Black patients may be more likely to refuse surgery than white patients, or may have more limited access to recommended care.
"Although these findings do not refute the likely roles of health care system and provider biases and patient characteristics as important causal factors underlying health disparities, the findings do suggest that other factors (i.e., distrust, perceptions and beliefs about lung cancer and its treatment and limited access to subspecialty care) may have a more dominant role in causing disparities than previously recognized. The implication of these findings is that interventions designed to narrow gaps in health care should target structural aspects of care, providers and patients and communities at risk for lung cancer and suboptimal care." The study findings suggest that referral of all patients with potentially curable lung cancer for consideration of lung resection may be a helpful tool in mitigating previously identified racial differences in survival.
###
(Arch Surg. 2009;144[1]:14-18. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org.)
Editor's Note: Dr. Farjah was supported by a Cancer Epidemiology and Biostatistics Training Grant and a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Cancer Institute. Additional resources were available through the Department of Surgery and the Surgical Outcomes Research Center, University of Washington and the generosity of the Schilling family. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Lung cancer causes more deaths in the United States than any other cancer, according to background information in the article. Pulmonary resection—or surgery to remove a portion of the lung—provides the best chance for patients with early-stage disease to be cured. "Black patients with early-stage lung cancer have lower five-year survival rates than white patients, and this difference in outcome has been attributed to lower rates of resection among black patients," the authors write. "Several potential factors underlying racial differences in the receipt of surgical therapy include differences in pulmonary function, access to care, refusal of surgery, beliefs about tumor spread on air exposure at the time of operation and the possibility of cure without surgery, distrust of the health care system and physicians, suboptimal patterns of patient and physician communication and health care system and provider biases." Of these, access to care is often considered the most important of factors underlying racial disparities.
Farhood Farjah, M.D., M.P.H., of the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues designed a study to address whether differences in survival persist when evaluating only patients who had been recommended to receive optimal therapy, in this case lung resection. Patients recommended for therapy were considered likely to have "cleared" at least one major hurdle of access to care. The investigators analyzed data from 17,739 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer between 1992 and 2002 (average age 75, 89 percent white and 6 percent black) and who were recommended to receive surgical therapy. They tracked whether or not the patients underwent surgery, and their overall survival, through 2005.
While black patients recommended to surgery had lung resections less frequently than white patients (69 percent vs. 83 percent, the authors write. After adjustment, there was no significant association between race and death.
Several possible explanations exist for the differences in rates of surgery, the authors note, and these may be important for understanding patient decision-making and improving care delivery systems. Black patients may be more likely to refuse surgery than white patients, or may have more limited access to recommended care.
"Although these findings do not refute the likely roles of health care system and provider biases and patient characteristics as important causal factors underlying health disparities, the findings do suggest that other factors (i.e., distrust, perceptions and beliefs about lung cancer and its treatment and limited access to subspecialty care) may have a more dominant role in causing disparities than previously recognized. The implication of these findings is that interventions designed to narrow gaps in health care should target structural aspects of care, providers and patients and communities at risk for lung cancer and suboptimal care." The study findings suggest that referral of all patients with potentially curable lung cancer for consideration of lung resection may be a helpful tool in mitigating previously identified racial differences in survival.
###
(Arch Surg. 2009;144[1]:14-18. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.org.)
Editor's Note: Dr. Farjah was supported by a Cancer Epidemiology and Biostatistics Training Grant and a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Cancer Institute. Additional resources were available through the Department of Surgery and the Surgical Outcomes Research Center, University of Washington and the generosity of the Schilling family. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
National Lung Cancer Partnership And LUNGevity Foundation Announce 2009 Grant Recipients
The 2009 winners of the National Lung Cancer Partnership/LUNGevity Foundation Research Grants are Prasad Adusumilli, M.D. and Lee Goodglick, Ph.D. The $100,000 grants will fund the scientist's research on visceral pleural invasion and the role of estrogen in lung cancer tumors, respectively.
Dr. Adusumilli, a general thoracic surgeon specializing in lung cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, was awarded the grant focused on basic research for his proposed study of Visceral Pleural Invasion, a condition that affects one in four early stage lung cancer patients in which their cancer spreads to the membrane covering the lungs surface and is associated with poorer treatment outcomes.
Using a mouse model, Dr. Adusumilli's will use genetic engineering to program immune cells to target and suppress tumor cells on the lung membrane.
Dr. Goodglick of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles was awarded the grant for research in the area of sex differences in lung cancer. His research will focus on estrogen, which many lung cancers either make or are responsive to, similarly to breast cancer. Aromatase-inhibitors, drugs which turn off the enzyme aromatase which can cause some cancers to grow and have long been used in breast cancer treatment, will be studied in a pre-clinical trial to determine their effectiveness in treating lung cancer. Additional research will use new technology to address other ways that estrogen may affect lung cancer in order to identify future therapies.
"Only by continuing to fund this type of lung cancer research can we keep the momentum towards better treatments for patients," Dr. Joan Schiller, president of the National Lung Cancer Partnership and chief of hematology/oncology of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center said. "Supporting the work of scientists like Drs. Adusumilli and Goodglick is critical to our continued battle against the world's number 1 cancer killer."
----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
----------------------------
National Lung Cancer Partnership is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to decreasing deaths due to lung cancer, and helping patients live longer and better, through research, awareness and advocacy.
The LUNGevity Foundation is the only organization in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to funding lung cancer research. The 501(c) (3) organization was founded in 2000 by seven Chicago-area lung cancer survivors to increase funding for lung cancer research.
Source: Colleen O'Donnell
Dr. Adusumilli, a general thoracic surgeon specializing in lung cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, was awarded the grant focused on basic research for his proposed study of Visceral Pleural Invasion, a condition that affects one in four early stage lung cancer patients in which their cancer spreads to the membrane covering the lungs surface and is associated with poorer treatment outcomes.
Using a mouse model, Dr. Adusumilli's will use genetic engineering to program immune cells to target and suppress tumor cells on the lung membrane.
Dr. Goodglick of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles was awarded the grant for research in the area of sex differences in lung cancer. His research will focus on estrogen, which many lung cancers either make or are responsive to, similarly to breast cancer. Aromatase-inhibitors, drugs which turn off the enzyme aromatase which can cause some cancers to grow and have long been used in breast cancer treatment, will be studied in a pre-clinical trial to determine their effectiveness in treating lung cancer. Additional research will use new technology to address other ways that estrogen may affect lung cancer in order to identify future therapies.
"Only by continuing to fund this type of lung cancer research can we keep the momentum towards better treatments for patients," Dr. Joan Schiller, president of the National Lung Cancer Partnership and chief of hematology/oncology of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center said. "Supporting the work of scientists like Drs. Adusumilli and Goodglick is critical to our continued battle against the world's number 1 cancer killer."
----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
----------------------------
National Lung Cancer Partnership is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to decreasing deaths due to lung cancer, and helping patients live longer and better, through research, awareness and advocacy.
The LUNGevity Foundation is the only organization in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to funding lung cancer research. The 501(c) (3) organization was founded in 2000 by seven Chicago-area lung cancer survivors to increase funding for lung cancer research.
Source: Colleen O'Donnell
National Lung Cancer Partnership’s Scientific Executive Committee Member Receives Honor
The National Lung Cancer Partnership congratulates Dr. Everett Vokes M.D. on his election to the Board of Directors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
A nationally recognized expert in lung cancer, Dr. Vokes is the John Ultmann Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Radiation Oncology and serves as Director of the section of hematology/oncology and Co-Deputy Director of the cancer center at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Vokes is a member of National Lung Cancer Partnership’s Scientific Executive Committee, where he served as the Chair of the Partnership’s 2008 Research Grant Review Committee.
“Dr. Vokes is a respected clinician and researcher and a valuable member of the Partnership’s Scientific Executive Committee. His contribution towards advancing lung cancer research continues to enhance the field,” said Regina Vidaver, executive director of the National Lung Cancer Partnership said. “We are excited for Dr. Vokes and know that he will be a great addition to ASCO’s Board of Directors.”
# # #
More Information:
The National Lung Cancer Partnership
A nationally recognized expert in lung cancer, Dr. Vokes is the John Ultmann Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Radiation Oncology and serves as Director of the section of hematology/oncology and Co-Deputy Director of the cancer center at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Vokes is a member of National Lung Cancer Partnership’s Scientific Executive Committee, where he served as the Chair of the Partnership’s 2008 Research Grant Review Committee.
“Dr. Vokes is a respected clinician and researcher and a valuable member of the Partnership’s Scientific Executive Committee. His contribution towards advancing lung cancer research continues to enhance the field,” said Regina Vidaver, executive director of the National Lung Cancer Partnership said. “We are excited for Dr. Vokes and know that he will be a great addition to ASCO’s Board of Directors.”
# # #
More Information:
The National Lung Cancer Partnership
Study: Do more to help patients quit smoking
FAIRMONT — A survey of cancer patients being treated at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center indicates that many of the smokers did not quit the habit in light of their diagnosis and some of them were not even advised to do so by their doctors.
“It absolutely benefits patients to quit,” said Dr. Jame Abraham, chief of oncology at WVU Hospitals and the medical director of the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center in Morgantown. “No. 1, we know that smoking can potentially alter the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
“No. 2, smoking can cause many other conditions, including lung cancer and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and smoking can increase the chance of getting pneumonia and lung disease, which can complicate the ability to take the treatment.”
The study was the idea of Lola Burke, now a second-year medical student who performed much of the survey work, Abraham said.
Burke sent surveys to 1,000 cancer patients, and 200 of them responded. Of the 200 who responded, 52 percent had a history of smoking, but only 20 percent had been actively smoking at the time of the diagnosis, Abraham said.
Of the active smokers, 44 percent quit while 56 percent did not, Abraham said.
“Another thing we found was that 40 percent were not told by the doctors to quit,” he added. “They didn’t even hear this from their doctors or their health-care provider.”
Bruce Adkins, director of the Division of Tobacco Prevention for the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, has teamed up with Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine in an effort to offer training to physicians who would teach them how to counsel patients to quit smoking.
“We started doing some provider training about two and a half year ago,” he said. “It’s a tough addiction to break. You have to keep reinforcing it. People don’t usually quit smoking the first time they attempt to quit. The average number of times it takes someone to quit using tobacco is eight to 10 times.”
Staff members from Marshall’s School of Medicine travel throughout the state offering a three-hour course to physicians, covering topics such as cessation counseling, spit tobacco, smoking and pregnancy, and the pharmacotherapy of tobacco cessation, Adkins said.
In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that West Virginia had the second-highest rate of adult smokers in the United States at 25.7 percent, second to Kentucky at a rate of 28.6 percent.
The findings of the study at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, which have been released in this month’s edition of Journal of Oncology, published by the American Society of Clinic Oncology, illustrate that more must be done in order to help cancer patients quit, Abraham said.
“Many times, that person has been smoking for a long time,” he said. “That addictiveness is so high, so you can’t just walk away from this in one day.”
The news came during the same week that the CDC released a report in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report stating that Kentucky and West Virginia have the highest death rates from smoking.
It also comes during the same month that actor Patrick Swayze, undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer, admitted that he still smokes.
“We do see similar behavior all the time,” Abraham said of Swayze’s admission. “But I’m not going to blame the patient. Last week, I was talking to a patient who, because of her cancer treatment has lost her hair, and she said, ‘I know it looks ridiculous to smoke.’ She knows that, but she’s still smoking. It’s more complicated than that.”
The study was filled out by people being treated for a variety of different cancers, not just those that generally have been associated with cigarette smoking, which include cancer of the lungs, head and neck, bladder, stomach and pancreas.
“Many times, some early-stage cancer patients get cured from the primary cancer and then come back with a second cancer,” Abraham said. “We had a stage-one breast cancer patient. I gave her the treatment and I told her, ‘You’re going to be fine. There is a 90 percent chance that it’s not going to come back.’
“But she was an active smoker and two years later, she had a large mass in her lung and died of lung cancer.”
The situation frustrates anti-smoking activist Adkins, who smoked in college and was treated for cancer of the tongue three years ago, about 30 years after he quit his smoking habit.
When he had cancer, Adkins said, radiation treatments were very uncomfortable, and he could not imagine smoking during that time period.
“I could barely swallow. I could barely eat. Nothing tasted good. Everything was yucky,” he said. “Smoking could not have made that better. It could only have made things worse if I was a smoker.”
E-mail Mary Wade Burnside at mwburnside@timeswv.com.
“It absolutely benefits patients to quit,” said Dr. Jame Abraham, chief of oncology at WVU Hospitals and the medical director of the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center in Morgantown. “No. 1, we know that smoking can potentially alter the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
“No. 2, smoking can cause many other conditions, including lung cancer and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and smoking can increase the chance of getting pneumonia and lung disease, which can complicate the ability to take the treatment.”
The study was the idea of Lola Burke, now a second-year medical student who performed much of the survey work, Abraham said.
Burke sent surveys to 1,000 cancer patients, and 200 of them responded. Of the 200 who responded, 52 percent had a history of smoking, but only 20 percent had been actively smoking at the time of the diagnosis, Abraham said.
Of the active smokers, 44 percent quit while 56 percent did not, Abraham said.
“Another thing we found was that 40 percent were not told by the doctors to quit,” he added. “They didn’t even hear this from their doctors or their health-care provider.”
Bruce Adkins, director of the Division of Tobacco Prevention for the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, has teamed up with Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine in an effort to offer training to physicians who would teach them how to counsel patients to quit smoking.
“We started doing some provider training about two and a half year ago,” he said. “It’s a tough addiction to break. You have to keep reinforcing it. People don’t usually quit smoking the first time they attempt to quit. The average number of times it takes someone to quit using tobacco is eight to 10 times.”
Staff members from Marshall’s School of Medicine travel throughout the state offering a three-hour course to physicians, covering topics such as cessation counseling, spit tobacco, smoking and pregnancy, and the pharmacotherapy of tobacco cessation, Adkins said.
In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that West Virginia had the second-highest rate of adult smokers in the United States at 25.7 percent, second to Kentucky at a rate of 28.6 percent.
The findings of the study at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, which have been released in this month’s edition of Journal of Oncology, published by the American Society of Clinic Oncology, illustrate that more must be done in order to help cancer patients quit, Abraham said.
“Many times, that person has been smoking for a long time,” he said. “That addictiveness is so high, so you can’t just walk away from this in one day.”
The news came during the same week that the CDC released a report in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report stating that Kentucky and West Virginia have the highest death rates from smoking.
It also comes during the same month that actor Patrick Swayze, undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer, admitted that he still smokes.
“We do see similar behavior all the time,” Abraham said of Swayze’s admission. “But I’m not going to blame the patient. Last week, I was talking to a patient who, because of her cancer treatment has lost her hair, and she said, ‘I know it looks ridiculous to smoke.’ She knows that, but she’s still smoking. It’s more complicated than that.”
The study was filled out by people being treated for a variety of different cancers, not just those that generally have been associated with cigarette smoking, which include cancer of the lungs, head and neck, bladder, stomach and pancreas.
“Many times, some early-stage cancer patients get cured from the primary cancer and then come back with a second cancer,” Abraham said. “We had a stage-one breast cancer patient. I gave her the treatment and I told her, ‘You’re going to be fine. There is a 90 percent chance that it’s not going to come back.’
“But she was an active smoker and two years later, she had a large mass in her lung and died of lung cancer.”
The situation frustrates anti-smoking activist Adkins, who smoked in college and was treated for cancer of the tongue three years ago, about 30 years after he quit his smoking habit.
When he had cancer, Adkins said, radiation treatments were very uncomfortable, and he could not imagine smoking during that time period.
“I could barely swallow. I could barely eat. Nothing tasted good. Everything was yucky,” he said. “Smoking could not have made that better. It could only have made things worse if I was a smoker.”
E-mail Mary Wade Burnside at mwburnside@timeswv.com.
Kaiser Health Disparities Report: A Weekly Look At Race, Ethnicity And Health
"Racial Disparities Among Patients With Lung Cancer Who Were Recommended Operative Therapy," Archives of Surgery: Researchers led by Farhood Farjah of University of Washington's Surgical Outcomes Research Center examined 17,739 patients who were diagnosed with early stage lung cancer between Jan. 1, 1992, and Dec. 31, 2002, and were recommended to receive lung resection. Among those patients, 69% of blacks received the surgery, compared with 83% of whites. However, after making adjustments, researchers found no significant association between race and death, despite the 14% difference in the receipt of surgery. The findings suggest that "distrust, beliefs and perceptions about lung cancer and its treatment, and limited access to care (despite insurance) might have a more dominant role in perpetuating racial disparities than previously recognized," according to the study (Archives of Surgery, January 2009).
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Inositol May Prevent Lung Cancer in Cigarette Smokers
(NaturalNews) Smoking cigarettes and reading Natural News are two very incompatible notions. But Natural News readers are people after all, and thus not totally perfect. Besides, even the most fastidious raw foodist probably knows or even loves someone who occasionally takes a puff. For them, research on a substance that appears to reverse the health harming effects of smoking may have the ring of good news. Inositol, a compound found in many foods, seems to stop the threat of lung cancer from cigarettes dead in its tracks.
Inositol is a naturally occurring nutrient found in various forms, the most common of which is myo-inositol. Inositol is considered part of the B complex group of vitamins, even though it is not officially recognized as a vitamin and no RDA has been set. Like the B vitamins it is water soluble, and as a result is not stored very well in the body. It needs to be continually replaced from the diet, even though approximately 4 grams a day are produced from glucose in the kidneys.
Inositol is found in a variety of foods such as nuts, seeds, oats, rice, beans, corn, chickpeas, liver, pork, veal, whole grains, cantaloupe, most citrus fruits, lecithin granules, and wheat germ. It is available as a supplement in capsule or powdered form. Jarrow Formulas makes a powdered form that is readily available from online health retailers. There are others. Inositol powder has a delicious sweet, creamy taste and is a fabulous addition to smoothies.
Two famous researchers discovered inositol prevents cancer
Dr. Lee Wattenberg, known as the Father of Chemoprevention, searched for several decades starting in the 1970`s to find naturally occurring compounds that could theoretically prevent cancer and then applied scientific methodologies to research his discoveries. After testing several molecules, he found inositol to have great potential. Using various study models he was able to demonstrate that inositol could prevent lung cancer. It had previously been documented that a poor diet increased the chances for cancer to occur, but Dr. Wattenberg was among the first to show that a common nutrient could actually prevent cancer, a truly empowering discovery.
A few years after Dr. Wattenberg, Dr. Abdul Kalam Shamsuddin, known as the Father of IP6 (inositol hexaphosphate), also showed that inositol was able to prevent cancer, demonstrating the preventive value of the compound with colon cancer. Research by Dr. Shamsuddin revealed that inositol affects health in several ways, largely because it is in all human cells and is a major component of cell linings or membranes where it facilitates communication between the various organelles and molecules in a process known as cell signaling.
Why don`t cigarette companies hand out a bottle of inositol with each carton of cigarettes?
Some bright young executive at one of the major tobacco companies may have had the idea to boost sales by telling everybody that inositol, an inexpensive supplement, prevented lung cancer. But for the cigarette companies to buy into the idea would mean an acknowledgement that cigarettes cause cancer. Such an acknowledgement would create immense legal liability for any company making and selling cigarettes.
Inositol provides many other benefits in to the body
Inositol is a critical nutrient for hair growth. It helps prevent hardening of the arteries and is important in the formation of lecithin and the metabolism of fat and cholesterol. It helps remove fats from the liver. Inositol has a calming effect on the brain and has been used successfully at high doses as a treatment for psychiatric disorders such as depression, bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, and panic. Inositol is also used for insomnia, retinopathy, and bulimia nervosa and binge eating. It is beneficial for diabetic neuropathy, brain seizures, and for normalizing cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Symptoms of deficiency are arteriosclerosis, constipation, hair loss, high blood cholesterol, irritability, mood swings, and skin eruptions. The consumption of large amounts of caffeine usually results in inositol deficiency. As coffee consumption was often accompanied by cigarette smoking, this shortage of inositol may have been a critical factor in the cases of smoking induced lung cancer so prevalent during the time when smoking was in style.
Research continues to refine knowledge of the mechanisms by which inositol works
Being a natural compound, there is little incentive for drug companies to research inositol. Natural compounds are not patentable. However, some dedicated researchers are continuing to study the effects of inositol, trying to determine the specific mechanisms by which it prevents lung cancer in cigarette smokers. Here are summaries of the abstracts from the most recent research. It is truly amazing, or maybe criminal is a better word, that the smoking public has not been made aware of these results which date back steadily to the time of Drs. Watterberg and Shamsuddin.
Study results
The phosphatidyl-inositol-3-kinase-AKT pathway is emerging as an important regulator of tumor cell survival. Substances that inhibit this pathway have enormous potential in cancer treatment. In Biochemical Pharmacology, December, 2008, researchers report myo-inositol potentiating appropriate cell death. This effect correlated with down-regulation of various gene products that mediate cell survival, proliferation, metastasis, and invasion, all known to be regulated by NF-kappaB. The inositol compound blocked NF-kappaB activation induced by cigarette smoke.
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, August 2006, reported a clinical study conducted to assess the safety, tolerability, maximum tolerated dose, and potential chemopreventive effects of myo-inositol in smokers with bronchial abnormal cell development. Smokers between the ages of 40 and 74 participated in dose escalation ranging from 12 to 30 grams per day of myo-inositol for a month to determine the maximum dose tolerated, which turned out to be 18 grams per day. Ten new subjects were then enrolled to take the maximum tolerated dose for 3 months. Side effects, when present, were mild and mainly gastrointestinal in nature. A significant rate of reduction in abnormal cells was observed (91% compared to 48% in the controls). A significant reduction in the systolic and diastolic blood pressure by an average of 10mm Hg was observed after taking 18 grams per day of inositol for a month or more.
Researchers reported that cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Nicotine has been shown to alter gene expression. In a study reported in Physiological Genomics, April, 2001, researchers sought to identify distinct pathways through which alteration of genes took place. They ascertained the expression of over 4,000 genes in human coronary artery endothelial cells and identified a number of nicotine-modulated genes encoding a protein involved in signal transduction or transcriptional regulation. Among these were genes regulating the inositol phospholipids pathway.
The journal Experimental Lung Research, December, 2000, reports mice undergoing whole body exposure for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 5 months to a mixture of cigarette sidestream and mainstream smoke, then kept for another 4 months in a controlled air environment before being scored for lung tumors. In 7 independent experiments, the amount of lung tumors was significantly increased in each experiment, and lung tumor incidence was increased in 5 of the experiments. Several compounds were evaluated for their ability against these tumors, but none of them reduced lung tumor incidence or multiplicity. However, the dietary mixture of myo-inositol and dexamethasone (a synthetic steroid hormone that acts as an anti-inflammatory and immune system suppressant) was effective at reducing lung tumor incidence and multiplicity compared to the controls. This effect was also seen when the animals were fed the myo-inolitol-dexamethasone mixture once they were removed from smoke. The researchers concluded that people who have recently quit smoking might benefit from this compound.
Researchers acknowledged that chronic exposure of mice and rats to cigarette smoke affects T-cell responsiveness which may account for the decreased T-cell proliferative and T-dependent antibody responses in humans and animals exposed to cigarette smoke. In a study reported in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, April, 2000, researchers sought to discover the mechanism by which cigarette smoke affects T cell function. They found that spleen cells from animals with chronic nicotine exposure have depleted inositol stores and a decreased ability to raise intracellular calcium levels. Their results suggest that chronic smoking causes T cell energy reduction and inactivity by impairing pathways and depleting stored inositol resulting in a diminished level of inositol-sensitive calcium.
Mice were fed a diet supplemented with myo-inositol and exposed for 5 months to a mixture of sidestream and mainstream cigarette smoke, in a study reported in Carcinogenesis, July, 1999. In the animals fed the control diet alone, the average number of manifest lung tumors was 2.1. In the animals given the control diet plus an inositol mixture, the number of manifest lung tumors was 1.0. Researchers concluded that the mixture constitutes an effective prevention regimen against the initiation of tobacco induced lung tumors.
In a study reported in the Journal Immunology, April, 1996, both T and B lymphocytes from animals chronically treated with nicotine exhibited decreased ability to mobilize intracellular calcium and inability to complete the cell cycle. Nicotine treated cells significantly lost their ability to up-regulate inositol synthesis. This response continued for at least 2 weeks after nicotine treatment was discontinued. The researchers concluded that chronic in vivo exposure to nicotine leads to T cell energy loss and inactivity and may contribute to nicotine/cigarette smoke-induced suppression of the immune system.
Source for information about inositol in addition to the studies:
Dr. Kim Vanderlinden and Dr. Ivana Vucenik, Too Good To Be True?.
Inositol is a naturally occurring nutrient found in various forms, the most common of which is myo-inositol. Inositol is considered part of the B complex group of vitamins, even though it is not officially recognized as a vitamin and no RDA has been set. Like the B vitamins it is water soluble, and as a result is not stored very well in the body. It needs to be continually replaced from the diet, even though approximately 4 grams a day are produced from glucose in the kidneys.
Inositol is found in a variety of foods such as nuts, seeds, oats, rice, beans, corn, chickpeas, liver, pork, veal, whole grains, cantaloupe, most citrus fruits, lecithin granules, and wheat germ. It is available as a supplement in capsule or powdered form. Jarrow Formulas makes a powdered form that is readily available from online health retailers. There are others. Inositol powder has a delicious sweet, creamy taste and is a fabulous addition to smoothies.
Two famous researchers discovered inositol prevents cancer
Dr. Lee Wattenberg, known as the Father of Chemoprevention, searched for several decades starting in the 1970`s to find naturally occurring compounds that could theoretically prevent cancer and then applied scientific methodologies to research his discoveries. After testing several molecules, he found inositol to have great potential. Using various study models he was able to demonstrate that inositol could prevent lung cancer. It had previously been documented that a poor diet increased the chances for cancer to occur, but Dr. Wattenberg was among the first to show that a common nutrient could actually prevent cancer, a truly empowering discovery.
A few years after Dr. Wattenberg, Dr. Abdul Kalam Shamsuddin, known as the Father of IP6 (inositol hexaphosphate), also showed that inositol was able to prevent cancer, demonstrating the preventive value of the compound with colon cancer. Research by Dr. Shamsuddin revealed that inositol affects health in several ways, largely because it is in all human cells and is a major component of cell linings or membranes where it facilitates communication between the various organelles and molecules in a process known as cell signaling.
Why don`t cigarette companies hand out a bottle of inositol with each carton of cigarettes?
Some bright young executive at one of the major tobacco companies may have had the idea to boost sales by telling everybody that inositol, an inexpensive supplement, prevented lung cancer. But for the cigarette companies to buy into the idea would mean an acknowledgement that cigarettes cause cancer. Such an acknowledgement would create immense legal liability for any company making and selling cigarettes.
Inositol provides many other benefits in to the body
Inositol is a critical nutrient for hair growth. It helps prevent hardening of the arteries and is important in the formation of lecithin and the metabolism of fat and cholesterol. It helps remove fats from the liver. Inositol has a calming effect on the brain and has been used successfully at high doses as a treatment for psychiatric disorders such as depression, bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, and panic. Inositol is also used for insomnia, retinopathy, and bulimia nervosa and binge eating. It is beneficial for diabetic neuropathy, brain seizures, and for normalizing cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Symptoms of deficiency are arteriosclerosis, constipation, hair loss, high blood cholesterol, irritability, mood swings, and skin eruptions. The consumption of large amounts of caffeine usually results in inositol deficiency. As coffee consumption was often accompanied by cigarette smoking, this shortage of inositol may have been a critical factor in the cases of smoking induced lung cancer so prevalent during the time when smoking was in style.
Research continues to refine knowledge of the mechanisms by which inositol works
Being a natural compound, there is little incentive for drug companies to research inositol. Natural compounds are not patentable. However, some dedicated researchers are continuing to study the effects of inositol, trying to determine the specific mechanisms by which it prevents lung cancer in cigarette smokers. Here are summaries of the abstracts from the most recent research. It is truly amazing, or maybe criminal is a better word, that the smoking public has not been made aware of these results which date back steadily to the time of Drs. Watterberg and Shamsuddin.
Study results
The phosphatidyl-inositol-3-kinase-AKT pathway is emerging as an important regulator of tumor cell survival. Substances that inhibit this pathway have enormous potential in cancer treatment. In Biochemical Pharmacology, December, 2008, researchers report myo-inositol potentiating appropriate cell death. This effect correlated with down-regulation of various gene products that mediate cell survival, proliferation, metastasis, and invasion, all known to be regulated by NF-kappaB. The inositol compound blocked NF-kappaB activation induced by cigarette smoke.
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, August 2006, reported a clinical study conducted to assess the safety, tolerability, maximum tolerated dose, and potential chemopreventive effects of myo-inositol in smokers with bronchial abnormal cell development. Smokers between the ages of 40 and 74 participated in dose escalation ranging from 12 to 30 grams per day of myo-inositol for a month to determine the maximum dose tolerated, which turned out to be 18 grams per day. Ten new subjects were then enrolled to take the maximum tolerated dose for 3 months. Side effects, when present, were mild and mainly gastrointestinal in nature. A significant rate of reduction in abnormal cells was observed (91% compared to 48% in the controls). A significant reduction in the systolic and diastolic blood pressure by an average of 10mm Hg was observed after taking 18 grams per day of inositol for a month or more.
Researchers reported that cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Nicotine has been shown to alter gene expression. In a study reported in Physiological Genomics, April, 2001, researchers sought to identify distinct pathways through which alteration of genes took place. They ascertained the expression of over 4,000 genes in human coronary artery endothelial cells and identified a number of nicotine-modulated genes encoding a protein involved in signal transduction or transcriptional regulation. Among these were genes regulating the inositol phospholipids pathway.
The journal Experimental Lung Research, December, 2000, reports mice undergoing whole body exposure for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 5 months to a mixture of cigarette sidestream and mainstream smoke, then kept for another 4 months in a controlled air environment before being scored for lung tumors. In 7 independent experiments, the amount of lung tumors was significantly increased in each experiment, and lung tumor incidence was increased in 5 of the experiments. Several compounds were evaluated for their ability against these tumors, but none of them reduced lung tumor incidence or multiplicity. However, the dietary mixture of myo-inositol and dexamethasone (a synthetic steroid hormone that acts as an anti-inflammatory and immune system suppressant) was effective at reducing lung tumor incidence and multiplicity compared to the controls. This effect was also seen when the animals were fed the myo-inolitol-dexamethasone mixture once they were removed from smoke. The researchers concluded that people who have recently quit smoking might benefit from this compound.
Researchers acknowledged that chronic exposure of mice and rats to cigarette smoke affects T-cell responsiveness which may account for the decreased T-cell proliferative and T-dependent antibody responses in humans and animals exposed to cigarette smoke. In a study reported in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, April, 2000, researchers sought to discover the mechanism by which cigarette smoke affects T cell function. They found that spleen cells from animals with chronic nicotine exposure have depleted inositol stores and a decreased ability to raise intracellular calcium levels. Their results suggest that chronic smoking causes T cell energy reduction and inactivity by impairing pathways and depleting stored inositol resulting in a diminished level of inositol-sensitive calcium.
Mice were fed a diet supplemented with myo-inositol and exposed for 5 months to a mixture of sidestream and mainstream cigarette smoke, in a study reported in Carcinogenesis, July, 1999. In the animals fed the control diet alone, the average number of manifest lung tumors was 2.1. In the animals given the control diet plus an inositol mixture, the number of manifest lung tumors was 1.0. Researchers concluded that the mixture constitutes an effective prevention regimen against the initiation of tobacco induced lung tumors.
In a study reported in the Journal Immunology, April, 1996, both T and B lymphocytes from animals chronically treated with nicotine exhibited decreased ability to mobilize intracellular calcium and inability to complete the cell cycle. Nicotine treated cells significantly lost their ability to up-regulate inositol synthesis. This response continued for at least 2 weeks after nicotine treatment was discontinued. The researchers concluded that chronic in vivo exposure to nicotine leads to T cell energy loss and inactivity and may contribute to nicotine/cigarette smoke-induced suppression of the immune system.
Source for information about inositol in addition to the studies:
Dr. Kim Vanderlinden and Dr. Ivana Vucenik, Too Good To Be True?.
Three lung cancer patients establish advocacy group, face discrimination
By Jami Defenbaugh
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 9:01 AM CST
Myrtle Chidester used to think she could handle anything. That was before she realized, looking back at her life, nothing bad had ever happened.
Until 2005. One year after relocating with her husband to O'Fallon and starting a new job, the 55-year-old was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.
What followed was an emotional roller coaster of difficult doctor appointments, painful chemotherapy treatments and the struggle to accept there was no cure for her illness.
"For the first year or year and a half, I was so busy worrying about the future and what the future didn't have, I really was more into dying than living," she said.
But Myrtle also encountered a set of problems she didn't expect, and soon found she shared them with lung cancer patients Cheryl Lamprecht, 59, of Chesterfield, and Bill Thomas, 60, of Webster Groves. When facing their diagnosis and treatment, each said this: They failed to find support and information within the community. They quickly discovered what little funding was available for earlier diagnoses and better treatments. And though only Chidester smoked - and quit more than 20 years ago - each felt the stigma that they must have smoked and therefore deserved to be sick.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 9:01 AM CST
Myrtle Chidester used to think she could handle anything. That was before she realized, looking back at her life, nothing bad had ever happened.
Until 2005. One year after relocating with her husband to O'Fallon and starting a new job, the 55-year-old was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.
What followed was an emotional roller coaster of difficult doctor appointments, painful chemotherapy treatments and the struggle to accept there was no cure for her illness.
"For the first year or year and a half, I was so busy worrying about the future and what the future didn't have, I really was more into dying than living," she said.
But Myrtle also encountered a set of problems she didn't expect, and soon found she shared them with lung cancer patients Cheryl Lamprecht, 59, of Chesterfield, and Bill Thomas, 60, of Webster Groves. When facing their diagnosis and treatment, each said this: They failed to find support and information within the community. They quickly discovered what little funding was available for earlier diagnoses and better treatments. And though only Chidester smoked - and quit more than 20 years ago - each felt the stigma that they must have smoked and therefore deserved to be sick.
Scientists and Investigators Cite Need for Radon Regulation to Prevent Lung Cancer- Call Current EPA Efforts Ineffective
A growing chorus of experts, including scientists testifying before the President's Cancer Panel, investigators at the U.S. EPA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG), and leading health organizations are urging the EPA Administrator to use regulatory authorities authorized by Congress to protect citizens from lung cancer caused by indoor radon exposure. Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) January 22, 2009 -- A growing chorus of experts, including scientists testifying before the President's Cancer Panel and investigators at the U.S. EPA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) are urging the EPA Administrator to use regulatory authorities authorized by Congress to protect citizens from lung cancer caused by indoor radon exposure.
According to the 2008 OIG report entitled, More Action Needed to Protect Public from Indoor Radon Risks, efforts to reduce radon exposure through mitigation or building with radon-resistant new construction have not kept pace. "Nearly two decades after the passage of the 1988 Indoor Radon Abatement Act (IRAA), exposure to indoor radon continues to grow," states the report. "Given the Agency's limited progress from its voluntary approach for the past 19 years, it is time for the Agency to consider other means…EPA should assess how it can use the authorities granted in law to achieve long-term IRAA goals or identify alternatives for achieving the desired results."
In presentations to the President's Cancer Panel (PCP) last month, leading scientists and public health officials echoed the OIG's recommendations.
Dr. William R. Field, a professor and Epidemiologist at the University of Iowa told the panel, "There is precedent for legislating practices to limit exposure to toxins in construction. The prohibitive use of lead-based paint in the U.S. is an example. The requirement of radon-resistant construction methods, at an approximate cost of $500 per home, is cost-effective when one considers potential savings in health care expenditures from disease prevention. "
Dr. James B. Burch, an epidemiologist at the Arnold School of Public Health, urged the panel for a national radon standard that is enforceable. Captain Susan M. Conrath of the U.S. Public Health Service (EPA) testified that voluntary efforts are not enough and suggests requiring testing during real estate transactions.
Dr. Field stated in his presentation, "In a similar manner to smoking, where we are essentially allowing a 'bioterrorist within' to attack over a million Americans each year, radon is a 'dirty bomb' within our homes that attacks millions of people each year. Numerous cost/benefit analysies have clearly indicated that both mitigation of existing homes and adopting radon resistant new construction features can be justified on a national level."
But, according to the OIG report, "The potential loss of a sale represents a disincentive for real estate agents and sellers to conduct radon tests during real estate transactions. Added expense represents a disincentive for builders to use radon-resistant new construction."
Real estate agents have historically opposed proposed requirements for a radon test prior to purchase. According to the Associate General Counsel of the National Association of Realtors, testing for radon and/or disclosing test results during a real estate transaction adds an additional layer to an already taxing house buying process. This has created a disincentive for real estate agents and sellers to bring up radon issues during a sale. The representative said radon is not a high priority in many real estate transactions, and adding another step to the transaction process could be "a negative."
According to the OIG recommendations, "Government-sponsored enterprises such as the Federal Home Loan Bank System, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (also known as Freddie Mac), and Federal National Mortgage Association (also known as Fannie Mae) represent the largest source of housing finance in the United States. The construction of new homes financed or underwritten by these and other federal departments and agencies present a substantial opportunity to increase the number of homes built with RRNC or mitigated for radon."
"Between 10 percent and 14 percent of all lung cancer deaths per year may be attributable to radon," says Dr. Jay H. Lubin, Senior Health Scientist with the National Cancer Institute. "We're asking a few [those home buyers who voluntarily test to bear a societal burden for all mitigation. Relying on buyers also does nothing to solve the problem of radon in schools and other municipal structures."
Dr. Lubin writes in his testimony to the PCP that, "Radon is one of the most extensively investigated human lung carcinogens. The diversity and consistency of the information indicates that the weight of evidence for radon carcinogenicity is overwhelming."
According to Dr. Field, if homes with radon levels above 2 picocuries per liter of air were mitigated, then about half of the radon-attributable lung cancer deaths could be prevented, but the current voluntary approach to risk reduction has been unsuccessful thus far.
"In the last half century, an estimated one million people in the United States have died from radon exposure, but the federal government still does not require radon testing prior to the sale of a home," says Sara Speer Selber. President of BuildClean, a non-profit organization dedicated to safe and healthy homes. "Congress needs to act."
Gloria Linnertz, of Cancer Survivors Against Radon, lost her husband Joe to radon-induced lung cancer in 2006. Since his death, Gloria seizes every opportunity to point out the need for radon legislation. "The seat-belt laws in our nation have saved thousands of lives. James Baldwin said, 'Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." Our governments--state and federal--need to face the fact that radon gas is present in every state and that it causes lung cancer that quickly kills people.'"
According to the 2008 OIG report entitled, More Action Needed to Protect Public from Indoor Radon Risks, efforts to reduce radon exposure through mitigation or building with radon-resistant new construction have not kept pace. "Nearly two decades after the passage of the 1988 Indoor Radon Abatement Act (IRAA), exposure to indoor radon continues to grow," states the report. "Given the Agency's limited progress from its voluntary approach for the past 19 years, it is time for the Agency to consider other means…EPA should assess how it can use the authorities granted in law to achieve long-term IRAA goals or identify alternatives for achieving the desired results."
In presentations to the President's Cancer Panel (PCP) last month, leading scientists and public health officials echoed the OIG's recommendations.
Dr. William R. Field, a professor and Epidemiologist at the University of Iowa told the panel, "There is precedent for legislating practices to limit exposure to toxins in construction. The prohibitive use of lead-based paint in the U.S. is an example. The requirement of radon-resistant construction methods, at an approximate cost of $500 per home, is cost-effective when one considers potential savings in health care expenditures from disease prevention. "
Dr. James B. Burch, an epidemiologist at the Arnold School of Public Health, urged the panel for a national radon standard that is enforceable. Captain Susan M. Conrath of the U.S. Public Health Service (EPA) testified that voluntary efforts are not enough and suggests requiring testing during real estate transactions.
Dr. Field stated in his presentation, "In a similar manner to smoking, where we are essentially allowing a 'bioterrorist within' to attack over a million Americans each year, radon is a 'dirty bomb' within our homes that attacks millions of people each year. Numerous cost/benefit analysies have clearly indicated that both mitigation of existing homes and adopting radon resistant new construction features can be justified on a national level."
But, according to the OIG report, "The potential loss of a sale represents a disincentive for real estate agents and sellers to conduct radon tests during real estate transactions. Added expense represents a disincentive for builders to use radon-resistant new construction."
Real estate agents have historically opposed proposed requirements for a radon test prior to purchase. According to the Associate General Counsel of the National Association of Realtors, testing for radon and/or disclosing test results during a real estate transaction adds an additional layer to an already taxing house buying process. This has created a disincentive for real estate agents and sellers to bring up radon issues during a sale. The representative said radon is not a high priority in many real estate transactions, and adding another step to the transaction process could be "a negative."
According to the OIG recommendations, "Government-sponsored enterprises such as the Federal Home Loan Bank System, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (also known as Freddie Mac), and Federal National Mortgage Association (also known as Fannie Mae) represent the largest source of housing finance in the United States. The construction of new homes financed or underwritten by these and other federal departments and agencies present a substantial opportunity to increase the number of homes built with RRNC or mitigated for radon."
"Between 10 percent and 14 percent of all lung cancer deaths per year may be attributable to radon," says Dr. Jay H. Lubin, Senior Health Scientist with the National Cancer Institute. "We're asking a few [those home buyers who voluntarily test to bear a societal burden for all mitigation. Relying on buyers also does nothing to solve the problem of radon in schools and other municipal structures."
Dr. Lubin writes in his testimony to the PCP that, "Radon is one of the most extensively investigated human lung carcinogens. The diversity and consistency of the information indicates that the weight of evidence for radon carcinogenicity is overwhelming."
According to Dr. Field, if homes with radon levels above 2 picocuries per liter of air were mitigated, then about half of the radon-attributable lung cancer deaths could be prevented, but the current voluntary approach to risk reduction has been unsuccessful thus far.
"In the last half century, an estimated one million people in the United States have died from radon exposure, but the federal government still does not require radon testing prior to the sale of a home," says Sara Speer Selber. President of BuildClean, a non-profit organization dedicated to safe and healthy homes. "Congress needs to act."
Gloria Linnertz, of Cancer Survivors Against Radon, lost her husband Joe to radon-induced lung cancer in 2006. Since his death, Gloria seizes every opportunity to point out the need for radon legislation. "The seat-belt laws in our nation have saved thousands of lives. James Baldwin said, 'Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." Our governments--state and federal--need to face the fact that radon gas is present in every state and that it causes lung cancer that quickly kills people.'"
Fayetteville councilman says he has lung cancer
Fayetteville City Councilman Bill Crisp, who has lung cancer, says he is upbeat about his prognosis.
The 68-year-old said Wednesday he intends to do as much work as he can while on the council, even though his health has prevented him from going to as many neighborhood watch and homeowner association meetings as in the past.
He said he has caught the disease early, but he isn’t sure yet if his health will permit him to run for re-election in the fall.
In mid-November, doctors at Durham Regional Hospital found a dime-sized tumor on his right lung and a half dollar-sized tumor on his left lung during a CAT scan.
On Jan. 12, Crisp went to Duke University Medical Center to see if the cancer had spread. Good news, he said. It had not metastized.
Doctors removed the smaller tumor in the right lung Jan 13.
Crisp plans to go back to Duke on Feb. 10 to go tackle the other tumor. Options include surgery, radiation or chemotherapy.
Crisp, a freshman councilman who was elected in 2007, said he began experiencing frequent and painful coughs last year. Doctors took several X-rays, but no tumors were found in the lungs. Yet the coughs persisted. Apparently, he said, the heart and other tissue were concealing the tumors in X-rays.
The 68-year-old said Wednesday he intends to do as much work as he can while on the council, even though his health has prevented him from going to as many neighborhood watch and homeowner association meetings as in the past.
He said he has caught the disease early, but he isn’t sure yet if his health will permit him to run for re-election in the fall.
In mid-November, doctors at Durham Regional Hospital found a dime-sized tumor on his right lung and a half dollar-sized tumor on his left lung during a CAT scan.
On Jan. 12, Crisp went to Duke University Medical Center to see if the cancer had spread. Good news, he said. It had not metastized.
Doctors removed the smaller tumor in the right lung Jan 13.
Crisp plans to go back to Duke on Feb. 10 to go tackle the other tumor. Options include surgery, radiation or chemotherapy.
Crisp, a freshman councilman who was elected in 2007, said he began experiencing frequent and painful coughs last year. Doctors took several X-rays, but no tumors were found in the lungs. Yet the coughs persisted. Apparently, he said, the heart and other tissue were concealing the tumors in X-rays.
Novelist John Updike Latest Victim Of Lung Cancer
As Healthwatch reporter Kellye Lynn reports, novelist John Updike is the latest victim of lung cancer.
Every year, more than 160,000 people die of lung cancer. Smoking is the primary cause.
Paul Newman, Peter Jennings and now acclaimed novelist John Updike are all victims of the nation's number one cancer killer--lung cancer.
Updike, best known for writing "The Witches of Eastwick" and the "Rabbit" novels, died of lung cancer Tuesday at the age of 76.
"Eighty-five to 90% will get lung cancer as a result of smoking. There's also contributing causes from asbestos, radon and other causes," said Martin Edelman.
Dr. Martin Edelman of the University of Maryland Medical Center says 15% of lung cancer cases occur in people like actress Dana Reeve, who never smoked.
Although the fast-moving disease is curable when detected early, symptoms don't often present until the advanced stage, making it difficult to treat.
According to cancer experts, 85% of people who get lung cancer will die of the disease.
The best way to avoid the disease is to quit smoking and smoke-filled environments and have your home checked for radon.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Every year, more than 160,000 people die of lung cancer. Smoking is the primary cause.
Paul Newman, Peter Jennings and now acclaimed novelist John Updike are all victims of the nation's number one cancer killer--lung cancer.
Updike, best known for writing "The Witches of Eastwick" and the "Rabbit" novels, died of lung cancer Tuesday at the age of 76.
"Eighty-five to 90% will get lung cancer as a result of smoking. There's also contributing causes from asbestos, radon and other causes," said Martin Edelman.
Dr. Martin Edelman of the University of Maryland Medical Center says 15% of lung cancer cases occur in people like actress Dana Reeve, who never smoked.
Although the fast-moving disease is curable when detected early, symptoms don't often present until the advanced stage, making it difficult to treat.
According to cancer experts, 85% of people who get lung cancer will die of the disease.
The best way to avoid the disease is to quit smoking and smoke-filled environments and have your home checked for radon.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
New organization promotes radon testing
ELIZABETH (KWGN) - A man from Elizabeth wants others to know just how deadly radon gas can be.
Buffalo Kaplinski lost his wife to lung cancer just two months ago. He believes the fatal diagnosis came after dangerous levels of radon gas seeped into the couples home.
"After you've lived in a place for long time you don't think you could have radon," says Buffalo. "It turns out that was the problem I had a reading of 50 in the crawl space."
Radon gas is the second most common cause of lung cancer next to smoking. The EPA recommends levels of 4 pico curies per liter be taken care of if detected in the home. The Kaplinski's home had 12 times the recommended amount.
Radon gas is produced from the radioactive decay of uranium that occurs naturally in rocks and soils. Colorado has 65 counties that are considered to be at high risk of having dangerous levels of radon.
Vicky Kaplinski was a very healthy woman who ate organic food and loved the outdoors. Her husband says she was the healthier of the two. Her death came just two months after her diagnosis.
" I'm 99 percent sure that's what caused her lung cancer was radon gas."
Buffalo has since made his home radon free. He had a mitigation team come out and install a fan that would remove the radon from his crawl space. He hopes by sharing his story others will become more aware about the deadly dangers of radon.
"The finality of it is just overwhelming, you feel like everything has just caved in on you."
You can purchase radon detection kits for as little as $10 at local hardware stores.
Buffalo Kaplinski lost his wife to lung cancer just two months ago. He believes the fatal diagnosis came after dangerous levels of radon gas seeped into the couples home.
"After you've lived in a place for long time you don't think you could have radon," says Buffalo. "It turns out that was the problem I had a reading of 50 in the crawl space."
Radon gas is the second most common cause of lung cancer next to smoking. The EPA recommends levels of 4 pico curies per liter be taken care of if detected in the home. The Kaplinski's home had 12 times the recommended amount.
Radon gas is produced from the radioactive decay of uranium that occurs naturally in rocks and soils. Colorado has 65 counties that are considered to be at high risk of having dangerous levels of radon.
Vicky Kaplinski was a very healthy woman who ate organic food and loved the outdoors. Her husband says she was the healthier of the two. Her death came just two months after her diagnosis.
" I'm 99 percent sure that's what caused her lung cancer was radon gas."
Buffalo has since made his home radon free. He had a mitigation team come out and install a fan that would remove the radon from his crawl space. He hopes by sharing his story others will become more aware about the deadly dangers of radon.
"The finality of it is just overwhelming, you feel like everything has just caved in on you."
You can purchase radon detection kits for as little as $10 at local hardware stores.
Actor James Whitmore dies of lung cancer at 87
BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- James Whitmore, the veteran Tony- and Emmy-winning actor died Friday of lung cancer at his Malibu home at the age of 87, according to U.S. media reports Saturday.
Whitmore's son, Steve, said the actor was diagnosed with the disease a week before Thanksgiving.
Whitmore won his Tony Award in 1948 for his lead role in the World War II drama "Command Decision."
In the following years, he brought American icons Will Rogers, Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt to life in one-man show.
In 1949, Whitmore was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe as supporting actor in the war movie "Battleground." And he was nominated for an Academy Award as best actor in 1975 for his role in the long-running "Give 'Em Hell, Harry!" which traced the life of the 33rd president.
He won an Emmy Award in 2000 for his recurring role on the drama "The Practice." His final TV appearance came in a 2007 episode of CSI.
"He cared about acting; his whole life was dedicated to the theater and to movies," said actor David Huddleston, a longtime friend who appeared in Whitmore's 1964 movie "Black Like Me" and did a couple of plays with him. "I asked James Cagney one time to tell me the best thing you can about acting. He said never to get caught at it. That's kind of how I'd sum up Jim Whitmore."
"I know my father leaves a large footprint. So many in the motion picture business and the acting business loved and admired him, and we, the family, share in that admiration and love," Steve Whitmore said.
"He was nominated for the Academy Award twice. He's an Emmy Award winner, but that was all a means to an end to him -- to provide for those he loved and cared for," he said. "He was glad to be able to do what he loved and provide.
"We appreciate everybody and thank you all for your thoughts and prayers."
In addition to his son, Whitmore is survived by his wife Noreen, sons James Jr. and Dan, eight grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
Whitmore's son, Steve, said the actor was diagnosed with the disease a week before Thanksgiving.
Whitmore won his Tony Award in 1948 for his lead role in the World War II drama "Command Decision."
In the following years, he brought American icons Will Rogers, Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt to life in one-man show.
In 1949, Whitmore was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe as supporting actor in the war movie "Battleground." And he was nominated for an Academy Award as best actor in 1975 for his role in the long-running "Give 'Em Hell, Harry!" which traced the life of the 33rd president.
He won an Emmy Award in 2000 for his recurring role on the drama "The Practice." His final TV appearance came in a 2007 episode of CSI.
"He cared about acting; his whole life was dedicated to the theater and to movies," said actor David Huddleston, a longtime friend who appeared in Whitmore's 1964 movie "Black Like Me" and did a couple of plays with him. "I asked James Cagney one time to tell me the best thing you can about acting. He said never to get caught at it. That's kind of how I'd sum up Jim Whitmore."
"I know my father leaves a large footprint. So many in the motion picture business and the acting business loved and admired him, and we, the family, share in that admiration and love," Steve Whitmore said.
"He was nominated for the Academy Award twice. He's an Emmy Award winner, but that was all a means to an end to him -- to provide for those he loved and cared for," he said. "He was glad to be able to do what he loved and provide.
"We appreciate everybody and thank you all for your thoughts and prayers."
In addition to his son, Whitmore is survived by his wife Noreen, sons James Jr. and Dan, eight grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
The great health debate: is sunshine a miracle cure?
For any expectant mother, a brief stroll in the summer sunshine would seem a pleasant diversion from the rigours of pregnancy, a chance to relax in the warmth and to take in a little fresh air. It is a harmless - but unimportant - activity, it would seem.
But there is more to such walks than was previously realised, it emerged last week. In a new study, Bristol University researchers revealed they had found out that sunny strolls have striking, long-lasting effects. They discovered that children born to women in late summer or in early autumn are, on average, about 5mm taller, and have thicker bones, than those born in late winter and early spring.
Nor was it hard to see the causal link, said team leader Professor Jon Tobias. The growth of our bones, even in the womb, depends on vitamin D which, in turn, is manufactured in the skin when sunlight falls on it.
Thus children born after their mothers have enjoyed a summer of sunny walks will have been exposed to more vitamin D and will have stronger bones than those born in winter or early spring. "Wider bones are thought to be stronger and less prone to breaking as a result of osteoporosis in later life, so anything that affects early bone development is significant," said Tobias.
The study is important, for it indicates that women should consider taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy to ensure their children reach full stature. However, the Bristol team's findings go beyond this straightforward conclusion, it should be noted. Their work adds critical support to a controversial health campaign that suggests most British people are being starved of sunshine, and vitamin D - a process that is putting their lives at risk.
These campaigners point to a series of studies, based mainly on epidemiological evidence, that have recently linked vitamin D deficiency to illnesses such as diabetes, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and tuberculosis. Last week also saw George Ebers, professor of clinical neurology at Oxford University, unveil evidence to suggest such a deficiency during pregnancy and childhood could increase the risk that a child would develop multiple sclerosis.
The studies require rigorous follow-up research, scientists admit - but they have nevertheless provoked considerable new interest in vitamin D. Indeed, for some health experts, the substance has virtually become a panacea for all human ills. Dietary supplements should be encouraged for the elderly, the young and the sick, while skin cancer awareness programmes that urge caution over sunbathing should be scrapped, they insist. We need to bring a lot more sunshine into our lives, it is claimed.
But this unbridled enthusiasm has gone down badly with health officials concerned about soaring rates of melanomas in Britain, the result of over-enthusiastic suntanning by holidaymakers decades ago. Existing, restrictive recommendations for limits on sunbathing must be rigorously maintained, they argue, or melanoma death rates will rise even further.
So just how much sunlight is safe for us? And which is the greater risk: skin cancer or diseases triggered by vitamin D deficiency? Answers for these questions now cause major divisions among health experts.
In fact, vitamin D is not strictly a vitamin. Vitamins are defined as nutrients which can only be obtained from the food we eat and which are vital to our health. For example, vitamin C, which wards off scurvy and helps the growth of cartilage, is found in citrus fruits, while broccoli and spinach are rich in vitamin K, which plays an important role in preventing our blood from clotting. And while it is true that vitamin D is found in oily fish, cod liver oil, eggs and butter, our principal source is sunlight.
"Vitamin D should really be thought of as a hormone," said Dr Peter Berry-Ottaway, of the Institute of Food Science and Technology, and an adviser to the EU on food safety. "It forms under the skin in reaction to sunlight. We do get some from our food but our principal source is the sun.'
The key component in sunlight that stimulates vitamin D production in our bodies is ultra-violet light of wavelengths between 290 and 315 nanometres. Crucially, this component of sunlight only reaches Britain during the months between April and October. "The rest of the year, between November and March, the sun is low in the horizon. Its light has to pass through much more of the atmosphere than in summer and doesn't reach the ground," said Cambridge nutrition expert Dr Inez Schoenmakers. "For half the year we cannot make vitamin D from sunlight, so what we make in summer has to do us for the whole year."
In relatively sunny southern England, this is not a problem but in the north and in the cloudier west, noticeable health problems build up - particularly among ethnic minorities. People with dark skin are less able to manufacture vitamin D than those with pale skin and in places with relatively gloomy skies - cities such as Bradford or Glasgow, for example - the impact can be severe.
In 2007, the Department of Health revealed that up to one in 100 children born to families from ethnic minorities now suffer from rickets, a condition triggered by lack of vitamin D in which children develop a pronounced bow-legged gait. The disease once blighted lives in Victorian Britain but was eradicated by improved diets. Now it is making a major resurgence, a problem that has been further exacerbated in ethnic communities by women wearing hijabs that cover all of their bodies and block out virtually every beam of vitamin-stimulating sunshine.
A major health campaign, offering dietary advice and vitamin D supplements has since been launched. But for many doctors, it is not enough. The nation's health service needs to re-evaluate completely its approach to vitamin D as a matter of urgency; establish new guidelines for taking supplements; and scrap most of the limits on sunbathing currently proposed by health bodies.
These calls have been made not because of concerns about rickets, however. They follow the appearance of studies from across the globe that suggest vitamin D plays a key role in the fight against heart disease, cancer, tuberculosis, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Vitamin D is not so much an important component of our diets as a miracle substance, they believe. It costs nothing to make, just some time in the sun, and lasts in the body for months.
A classic example of the potential of vitamin D was provided by a study published in a US journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, last year. This revealed that people with higher levels of vitamin D were more likely to survive colon, breast and lung cancer. In the study, Richard Setlow, a biophysicist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US and an expert on the link between solar radiation and skin cancer, calculated how much sunshine a person would get depending on the latitude on which they lived.
Setlow - who worked with colleagues at the Institute for Cancer Research in Oslo - also calculated the incidence and survival rates for various forms of internal cancers in people living at these different latitudes. Their results showed that in the northern hemisphere the incidence of colon, lung and breast cancer increased from south to north while people in southern latitudes were significantly less likely to die from these cancers than people in the north.
"Since vitamin D has been shown to play a protective role in a number of internal cancers and possibly a range of other diseases, it is important to study the relative risks to determine whether advice to avoid sun exposure may be causing more harm than good in some populations," Setlow warned.
And then there is the impact of vitamin D levels on the heart. In a study published last year in the journal Circulation, scientists at the Harvard Medical School in Boston found that a deficiency of vitamin D increased people's risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In addition, other studies have connected vitamin D deficiency to risks of succumbing to diabetes and TB.
And there was last week's publication of the study by Professor Ebers which provided compelling evidence that lack of vitamin D triggers a rogue gene to turn against the body and attack nerve endings, a process that induces the disease multiple sclerosis. In each case, researchers urged that people ensure they take vitamin D supplements to help ward off such conditions.
But others believe such calls underestimate the problem. They point to a study, published in 2007, which indicates that more than 60 per cent of middle-aged British adults have less than optimal levels of vitamin D in their bodies in summer, while this figure rises to 90 per cent in winter. Given the links between deficiency and all those ailments, only a full-scale reappraisal of the vitamin's role in British health will work, says Oliver Gillie, of the Health Research Forum.
In a report, Sunlight Robbery, he calls for the scrapping of Britain's current SunSmart programme; the setting up of an international conference of doctors and specialists to establish vitamin D's importance to health; promotion of the fortification of food with vitamin D: and the creation of a new committee whose membership would include representatives of groups of patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, cancer and other conditions linked to vitamin D.
But most controversial of all is his call for people to sunbathe far more frequently than currently advised. "It is time for the UK government to encourage people to sunbathe safely to reduce cancer risk," he said.
Not surprisingly, the notion horrifies many health advisers. "There are now 9,000 new cases of melanoma in Britain every year and 2,000 deaths because people have sunbathed without proper care," said Sara Hiom, director of health information for Cancer Research UK. "Figures have increased dramatically over the past 20 years and will continue to do so unless we are very careful."
However, Hiom acknowledged that new studies did indicate that vitamin D deficiency was now linked to an increasing number of cancers and other diseases. "That is no excuse for behaving irresponsibly, however. People must avoided getting sunburned; stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm even in this country in summer; and use factor 15 or stronger sunblock creams."
In addition, other scientists cautioned that links between vitamin D deficiency with diseases like multiple sclerosis had yet to be proved. "People with low vitamin D may be more likely to have MS but that might simply happen because their condition makes it difficult to get out in the sunshine and make vitamin D in their bodies. We have yet to distinguish cause and effect in many of these cases," said Dr Schoenmakers.
These points are crucial and suggest we need to be cautious about claims that vitamin D is capable of triggering miraculous cures. On the other hand, enough evidence is now emerging from laboratories round the world to indicate that a nutrient once thought to be a bit-player in the battle against disease, clearly has a key role to play in helping to maintain the general health of large numbers of the population of Britain
But there is more to such walks than was previously realised, it emerged last week. In a new study, Bristol University researchers revealed they had found out that sunny strolls have striking, long-lasting effects. They discovered that children born to women in late summer or in early autumn are, on average, about 5mm taller, and have thicker bones, than those born in late winter and early spring.
Nor was it hard to see the causal link, said team leader Professor Jon Tobias. The growth of our bones, even in the womb, depends on vitamin D which, in turn, is manufactured in the skin when sunlight falls on it.
Thus children born after their mothers have enjoyed a summer of sunny walks will have been exposed to more vitamin D and will have stronger bones than those born in winter or early spring. "Wider bones are thought to be stronger and less prone to breaking as a result of osteoporosis in later life, so anything that affects early bone development is significant," said Tobias.
The study is important, for it indicates that women should consider taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy to ensure their children reach full stature. However, the Bristol team's findings go beyond this straightforward conclusion, it should be noted. Their work adds critical support to a controversial health campaign that suggests most British people are being starved of sunshine, and vitamin D - a process that is putting their lives at risk.
These campaigners point to a series of studies, based mainly on epidemiological evidence, that have recently linked vitamin D deficiency to illnesses such as diabetes, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and tuberculosis. Last week also saw George Ebers, professor of clinical neurology at Oxford University, unveil evidence to suggest such a deficiency during pregnancy and childhood could increase the risk that a child would develop multiple sclerosis.
The studies require rigorous follow-up research, scientists admit - but they have nevertheless provoked considerable new interest in vitamin D. Indeed, for some health experts, the substance has virtually become a panacea for all human ills. Dietary supplements should be encouraged for the elderly, the young and the sick, while skin cancer awareness programmes that urge caution over sunbathing should be scrapped, they insist. We need to bring a lot more sunshine into our lives, it is claimed.
But this unbridled enthusiasm has gone down badly with health officials concerned about soaring rates of melanomas in Britain, the result of over-enthusiastic suntanning by holidaymakers decades ago. Existing, restrictive recommendations for limits on sunbathing must be rigorously maintained, they argue, or melanoma death rates will rise even further.
So just how much sunlight is safe for us? And which is the greater risk: skin cancer or diseases triggered by vitamin D deficiency? Answers for these questions now cause major divisions among health experts.
In fact, vitamin D is not strictly a vitamin. Vitamins are defined as nutrients which can only be obtained from the food we eat and which are vital to our health. For example, vitamin C, which wards off scurvy and helps the growth of cartilage, is found in citrus fruits, while broccoli and spinach are rich in vitamin K, which plays an important role in preventing our blood from clotting. And while it is true that vitamin D is found in oily fish, cod liver oil, eggs and butter, our principal source is sunlight.
"Vitamin D should really be thought of as a hormone," said Dr Peter Berry-Ottaway, of the Institute of Food Science and Technology, and an adviser to the EU on food safety. "It forms under the skin in reaction to sunlight. We do get some from our food but our principal source is the sun.'
The key component in sunlight that stimulates vitamin D production in our bodies is ultra-violet light of wavelengths between 290 and 315 nanometres. Crucially, this component of sunlight only reaches Britain during the months between April and October. "The rest of the year, between November and March, the sun is low in the horizon. Its light has to pass through much more of the atmosphere than in summer and doesn't reach the ground," said Cambridge nutrition expert Dr Inez Schoenmakers. "For half the year we cannot make vitamin D from sunlight, so what we make in summer has to do us for the whole year."
In relatively sunny southern England, this is not a problem but in the north and in the cloudier west, noticeable health problems build up - particularly among ethnic minorities. People with dark skin are less able to manufacture vitamin D than those with pale skin and in places with relatively gloomy skies - cities such as Bradford or Glasgow, for example - the impact can be severe.
In 2007, the Department of Health revealed that up to one in 100 children born to families from ethnic minorities now suffer from rickets, a condition triggered by lack of vitamin D in which children develop a pronounced bow-legged gait. The disease once blighted lives in Victorian Britain but was eradicated by improved diets. Now it is making a major resurgence, a problem that has been further exacerbated in ethnic communities by women wearing hijabs that cover all of their bodies and block out virtually every beam of vitamin-stimulating sunshine.
A major health campaign, offering dietary advice and vitamin D supplements has since been launched. But for many doctors, it is not enough. The nation's health service needs to re-evaluate completely its approach to vitamin D as a matter of urgency; establish new guidelines for taking supplements; and scrap most of the limits on sunbathing currently proposed by health bodies.
These calls have been made not because of concerns about rickets, however. They follow the appearance of studies from across the globe that suggest vitamin D plays a key role in the fight against heart disease, cancer, tuberculosis, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Vitamin D is not so much an important component of our diets as a miracle substance, they believe. It costs nothing to make, just some time in the sun, and lasts in the body for months.
A classic example of the potential of vitamin D was provided by a study published in a US journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, last year. This revealed that people with higher levels of vitamin D were more likely to survive colon, breast and lung cancer. In the study, Richard Setlow, a biophysicist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US and an expert on the link between solar radiation and skin cancer, calculated how much sunshine a person would get depending on the latitude on which they lived.
Setlow - who worked with colleagues at the Institute for Cancer Research in Oslo - also calculated the incidence and survival rates for various forms of internal cancers in people living at these different latitudes. Their results showed that in the northern hemisphere the incidence of colon, lung and breast cancer increased from south to north while people in southern latitudes were significantly less likely to die from these cancers than people in the north.
"Since vitamin D has been shown to play a protective role in a number of internal cancers and possibly a range of other diseases, it is important to study the relative risks to determine whether advice to avoid sun exposure may be causing more harm than good in some populations," Setlow warned.
And then there is the impact of vitamin D levels on the heart. In a study published last year in the journal Circulation, scientists at the Harvard Medical School in Boston found that a deficiency of vitamin D increased people's risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In addition, other studies have connected vitamin D deficiency to risks of succumbing to diabetes and TB.
And there was last week's publication of the study by Professor Ebers which provided compelling evidence that lack of vitamin D triggers a rogue gene to turn against the body and attack nerve endings, a process that induces the disease multiple sclerosis. In each case, researchers urged that people ensure they take vitamin D supplements to help ward off such conditions.
But others believe such calls underestimate the problem. They point to a study, published in 2007, which indicates that more than 60 per cent of middle-aged British adults have less than optimal levels of vitamin D in their bodies in summer, while this figure rises to 90 per cent in winter. Given the links between deficiency and all those ailments, only a full-scale reappraisal of the vitamin's role in British health will work, says Oliver Gillie, of the Health Research Forum.
In a report, Sunlight Robbery, he calls for the scrapping of Britain's current SunSmart programme; the setting up of an international conference of doctors and specialists to establish vitamin D's importance to health; promotion of the fortification of food with vitamin D: and the creation of a new committee whose membership would include representatives of groups of patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, cancer and other conditions linked to vitamin D.
But most controversial of all is his call for people to sunbathe far more frequently than currently advised. "It is time for the UK government to encourage people to sunbathe safely to reduce cancer risk," he said.
Not surprisingly, the notion horrifies many health advisers. "There are now 9,000 new cases of melanoma in Britain every year and 2,000 deaths because people have sunbathed without proper care," said Sara Hiom, director of health information for Cancer Research UK. "Figures have increased dramatically over the past 20 years and will continue to do so unless we are very careful."
However, Hiom acknowledged that new studies did indicate that vitamin D deficiency was now linked to an increasing number of cancers and other diseases. "That is no excuse for behaving irresponsibly, however. People must avoided getting sunburned; stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm even in this country in summer; and use factor 15 or stronger sunblock creams."
In addition, other scientists cautioned that links between vitamin D deficiency with diseases like multiple sclerosis had yet to be proved. "People with low vitamin D may be more likely to have MS but that might simply happen because their condition makes it difficult to get out in the sunshine and make vitamin D in their bodies. We have yet to distinguish cause and effect in many of these cases," said Dr Schoenmakers.
These points are crucial and suggest we need to be cautious about claims that vitamin D is capable of triggering miraculous cures. On the other hand, enough evidence is now emerging from laboratories round the world to indicate that a nutrient once thought to be a bit-player in the battle against disease, clearly has a key role to play in helping to maintain the general health of large numbers of the population of Britain
EUS gives clearer lung cancer diagnostic results
A study found that endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) works better than traditional methods in lung cancer diagnosis, according to The Chinese University of Hong Kong which made the result public in Hong Kong Thursday.
The university's Faculty of Medicine recruited 125 patients with abnormal shadows on chest X-ray were recruited from 1998 to 2007, to assess the diagnostic yield and complication rate of EUS for various suspicious lesions in the chest.
The diagnosis in about half of these patients remained obscure despite conventional investigations. Using EUS, the causes of abnormal chest X-ray shadows in 83 percent of the cases were established. Complication rate was very low, smaller than 1 percent, and there was no procedure-related fatality.
"This study suggests that, EUS is an important diagnostic and staging tool for lung cancer patients. It is safe, accurate, and highly tolerable," said Dr. Larry Lai, the in-charge endoscopist in EUS service and Honorary Clinical Tutor of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics of the university.
Traditionally, clinicians use computer tomography (CT) scan, bronchoscopy, or even operation under general anesthesia to evaluate the extent of cancer invasion. However, these conventional techniques are often traumatic.
EUS is a flexible endoscope coupled with a small ultrasound device at its tip. It is inserted through the patient's mouth into the esophagus and stomach and generates ultrasound wave, which penetrates the wall of the gut and produces visual images of the surrounding internal organs.
Because of the close proximity, the image quality is much better than CT scan. Moreover, EUS can safely sample abnormal lymph nodes and lung tissues through the esophagus without the need of general anesthesia or open surgery.
Prince of Wales Hospital, the teaching hospital of the Chinese University, was the first center that introduced this novel investigation in Hong Kong, and it is now one of the leading EUS centers in Asia.
According to Hong Kong Cancer Registry, lung cancer is the most common malignancy in the territory, with more than 4,000 new cases every year.
The university's Faculty of Medicine recruited 125 patients with abnormal shadows on chest X-ray were recruited from 1998 to 2007, to assess the diagnostic yield and complication rate of EUS for various suspicious lesions in the chest.
The diagnosis in about half of these patients remained obscure despite conventional investigations. Using EUS, the causes of abnormal chest X-ray shadows in 83 percent of the cases were established. Complication rate was very low, smaller than 1 percent, and there was no procedure-related fatality.
"This study suggests that, EUS is an important diagnostic and staging tool for lung cancer patients. It is safe, accurate, and highly tolerable," said Dr. Larry Lai, the in-charge endoscopist in EUS service and Honorary Clinical Tutor of the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics of the university.
Traditionally, clinicians use computer tomography (CT) scan, bronchoscopy, or even operation under general anesthesia to evaluate the extent of cancer invasion. However, these conventional techniques are often traumatic.
EUS is a flexible endoscope coupled with a small ultrasound device at its tip. It is inserted through the patient's mouth into the esophagus and stomach and generates ultrasound wave, which penetrates the wall of the gut and produces visual images of the surrounding internal organs.
Because of the close proximity, the image quality is much better than CT scan. Moreover, EUS can safely sample abnormal lymph nodes and lung tissues through the esophagus without the need of general anesthesia or open surgery.
Prince of Wales Hospital, the teaching hospital of the Chinese University, was the first center that introduced this novel investigation in Hong Kong, and it is now one of the leading EUS centers in Asia.
According to Hong Kong Cancer Registry, lung cancer is the most common malignancy in the territory, with more than 4,000 new cases every year.
Lung Cancer Treatment For Black and Whites Unequal
African-American elders receive less treatment for lung cancer than their white counterparts, who are getting excessive treatment. The practice is causing negative health effects for both groups. That's one finding in a recently released study from the University of Washington, Seattle. Dr. Farhood Farjah, a cancer specialist at the university, writes in the January issue of Archives of Surgery that he and his colleagues set out to better explain why black patients with early-stage lung cancer have lower five-year survival rates than whites.
The researchers examined Medicare data for almost 18,000 patients(average age 75), who had comparable health insurance and whose doctors had recommended them for pulmonary resection—the removal of part of a lung -- proven to be the optimal treatment available. Sure enough, even among these insured patients, 69 percent of black elders underwent the procedure compared with 83 percent of whites recommended for the operation. But that wasn't the only surprise.
What the medical detectives didn't expect to find: There was no significant difference in the survival rate between the racial groups.
"Surgical therapy may have been overused among white patients or underused among black patients," Farjah and his coauthors wrote.
Despite this odd finding, the researchers looked beyond customary assumptions about racial bias among healthcare providers to understand the reasons for the substantial disparity between who gets wheeled into the emergency room, and who does not, even for those receiving appropriate care.
One explanation, say the authors, has to do with fears and erroneous beliefs. They cite previous research showing that older
African Americans reject surgery more often than whites, repeating the urban myth that tumors might spread when exposed to air during the operation or invoking the possibility of a cure without surgery. Black patients also express distrust of doctors and the healthcare system more often than whites, the study said.
Another major reason, the study said, is poor access to care. An earlier study showed that primary care physicians who treat black patients had less access to high-quality specialists than their white counterparts.
The study findings suggest that the referral of all candidates for partial lung removal may be a helpful tool in mitigating previously identified racial differences in survival.
For more information, contact JAMA/Archives Media Relations at 312-464-JAMA (5262), e-mail mediarelations@jama-archives.org, or reach the corresponding coauthor of this paper, David R. Flum by contacting Mary Guiden at 206-616-3192 or e-mail,
The researchers examined Medicare data for almost 18,000 patients(average age 75), who had comparable health insurance and whose doctors had recommended them for pulmonary resection—the removal of part of a lung -- proven to be the optimal treatment available. Sure enough, even among these insured patients, 69 percent of black elders underwent the procedure compared with 83 percent of whites recommended for the operation. But that wasn't the only surprise.
What the medical detectives didn't expect to find: There was no significant difference in the survival rate between the racial groups.
"Surgical therapy may have been overused among white patients or underused among black patients," Farjah and his coauthors wrote.
Despite this odd finding, the researchers looked beyond customary assumptions about racial bias among healthcare providers to understand the reasons for the substantial disparity between who gets wheeled into the emergency room, and who does not, even for those receiving appropriate care.
One explanation, say the authors, has to do with fears and erroneous beliefs. They cite previous research showing that older
African Americans reject surgery more often than whites, repeating the urban myth that tumors might spread when exposed to air during the operation or invoking the possibility of a cure without surgery. Black patients also express distrust of doctors and the healthcare system more often than whites, the study said.
Another major reason, the study said, is poor access to care. An earlier study showed that primary care physicians who treat black patients had less access to high-quality specialists than their white counterparts.
The study findings suggest that the referral of all candidates for partial lung removal may be a helpful tool in mitigating previously identified racial differences in survival.
For more information, contact JAMA/Archives Media Relations at 312-464-JAMA (5262), e-mail mediarelations@jama-archives.org, or reach the corresponding coauthor of this paper, David R. Flum by contacting Mary Guiden at 206-616-3192 or e-mail,
Area man battles lung cancer, high radon levels discovered in rural Spring Grove home
“It all started back in July. I had a cough and could not get rid of it,” recalls Mark Johnson, a farmer near Spring Grove, discussing the events leading to his diagnosis with lung cancer in December. “The over-the-counter stuff didn’t work. After awhile my family said I should go and get it checked out.”
The cough continued throughout the fall and on Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving and after most of his field work was done, Johnson went to the doctor.
“They wanted to do a chest x-ray to look for pneumonia,” he explained. When doctors saw questionable images on the x-ray they did a CT scan for further observation. On Dec. 18 the phone call came with the results; the growth in his lungs causing his chronic coughing was lung cancer. Already diagnosed as stage three cancer, chemotherapy would be the only option.
Lung cancer is most commonly associated with people who smoke. Never having been a smoker himself, or even exposed to much second hand smoke, Johnson was left puzzled by the diagnosis, along with the suite of other emotions a person experiences upon learning such news.
“It takes you by surprise when you get diagnosed like this,” Johnson added, an understatement by most standards.
Since Johnson does not smoke, doctors questioned other factors known to cause lung cancer, radon exposure being the number one cause after smoking. Inspired by the doctor’s question as to whether they had ever tested radon levels in their home, the Johnson’s decided to test their house with a simple testing kit purchased at a home improvement store, something they always thought they should do but never got around to. The results came back as 11.5 picoCuries/Liter (pCi/L). The EPA maximum recommended level for radon is 4 pCi/L, above which risk for lung cancer is elevated.
Pointing at a specific cause for any type of cancer is difficult considering the uncertainties surrounding the disease, but past research correlating high radon levels and lung cancer seems to suggest a correlation between Johnson’s cancer and the high radon levels found in their 1910 farmhouse located northwest of Spring Grove. Mark grew up in this house and now continues to make it his home with his wife Kari and three children Brook, Derek, and Elizabeth.
How it works
Radon is a naturally occurring colorless, odorless, tasteless gas created from the decay of uranium in the soils and bedrock beneath us. All rock contains at least small quantities of uranium. Rocks such as the sedimentary limestones and sandstones that characterize the local geology can contain more concentrated levels of uranium, up to one hundred times as much as other types of bedrock.
Over time, uranium in these rocks naturally decays, emitting radon gas. Slowly, radon gas rises through the soils and is dispersed into the atmosphere. As a result, radon is present outdoors but in small, safe levels. Concentrated radon in enclosures, such as underground mines, caves, or even our homes, however, can cause lung cancer according to a growing body of research. This connection was discovered when it was noticed that underground uranium miners died of lung cancer at high rates. Locally, the karst geology, characterized by caves, sinkholes and fractured rock, creates conduits for increased radon movement to the earth’s surface and into our homes.
Radon gas makes its way into homes through cracks in floors, walls, or foundations, around loose fitted pipes, or even through semi-permeable materials to gaseous substances such as block, brick, or concrete walls. Anywhere there is even a small opening between the home and the soil there exists potential for radon entry. Once inside, radon accumulates in higher concentrations in homes due to restricted ventilation, especially in the winter time when homes are sealed up tight for heat efficiency.
Decaying radon gives off tiny radioactive particles. When inhaled in the lungs, these particles can damage the cells lining the lung, spurring cancerous growth. It is estimated between 15,000 and 22,000 lung cancer deaths occurring each year nationwide are the fault of radon exposure.
The average radon level for Houston County homes is estimated to be 5.5 pCi/L. According to sample testing, half of all Houston County homes are likely to be above the level of 4 pCi/L. In other nearby counties conditions are even worse. Average indoor radon levels are estimated to be 7.6 pCi/L in Allamakee Cty., 8.1 pCi/L in Winneshiek Cty., 5.6 pCi/L in Winona Cty., 6 pCi/L in Olmsted Cty., 3.8 pCi/L in La Crosse Cty., and 9.9 pCi/L in Fillmore Cty. while the national average is a meager 1.3 pCi/L.
At 10 pCi/L, approximately the conditions recorded in the Johnson household, it is estimated 18 of every 1,000 people exposed will develop lung cancer.
Testing for radon
Testing for radon is simple and periodically encouraged by health officials but regularly one of those things people put off. Heather Myhre, of Houston County’s public health department, said “now is a great time to test while the ground is frozen, it forces the gas to find a different way to escape to the atmosphere so it does come into the home. We’ve been offering testing here for 4-5 years. We have a grant right now that allows us to do testing free of charge.”
Myhre explained, “any home is in danger.” That newer homes are safe is a “misconception we hear quite a bit. We encourage anybody to test regardless of the age of their home.”
Although discovering if your house has high levels of radon is straightforward, mitigation measures are a little more challenging and costly.
Jeff Engen, of Engen Construction in Mabel, is a licensed radon mitigator in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. He estimates radon mitigation costs to range from $1,200 to $2,800 depending on the scope of the project. In the three dozen or so radon projects he has worked on, he has seen houses display radon levels in the 20s and 30s and lots of times they are at least above 10 pCi/L.
In correcting a radon problem, Engen explained the goal is to “create a negative pressure under the floor so you’re sucking radon ou from underneath the house,” and then, “to route that radon from underneath the home to the outside atmosphere.” After mitigation measures are put in place, he returns to retest the house and if radon levels are still not satisfactory, he will alter the system until he achieves the goal.
No legislation currently requires mitigation for homes with high levels of radon but recently a bill was passed through the legislature requiring new homes to have radon mitigation measures installed during construction, a cheaper alternative to installing the systems after-the-fact.
Johnson remains hopeful
With an estimated 15 percent survival rate, lung cancer is one of the most dangerous forms of cancer. Even the chances chemotherapy will work right away are as low as 30 percent.
Despite the less than optimistic odds, Johnson remains hopeful.
“We met with the doctor yesterday and had some good news; it is starting to shrink,” he stated with a hopeful smile, referring to the cancerous growth in his lungs. “That’s a good thing,” he nodded. This news is the first sign of hope in more than two months.
After two complete rounds of chemotherapy, his coughing has also disappeared, another good sign, doctors suggest.
In explaining how he remains so optimistic he stated, “Like anything you always worry. I hope that being young is on my side. There’s so many things out there they can do for you. They have such a vast variety of drugs, it’s hard not to be optimistic. When you have a family you have to be positive. After having a good report yesterday, I’m at least heading the direction I should be going.”
Initially the news was hard on everyone in the family, but Mark said, “they seem to be handling it pretty well after the initial shock. We’re excited to hear good news for once.” Staying busy is key to remaining optimistic and attending all of his children’s basketball games from day one has been a good distraction.
Mark and Kari are currently retesting their home for radon to verify the initial results. Regardless of the outcome, Mark intends to take some sort of mitigation action. “If the possibility is there (for dangerous radon levels) I certainly want to do something for the rest of my family, to make sure they’re safe,” asserted Johnson.
“I would highly suggest everyone should test for radon,” Johnson encouraged. “We are in an area known for it. Definitely get it checked out to make sure. Everybody should be looking into it to be on the safe side.”
“Go ahead and do it,” was Myhre’s encouragement to the homeowner, echoing the sentiments of Johnson. “We have the resources here and they are free. Do it while you are thinking about it. Hopefully you’ll be pleasantly surprised and it’s okay.”
“A lot of times you take life for granted,” Johnson said reflecting on the position he finds himself in. “You make time for those things you didn’t have time for before. Some of the things you thought were important aren’t really.”
“It’s really nice to have all the support you get from community, friends, and family. We are very fortunate to be in a small community where people really do care,” Johnson gratefully added.
And if there is one thing small towns are best at, it’s supporting community members in times of need.
For more information regarding radon testing or mitigation, contact the Houston County Public Health office at 725-5810 or stop by to pick up your free test kit. They will also be hosting informational meetings on radon Tues., Feb. 17 from 4-6 p.m. in the courthouse basement and Tues., Feb. 24 from 4:30-6 p.m. at Prince of Peace Church in La Crescent.
The cough continued throughout the fall and on Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving and after most of his field work was done, Johnson went to the doctor.
“They wanted to do a chest x-ray to look for pneumonia,” he explained. When doctors saw questionable images on the x-ray they did a CT scan for further observation. On Dec. 18 the phone call came with the results; the growth in his lungs causing his chronic coughing was lung cancer. Already diagnosed as stage three cancer, chemotherapy would be the only option.
Lung cancer is most commonly associated with people who smoke. Never having been a smoker himself, or even exposed to much second hand smoke, Johnson was left puzzled by the diagnosis, along with the suite of other emotions a person experiences upon learning such news.
“It takes you by surprise when you get diagnosed like this,” Johnson added, an understatement by most standards.
Since Johnson does not smoke, doctors questioned other factors known to cause lung cancer, radon exposure being the number one cause after smoking. Inspired by the doctor’s question as to whether they had ever tested radon levels in their home, the Johnson’s decided to test their house with a simple testing kit purchased at a home improvement store, something they always thought they should do but never got around to. The results came back as 11.5 picoCuries/Liter (pCi/L). The EPA maximum recommended level for radon is 4 pCi/L, above which risk for lung cancer is elevated.
Pointing at a specific cause for any type of cancer is difficult considering the uncertainties surrounding the disease, but past research correlating high radon levels and lung cancer seems to suggest a correlation between Johnson’s cancer and the high radon levels found in their 1910 farmhouse located northwest of Spring Grove. Mark grew up in this house and now continues to make it his home with his wife Kari and three children Brook, Derek, and Elizabeth.
How it works
Radon is a naturally occurring colorless, odorless, tasteless gas created from the decay of uranium in the soils and bedrock beneath us. All rock contains at least small quantities of uranium. Rocks such as the sedimentary limestones and sandstones that characterize the local geology can contain more concentrated levels of uranium, up to one hundred times as much as other types of bedrock.
Over time, uranium in these rocks naturally decays, emitting radon gas. Slowly, radon gas rises through the soils and is dispersed into the atmosphere. As a result, radon is present outdoors but in small, safe levels. Concentrated radon in enclosures, such as underground mines, caves, or even our homes, however, can cause lung cancer according to a growing body of research. This connection was discovered when it was noticed that underground uranium miners died of lung cancer at high rates. Locally, the karst geology, characterized by caves, sinkholes and fractured rock, creates conduits for increased radon movement to the earth’s surface and into our homes.
Radon gas makes its way into homes through cracks in floors, walls, or foundations, around loose fitted pipes, or even through semi-permeable materials to gaseous substances such as block, brick, or concrete walls. Anywhere there is even a small opening between the home and the soil there exists potential for radon entry. Once inside, radon accumulates in higher concentrations in homes due to restricted ventilation, especially in the winter time when homes are sealed up tight for heat efficiency.
Decaying radon gives off tiny radioactive particles. When inhaled in the lungs, these particles can damage the cells lining the lung, spurring cancerous growth. It is estimated between 15,000 and 22,000 lung cancer deaths occurring each year nationwide are the fault of radon exposure.
The average radon level for Houston County homes is estimated to be 5.5 pCi/L. According to sample testing, half of all Houston County homes are likely to be above the level of 4 pCi/L. In other nearby counties conditions are even worse. Average indoor radon levels are estimated to be 7.6 pCi/L in Allamakee Cty., 8.1 pCi/L in Winneshiek Cty., 5.6 pCi/L in Winona Cty., 6 pCi/L in Olmsted Cty., 3.8 pCi/L in La Crosse Cty., and 9.9 pCi/L in Fillmore Cty. while the national average is a meager 1.3 pCi/L.
At 10 pCi/L, approximately the conditions recorded in the Johnson household, it is estimated 18 of every 1,000 people exposed will develop lung cancer.
Testing for radon
Testing for radon is simple and periodically encouraged by health officials but regularly one of those things people put off. Heather Myhre, of Houston County’s public health department, said “now is a great time to test while the ground is frozen, it forces the gas to find a different way to escape to the atmosphere so it does come into the home. We’ve been offering testing here for 4-5 years. We have a grant right now that allows us to do testing free of charge.”
Myhre explained, “any home is in danger.” That newer homes are safe is a “misconception we hear quite a bit. We encourage anybody to test regardless of the age of their home.”
Although discovering if your house has high levels of radon is straightforward, mitigation measures are a little more challenging and costly.
Jeff Engen, of Engen Construction in Mabel, is a licensed radon mitigator in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. He estimates radon mitigation costs to range from $1,200 to $2,800 depending on the scope of the project. In the three dozen or so radon projects he has worked on, he has seen houses display radon levels in the 20s and 30s and lots of times they are at least above 10 pCi/L.
In correcting a radon problem, Engen explained the goal is to “create a negative pressure under the floor so you’re sucking radon ou from underneath the house,” and then, “to route that radon from underneath the home to the outside atmosphere.” After mitigation measures are put in place, he returns to retest the house and if radon levels are still not satisfactory, he will alter the system until he achieves the goal.
No legislation currently requires mitigation for homes with high levels of radon but recently a bill was passed through the legislature requiring new homes to have radon mitigation measures installed during construction, a cheaper alternative to installing the systems after-the-fact.
Johnson remains hopeful
With an estimated 15 percent survival rate, lung cancer is one of the most dangerous forms of cancer. Even the chances chemotherapy will work right away are as low as 30 percent.
Despite the less than optimistic odds, Johnson remains hopeful.
“We met with the doctor yesterday and had some good news; it is starting to shrink,” he stated with a hopeful smile, referring to the cancerous growth in his lungs. “That’s a good thing,” he nodded. This news is the first sign of hope in more than two months.
After two complete rounds of chemotherapy, his coughing has also disappeared, another good sign, doctors suggest.
In explaining how he remains so optimistic he stated, “Like anything you always worry. I hope that being young is on my side. There’s so many things out there they can do for you. They have such a vast variety of drugs, it’s hard not to be optimistic. When you have a family you have to be positive. After having a good report yesterday, I’m at least heading the direction I should be going.”
Initially the news was hard on everyone in the family, but Mark said, “they seem to be handling it pretty well after the initial shock. We’re excited to hear good news for once.” Staying busy is key to remaining optimistic and attending all of his children’s basketball games from day one has been a good distraction.
Mark and Kari are currently retesting their home for radon to verify the initial results. Regardless of the outcome, Mark intends to take some sort of mitigation action. “If the possibility is there (for dangerous radon levels) I certainly want to do something for the rest of my family, to make sure they’re safe,” asserted Johnson.
“I would highly suggest everyone should test for radon,” Johnson encouraged. “We are in an area known for it. Definitely get it checked out to make sure. Everybody should be looking into it to be on the safe side.”
“Go ahead and do it,” was Myhre’s encouragement to the homeowner, echoing the sentiments of Johnson. “We have the resources here and they are free. Do it while you are thinking about it. Hopefully you’ll be pleasantly surprised and it’s okay.”
“A lot of times you take life for granted,” Johnson said reflecting on the position he finds himself in. “You make time for those things you didn’t have time for before. Some of the things you thought were important aren’t really.”
“It’s really nice to have all the support you get from community, friends, and family. We are very fortunate to be in a small community where people really do care,” Johnson gratefully added.
And if there is one thing small towns are best at, it’s supporting community members in times of need.
For more information regarding radon testing or mitigation, contact the Houston County Public Health office at 725-5810 or stop by to pick up your free test kit. They will also be hosting informational meetings on radon Tues., Feb. 17 from 4-6 p.m. in the courthouse basement and Tues., Feb. 24 from 4:30-6 p.m. at Prince of Peace Church in La Crescent.
Processed food may fuel lung tumors: Korean study WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Common food additives known as phosphates may help lung cancer tumors grow
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Common food additives known as phosphates may help lung cancer tumors grow faster, at least in mice, South Korean researchers reported on Monday.
Their tests in mice suggest the additives -- found in many soft drinks, baked goods and processed meats and cheese -- may also help tumors develop in the first place.
"Our study indicates that increased intake of inorganic phosphates strongly stimulates lung cancer development in mice," Myung-Haing Cho of Seoul National University, who led the study, said in a statement.
A diet high in phosphates "significantly increased the lung surface tumor lesions as well as the size," Cho's team wrote in their study.
Cho said the research suggests that cutting back on inorganic phosphates "may be critical for lung cancer treatment as well as prevention."
Phosphates are critical to human nutrition and can be used in compounds that enrich calcium and iron content and prevent food from drying out.
But Cho said it is possible that some people get too much.
"In the 1990s, phosphorous-containing food additives contributed an estimated 470 mg per day to the average daily adult diet," Cho said.
Now, he said, people can get up to 1,000 mg a day.
Writing in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Cho and colleagues said they studied mice bred to develop lung cancer. For a month, half got diets equivalent to a human diet high in phosphates and the other half got a moderate dose.
The bred mice do not develop cancer in the same way as humans do and the researchers stressed their study does not show that the food additives contribute to cancer in people.
Instead, it points to questions for human cancer researchers to study.
Lung cancer is by far the most common cancer killer around the world, killing 1.2 million people a year. Smoking is the most common cause but a majority of smokers do not develop lung cancer, so scientists are looking for other factors that may help tumors develop and spread.
Cho's team found phosphate-rich diets affected the Akt gene, known to be involved in lung cancer, and suppressed another gene that can help slow cancer's development.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Will Dunham and John O'Callaghan)
Their tests in mice suggest the additives -- found in many soft drinks, baked goods and processed meats and cheese -- may also help tumors develop in the first place.
"Our study indicates that increased intake of inorganic phosphates strongly stimulates lung cancer development in mice," Myung-Haing Cho of Seoul National University, who led the study, said in a statement.
A diet high in phosphates "significantly increased the lung surface tumor lesions as well as the size," Cho's team wrote in their study.
Cho said the research suggests that cutting back on inorganic phosphates "may be critical for lung cancer treatment as well as prevention."
Phosphates are critical to human nutrition and can be used in compounds that enrich calcium and iron content and prevent food from drying out.
But Cho said it is possible that some people get too much.
"In the 1990s, phosphorous-containing food additives contributed an estimated 470 mg per day to the average daily adult diet," Cho said.
Now, he said, people can get up to 1,000 mg a day.
Writing in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Cho and colleagues said they studied mice bred to develop lung cancer. For a month, half got diets equivalent to a human diet high in phosphates and the other half got a moderate dose.
The bred mice do not develop cancer in the same way as humans do and the researchers stressed their study does not show that the food additives contribute to cancer in people.
Instead, it points to questions for human cancer researchers to study.
Lung cancer is by far the most common cancer killer around the world, killing 1.2 million people a year. Smoking is the most common cause but a majority of smokers do not develop lung cancer, so scientists are looking for other factors that may help tumors develop and spread.
Cho's team found phosphate-rich diets affected the Akt gene, known to be involved in lung cancer, and suppressed another gene that can help slow cancer's development.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Will Dunham and John O'Callaghan)
Jury awards $8 million to widow in tobacco case
Philip Morris USA was ordered by a Florida jury Wednesday to pay $8 million in damages to the widow of a lung cancer patient in a case that could set a standard for some 8,000 similar lawsuits in the state. The award went to Elaine Hess (far left), whose husband, Stuart, died at age 55 after decades as a chain smoker. For more, go to chicagotribune.com/smokerwidow
Smoking Bans in Restaurants, a New Attempt to Cut Smoking Rates
Why ban smoking in restaurants and other public places? Supporters of the proposed smoking ban in restaurants say the measure would protect the general public from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and would improve the overall health, as studies have shown that reducing exposure to smoke can cut the risk of heart attacks, reduce the rates of lung cancer, emphysema and cardiovascular diseases. The World Health Organization informed that smoking cigarettes killed 100 million people around the world in the previous century and cautioned that in the 21st century it could kill one billion people worldwide.
A report released last year by the American Cancer Society, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US national Cancer Institute and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries revealed that state tobacco control policies might have an influence on the number of cancer related deaths. For example, lung cancer incidence among women increased in 13 states which had one thing in common: tobacco taxes were lower than average.
A recent study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that hospital admissions for heart attacks were drastically reduced in the city of Puelbo, Colorado, after the ban on workplace smoking took effect.
Earlier this year, Taiwan became the 17th state in the world and the second country in Asia to ban indoor smoking. Now, in Taiwan, smoking is banned in all other public facilities such as hotels, restaurants, karaoke bars, Internet cafes and transport stations.
Tobacco prevention and control continues to be a priority for states and antismoking laws are spreading around the world. As an example, one of the latest strategies of this kind in UK is a legislation that will ban the display of cigarette products from shops. The decision was taken after reports noted that in countries were the tobacco displays were removed, the smoking prevalence among young people has fallen by up to 10 percent.
A report released last year by the American Cancer Society, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US national Cancer Institute and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries revealed that state tobacco control policies might have an influence on the number of cancer related deaths. For example, lung cancer incidence among women increased in 13 states which had one thing in common: tobacco taxes were lower than average.
A recent study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that hospital admissions for heart attacks were drastically reduced in the city of Puelbo, Colorado, after the ban on workplace smoking took effect.
Earlier this year, Taiwan became the 17th state in the world and the second country in Asia to ban indoor smoking. Now, in Taiwan, smoking is banned in all other public facilities such as hotels, restaurants, karaoke bars, Internet cafes and transport stations.
Tobacco prevention and control continues to be a priority for states and antismoking laws are spreading around the world. As an example, one of the latest strategies of this kind in UK is a legislation that will ban the display of cigarette products from shops. The decision was taken after reports noted that in countries were the tobacco displays were removed, the smoking prevalence among young people has fallen by up to 10 percent.
Lung Cancer Remains No. 1 Cancer Killer
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- A new campaign is underway to raise awareness for Lung Cancer—the number one cancer killer.
The campaign, sponsored by the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Foundation, features mounted bus ads all over San Francisco MUNI buses.
Shelia Von Driska, Executive Director for the foundation, says that the number of deaths due to lung cancer has gone up dramatically in the last decade. In 1987, the number of deaths caused by lung cancer surpassed those of breast cancer. More recently, doctors have found a disturbing rise in lung cancer among women in their 30s and 40s who are non-smokers.
“There’s sort of a false sense of security that you can’t get lung cancer if you don’t smoke, so we really want to save lives, that’s our ultimate goal,” said Driska.
The campaign, sponsored by the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Foundation, features mounted bus ads all over San Francisco MUNI buses.
Shelia Von Driska, Executive Director for the foundation, says that the number of deaths due to lung cancer has gone up dramatically in the last decade. In 1987, the number of deaths caused by lung cancer surpassed those of breast cancer. More recently, doctors have found a disturbing rise in lung cancer among women in their 30s and 40s who are non-smokers.
“There’s sort of a false sense of security that you can’t get lung cancer if you don’t smoke, so we really want to save lives, that’s our ultimate goal,” said Driska.
Chippers’ smoke less, to fight stress
By Vikki Conwell
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Roderick Jennings shares an old, unhealthy habit with America’s new president.
The Lithonia resident and President Barack Obama have been casual smokers, or “chippers,” the slang term used to describe people who smoke an average of up to five cigarettes a day. These lighter smokers take longer breaks between cigarettes, can go days without puffing and tend to smoke to relieve stress or in social settings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 9 million Americans light up this way.
“It’s a security blanket,” said Jennings, a 26-year smoker who puffs through a pack about every two weeks, usually after cocktails. Twelve years ago, he quit cold turkey for five years but started back during a stressful job transition. (The term “chipper” refers to the practice of addicts “chipping” or “cutting” drugs to dilute them.)
If the president, who claims to have quit but fallen off the wagon at times, really wants to kick the habit for good, he should opt for a really good stress ball or a healthier outlet instead of the “socially acceptable vice,” said Jennings, 46, who now enjoys video gaming as his preferred stress reliever.
Researchers have linked the increase of casual smokers to economic and societal pressures. Add in the poor economy and rising cost of cigarettes, averaging more than $8 a pack in places such as New York (the cost is $3-$4 a pack here), and more people are simply chipping away at cigarettes.
“People are cutting back but not cutting out,” said Tom Glynn, director of cancer science and trends for the American Cancer Society. He noted an increase in the purchase of single cigarettes in developing countries and even in the United States, where the sale of “onesies” or “loosies” remains illegal.
For some, casual smoking has been a lifelong ritual, like a morning cup of coffee; while others, such as Jennings, are transitioning from daily smoking to quitting. Their stable yet infrequent use of cigarettes challenges many fundamental beliefs about nicotine addiction.
Jennings plans to quit soon. His habit lingers from psychological rather than physiological reasons, he says.
About 15 years ago, the notion that people could smoke infrequently was inconceivable, said Terry Pechacek, associate director of smoking and health studies at the CDC. Previous research suggested that smokers needed 15-20 cigarettes a day to fulfill their need for nicotine, but the growth in occasional smokers suggests otherwise, he said.
“It used to be rare enough that we weren’t paying much attention to it,” Pechacek said, referring to a growing number of studies about this subgroup of smokers. “We’re now paying much more attention to this.”
Still, occasional smoking bears a higher health risk than many people might realize, experts warn.
“There’s no safe level of inhaling cigarette smoke,” Glynn said. “Even smoking less than 10 smokes a day doubles your chances of developing heart disease.”
No safe ways to smoke
Less smoking is better than more, but it is still dangerous, the American Cancer Society warns. Here’s why:
> Research shows that smoking as few as one to four cigarettes a day can lead to serious health outcomes, including an increased risk of heart disease and a greater chance of dying at a younger age.
> All cigarettes pose a health risk. Those who switch to low-nicotine cigarettes often end up smoking more cigarettes to get the same nicotine dose.
> “Light” cigarettes do not have a lower health risk and aren’t a good alternative to quitting. Studies have not found a decreased lung cancer risk among smokers of “light” or low-tar cigarettes.
> Hand-rolled cigarettes are not safer than commercial brands.
> “All natural” does not mean healthier. Cigarettes marketed as having no chemicals or additives and rolled with 100 percent cotton filters are not safer than other cigarettes.
> Herbal cigarettes do not contain tobacco but emit tar and carbon monoxide that are dangerous to your health.
CHIPPING AWAY
Are you a “chipper”? If so, here are some tips to help you quit for good:
> Make a list of reasons you want to quit. A strong commitment and desire to quit are vital for success.
> Document which days (over a two-week period) you smoke, how many cigarettes you smoke and what the circumstances are.
> Schedule an absolute quit date of two to four weeks in the future.
> Enlist support of family, friends and co-workers, especially those who are present when you smoke.
> Seek information and support from quit lines, Web sites and cessation programs.
> Talk to your physician or pharmacist about using a medication to help you quit. Many chippers use nicotine gum to allay withdrawal symptoms when they most want a cigarette.
> Avoid the situations (for at least two months) where you are most likely to smoke, to break the habits associated with your occasional smoking.
> Quit on your planned quit date.
> If you slip and have a cigarette —- and most will —- don’t consider it a failure. Analyze the circumstances why you slipped and take the actions again.
Source: Tom Glynn, American Cancer Society
CELEBRITY CHIPPERS
President Barack Obama is not the only well-known casual smoker. Among celebrities who are or have been “chippers”:
Pope Benedict: “Thou Shall Not Smoke” is not one of the commandments, but surely God has something to say about this.
Prince Harry: The rambling royal adds smoking to his list of escapades.
Laura Bush: Now that she’s out of the spotlight, she can come out of the smoking closet.
Sharon Stone: Perhaps a “basic instinct” has her lighting up occasionally.
Pierce Brosnan: Being a cigar advocate seems like such a “James Bond” kind of thing to do.
Mary-Kate Olsen: No doubt she prefers ultra-slim cigarettes.
Kate Winslet: The down-to-earth actress reportedly maintains a down-low habit.
Renee Zellweger: Her chain-smoking character Bridget Jones reportedly got Zellweger hooked. She claims to have quit.
Paris Hilton: What’s the world’s most famous party girl supposed to do at parties?
Whoopi Goldberg: She let a national audience “view” her campaign to quit a couple of years ago … but, whoops!
Anna Kournikova: The tennis glamour girl says four or five a day doesn’t constitute a habit.
J.K. Rowling: The “Harry Potter” author quit smoking but is now said to be addicted to Nicorette chews.
Tobey Maguire: Perhaps dangling from a weblike strand can stress an actor playing a superhero.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Roderick Jennings shares an old, unhealthy habit with America’s new president.
The Lithonia resident and President Barack Obama have been casual smokers, or “chippers,” the slang term used to describe people who smoke an average of up to five cigarettes a day. These lighter smokers take longer breaks between cigarettes, can go days without puffing and tend to smoke to relieve stress or in social settings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 9 million Americans light up this way.
“It’s a security blanket,” said Jennings, a 26-year smoker who puffs through a pack about every two weeks, usually after cocktails. Twelve years ago, he quit cold turkey for five years but started back during a stressful job transition. (The term “chipper” refers to the practice of addicts “chipping” or “cutting” drugs to dilute them.)
If the president, who claims to have quit but fallen off the wagon at times, really wants to kick the habit for good, he should opt for a really good stress ball or a healthier outlet instead of the “socially acceptable vice,” said Jennings, 46, who now enjoys video gaming as his preferred stress reliever.
Researchers have linked the increase of casual smokers to economic and societal pressures. Add in the poor economy and rising cost of cigarettes, averaging more than $8 a pack in places such as New York (the cost is $3-$4 a pack here), and more people are simply chipping away at cigarettes.
“People are cutting back but not cutting out,” said Tom Glynn, director of cancer science and trends for the American Cancer Society. He noted an increase in the purchase of single cigarettes in developing countries and even in the United States, where the sale of “onesies” or “loosies” remains illegal.
For some, casual smoking has been a lifelong ritual, like a morning cup of coffee; while others, such as Jennings, are transitioning from daily smoking to quitting. Their stable yet infrequent use of cigarettes challenges many fundamental beliefs about nicotine addiction.
Jennings plans to quit soon. His habit lingers from psychological rather than physiological reasons, he says.
About 15 years ago, the notion that people could smoke infrequently was inconceivable, said Terry Pechacek, associate director of smoking and health studies at the CDC. Previous research suggested that smokers needed 15-20 cigarettes a day to fulfill their need for nicotine, but the growth in occasional smokers suggests otherwise, he said.
“It used to be rare enough that we weren’t paying much attention to it,” Pechacek said, referring to a growing number of studies about this subgroup of smokers. “We’re now paying much more attention to this.”
Still, occasional smoking bears a higher health risk than many people might realize, experts warn.
“There’s no safe level of inhaling cigarette smoke,” Glynn said. “Even smoking less than 10 smokes a day doubles your chances of developing heart disease.”
No safe ways to smoke
Less smoking is better than more, but it is still dangerous, the American Cancer Society warns. Here’s why:
> Research shows that smoking as few as one to four cigarettes a day can lead to serious health outcomes, including an increased risk of heart disease and a greater chance of dying at a younger age.
> All cigarettes pose a health risk. Those who switch to low-nicotine cigarettes often end up smoking more cigarettes to get the same nicotine dose.
> “Light” cigarettes do not have a lower health risk and aren’t a good alternative to quitting. Studies have not found a decreased lung cancer risk among smokers of “light” or low-tar cigarettes.
> Hand-rolled cigarettes are not safer than commercial brands.
> “All natural” does not mean healthier. Cigarettes marketed as having no chemicals or additives and rolled with 100 percent cotton filters are not safer than other cigarettes.
> Herbal cigarettes do not contain tobacco but emit tar and carbon monoxide that are dangerous to your health.
CHIPPING AWAY
Are you a “chipper”? If so, here are some tips to help you quit for good:
> Make a list of reasons you want to quit. A strong commitment and desire to quit are vital for success.
> Document which days (over a two-week period) you smoke, how many cigarettes you smoke and what the circumstances are.
> Schedule an absolute quit date of two to four weeks in the future.
> Enlist support of family, friends and co-workers, especially those who are present when you smoke.
> Seek information and support from quit lines, Web sites and cessation programs.
> Talk to your physician or pharmacist about using a medication to help you quit. Many chippers use nicotine gum to allay withdrawal symptoms when they most want a cigarette.
> Avoid the situations (for at least two months) where you are most likely to smoke, to break the habits associated with your occasional smoking.
> Quit on your planned quit date.
> If you slip and have a cigarette —- and most will —- don’t consider it a failure. Analyze the circumstances why you slipped and take the actions again.
Source: Tom Glynn, American Cancer Society
CELEBRITY CHIPPERS
President Barack Obama is not the only well-known casual smoker. Among celebrities who are or have been “chippers”:
Pope Benedict: “Thou Shall Not Smoke” is not one of the commandments, but surely God has something to say about this.
Prince Harry: The rambling royal adds smoking to his list of escapades.
Laura Bush: Now that she’s out of the spotlight, she can come out of the smoking closet.
Sharon Stone: Perhaps a “basic instinct” has her lighting up occasionally.
Pierce Brosnan: Being a cigar advocate seems like such a “James Bond” kind of thing to do.
Mary-Kate Olsen: No doubt she prefers ultra-slim cigarettes.
Kate Winslet: The down-to-earth actress reportedly maintains a down-low habit.
Renee Zellweger: Her chain-smoking character Bridget Jones reportedly got Zellweger hooked. She claims to have quit.
Paris Hilton: What’s the world’s most famous party girl supposed to do at parties?
Whoopi Goldberg: She let a national audience “view” her campaign to quit a couple of years ago … but, whoops!
Anna Kournikova: The tennis glamour girl says four or five a day doesn’t constitute a habit.
J.K. Rowling: The “Harry Potter” author quit smoking but is now said to be addicted to Nicorette chews.
Tobey Maguire: Perhaps dangling from a weblike strand can stress an actor playing a superhero.
Infectious Agent May Impact Lung Cancer
Newswise — A previously unknown effect of an infectious agent relevant to the prevention and/or treatment of lung cancer has been discovered by a UMDNJ research team led by Melissa Rogers, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School.
The infectious agent, mycoplasma bacterium, induces the synthesis of an important growth factor, BMP2, in lung cells. After enough time, mycoplasma can convert normal lung cells into cells that form tumors. BMP2 may accelerate this process. With the help of a two-year grant for $120,000 from the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research and a Team Science Initiative Grant from UMDNJ, Dr. Rogers and her collaborator, Dr. John Langenfeld of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, are working to understand the relationship between bacterial infection and BMP2 in lung tumors.
The relevance of this study stems from the fact that mycoplasma is a curable bacteria. “If we think mycoplasma is promoting tumors, especially in lung cancer, then we should be curing it.” said Rogers. “Even though doctors don’t normally look at mycoplasma as a pathogen, it may be a tumor promoter.
“Our linkage of mycoplasma infection to BMP2 induction suggests that antimycoplasma treatment may benefit lung cancer patients,” said Rogers. “Furthermore, understanding how BMP2, a potent regulator of cell behavior is regulated in normal and transformed lung cells may identify novel chemotherapy approaches.”
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the country. Research indicates more people will die from lung cancer than breast, colon, and prostate cancer combined.
Rogers believes this study will lay the groundwork for examining whether high risk patients should be screened and treated for mycoplasma infections to prevent lung cancer and whether lung cancer patients should be treated with antibiotics to eradicate mycoplasma infection.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation’s largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,600 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty practices at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a statewide mental health and addiction services network.
The infectious agent, mycoplasma bacterium, induces the synthesis of an important growth factor, BMP2, in lung cells. After enough time, mycoplasma can convert normal lung cells into cells that form tumors. BMP2 may accelerate this process. With the help of a two-year grant for $120,000 from the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research and a Team Science Initiative Grant from UMDNJ, Dr. Rogers and her collaborator, Dr. John Langenfeld of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, are working to understand the relationship between bacterial infection and BMP2 in lung tumors.
The relevance of this study stems from the fact that mycoplasma is a curable bacteria. “If we think mycoplasma is promoting tumors, especially in lung cancer, then we should be curing it.” said Rogers. “Even though doctors don’t normally look at mycoplasma as a pathogen, it may be a tumor promoter.
“Our linkage of mycoplasma infection to BMP2 induction suggests that antimycoplasma treatment may benefit lung cancer patients,” said Rogers. “Furthermore, understanding how BMP2, a potent regulator of cell behavior is regulated in normal and transformed lung cells may identify novel chemotherapy approaches.”
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the country. Research indicates more people will die from lung cancer than breast, colon, and prostate cancer combined.
Rogers believes this study will lay the groundwork for examining whether high risk patients should be screened and treated for mycoplasma infections to prevent lung cancer and whether lung cancer patients should be treated with antibiotics to eradicate mycoplasma infection.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation’s largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,600 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty practices at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a statewide mental health and addiction services network.
Rogers: Secures $190,000 for UK Early Detection Cancer Research Funding
WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05) announced today that the United States House of Representatives approved $190,000 for the University of Kentucky Marty Driesler Cancer Project. The funding will continue this vital UK lethal cancer detection program. The Senate will vote on this legislation next week.
“Many families in Kentucky have faced the challenge and hardship of cancer, but fortunately this dreaded disease can be subdued and overcome in many instances, if early detection occurs,” stated Rogers. “The UK medical professionals with the Marty Driesler Cancer Project are at the forefront of early detection medicine and have proven themselves by discovering early stage lung cancers for some of our neighbors already. It is essential for this important work to continue and I will continue to advocate for this important health and research initiative.”
Created in 2004, the Marty Driesler Cancer Project is a lethal cancers early detection and awareness program. The program is named in honor of Rep. Rogers’ former chief of staff, who died in November 2003 after a three-year battle with lung cancer. The University of Kentucky, nationally known for its work and research in the field of cancer detection and treatment, continues to oversee its application at four regional healthcare facilities in Hazard, Somerset, Prestonsburg, and Morehead. The goal of the project is to establish a state-of-the-art early detection and outreach program for people suffering from lung, liver, and esophageal cancer.
In addition to this funding, Rogers has secured $1.75 million over the past five years for the Marty Driesler Cancer Project. As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, Rogers works to secure funding for important initiatives in the Fifth Congressional District.
“Many families in Kentucky have faced the challenge and hardship of cancer, but fortunately this dreaded disease can be subdued and overcome in many instances, if early detection occurs,” stated Rogers. “The UK medical professionals with the Marty Driesler Cancer Project are at the forefront of early detection medicine and have proven themselves by discovering early stage lung cancers for some of our neighbors already. It is essential for this important work to continue and I will continue to advocate for this important health and research initiative.”
Created in 2004, the Marty Driesler Cancer Project is a lethal cancers early detection and awareness program. The program is named in honor of Rep. Rogers’ former chief of staff, who died in November 2003 after a three-year battle with lung cancer. The University of Kentucky, nationally known for its work and research in the field of cancer detection and treatment, continues to oversee its application at four regional healthcare facilities in Hazard, Somerset, Prestonsburg, and Morehead. The goal of the project is to establish a state-of-the-art early detection and outreach program for people suffering from lung, liver, and esophageal cancer.
In addition to this funding, Rogers has secured $1.75 million over the past five years for the Marty Driesler Cancer Project. As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, Rogers works to secure funding for important initiatives in the Fifth Congressional District.
Cancer deaths plague African-American community
Cancer deaths among African-Americans are declining but remain at a rate higher than for any other racial and ethnic group in the U.S., according to an American Cancer Society report, "Cancer Facts & Figures for African-Americans, 2009-2010."
The causes of the disparities are complex and likely reflect social and economic disparities, not biological differences, said Otis W. Brawley, MD, the cancer society's chief medical officer.
The report also found that among African-Americans, those with more education have lower cancer death rates. But at each level of education, African-Americans have higher death rates than do whites.
The report predicts that in 2009, the most commonly diagnosed cancers among African-American men will be prostate, lung and colon/rectum. Among African-American women, the most common cancers are expected to be breast, lung and colon/rectum.
The causes of the disparities are complex and likely reflect social and economic disparities, not biological differences, said Otis W. Brawley, MD, the cancer society's chief medical officer.
The report also found that among African-Americans, those with more education have lower cancer death rates. But at each level of education, African-Americans have higher death rates than do whites.
The report predicts that in 2009, the most commonly diagnosed cancers among African-American men will be prostate, lung and colon/rectum. Among African-American women, the most common cancers are expected to be breast, lung and colon/rectum.
Doctors develop test that may smell cancer
Tiny particles — way too small for a human to see or smell — float from the mouth, through a tube and into a plastic bag.
At a lab halfway across the world from Colorado, scientists will determine whether those tiny compounds have the distinct smell of lung cancer.
It's called a "smell print," and it could revolutionize the diagnosis of a disease that kills tens of thousands of Americans each year.
Instead of a body scan or a bronchoscopy — in which an instrument is inserted down the windpipe — patients eventually could blow into the cancer-detecting device during a checkup at the doctor's office.
"It's a bedside tool," said Dr. Nir Peled, an Israeli medical oncologist researching the cancer breath test at the University of Colorado Denver's medical campus in Aurora.
With earlier diagnosis, doctors could save more lives.
Lung-cancer rates are rising in the U.S., despite the fact that smoking rates are declining. Scientists are particularly puzzled about why the disease is striking more young women who have never smoked.
Each year in the United States, about 216,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer and more than 160,000 people die of the disease.
Just 16 percent of lung cancer patients survive at least five years.
The reason is that two-thirds of patients are diagnosed after the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes or other organs.
"If detected in the early stages, then we can start talking about a curable disease," said Dr. Fred Hirsch, another medical oncology professor at UCD. "It is our hope that this research could give us a tool for early detection."
The breath test works with one exhale.
Air flows into a tube and through an anti-bacterial filter that eliminates environmental scents, which would interfere with the results.
"I don't want to get the analysis that this patient put on in the morning Chanel No. 5," Peled said.
Then the air pushed out of the patient's upper-respiratory tract is captured in one of two plastic bags on the device. The rest of the air — expelled from deep in the lungs, where a cancerous tumor could be growing — is trapped in a second bag that expands like microwaved popcorn.
The second bag is removed from the device, and the particles inside are absorbed into a small vial, which is shipped to Israel for analysis.
Scientists at Technion — Israel Institute of Technology, where the device was invented, have a nanoparticle laboratory that "smells" the volatile organic compounds in a person's breath.
Breath tests might someday tell doctors not only whether a person has cancer but the exact type of cancer. Breast cancer, for example, has a different "smell print" than lung cancer, Peled said.
Scientists already have used dogs to sniff out the scent emitted by tumorous cells.
At the UCD lab, doctors are trapping air released from cancer cells growing in petri dishes and in mice with tumors. And they are collecting breath from 200 people — half of whom have lung cancer.
Among them is a Denver woman who recently had a cancerous tumor in her lung removed. She was diagnosed with cancer after a CT scan of her kidneys revealed a tumor in her lungs.
"It would be wonderful if they could diagnose us like that," said Barbara, who did not want her last name used because she has not told her friends about her disease. "They can have as many blows as they want from me. They told me it won't help me at all, but I want to help others."
Dr. Stephen Lam, professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia and one of the leading scientists in early cancer detection, said the work at UCD is significant but that it will take several years before doctors can use breath tests.
"If it works out the way it supposed to do, it will be a good first-step screening tool for high-risk patients," he said. "If you try to scan everyone who smokes at a certain age, you end up doing a lot of tests and scans on people who don't have cancer."
At a lab halfway across the world from Colorado, scientists will determine whether those tiny compounds have the distinct smell of lung cancer.
It's called a "smell print," and it could revolutionize the diagnosis of a disease that kills tens of thousands of Americans each year.
Instead of a body scan or a bronchoscopy — in which an instrument is inserted down the windpipe — patients eventually could blow into the cancer-detecting device during a checkup at the doctor's office.
"It's a bedside tool," said Dr. Nir Peled, an Israeli medical oncologist researching the cancer breath test at the University of Colorado Denver's medical campus in Aurora.
With earlier diagnosis, doctors could save more lives.
Lung-cancer rates are rising in the U.S., despite the fact that smoking rates are declining. Scientists are particularly puzzled about why the disease is striking more young women who have never smoked.
Each year in the United States, about 216,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer and more than 160,000 people die of the disease.
Just 16 percent of lung cancer patients survive at least five years.
The reason is that two-thirds of patients are diagnosed after the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes or other organs.
"If detected in the early stages, then we can start talking about a curable disease," said Dr. Fred Hirsch, another medical oncology professor at UCD. "It is our hope that this research could give us a tool for early detection."
The breath test works with one exhale.
Air flows into a tube and through an anti-bacterial filter that eliminates environmental scents, which would interfere with the results.
"I don't want to get the analysis that this patient put on in the morning Chanel No. 5," Peled said.
Then the air pushed out of the patient's upper-respiratory tract is captured in one of two plastic bags on the device. The rest of the air — expelled from deep in the lungs, where a cancerous tumor could be growing — is trapped in a second bag that expands like microwaved popcorn.
The second bag is removed from the device, and the particles inside are absorbed into a small vial, which is shipped to Israel for analysis.
Scientists at Technion — Israel Institute of Technology, where the device was invented, have a nanoparticle laboratory that "smells" the volatile organic compounds in a person's breath.
Breath tests might someday tell doctors not only whether a person has cancer but the exact type of cancer. Breast cancer, for example, has a different "smell print" than lung cancer, Peled said.
Scientists already have used dogs to sniff out the scent emitted by tumorous cells.
At the UCD lab, doctors are trapping air released from cancer cells growing in petri dishes and in mice with tumors. And they are collecting breath from 200 people — half of whom have lung cancer.
Among them is a Denver woman who recently had a cancerous tumor in her lung removed. She was diagnosed with cancer after a CT scan of her kidneys revealed a tumor in her lungs.
"It would be wonderful if they could diagnose us like that," said Barbara, who did not want her last name used because she has not told her friends about her disease. "They can have as many blows as they want from me. They told me it won't help me at all, but I want to help others."
Dr. Stephen Lam, professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia and one of the leading scientists in early cancer detection, said the work at UCD is significant but that it will take several years before doctors can use breath tests.
"If it works out the way it supposed to do, it will be a good first-step screening tool for high-risk patients," he said. "If you try to scan everyone who smokes at a certain age, you end up doing a lot of tests and scans on people who don't have cancer."
Clinical Evidence Grows in Support of CyberKnife Treatment for Intracranial and Extracranial Tumors
CyberKnife Users' Meeting Highlights Clinical Studies and Emerging Trends in Brain, Lung and Prostate Radiosurgery
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), a global leader in the field of radiosurgery, today announced highlights from the clinical and technical presentations from its 8th Annual CyberKnife Users' Meeting, which was held February 4-7, 2009, in Hollywood, Fla. The record number of presentations featured during the event is a testament to the growing interest in use of the CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System for the non-invasive treatment of tumors anywhere in the body.
This year's CyberKnife Users' Meeting attracted more than 500 attendees, including surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, hospital administrators and other related clinical staff. More than 15 percent of those in attendance traveled from outside of the United States to participate. This year's scientific program grew noticeably from last year's with more than 85 oral presentations and 75 clinical and technical posters. The treatment of extracranial tumors was the focus of 47 of the oral presentations.
At this year's meeting, nine presentations reported on large-scale studies, each with more than 100 patients with brain, lung or prostate tumors. The 2009 Users' Meeting included 11 presentations related to prostate cancer treatment, with follow-up data approaching three years for many patients. In addition to updated outcomes with longer follow-up, researchers are extending CyberKnife applications for prostate cancer beyond early-stage disease. For example, clinicians discussed their use of CyberKnife radiosurgery to "boost" the radiation dose after conventional radiation therapy for patients with advanced disease, as well as for the treatment of recurrent cancer in patients that failed conventional radiation therapy.
The adoption of CyberKnife radiosurgery for the treatment of lung cancer continues to grow, a trend that was supported by 11 clinical lung cancer presentations. Presenters reported on primary and metastatic lung cancer, the treatment of recurrence after radiation therapy and chemotherapy, and quality of life after lung cancer treatment. In one study, patients showed 94 percent local control of lung tumors at a median follow-up of 33 months.
CyberKnife advantages continue to be extended in brain cancer and other brain disorders. Multiple presentations highlighted the CyberKnife System's frameless capability to conveniently treat in multiple sessions -- a particularly beneficial capability when lesions are near sensitive critical structures such as those that control vision and hearing. In one study of 114 acoustic neuroma patients, the authors concluded that the CyberKnife System's abilities made radiosurgical treatment possible for more than 13 percent of patients who could not have been treated with single-session radiosurgery because of risk of hearing loss.
"The presentations and posters at this year's Users' Meeting were representative of the increased interest in CyberKnife radiosurgery, particularly for the treatment of lung and prostate cancer, given its unrivaled ability to accurately track and treat tumors that move," said Eric P. Lindquist, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Accuray. "Despite the challenging economic climate, we were pleased to see that hundreds of clinicians recognized the value of this event to step away from their practices to share their clinical experience and learn from their peers at this meeting."
About the CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System
The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System is the world's only robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body non-invasively. Using continual image guidance technology and computer controlled robotic mobility, the CyberKnife System automatically tracks, detects and corrects for tumor and patient movement in real-time throughout the treatment. This enables the CyberKnife System to deliver high-dose radiation with pinpoint precision, which minimizes damage to surrounding healthy tissue and eliminates the need for invasive head or body stabilization frames.
About Accuray
Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is a global leader in the field of radiosurgery dedicated to providing an improved quality of life and a non-surgical treatment option for those diagnosed with cancer. Accuray develops and markets the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System, which extends the benefits of radiosurgery to include extracranial tumors, including those in the spine, lung, prostate, liver and pancreas. To date, the CyberKnife System has been used to treat more than 50,000 patients worldwide and currently more than 155 systems have been installed in leading hospitals in the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.accuray.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
The foregoing may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties associated with the medical device industry. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements relating to clinical studies, regulatory review and approval, and commercialization of products are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made and are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual performance and results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make include: market acceptance of products; competing products, the combination of our products with complementary technology; and other risks detailed from time to time under the heading "Risk Factors" in our report on Form 10-K for the 2008 fiscal year, as updated in our Form 10-Q filed on February 5, 2009 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's actual results of operations may differ significantly from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements as a result of these and other factors. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual performance or results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws.
SOURCE Accuray Incorporated
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), a global leader in the field of radiosurgery, today announced highlights from the clinical and technical presentations from its 8th Annual CyberKnife Users' Meeting, which was held February 4-7, 2009, in Hollywood, Fla. The record number of presentations featured during the event is a testament to the growing interest in use of the CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System for the non-invasive treatment of tumors anywhere in the body.
This year's CyberKnife Users' Meeting attracted more than 500 attendees, including surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, hospital administrators and other related clinical staff. More than 15 percent of those in attendance traveled from outside of the United States to participate. This year's scientific program grew noticeably from last year's with more than 85 oral presentations and 75 clinical and technical posters. The treatment of extracranial tumors was the focus of 47 of the oral presentations.
At this year's meeting, nine presentations reported on large-scale studies, each with more than 100 patients with brain, lung or prostate tumors. The 2009 Users' Meeting included 11 presentations related to prostate cancer treatment, with follow-up data approaching three years for many patients. In addition to updated outcomes with longer follow-up, researchers are extending CyberKnife applications for prostate cancer beyond early-stage disease. For example, clinicians discussed their use of CyberKnife radiosurgery to "boost" the radiation dose after conventional radiation therapy for patients with advanced disease, as well as for the treatment of recurrent cancer in patients that failed conventional radiation therapy.
The adoption of CyberKnife radiosurgery for the treatment of lung cancer continues to grow, a trend that was supported by 11 clinical lung cancer presentations. Presenters reported on primary and metastatic lung cancer, the treatment of recurrence after radiation therapy and chemotherapy, and quality of life after lung cancer treatment. In one study, patients showed 94 percent local control of lung tumors at a median follow-up of 33 months.
CyberKnife advantages continue to be extended in brain cancer and other brain disorders. Multiple presentations highlighted the CyberKnife System's frameless capability to conveniently treat in multiple sessions -- a particularly beneficial capability when lesions are near sensitive critical structures such as those that control vision and hearing. In one study of 114 acoustic neuroma patients, the authors concluded that the CyberKnife System's abilities made radiosurgical treatment possible for more than 13 percent of patients who could not have been treated with single-session radiosurgery because of risk of hearing loss.
"The presentations and posters at this year's Users' Meeting were representative of the increased interest in CyberKnife radiosurgery, particularly for the treatment of lung and prostate cancer, given its unrivaled ability to accurately track and treat tumors that move," said Eric P. Lindquist, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Accuray. "Despite the challenging economic climate, we were pleased to see that hundreds of clinicians recognized the value of this event to step away from their practices to share their clinical experience and learn from their peers at this meeting."
About the CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System
The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System is the world's only robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body non-invasively. Using continual image guidance technology and computer controlled robotic mobility, the CyberKnife System automatically tracks, detects and corrects for tumor and patient movement in real-time throughout the treatment. This enables the CyberKnife System to deliver high-dose radiation with pinpoint precision, which minimizes damage to surrounding healthy tissue and eliminates the need for invasive head or body stabilization frames.
About Accuray
Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is a global leader in the field of radiosurgery dedicated to providing an improved quality of life and a non-surgical treatment option for those diagnosed with cancer. Accuray develops and markets the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System, which extends the benefits of radiosurgery to include extracranial tumors, including those in the spine, lung, prostate, liver and pancreas. To date, the CyberKnife System has been used to treat more than 50,000 patients worldwide and currently more than 155 systems have been installed in leading hospitals in the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.accuray.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
The foregoing may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties associated with the medical device industry. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements relating to clinical studies, regulatory review and approval, and commercialization of products are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made and are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual performance and results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make include: market acceptance of products; competing products, the combination of our products with complementary technology; and other risks detailed from time to time under the heading "Risk Factors" in our report on Form 10-K for the 2008 fiscal year, as updated in our Form 10-Q filed on February 5, 2009 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's actual results of operations may differ significantly from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements as a result of these and other factors. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual performance or results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws.
SOURCE Accuray Incorporated
Morton Plant North Bay campus goes smoke-free
Morton Plant North Bay Hospital is joining the Pasco County Health Department’s tobacco-free initiative and will ban tobacco use on its campus, effective July 6.
The move by the hospital expands the current prohibition on tobacco in hospital buildings, a release said. It will extend the ban to all of the grounds and property, and the hospital’s designated smoking area will close.
Morton Plant North Bay has put together a system of support for staff members to help them deal with the challenges of not smoking while at work, John Couris, chief operating officer, said in the release. The hospital has scheduled a series of health fairs beginning in March and will be making smoking cessation information aides available to its staff.
It already encourages patients not to smoke during their hospital stay.
“We are very excited to be a part of the county’s tobacco free initiative,” Couris said. “It’s an important step in creating a healthier environment for everyone who enters or works on our hospital campus.”
According to the National Institute on Drug Addiction, tobacco use kills nearly half a million Americans each year. One in every six U.S. deaths can be attributed as a result of smoking. The American Cancer Society states that tobacco smoke causes nearly nine out of 10 cases of lung cancer. Non-smokers exposed to tobacco smoke in the workplace are also more likely to get lung cancer.
Morton Plant North Bay Hospital is a 122-bed facility in New Port Richey.
The move by the hospital expands the current prohibition on tobacco in hospital buildings, a release said. It will extend the ban to all of the grounds and property, and the hospital’s designated smoking area will close.
Morton Plant North Bay has put together a system of support for staff members to help them deal with the challenges of not smoking while at work, John Couris, chief operating officer, said in the release. The hospital has scheduled a series of health fairs beginning in March and will be making smoking cessation information aides available to its staff.
It already encourages patients not to smoke during their hospital stay.
“We are very excited to be a part of the county’s tobacco free initiative,” Couris said. “It’s an important step in creating a healthier environment for everyone who enters or works on our hospital campus.”
According to the National Institute on Drug Addiction, tobacco use kills nearly half a million Americans each year. One in every six U.S. deaths can be attributed as a result of smoking. The American Cancer Society states that tobacco smoke causes nearly nine out of 10 cases of lung cancer. Non-smokers exposed to tobacco smoke in the workplace are also more likely to get lung cancer.
Morton Plant North Bay Hospital is a 122-bed facility in New Port Richey.
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