TEN 26 Survivor

Can Prostate Cancer Activists Get Us to Think Past Pink?

Don Swinford — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:00:25 +0000

How do ovarian, cervical, lung, and skin cancers market themselves in breast cancer’s pink shadow? Check out our slideshow of the year in cancer awareness.

It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but you probably knew that already. You can’t crack open a yogurt, catch a football game, or clean your sex toys in the month of October without being prodded to think pink. In fact, breast cancer awareness has become such a pervasive social phenomenon that advocates are now painting the world pink all year ’round. “The pink haze, as I affectionately call it, sets in around early September, and it doesn’t really lift until December,” says Skip Lockwood, CEO of prostate cancer awareness organization ZERO.

September is supposed to belong to prostate cancer, but its 30 days routinely pass by without much attention paid to the exocrine gland. “We do get some additional coverage in September, but it just hasn’t attained the power of breast cancer awareness,” Lockwood says. For years, prostate cancer awareness advocates have attempted to replicate breast cancer’s glow. The decision to focus on September—a month also claimed by ovarian cancer, childhood cancer, thyroid cancer, and leukemia and lymphoma—involved the impulse to “hang on to breast cancer’s coattails a little bit,” Lockwood says. Instead, prostate cancer occupies a fall awareness market already revving up for pink. “You have all these foods and products associated with breast cancer, and they print all their labeling at once and keep it there until they run out of the labels,” Lockwood says.

The movement to raise awareness of prostate cancer has lifted plenty from the breast cancer awareness playbook. The National Prostate Cancer Coalition launched in 1996, “created on the model of the National Breast Cancer Coalition,” Lockwood says. The coalition picked a calendar month and settled on a blue ribbon for its icon, the boy version of breast cancer’s girlie emblem. “We learned very closely from what the breast cancer movement had done successfully,” says Lockwood.

Now rebranded as ZERO, the organization has helped increase funding for prostate cancer by almost 400 percent since 1996, inspiring “very important medical advancements in the treatment of the disease,” Lockwood says. But the awareness effort is still waiting on men to start thinking blue. “There are 21 different organizations that use a variant on blue for their ribbon,” Lockwood says. “We’ve done marketing research that shows that blue doesn’t resonate with men. It doesn’t motivate them to take action. They don’t like that the ribbon seems like a copycat of women. They need something that’s their own.”

Prostate cancer awareness advocates aren’t yet sure what that looks like. Like breast cancer, prostate cancer awareness efforts have focused largely on road races, government lobbying, and corporate partnerships, but they’ve failed to establish a winning awareness brand. Prostate cancer awareness advocates have aligned with Movember, a masculine fundraising initiative that encourages men to grow mustaches to raise money for men’s health, but prostate cancer doesn’t own the mustache. They’ve launched a kitschy Save the Males campaign, but they don’t own that phrase, either.

Breast cancer and prostate cancer draw a natural comparison—similar numbers of men and women are diagnosed with and die from the diseases each year—but prostate cancer awareness advocates are facing some unique challenges. The physical screen for prostate cancer involves a doctor putting a hand up a man’s butt, for example. Prostate cancer treatment is even more devastating to the male sexual identity. “The thing that we find is very difficult is that—and forgive me for being a bit crass—if a man is thought to think with his groin, then prostate treatment is akin to a lobotomy,” Lockwood says. “It is so stigmatizing to a man’s perception of himself.” Even men who are acutely aware of prostate cancer don’t always want other men to be aware that they’re aware. “I’ve got guys with prostate cancer on Capitol Hill who won’t even sign onto a Prostate Cancer Awareness Month proclamation because it might challenge their virility,” he says.

The prostate cancer screen must be conducted via the rectum, but Lockwood assures men that unlike with a colonoscopy, the prostate mercifully sits “pretty close to the back door.” To help demystify the process, ZERO has launched a set of traveling examination buses equipped with “man caves” which ZERO reps park outside big box stores and sporting events to deliver what Lockwood calls ”man-centric healthcare.” Men can drop in, watch a comedy with some other dudes, then duck into one of two exam rooms to have their prostates felt by on-site doctors. Snacks are involved.

Meanwhile, the breast cancer awareness movement has been hard at work developing an even more enduring icon than the pink ribbon: It’s got boobs. Many women diagnosed with breast cancer lose their breasts to the disease in an effort to save their lives, but that hasn’t stopped marketers from focusing on the mammary. Saving women’s lives isn’t sexy. Boobs are. So breast cancer supporters are invited to “save the tatas,” express their love of “boobies,” peel off their bras, and strap on high-heels to support the effort.

Can activists spin the prostate the same way? Lockwood doesn’t think so. ”We’ve found that we have to completely remove sex from the issue, because it freaks men out,” Lockwood says. Supporters will approach him and say,”Why don’t you have cheerleaders out there? It would get tons of guys out,” Lockwood says. “It actually does the opposite. It shuts it down.”

Other prostate cancer awareness advocates are running with a new tactic: Confront the sexual anxiety head-on. Enter “Branko,” a beefy Czech man in a red tracksuit who roams the streets with a latex glove strapped to one hand, offering pro bono prostate exams to strangers and otherwise attempting to “go viral.” Branko is Borat—if all Borat wanted to do was feel dudes’ rectums for science—and he represents an attempt to exploit the fear over prostate screenings for good. Online, Branko lurks in an abandoned warehouse, laughing maniacally, snapping his glove, and beckoning men to “come here, little tushy” over the sounds of bleating sheep. In order to become more “aware” of the facts about prostate cancer—presented in an appropriated Eastern European typeface—online users must navigate to a mock-up of a leaky men’s shower, where a menacing Branko stands with one latex-covered index finger raised in the air.

The tagline of the campaign encourages men to “contact your family doctor and get checked before you get Czeched.”

“Men are basically big babies,” explains Dan Zenka, senior vice president of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, of the inspiration behind the campaign. (The Branko campaign is affiliated with PCF, but not ZERO). ”We don’t take care of our health. We put off the annual physicals. We ignore many of the important messages to our health. This is a very difficult disease for many men to get their heads around, and we wanted to use humor to break through the clutter.” The campaign is targeted specifically at younger men who may otherwise be apathetic about undergoing regular cancer screenings. “It’s not speaking to the men who are taking care of their health,” says Zenka. “It’s trying to break through to those who are afraid of it.”

The campaign has certainly stoked fears. I asked a few friends in the target demographic for their thoughts on the campaign. “Why is this happening in a weird warehouse? Is this supposed to make me never want to get important health screenings?” one asked. “This is very rapey,” another said. Despite Branko’s impressive scare tactics, the campaign has largely been ignored since it was rolled out last month. For prostate cancer awareness, it’s back to the drawing board.

Did You Know?

Don Swinford — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 18:09:54 +0000

Prostate Cancer is diagnosed in about 13-15% of men of European descent.
Men of African or African-American descent are twice as likely to have prostate cancer cells as men of European descent.
Men of African descent are often diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.

If you are reading this, you are not dead. Even diagnosed with prostate cancer, chances are good that your cancer won’t kill before something else does. Read at least some of the patient and doctor written articles about cancer symptoms, treatment and causes. Understand this…some men do die from cancer. It is vital to take time to understand what you can do to extend your life with the quality that you want.

Honor the men in your life …

Don Swinford — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:52:06 +0000

Support the Double the Drive Campaign this Father’s Day!

Dear DONALD,

First, I would like to wish all father’s a Happy Father’s Day!

Earlier this week, I was excited to tell you about ZERO’s Double the Drive Campaign to expand the Drive Against Prostate Cancer, our mobile prostate cancer testing program. We need your help! A charitable foundation has challenged us to double the number of men we test. It will match dollar for dollar, up to $1,000,000, all donations made towards dramatically expanding the most successful prostate cancer testing program in the nation.

Over the last ten years, ZERO — The Project to End Prostate Cancer has tested over 110,000 men, saving an estimated 7,000 lives. These are our dads, our grandfathers, our brothers and our sons.

Individuals and families that support the Double the Drive campaign with a $1,000 donation will have their name permanently placed on the side of the testing vehicles. You can use this opportunity to remember a loved one lost to prostate cancer or to honor of someone who is fighting the disease (There is a 50-character limit, including spaces). To make this donation as easy as possible, through the Double the Drive page, you have the ability to make a one time donation of $1,000 or 12 monthly payments of $83.33 charged to your credit card.

This is your chance to show America your commitment to ending prostate cancer through early detection!

Join Double the Drive

Thank you for your support. Once again, Happy Father’s Day! Together, we can make prostate cancer a bad memory!

Sincerely,

Skip Lockwood – CEO
ZERO — The Project to End Prostate Cancer

LIVESTRONG Day

Don Swinford — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 00:16:15 +0000

Dear Don,

Thirteen years ago today, I was diagnosed with cancer. Every year since then, October 2 has served as a reminder to me that even though cancer left my body, it will always be a part of my life.

And thanks to the commitment of LIVESTRONG supporters like you, what was a personal anniversary is now a day that the entire community can rally around. It’s a day when we come together and wear yellow, attend events and renew our commitment to fight cancer for as long as it takes—and to do our part to raise awareness of the 28 million people fighting cancer worldwide.

LIVESTRONG Day is a declaration that we won’t quit and we won’t retreat. That’s why events today will have a real impact by making our voice even louder:

www.livestrong.org/livestrongday

With each passing year, it becomes clearer that one day we’ll reach our goal of a world without cancer.

So many survivors are standing tall right now. So many friends, family members, and supporters are providing the strength and courage it takes to fight this disease.

The world needs to hear that defeating cancer is our highest priority. I appreciate all that you’re doing today to make that global statement loud and clear.

Thanks,

Lance Armstrong

P.S. Watch this powerful video LIVESTRONG put together showing what this day means—and carry this message with you today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL8mCjS0Noc

The BLUE SHOE Run for Prostate Cancer

Don Swinford — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:55:51 +0000

Run for your father, your husband, your brother, your friend. Run for you! Join The Blue Shoe Run for Prostate Cancer, a 5K run and 1.5-mile family walk. Team up with your family, friends and co-workers to raise money for prostate cancer screening, community education and research efforts on September 25th.

The Blue Shoe Run for Prostate Cancer will include a prostate cancer survivorship tent, education on risk factors and treatments for the disease, free food and drinks, live music, giveaways and more!

A prostate cancer screening will also take place throughout the morning. Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer today, but it’s also one of the most treatable forms of cancer when diagnosed at an early stage. African American men and men with a positive family history should begin annual prostate cancer screenings at age 40. All men should begin these screenings at age 50.

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

Don Swinford — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:35:51 +0000

Write your Senators today to support PCAM

This year more than 32,000 men will die from prostate cancer, but we can all help to reduce deaths from prostate cancer by raising awareness and educating men about prostate cancer.

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month is our chance to make a major impact in public awareness about the need for early detection, awareness and outreach.

S. Res. 597 was introduced last week with 28 co-sponsors in the Senate to show that our federal legislators are working to spread the word. Help us make sure that all 100 of our Senators pledge to help our cause!

Click here to write to your Senators today and ask that they co-sponsor S. Res. 597 designating September 2010 as “National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.”

Thank you in advance for taking action and being a difference maker.

Source: Zero: The Project to End Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer Deaths Up 17 Percent

Don Swinford — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:25:00 +0000

Testing debate to blame as mortality hits 10-year high

by Ashley Nagaoka | ZERO – The Project to End Prostate Cancer | 06.15.2010

Prostate cancer deaths are expected to jump 17 percent this year, according to estimates based on National Cancer Institute data.

The alarming 2010 statistics, released just prior to Father’s Day, has ZERO – The Project to End Prostate Cancer urging families to encourage Dad to get tested for the disease this Father’s Day because prostate cancer is the second leading cancer among Amercan men.

“If prostate cancer is diagnosed before it spreads, a patient has a 99 percent survival rate for five years,” ZERO Chief Operating Officer Jamie Bearse said.

“You can only diagnose cancer early through annual testing. This is the sad result of the PSA controversy created by the American Cancer Society and the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force. We need a better biomarker for the disease to distinguish slow growing tumors from deadly ones but in the meantime, we need to keep testing.”

The new numbers predict a 17 percent jump in deaths and a more than 13 percent rise in diagnosed cases this year as compared to 2009. It marks the greatest percentage increase since the mid-1990s.

	2009	2010	Increase Percentage
# of Men Diagnosed	192,280	*217,730	13.2%
# of Deaths	27,360	*32,050	17.1%

*Predicted Number of Cases

Source: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)

“The American Cancer Society claims it’s the official sponsor of birthdays, but it is condemning more men to their funerals because of its stance against the PSA test,” Bearse added.

“It’s not too late, however, and we can change these predictions. Encourage your Dad to get tested and give him the gift of life on this Father’s Day.”

Copyright ZERO – The Project to End Prostate Cancer 2010

ten26

Don Swinford — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 16:41:35 +0000

National Cancer Survivors Day^® is an annual, worldwide Celebration of Life that is held in hundreds of communities throughout the United States, Canada, and other participating countries. Participants unite in a symbolic event to show the world that life after a cancer diagnosis can be meaningful and productive.

In most areas, National Cancer Survivors Day is traditionally observed on the first Sunday in June, although this is not always possible due to scheduling conflicts and time differences. NCSD is celebrating its 23rd year in 2010.

The non-profit National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation supports hundreds of hospitals, support groups, and other cancer-related organizations that host National Cancer Survivors Day events in their communities by providing free guidance, education and networking. Anyone considering hosting an NCSD event can obtain a free NCSD Planning Guide.

Who is a cancer survivor? The National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation defines a “survivor” as anyone living with a history of cancer – from the moment of diagnosis through the remainder of life. National Cancer Survivors Day affords your community an opportunity to demonstrate that it has an active, productive cancer survivor population.

So be sure to attend an official National Cancer Survivors Day event in your area. To locate an event near you, e-mail info@ncsd.org or call 615-794-3006

Dennis Hopper, creator of hit ‘Easy Rider,’ dies

Don Swinford — Sat, 29 May 2010 19:44:10 +0000

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER

The Associated Press

2:28 p.m. Saturday, May 29, 2010LOS ANGELES — Dennis Hopper, the high-flying Hollywood wild man whose memorable and erratic career included an early turn in “Rebel Without a Cause,” an improbable smash with “Easy Rider” and a classic character role in “Blue Velvet,” has died. He was 74.

Hopper died Saturday at his home in the Los Angeles beach community of Venice, surrounded by family and friends, family friend Alex Hitz said. Hopper’s manager announced in October 2009 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The success of “Easy Rider,” and the spectacular failure of his next film, “The Last Movie,” fit the pattern for the talented but sometimes uncontrollable actor-director, who also had parts in such favorites as “Apocalypse Now” and “Hoosiers.” He was a two-time Academy Award nominee, and in March 2010, was honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

After a promising start that included roles in two James Dean films, Hopper’s acting career had languished as he developed a reputation for throwing tantrums and abusing alcohol and drugs. On the set of “True Grit,” Hopper so angered John Wayne that the star reportedly chased Hopper with a loaded gun.

He married five times and led a dramatic life right to the end. In January 2010, Hopper filed to end his 14-year marriage to Victoria Hopper, who stated in court filings that the actor was seeking to cut her out of her inheritance, a claim Hopper denied.

“Much of Hollywood,” wrote critic-historian David Thomson, “found Hopper a pain in the neck.”

All was forgiven, at least for a moment, when he collaborated with another struggling actor, Peter Fonda, on a script about two pot-smoking, drug-dealing hippies on a motorcycle trip through the Southwest and South to take in the New Orleans Mardi Gras.

On the way, Hopper and Fonda befriend a drunken young lawyer (Jack Nicholson, whom Hopper had resisted casting, in a breakout role), but arouse the enmity of Southern rednecks and are murdered before they can return home.

“‘Easy Rider’ was never a motorcycle movie to me,” Hopper said in 2009. “A lot of it was about politically what was going on in the country.”

Fonda produced “Easy Rider” and Hopper directed it for a meager $380,000. It went on to gross $40 million worldwide, a substantial sum for its time. The film caught on despite tension between Hopper and Fonda and between Hopper and the original choice for Nicholson’s part, Rip Torn, who quit after a bitter argument with the director.

The film was a hit at Cannes, netted a best-screenplay Oscar nomination for Hopper, Fonda and Terry Southern, and has since been listed on the American Film Institute’s ranking of the top 100 American films. The establishment gave official blessing in 1998 when “Easy Rider” was included in the United States National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Its success prompted studio heads to schedule a new kind of movie: low cost, with inventive photography and themes about a young, restive baby boom generation. With Hopper hailed as a brilliant filmmaker, Universal Pictures lavished $850,000 on his next project, “The Last Movie.”

The title was prescient. Hopper took a large cast and crew to a village in Peru to film the tale of a Peruvian tribe corrupted by a movie company. Trouble on the set developed almost immediately, as Peruvian authorities pestered the company, drug-induced orgies were reported and Hopper seemed out of control.

When he finally completed filming, he retired to his home in Taos, N.M., to piece together the film, a process that took almost a year, in part because he was using psychedelic drugs for editing inspiration.

When it was released, “The Last Movie” was such a crashing failure that it made Hopper unwanted in Hollywood for a decade. At the same time, his drug and alcohol use was increasing to the point where he was said to be consuming as much as a gallon of rum a day.

Shunned by the Hollywood studios, he found work in European films that were rarely seen in the United States. But, again, he made a remarkable comeback, starting with a memorable performance as a drugged-out journalist in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam War epic, “Apocalypse Now,” a spectacularly long and troubled film to shoot. Hopper was drugged-out off camera, too, and his rambling chatter was worked into the final cut.

He went on to appear in several films in the early 1980s, including the well regarded “Rumblefish” and “The Osterman Weekend,” as well as the campy “My Science Project” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.”

But alcohol and drugs continued to interfere with his work. Treatment at a detox clinic helped him stop drinking but he still used cocaine, and at one point he became so hallucinatory that he was committed to the psychiatric ward of a Los Angeles hospital.

Upon his release, Hopper joined Alcoholics Anonymous, quit drugs and launched yet another comeback. It began in 1986 when he played an alcoholic ex-basketball star in “Hoosiers,” which brought him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.

His role as a wild druggie in “Blue Velvet,” also in 1986, won him more acclaim, and years later the character wound up No. 36 on the AFI’s list of top 50 movie villains.

He returned to directing, with “Colors,” ”The Hot Spot” and “Chasers.”

From that point on, Hopper maintained a frantic work pace, appearing in many forgettable movies and a few memorable ones, including the 1994 hit “Speed,” in which he played the maniacal plotter of a freeway disaster. In the 2000s, he was featured in the television series “Crash” and such films as “Elegy” and “Hell Ride.”

“Work is fun to me,” he told a reporter in 1991. “All those years of being an actor and a director and not being able to get a job — two weeks is too long to not know what my next job will be.”

For years he lived in Los Angeles’ bohemian beach community of Venice, in a house designed by acclaimed architect Frank Gehry.

In later years he picked up some income by becoming a pitchman for Ameriprise Financial, aiming ads at baby boomers looking ahead to retirement. His politics, like much of his life, were unpredictable. The old rebel contributed money to the Republican Party in recent years, but also voted for Democrat Barack Obama in 2008.

Dennis Lee Hopper was born in 1936, in Dodge City, Kan., and spent much of his youth on the nearby farm of his grandparents. He saw his first movie at 5 and became enthralled.

After moving to San Diego with his family, he played Shakespeare at the Old Globe Theater.

Scouted by the studios, Hopper was under contract to Columbia until he insulted the boss, Harry Cohn. From there he went to Warner Bros., where he made “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Giant” while in his late teens.

Later, he moved to New York to study at the Actors Studio, where Dean had learned his craft.

Hopper’s first wife was Brooke Hayward, the daughter of actress Margaret Sullavan and agent Leland Hayward, and author of the best-selling memoir “Haywire.” They had a daughter, Marin, before Hopper’s drug-induced violence led to divorce after eight years.

His second marriage, to singer-actress Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, lasted only eight days.

A union with actress Daria Halprin also ended in divorce after they had a daughter, Ruthana. Hopper and his fourth wife, dancer Katherine LaNasa, had a son, Henry, before divorcing.

He married his fifth wife, Victoria Duffy, who was 32 years his junior, in 1996, and they had a daughter, Galen Grier.

___

Associated Press Writer Bob Thomas contributed to this report.

___

May 29, 2010 02:28 PM EDT

side effects of prostate cancer treatment

Don Swinford — Thu, 27 May 2010 21:49:41 +0000

A major concern for men who receive a prostate cancer diagnosis is how the disease and treatment will affect their day to day life. It’s important to know what to expect during and after treatment so you are prepared to make a decision on how you want to deal with the issue.

New and better treatments are saving more lives every day. However, treatments have side effects and you need to know the facts. It’s important to keep in mind that different treatments can present different side effects, so it is important to talk to your doctor about the side effects of each type of treatment before selecting your next course of action.

Side effects of prostate cancer treatment may include:

Incontinence – the inability to control urine flow when coughing, laughing, sneezing, or exercising.

Erectile Dysfunction – also known as impotence, is the inability to get an erection.

Fatigue – a daily lack of energy associated with excessive whole-body tiredness and not relieved by sleep.

Pain – not usually a major effect of treating local prostate cancer. However, advanced prostate cancer can cause pain, particularly when metastisized to the bone. Chemotherapy can also cause pain, anemia and nausea.

Bone Pain or Weakness – weakness and increased porousness in bone, can be caused by hormone therapy. Cancer that has metastasized to the bone can also cause pain.

Depression – Occasional feelings of sadness, anger and anxiety are normal for people going through a major challenge like cancer, but sometimes, these feelings just won’t go away. Feelings that persist may be a sign of a serious condition, and should be discussed with your doctor.

Certain treatments often come with certain side effects. Learn more about hormone therapy side effects and chemotherapy side effects.

SOURCE: ZERO – The Project to End Prostate Cancer

Generation ZERO

Don Swinford — Mon, 03 May 2010 23:18:07 +0000

You can invest in a future without prostate cancer.

ZERO leads the fight to end prostate cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men. By promoting greater awareness of the need for early detection and leveraging public resources for life-saving research and new treatments for those with advanced disease, we will win this fight.

We now look to the future to achieve our ultimate goal of creating a life-giving legacy for our sons and grandsons: the first generation of men who are free from prostate cancer – “Generation ZERO.”

Join us in creating this new generation, where prostate cancer becomes an obsolete health condition, much like polio. This new day is coming sooner than you may think.

Help us make it happen!

We seek your commitment to end prostate cancer by investing in Generation ZERO, a campaign to raise $2.5 million for free testing, research and community grants, and advocacy measures for increased federal funding to find a cure.

ZERO is launching a unique non-profit “IPO” – an “Immediate Public Opportunity” – so you and other supporters can show your commitment by purchasing shares of stock in Generation ZERO. This is your ground-floor opportunity to get more involved and make a profound difference.

The price of each share is $18.52, and 135,000 shares will be issued. The issuance amount represents the number of men who are expected to die of prostate cancer (27,000) during each of the next five years.

Click here to make your tax-deductible investment in a future free of prostate cancer!

Purchase shares of Generation ZERO.

did you know?

Don Swinford — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:56:48 +0000

Obesity and Weight Gain Near Time of Prostate Cancer Surgery Doubles Risk of Recurrence

Prostate cancer patients who gain five or more pounds near the time of their prostate surgery are twice as likely to have a recurrence of their cancer as compared with patients whose weight is stable, according to this Johns Hopkins University study.

Obesity and Weight Gain Near Time of Prostate Cancer Surgery Doubles Risk of Recurrence
EurekAlert.org | 04.19.2010

Gen. Powell Discusses Prostate Cancer on Facebook

Don Swinford — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:16:44 +0000

“Men should have regular prostate examinations,” Gen. Colin Powell advises his 22,700 Facebook followers. “Regular exams allowed me to deal with this problem early and make a full recovery.”

Gen. Powell Discusses Prostate Cancer on Facebook
by Paul Bedard | U.S. News & World Report | 04.06.2010

2010 Summit to End Prostate Cancer

Don Swinford — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 07:58:14 +0000

You can make a positive impact this Fall by representing ZERO and the entire prostate cancer community in Washington, D.C.

Registration for the 2010 “Summit to End Prostate Cancer” is now open!

This 2010 Summit, scheduled for September 14-16, will focus on effective strategies for increasing the Federal investment in prostate cancer research. During the Summit, participants will have the opportunity to meet with their elected officials on Capitol Hill and learn more about the federal legislative process.

Click here for more information and to register.

Is Robotic Prostate Surgery Best for Quality of Life?

Don Swinford — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 07:55:28 +0000

Patients with earlier stage cancers tend to fare better with non-surgical approaches than with surgery, according to this Virginia study of 785 men, which also found men treated with radioactive seeds generally did the best in terms of quality of life.

Is Robotic Prostate Surgery Best for Quality of Life?
Reuters Health | 04.05.2010

Running the Race Against Cancer

Don Swinford — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:07:48 +0000

Running the Race Against Cancer —Any Distance and Pace, any Location and Race.
Most of you have already picked out your racing events for this spring and summer, so why not make those races mean something more, something greater? Put more meaning—and reward—into every racing stride.

By Skip Cleaver

Redefine your personal best: Race for Dana-Farber
Did you know the next race you run could help find cancer cures? Join Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Running the Race Against Cancer® program and compete as an individual or as part of an official team while supporting Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund’s mission to conquer all forms of cancer.

Why you should run for Dana-Farber & the Jimmy Fund
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, located in Boston, Massachusetts, provides expert, compassionate care to children and adults across the globe and is home to revolutionary cancer discoveries. Since its founding in 1948, the Jimmy Fund has raised millions of dollars through thousands of community efforts to advance Dana-Farber’s lifesaving mission.

Choose your own race and pace
Through the Running the Race Against Cancer® program, you can run in any race, of any distance, in any city around the world while raising critical funds to benefit Dana-Farber in its pursuit to eradicate cancer. You set your own pace by choosing your racing event and establishing your own fundraising goals, with DFCI providing support every step of the way. Registering is easy. Once you’ve chosen your event and secured your race entry through the race’s official registration process, visit RunDanaFarber.org to officially join the Running the Race Against Cancer® program. All participants receive a personalized fundraising web page, fundraising incentives, and online tools that help you spread the word to everyone know that you’re racing toward the ultimate finish line: a world without cancer.

Join the team
You can also do your part to help fight this disease by joining an official Dana-Farber Team in one of a select group of races. As a team member, you will receive a race entry, Dana-Farber racing jersey, training support, and fundraising help to reach the team fundraising minimum requirement. Dana-Farber currently has teams in the following events: B.A.A. Half Marathon®, Bermuda International Race Weekend, Falmouth Road Race, and New York City Marathon.®

Want to learn more about joining an official team, or picking your own race to run?
Visit the Running the Race Against Cancer® website at: www.RunDanaFarber.org

Join the Facebook group! Search for “Running the Race Against Cancer,” to become a member of the Facebook group, and start connecting with other runners.

Connect w/ Text! Make a gift by texting “Jimmy” to 2022 to give $10 to the Jimmy Fund.

Your $10 gift will be charged to your mobile phone or deducted from your prepaid balance. Message and data rates may apply. Service available on most carriers. Full terms and conditions at www.hmgf.org/t. Text HELP to 20222 for help. Text STOP to 20222 to cancel.

For more information about Dana-Farber Cancer Institute visit: www. DanaFarber.org

new drug for advance prostate cancer

Don Swinford — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:23:47 +0000

CATEGORIES [ TREATMENT ]

New drug extends survival in advanced chemo-resistant prostate cancer

BY ELIZABETH WHITTINGTON | MARCH 5, 2010

Results announced at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium this week show impressive gains in prostate cancer, especially those with metastatic cancer and few treatment options. For men with chemotherapy-resistant advanced prostate cancer, hope may be in a new investigational chemotherapy presented at the meeting being held today through Sunday in San Francisco.

Although most prostate cancers respond to hormonal therapy, or androgen deprivation therapy, some do not. These hormone-resistant prostate cancers are usually treated with Taxotere (docetaxel), but if patients progress on the drug, patients usually have few, if any, options. A newer generation taxane-based drug, cabazitaxel, could provide those patients with another treatment.

The drug was shown to increase median survival by 30 percent. Of the 755 patients in the study, those who received cabazitaxel lived a median of 15.1 months compared with about 12.7 months in patients taking mitoxantrone–a highly significant difference, said Oliver Sartor, MD, who presented the study.

Patients with this type of advanced prostate cancer usually have about a year survival, but Sartor noted that twice as many patients reached the two-year survival mark with cabazitaxel. “It is also, I think, particularly meaningful for patients who really don’t have other alternatives today,” Sartor said at a press briefing prior to the conference.

Nicholas Vogelzang, MD, who moderated the press briefing Wednesday, noted that although a three month survival advantage may seem small, it is a huge advancement in terms of cancer research. “Almost all the advances in [cancers] have come in these sorts of incremental advances. Three months is a major clinical advance,” he told reporters. “It is exactly the same difference that led the FDA to approve docetaxel, and docetaxel now has become more and more widely used.”

The phase III international study, called TROPIC, compared cabazitaxel, which is administered intravenously once every three weeks, with mitoxantrone, a commonly used chemotherapy, but one that has shown no survival benefit in this patient population. Sartor noted that researchers chose to use mitoxantrone to give patients an active therapy, as opposed to a placebo. All patients received the steroid prednisone. Further results of the study will be presented at the 2010 ASCO annual meeting in early June, including progression-free survival, tumor response rates, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response. However, researchers have suggested that those results are also favorable.

The maker of cabazitaxel, Sanofi-Aventis, is working with the FDA on submitting the drug for approval soon and was granted fast-track status in December. If approved, it could be available as early as end of this year.

Vogelzang said the argument could also be made now that the drug could be used earlier, “…now that there is something that works, the therapy might be given earlier and the survival advantage could potentially become even greater.”

Current trials are looking into whether the drug should be given before hormone-resistant cancers progress on Taxotere, as well as in other tumor types.

You can view the study abstract at www.asco.org.

Ten26 is …..

Don Swinford — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:37:06 +0000

OCTOBER 26: Not just another day. It’s the day I discovered a few things about my life: the true meaning of friendship, the love and support of my family, and the strength and peace that only God can give. It’s the day I was diagnosed with cancer. It’s the day I became a survivor!

God has given me the courage to face it, the knowledge and wisdom to fight it, and His grace to beat it.

Check out my new blog …..

I’m currently posting at Face it … Fight it … Beat it . Come join the conversation.

going dark for a while

Don Swinford — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:59:11 +0000

Check out my previous posts.

Enjoy!

Mushroom ‘shrinks cancer tumours by 75 percent’

Don Swinford — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:06:00 +0000

by Tamara Cohen | DailyMail.co.uk | 11.30.2009

A mushroom used in Chinese cooking is a potential weapon against cancer, shrinking tumours by up to 75 per cent, a new study has found.

The Maitake mushroom, which grows up to eight inches in diameter, could help combat bladder and prostate cancer which kill 15,000 British people every year.

Dr. Sensuke Konno found combining a tiny concentrated extract of the mushroom with an anti-cancer proteins called interferon alpha, reduced the growth of bladder and prostate cancer cells in patients by up to three quarters.

Anti-cancer proteins, used in other treatments, are only needed in small doses, according to the research by a team at New York Medical Centre which was published in the British Journal of Urology.

They believe the two used together at low doses may activate an enzyme that controls cancer cell growth.

Dr. Konno said hailed it as a ‘very significant’ breakthrough. He said combining the two ‘not only enhances the efficacy of the treatment but also improves the quality of life of the patients by reducing the dose of conventional therapies significantly.’

Dr. Alison Ross, senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK said: ‘Many chemotherapy drugs currently in use have been derived from natural substances found in plants so it is not too far-fetched to think that mushrooms could be a valuable source of anti-cancer drugs.’

Lifestyle and prostate cancer

Don Swinford — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:27:12 +0000

BY LENA HUANG

Two studies released this month shed light on how health and nutrition can affect prostate cancer patients. One study involved the impact of exercise and the other looked at red and processed meat consumption.

In “Can Men Reduce the Risk of Prostate Cancer Through Lifestyle Changes?” published in the Journal of Urology, researchers examined 190 men who underwent prostate biopsy at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In that group, researchers found that men who exercised moderately, such as walking three to six hours a week, were less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Researchers also found that of the men who were diagnosed, those who exercised had a lower risk of high-grade disease.

In another study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, researchers at the National Cancer Institute followed more than 175,000 men for nine years and found that men whose diets were high in red meat and processed meat had increased risks for developing prostate cancer at any stage. Further, researchers looked at cooking methods and found that men who ate meats cooked at high temperatures, such as with grilling and barbecuing, were also linked to increased risk for prostate cancer. A similar connection was found between men whose diets were high in nitrates, which are chemicals used to preserve and cure meats, such as bacon and ham. For more on this topic and ways to grill healthier, check out my article “Good Grilling.”

While additional studies need to be completed on these topics, these studies provide more evidence that changes in lifestyle can influence our risk of certain cancers. And this is a powerful message–that we can make choices and change behaviors that may give us a better chance not get to cancer, and many other diseases, in the future.

Singer Charlie Wilson on Prostate Cancer Awareness

Don Swinford — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:27:17 +0000

Every year, one in six American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer. The former lead singer of the Gap Band, Charlie Wilson, is now cancer-free, but is promoting awareness.

Charlie Wilson is known for singing R&B hits, but he also wants to remind men about the importance of getting regular prostate checkups.

Wilson was diagnosed with cancer in 2008. “When the doctor told me I had prostate cancer I saw my whole career in the trash can,” said the singer.

According to Dr. Willie Underwood, III, Roswell Park Urologic Oncologist, African-American men are one and a half times more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer and twice as likely to die and that is shame.”

Wilson told a crowd at Roswell Park “we (men) are ashamed of the exam, it’d be senseless to die of shame.”

Wilson wears his signature hat in concert and it is sold at his shows. Half of the proceeds go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

Southern Baptist president has prostate cancer

Don Swinford — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:50:42 +0000

Submitted by Chris Smith

NASHVILLE (AP) — Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt has announced that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

In a statement released through the Baptist Press, he said he will undergo initial treatment in January.

The 57-year-old Hunt, pastor of the Atlanta-area First Baptist Church of Woodstock, was elected SBC president at the convention’s June 2008 annual meeting in Indianapolis and re-elected at this year’s meeting in Louisville, Ky.

Hunt said he believes the cancer was detected early and that doctors have monitored his prostate carefully.

The PSA Test: 7 Reasons It Still Matters

Don Swinford — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:07:47 +0000

by Dr. Ford Vox | U.S. News & World Report | 11.13.2009

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force asked doctors last year to stop checking PSA levels in elderly men—the very men who are most likely to have prostate cancer. By age 75, the officials reasoned, doctors are more likely to keep tinkering with their patients until they die of treatment side effects or something other than prostate cancer altogether. This spring, the New England Journal of Medicine published two long-term studies that questioned whether knowing a man’s PSA level actually helps men survive. Healthcare commentators say that PSAs set off a cascade of overtreatment, endangering patients and tolerating wasteful medicine, and that patients should be wary.

You might expect that the surgical specialists at the center of prostate cancer treatment would have reined in their PSA testing, but they haven’t. The American Urological Association actually lowered its recommendation for the age at which doctors should start offering patients the PSA test from 50 to 40. It was the first revision of the guidelines in nearly a decade. The next one, says Kirsten Greene, a urologist who worked on the committee, should take just a year, in light of the accelerating data and heightened public debate.

“The key change is how we react to abnormal tests and to a cancer diagnosis, which is generally less aggressively for some men than in the past,” says Gerald Andriole, chief of urologic surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Andriole says that men shouldn’t be afraid to get diagnosed; good urologists avoid overtreating less-dangerous cancers. Active surveillance or targeted attacks on very small tumors that spare healthy prostate tissue are both popular options.

From the latest research, here are seven reasons why urologists are encouraging men of any age who expect to live at least another 10 years to think hard about getting a PSA test, even if they have to pay out of pocket:

1. Keeping tabs on PSA saves lives. Many urologists flat out reject a large study published in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this year that found men who got the PSA test did worse than men who didn’t. The dissenters say the results weren’t trustworthy—many of the men who weren’t supposed to get tested actually did, thanks to their proactive primary-care docs. Another recent large NEJM study found that nine years after entering the study, men who got regular PSA screening were 20 percent less likely to die of prostate cancer. One model suggests the PSA test has contributed to much of the 30 percent decline in prostate cancer deaths seen in recent decades.

2. There’s no magic PSA number. In the urologists’ latest recommendations, it is clear that there’s no one-size-fits-all age at which to be tested or bad PSA number. For many years, a particular reading of 4 or above was a battle cry that called for a biopsy or aggressive treatment. In reality, any reading is suspect. Without knowing much more about him, studies give a middle-aged man a 10 percent chance of having visible cancer on biopsy even if his PSA level is zero. Today, doctors consider a single PSA number in the context of your specific health background, race, and family history (it may also help diagnose benign enlargement or an infection), and then suggest when to be tested next. If you do get a biopsy, the criteria for serious concern are stricter, and there are more conservative treatment options.

3. Velocity matters. Your first PSA test is neither your last nor your most important. Depending on your age and your current PSA number, the question is how much, and how fast, subsequent test numbers increase. Researchers are busy determining just how much velocity is normal. (Some researchers say a speed bump of more than 0.25 in one year for a 40-year-old man should prompt concern.) Every man generates a history of data points his doctors can interpret in light of the research.

4. There’s more than one kind of PSA to measure. Enlarged but noncancerous prostates usually release “free” PSA that circulates through the body, while PSA produced by cancer cells tends to attach itself to proteins in your blood. By considering the ratio of the types of PSA, as is done by looking at the ratio of bad to good cholesterol for heart disease, doctors can offer you better advice about your risk and what you should do next.

5. The younger you are, the more meaningful the PSA test. Older prostates tend to get bigger and put out more PSA, complicating interpretation. Higher PSA levels at a younger age are an indicator of elevated risk and call for closer monitoring of factors like your PSA velocity. At the same time, prostate cancer therapies are most effective and sparing of function when the cancer is at an early stage.

6. PSA numbers reveal your prognosis and are critical in follow-up. If you do develop a serious form of prostate cancer that requires aggressive treatment, your PSA levels prior to treatment will help your medical team determine the risk of recurrence. It’s one factor among many others, such as how the tumor looked under the microscope after surgery, but the latest studies show it’s of real value. After surgery to remove the prostate, the PSA test is even more critical: Detection of extremely minute levels can signal cancer recurrence. The earlier doctors know the cancer is back, the earlier patients can decide about secondary treatments like radiation and hormonal therapy.

7. For now, PSA is the best we’ve got. Scientists are looking hard for a better “biomarker” than the PSA, ideally one that doesn’t require so much deliberation. Candidates are surfacing, but they require more proof. Physical measures like the prostate’s size can be misleading, as Mayo Clinic researchers reminded us this week. Studies show that a digital rectal exam plus a PSA test is the surest way to pick up prostate cancer. But if you’ve got to pick only one test, PSA is still the best.

Get Your Medical Questions Answered by the Experts

Don Swinford — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:24:37 +0000

From Advanced Prostate Cancer

Malecare, under the direction and with the hard work of its Executive Director, Darryl Mitteldorf, has started a new web site (www.prostatecanceradvice.org) that is designed to allow anyone with a medical question about prostate to get an expert’s opinion.

Three medical experts in prostate cancer issues: medical oncologists Drs. “Snuffy” Myers and Daniel Petrylak, and naturopath Dr. Geo Espinosa will answer your questions.

Check out this new site at www.prostatecanceradvice.org.

TEN26