In the News

Men's Breast Cancer

A recent study led by Dr. Anita Aggarwal, an oncologist at the Washington, DC, VA Medical Center, is the most extensive look yet at the prevalence of the disease among VA patients. She and her colleagues combed the VA Central Cancer Registry to learn more about how many men in VA have the disease and how it compares with breast cancer among female Veterans who receive care in VA. Aggarwal presented the findings at a meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology in early June.

“In the general population, it’s very rare,” points out Aggarwal, noting that fewer than one percent of breast cancer cases occur in men. She says it’s on the rise, though, with data showing a 26 percent increase from 1975 to 2010.

Scientists don’t yet have a handle on why that is, but they do know that men with breast cancer are typically diagnosed at a later stage than their female peers.

“With men, there’s a delay in detection,” says Aggarwal. “There’s less awareness, no screening. And men don’t palpate their breasts every month, as do many women. All these factors combine.”

What The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Is Doing About Cancer Survivorship

As the number of cancer survivors grows, CDC is addressing issues related to survivorship. CDC works with public, non-profit, and private partners to create and implement successful strategies to help the millions of people in the United States and other countries who live with, through, and beyond cancer.

Together with other national partners, CDC supports the Cancer Survivorship Research Conference. This biennial meeting brings together researchers, clinicians, cancer survivors, advocates, policymakers, and public health experts to share the latest research and interventions designed to improve the long-term health and quality of life for cancer survivors and their families. Read more here...

Collecting Cancer Info

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) provides state-specific benchmarks for cancer prevention (tobacco use, nutrition, physical activity, and weight gain as measured by obesity) and early detection (mammograms, Pap tests, and colorectal and prostate cancer screening tests). In recent years, questions were added to the BRFSS survey to help public health professionals determine cancer prevalence in their states.

BRFSS is the world's largest ongoing telephone health survey. It has tracked health conditions and risk behaviors in the United States yearly since 1984. In 2009, respondents were asked the following four survivorship questions. These questions will be repeated every five years. Read more here...

Dann Cuellar Lost His Wife to OC

Last year, Dann Cuellar's wife, Marilyn, lost a long battle with ovarian cancer. The devastation of that loss, he says, sometimes makes what he does a little easier.

"When you go through something that you've reported on over the years, you gain a connection," he says. "You acquire a sense of wisdom that makes you understand. Until you go through it yourself, you can't really relate."

But there are times when talking with grieving families becomes overwhelming. When that happens, Cuellar retreats to the racquetball court for a game or two. Or goes to Home Depot to think up new projects. Or, sometimes, lights up a cigar and enjoys watching Bugs Bunny rag on Elmer Fudd. Read more here...

...and for all sufferers of ovarian cancer

Mike Sargent was playing golf at Woodland Hills Country Club a few weeks ago, wearing the lone constant in his wardrobe: white, dri-fit socks with the teal logo "run for her."

The Calabasas resident wears the same style socks every day and has dozens of pairs in a crate in his garage. He wears them around the house with loafers and sandals. He wears them with golf shoes and tennis shoes. About the only place he doesn't wear them is weddings.

With just two holes left in that round, one of Sargent's playing partners, whom he didn't know, finally asked: "Are you wearing your wife's socks?"

No. They're his socks. He wears them for her.

She is his late wife, Nanci Sargent. The two shared the ultimate love story. They were married 39 years, and had three children and countless friends. Nanci used to host family and friends for barbecues and parties at their home. But after an eight-year battle with ovarian cancer, Nanci died in 2008...

Dogs watch us all the time and read our body language like a sixth sense. They also smell our bodies for changes. Max smelt cancer in Maureen before any medical scans could pick it up. Dogs do this naturally and can be trained to pick up on tiny volatile chemicals given off by cancerous tumors. They can even be taught to alert diabetics to low blood sugar levels.

This is a channel from BBC Worldwide who help fund new BBC programs. Visit http://www.bbcearth.com for all the latest animal news and wildlife videos.

Ovarian Cancer Rates by State
In these maps, the U.S. states are divided into groups based on the rates at which women developed or died from ovarian cancer in 2010, which is the most recent year with numbers available. Rates of Getting Ovarian Cancer by State The number of people who get ovarian cancer is called ovarian cancer incidence. In the United States, the rate of getting ovarian cancer varies from state to state.

Read more here...

I wish I had breast cancer
In an attention-getting campaign that launched this week, the British Pancreatic Cancer Action organization, which includes high-profile patron Hugh Grant, seeks to raise awareness of the seriousness of pancreatic cancer, one of the most fatal forms of the disease. In print messages featuring real patients that will be appearing in newspapers and Underground stations, as well as a haunting video clip, the damning statistics are revealed – it’s the U.K.’s fifth biggest cause of cancer death, with a 3 percent survival rate. And then there’s the kicker – the patients declare, “I wish I had testicular cancer.” “I wish I had breast cancer.” Well, we can’t all be lucky enough to get those. Read more here...

Helping cancer patients and raising funds for charity
When Surbhi Sarna was 13, she suffered from complex, repeat ovarian cysts. Physicians could not tell whether or not one of the cysts were cancerous. The only way to get a definitive answer was to do an invasive surgery that would risk not only her fertility but spreading the potential cancer as well. That being said, the only real option was to wait and see if the cyst grew larger. Surbhi was lucky, and the cyst turned out to be benign, but it was then that she decided she would try to one day start a company dedicated to women’s health. Read more here...

Helping cancer patients and raising funds for charity
Keri Manthorpe, a care assistant is a cut above the rest after shaving her head to raise money for a cancer charity. And Keri has also donated her long blonde locks to charity so the hair can be transformed into wigs for cancer patients. “I wanted to do something for a cancer charity as my auntie died after suffering from ovarian cancer and I have seen an increase in cancer patients at work.” said Keri, whose aunt died last year aged 56. Read more here...

Women Ignorant About Details of Sex and Pregnancy
US study reveals that women are not aware of some of the essential facts about sex, fertility, pregnancy and their reproductive health.

The research was conducted by Yale University via an online survey of 1,000 women aged 18-40 from across the United States.

Just one in 10 women knew that sex was required before ovulation, not after, in order to optimize the chances of pregnancy, said the findings in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

More than one third thought that certain sex positions, like raising one's hips, could increase the chance of pregnancy.

About 40 percent thought their ovaries were continually producing new eggs.

Read more here...

Interview with Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Six years ago when Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz was 41, just weeks after a clean mammogram, she experienced that horrible feeling far too many have felt—that moment when you find out you have breast cancer. After seven surgeries and once she was cancer-free, she knew she had to use her own experiences with breast cancer to help other young women dealing with the pain and difficulty of diagnosis and treatment. Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz's teenage daughter had asked if she will also get breast cancer someday. Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz knows she can’t promise her that she won’t face the same cancer, especially because she carries a genetic mutation that dramatically increased her chances of getting breast or ovarian cancer. One thing that she can promise her daughters is that she will fight to make sure they grow up in a world that is determined to give them access to the best health care opportunities possible.

ELLE Gallagher is a 23-year-old determined to make a difference.
Losing her best friend's mum, Sue Niddrie, to ovarian cancer four months ago was devastating. Soon afterwards her four-year-old son's grandma, Susan Miller, was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the face of so much heartbreak, Ms Gallagher wanted to do something to help others who will go through the same thing down the track. She has been working around the clock to hold a charity ball to raise funds for the Cancer Council. It's a feat she is attempting largely on her own, so she is extremely grateful to her friends and family for chipping in. The money will go towards helping those with breast and gynaecological cancers. Read more here...

Students create paper cranes to lift a teacher's spirits
Mia and Tina had never met Marilyn Ling, a reading teacher at Land O'Lakes High School whose absence has been keenly felt by students and staff since she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Even so, the two students handcrafted a gift of 1,000 paper cranes for Ling. "We just wanted to give her hope," said Mia, 14. "We were happy to make her happy," said Tina, 14. In a span of four months, the students worked together to make as many as 200 cranes a day, in pink, gold and light blue. They worked during classes, with occasional help from other students, during lunchtimes and at home. Read more here...

Bicycle ride in memory of lost loved ones
Texas House Representative Ken King spoke at the Texas Federation of Republican Women’s luncheon about the 83rd legislative session and his plans for the new year. After the primary election in March, in which King is running unopposed, he plans to get right to work on his new foundation for ovarian cancer, KK125. King lost his mother to the disease, known as the silent killer, last year and is setting out through this program to raise awareness.

Through this foundation, King is pushing for the CA 125 test to be paid for by insurance companies. This blood test detects ovarian cancer sooner than any other, as most women do not find out they have the disease until they are already in stage four, but in order to have the test done, it must currently be paid for out of pocket. Read more here...

Bicycle ride in memory of lost loved ones
Mandy Mander is training for a 100km midnight cycle ride across London in aid of three cancer charities and in memory of family and friends who died from the disease. She will join more than 2,000 women on Saturday, May 31, to raise money for Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, Ovarian Cancer Action and Breast Cancer Care. She has lost several family members and friends to cancer, including her mum Jill Farmery, who was 65 when she died suffering lung, back and liver cancer. Read more here...

Houston’s MD Anderson Partners With Pfizer on Cancer Immunotherapies
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has a new partnership with Pfizer that moves forward a key component of the hospital’s year-old “Moon Shots” program aimed at dramatically improving survival of cancer patients. The three-year agreement with Pfizer is designed to accelerate the delivery of immune-based treatments to cancer patients, the development of new combination therapies, and the identification of useful biomarkers for guiding and monitoring treatment. Read more here...

Hear Mandisa explain the story behind her newest album 'Overcomer'!

Kelli Richmond Ovarian Cancer Foundation" names Sarah Sibley its November Recipient
Ovarian cancer patient Wanda Waite never knew Kelli Richmond, but her life has been touched by the young woman who lost her very public battle with the disease more than a year ago. Waite was the first recipient of “Birthday Wishes” granted by the Kelli Leigh Richmond Ovarian Cancer Foundation, which was started in May by her parents, Patsy and Ron Richmond. Read more here...

Jane Van Voorst
Jane Van Voorst of Bellingham lost her mother to breast cancer, so she tried to protect herself by reporting her family history, getting an annual mammogram and living a healthy lifestyle. But, no one told Van Voorst she also had a high risk of developing ovarian cancer until she was diagnosed late stage. Read more here...

"I Feel Like I've Beat Cancer." - Carlette, Breast Cancer Survivor
Growing up, cancer was a common topic in Carlette Knox’s household. One of five daughters, Carlette’s mother was a two-time breast cancer survivor who eventually lost her fight with pancreatic cancer in 2011. Her father died of colon cancer, and many members of her family fought cancer in some form. Yet when Carlette felt a lump in her breast in fall of 2009 at the young age of 34, she blew it off hoping it would go away on its own. Read more here...

Climbing Te Anau's mountainous Kepler Track...
may be the easiest challenge Angela McEwan conquers this year. After McEwan's sister was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer, she became determined to raise awareness of the commonly misdiagnosed disease. "My sister initially had vague symptoms of tiredness, bloating, and abdominal pain," McEwan said. Read more here...

Dr. Jennifer Wu
Do you know the symptoms and warning signs of ovarian cancer? Dr. Jennifer Wu, an OB/GYN at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York explains the latest medical advice about detection and screening.

Survivor Jill Pall Continues Fundraising Efforts to Help Kicking For The Dream Fight Ovarian Cancer
"Jill is amazing! Her story is so inspirational - she is a true teal warrior," says Kicking For The Dream founder NFL kicker Billy Cundiff. "We are so blessed to have her participation in Kicking For The Dream and her support of Colleen's Dream. Jill is competing for the top fundraiser spot in our Kicking For The Dream project. We are blown away by her effort and enthusiasm."
Read more here...

Lord Saatchi: Let cancer doctors innovate to help save more lives
Maurice Saatchi's 'Medical Innovation' Bill has its second reading before the House of Commons, in England tomorrow. If passed into law, it would give greater legal protection to doctors, allowing them to try new treatments and reduce the prospect of litigation if something went wrong. In an article for ITV News, the Conservative peer explains how the death of his wife from cancer drove him to campaign for the change.
Read more here...

November 20th, 2013
Saturday Christine ran the Dirty Girl Mud Run, she was really looking forward to running (and getting dirty) with the "A Mom’s Take " Giveaway winner, Alisha Barton. Although Christine woke up with a cold she knew that nothing was going to stop her from having fun and getting crazy muddy.
Read more here...

OVARIAN CANCER WALK 2013
This is a really fun video: