How much should we rely on cancer studies?

It seems as though there is a new cancer study every week.  "Don't eat this", "eat only these things", "breathing certain chemicals can cause cancer", etc.   So, how do we know when to follow the study and when to take the information with a grain of salt? 

In my experience, it depends on who sponsors the study and who administers the study.  A "pro red meat" study sponsored by butchers and cattle farmers isn't going to hold as much weight for me.  Similarly, I'm taking a new study from Boston University with a few grains of salt. 

A new study published online in the American Journal of Public Health shows that even low levels of alcohol consumption can be a risk factor for cancer.  "The researchers also found that each alcohol-related cancer death accounted for an average of 18 years of potential life lost. In addition, although higher levels of alcohol consumption led to a higher cancer risk, average consumption of 1.5 drinks per day or less accounted for 30 percent of all alcohol-attributable cancer deaths." (Source)  The study was completed in conjunction with researchers in the US, Canada, and France. 

The reason I'm taking this study with a bit of salt, though, is because of this:  "Naimi and colleagues from the National Cancer Institute, the Alcohol Research Group, Public Health Institute and the Toronto-based Centre for Addiction and Mental Health examined recent data on alcohol consumption and cancer mortality" (Source)  While I believe there could be a connection between regular drinking and cancer risk, I have a bit of an issue with 2 alcohol/addiction groups examining the data.  It's very easy to manipulate data to back up your theory. 

To me, a glass of wine or a bottle of beer a few times a week is fine.  A bottle of wine or a 6-pack of beer regularly?  That's something you may want to scale back.  Moderation, as always, is key.  And, as Naimi even says, the stats sound scary, but the risks for mild to moderate drinkers are very low. "The people who drink small amounts of alcohol needn't be duly concerned about this," he said. "But it is important to recognize that when it comes to cancer, there's no free lunch."(Source)

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Relay Kick Off and Lung Cancer

Our Kick Off is this Tuesday, 2/5/2013, at the American Cancer Society office in West Bridgewater.  The address is 5 Manley Street in West Bridgewater (off 106, just across from the Lowe's).  We hope to see you there!

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Two weeks ago, Governor Deval Patrick proposed a tobacco tax increase of $1 per pack.  This will bring the tax rate to $3.51, and it also equalizes the tax rate across other tobacco products, including flavored cigars and chewing tobacco.  This will raise $135 million in taxes for the Commonwealth.  Also, according to the data, this increase would lead to 25,000 adult smokers quitting and reduce the youth smoking rate by 9%.  It may only be $1, but it has a huge impact. 

This is also a good way to think and talk about Relay fundraising.  Maybe the people you ask can't afford to give much, but even the loose change in their pocket would help.  You could try collecting cans for the redemption value or having a penny drive.  Every dollar we raise gets us that much closer to a cure.

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According to an article I read on Yahoo! Health, women have caught up to men in their risk for lung cancer.  The study was posted in the New England Journal of Medicine, and it is considered to be one of the most comprehensive studies of the long-term trends of the effects of smoking.  It included a generation of women who started smoking early and continued for years.

The studies showed that the risk of dying from lung cancer was 25 times higher for female smokers in recent years than among those who never smoked.  According to the information they had, the risk was only three times higher in the 1960s. 

They also showed that a person who never smokes is 2 times as likely to live to age 80 than a smoker.  And, smokers in the US are 3 times more likely to die between 25 and 79 than non smokers, with 60% of the deaths being related to smoking.  There is some evidence that smoking-related deaths have increased with the changes to cigarette structure - smokers tend to inhale more deeply to receive the nicotine their body craves.  According to Dr. Michael Thun, one of the study leaders, "deeper inhalation is consistent with the kind of lung damage seen in the illnesses that are rising.   You can read the full article here.
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30 Years of Scientific Breakthroughs

Kick-Off is scheduled for Tuesday, February 5th at 6:30 PM at the West Bridgewater Office of the American Cancer Society.  We hope to see you there!

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A newly approved cancer drug has cast light on a 30-year history of scientific breakthroughs allowing non-operable cancers to be treated by manipulating and mutating a certain human gene.

Thirty years ago, scientists began a quest to determine how a bunch of cells could transform into a fully-formed body.  The scientists eventually identified 50+ genes that control the formation of an embryo, including one named hedgehog that has become the basis of many drug development studies since. 

The hedgehog gene (so named because, when mutated, it caused fruit flies to develop a coat of spines on their undersides) was connected to certain cancers, as discovered by Dr. Matthew Scott and a team led by Dr. Ervin Epstein Jr. at UC-San Francisco in 1996.  Specifically, the connection was present in basal cell carcinoma (the most common human cancer) and medulloblastoma (a pediatric brain cancer).

Specifically, this discovery eventually led to the development of Erivedge, a new drug approved by the FDA in January of 2012.  This drug treats inoperable basal cell by inhibiting the hedgehog molecular signaling pathway.  The development of this drug will hopefully lead to more types of these cancer drugs in a shorter timeline, such as ones to treat pancreatic, esophageal, and ovarian cancers.

Studies like these lead to many cancer breakthroughs.  We have the opportunity to be involved in a more broad-based study through the Cancer Prevention Study-3 with the American Cancer Society.  ACS is looking for another 115,000 participants by the end of December.  If you are interested, between the ages of 30 and 65, and you haven't been diagnosed with cancer (other than basal cell carcinoma), please look into the study.  You will complete a questionnaire, have your waist measured, and have some blood drawn.  The blood is not connected to your name, and all testing is done anonymously.  They are looking for markers to match up with lifestyle and environmental factors to see what has an effect on cancer development.  If you have any questions, please let us know.  You can review the list of enrollment sites and more information here - Cancer Prevention Study-3.

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook! You can also reach the website at http://www.relaybridgewater.org/ or email us at relaybridgewater@gmail.com.

Oral Chemotherapy Parity Bill signed by Gov. Patrick

Our next committee meeting is tomorrow at 6PM at the West Bridgewater American Cancer Society office - 5 Manley Street in West Bridgewater.  Anyone is welcome to attend this meeting and join the committee.

Also, Kick Off is officially scheduled for Tuesday, February 5th at 6:30 PM at the West Bridgewater American Cancer Society office.  We are looking forward to seeing all of you!

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Governor Deval Patrick officially signed the oral chemotherapy parity bill on Saturday, January 5th.  This has been an American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) priority to ensure all forms of chemotherapy are accessible and affordable.  Prior to this bill, chemotherapy pills were billed under prescription drug plans, while intravenous types were billed as a medical benefit.  The parity bill now treats them as the same, and it has the potential to cut thousands of dollars in out of pocket costs for those fighting cancer.

Before the bill was signed, private insurance plans would charge higher co-pays for oral chemoterapy plls and they would fall under a category allowing for no annual out-of-pocket limits for patients.  This meant that this form of treatment could be inaccessible due to the expense.  Now, oral and IV chemotherapy will be treated as the same by insurers, which gives more patients options for their treatment.  This breakdown of the bill from the Oklahoma ACS CAN further explains why this action from Governor Patrick was so important.

This bill was originally brought to my attention through my membership in ACS CAN, the lobby arm of the American Cancer Society.  You can join here and help us make cancer advocacy a priority.  

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook! You can also reach the website at http://www.relaybridgewater.org/ or email us at relaybridgewater@gmail.com.

Happy Holidays and Thoughts for Newtown

**I schedule these blog posts a few days ahead of time, so I had already written last week's post days before the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School happened.  I still can't process what went on, but my thoughts and prayers are with the community in Newtown, who, like us, were probably planning and gearing up for their Relay on June 1st.  I am planning to run a virtual 5K on January 31st, and I will be making a donation to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund.  If you'd like, they are also collecting paper snowflakes in many areas to send to the school.  The snowflakes must be sent by 1/12/2013, and I believe they must be laminated for safety/to make them last longer.**

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Katie Boutilier, one of our staff partners at the American Cancer Society, emailed over a holiday card that I'd like to share with you.  Thank you for everything you do, and have a safe and happy holiday season.  We will be back to regular posting next week, and we look forward to seeing all of your bright and shining faces at Kickoff on February 5th at the ACS office in West Bridgewater!

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook! You can also reach the website at http://www.relaybridgewater.org/ or email us at relaybridgewater@gmail.com.

2013 Meeting Schedule

Without further ado, here it is!  What you've all been waiting for!  The schedule for our 2013 meetings!!!

All meetings will be held at the American Cancer Society office in West Bridgewater (5 Manley Street, just off 106.  There is a Wendy's on the corner of Manley, and the Lowe's is right across 106.)

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook! You can also reach the website at http://www.relaybridgewater.org/ or email us at relaybridgewater@gmail.com.

Do carotenoids reduce breast cancer risk?

Our next committee meeting is this coming Monday, December 10th at 5:30 PM at the American Cancer Society office in West Bridgewater - 5 Manley Street, across 106 from the Lowe's.  There is a Wendy's on the corner of Manley Street, and the ACS building is just down on the right-hand side.  Please join us if you can!

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Do Carotenoids Reduce Breast Cancer Risk?

There is a new study by researchers at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School that found a "statistically significant association" between high levels of carotenoids and a reduced breast cancer risk, especially with the ER-negative breast cancers where tumors don't rely on estrogen to grow. 

The study, published in the December 6th issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, concluded that "A diet high in carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables offers many health benefits, including a possible reduced risk of breast cancer." (source)  Another doctor unconnected to the research, Dr. Stephanie Bernik, agreed with the assessment.  She said the researchers "have shown that there appears to be a real benefit to higher circulating levels of the micronutrients. The present study has more conclusively shown that there probably is some truth to what we tell patients regarding their diets ... the foods that your mother always told you are good for you, truly are good for you."

So, where do we find these "carotenoids", anyway?  They are in carrots, spinach, kale, tomatoes, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, and other vegetables.  I try to eat 3-5 servings of vegetables a day, and I find that blending a handful or 2 of spinach in a chocolate smoothie make it pretty easy to hit that goal.  (No, you do not taste the spinach at all!)  For others, a large salad with many colorful vegetables may help increase your carotenoid consumption. 

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Can Certain Foods Increase Our Risk Of Cancer?

Now, I've been promoting a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables for a while.  It seems like this is a safe way to maintain a healthy weight and potentially cut our risks of developing cancers.  And, it also doesn't promote cutting out all the "bad" foods.  But, are there foods that can cause cancer?

According to a new study by the Stanford Prevention Research Center and Harvard Medical School, we shouldn't put too much stock in a study that says one food item can increase or decrease our cancer risks.  They found the evidence presented for many of the ingredients studies was particularly weak, and that the larger the study, the smaller the link between food and cancer. 

Dr. John Ioannidis from the Stanford Prevention Research Center in California, who worked on the analysis, told Reuters Health:”We have seen a very large number of studies, just too many studies, suggesting that they had identified associations with specific food ingredients with cancer risk. People get scared or they think that they should change their lives and make big decisions, and then things get refuted very quickly.” (source) 

This doesn't mean that eating large amounts of certain foods won't increase or decrease your cancer risk; it just means that one study showing that red meat increases cancer or tomatoes decrease cancer probably isn't telling the whole story.  This study took 35 years' worth of research through other studies to come to its conclusions.  Which is another reason why I feel that a well-balanced diet of lean meats, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables is probably a good start to reducing my chances of being diagnosed with cancer.  And with my family history?  I might as well try it!

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