Boost your natural defenses

Anyone can get cancer.  It is never too early or too late to boost your natural defenses in preventing and treating cancer.

The cancer that the NCI forgot

BTW, Gwohann has never smoked.

Excerpt from http://lifesciencesfoundation.org/printer_magazine-bonnie_addario.html

Bonnie embarked on advanced studies in the biology, epidemiology, and politics of lung cancer. In conversation with other patients, she learned that the ‘standard of care’ is late-stage diagnosis, a dearth of treatment options, and poorly-coordinated medical services. She also learned that research on lung cancer is relatively neglected.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared war on cancer. He signed the National Cancer Act into law, funneled a storm surge of federal dollars toward cancer research, and empowered the National Cancer Institute [NCI] to administer the funds. The legislation became a source of hope for cancer patients and their families, but lung cancer became the disease that NCI forgot.

In the United States, lung cancer claims a life every three minutes. It takes twenty people per hour, 450 people per day. The disease kills more people than breast, prostate, colon, liver, skin, and kidney cancer combined, but funding for research on lung cancer lags behind all the rest. A mere 5% of the NCI’s research support budget is allotted to lung cancer projects.

In 2001, the NCI’s Lung Cancer Progress Review Group, a panel of thirty expert clinicians, scientists, industry representatives, and patient advocates, reported that funding for studies of lung cancer was “far below the levels that characterize other common malignancies and far out of proportion to its massive public health impact.” The lopsided distribution has not been rectified.

A comparison with breast cancer funding is telling. In 2008, lung cancer killed 161,840 Americans. NCI expenditures for lung cancer research amounted to $1,529 per lung cancer death. Breast cancer took 40,480 lives in 2008, but the NCI spent significantly more per breast cancer death: $14,145. Addario’s view of the situation is simple: “Funding should be distributed equitably.”

A review of priorities in lung cancer research uncovers further issues. Sixty-two percent of NCI funds are earmarked for studies on prevention, causes, survivorship, and outcomes. Only 38% are dedicated to early detection, diagnosis, and treatment. Addario questions the wisdom of the apportionment. Many lung cancer patients receive stage IV diagnoses: “You have lung cancer. We’ll put you on Carboplatin and Taxol. Your hair will fall out. You’ll get sick and throw up. Then you’ll die.” Seventy-five percent of lung cancer patients die within eight to ten months of diagnosis. 

 

Addario believes that NCI’s emphasis on prevention has to do with the fact that lung cancer is stigmatized as a “smoker’s disease.” Patients diagnosed with lung cancer are regularly asked if they smoked – it’s frequently the first thing they hear when someone learns of their condition. The question is an attempt to make sense of the world, to reduce the complexity of experience and discern order, but it’s simultaneously an attempt to assign blame. If lung cancer is the result of an individual’s decision to smoke, does it deserve as much attention as other common killers – breast cancer, prostate cancer, or colon cancer?

Bonnie wants to set the record straight: “The world still assumes, apparently, that only smokers get lung cancer. That’s not true.” Some individuals are genetically predisposed to the disease, and environmental factors – atmospheric pollutants such as radon or the fine particulate matter found in smog, for example – contribute to the formation of lung tumors. Eighty percent of those diagnosed with lung cancer quit smoking decades earlier or never smoked at all.

Addario objects to NCI’s funding priorities because studies of causation, prevention, and outcomes will not improve deficiencies in diagnosis and treatment – areas of pressing need that are not similarly deemphasized in, for example, breast cancer research. “The breast cancer movement has done a fabulous job,” Addario says. “The five-year survival rate for breast cancer is now above 90%. We want to achieve the same kind of results for lung cancer.” The five-year survival rate for lung cancer is 15.5%, and the figure hasn’t changed in 40 years. “That’s unacceptable,” Bonnie declares. “It can’t take another 40 years to make a difference. This needs to change!”

End of excerpt

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Finally, NCI's spending on lung cancer research has increased, but it is still not enough.  

Cancer Type	2010 Spending (in millions)	2011 Spending (in millions)	2012 Spending (in millions)
Lung	$281.9	$296.8	$314.6
Prostate	300.5	288.3	265.1
Breast	631.2	625.1	602.7
Colorectal	270.4	265.1	256.3
Bladder	22.6	20.6	23.4
Melanoma	102.3	115.6	121.2
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma	122.4	126.4	119.5
Kidney	44.6	46.2	49.0
Thyroid	15.6	16.2	16.5
Endometrial (Uterine)	14.2	15.9	19.1

-- Jacqueline

A great short video about immunotherapy and lung cancer

What could your face do for lung cancer this Father’s Day?

What could your face do for lung cancer this Father’s Day?

Honor a father or special male in your life and sign up for Grow for the Cure. Help us in the fight to raise much needed funding for lung cancer research and patient programs, as well as ignite discussion about this disease.

It's not too late to sign up today!
You can choose how long YOU want to grow.
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Happy 60th Birthday!

Gwohann's 60th birthday celebration on May 31 was one of the happiest days in our lives. The event, conducted in Mandarin, was filled with laughter and many touching moments.  Below is a recount of the event.  The Men's book club opened the event with their signature anthem "I Am a Happy Man" which filled the room with joy.  Jen-I and Lynn's hilarious dating skit brought back the sweet memory of our younger days. The entertaining slideshow presented by Jonathan took us through the active and passionate life of Gwohann.. We couldn't stop laughing at the brilliant song and dance ensemble presented by the talented River of Life Board. The '笑笑，笑笑‘ words stuck with us for several days afterwards.  The light dimmed again, appearing on the screen was videos sent by Gwohann's co-workers at Mentor Graphics.   Hearing their remarks and birthday wishes help us know how much his colleagues admire and love him.    Later, we were amazed by the bravery and creativity of our cell group who wore Chinese traditional costumes, each reciting GwoHann-customized classic poetry. The highlight for us was when they gave Gwohann blessings in an ingeniously revised 包青天 song. Our eyes were wet with tears when Pastor Tong Liu presented the 'Global Mission Ambassador' award to Gwohann. It is an honor beyond our imagination. Surrounded by family and friends, Gwohann's face glowed with happiness in the lights of the '60' candles. Life has never been so good, he said. The celebration would not be complete without a game, a favorite pastime of Gwohann. After the Trivial Pursuit game, everyone learned that Gwohann could eat a pineapple a day if he was allowed to, and also learned which country is still closest to his heart. Speaking of which, another short video showed several family members from Taiwan singing and dancing wishing Gwohann happy birthday, in Taiwanese style.  Gwohann burst into tears when our daughter Stephanie paid her tribute by singing his favorite song 'What A Wonderful World', a song that reflects his dreams and hopes. But, he felt comforted when our kids Christina and Jonathan together gave a humorous and appreciative speech about him, affirming their love for him. For the first time in my life, I serenaded to Gwohann with 月亮代表我的心,with the whole audience joining in. Our honoree took the stage to thank our guests and gave a testimonial of his journey in battling lung cancer.  He named and honored several key people who had guided him in his life.  He concluded that the love and support from our family and community is what continues to sustain him in the battle against cancer. The finale came when Gwohann and I sang '在我生命中的每一天'. We chose the song because the lyric is how we feel about each other, thanking each other for being there everyday.  As the end, we expressed our hope that the celebration will be a reminder to everyone that they should thank their loved ones for being there.  --- Jacqueline

No Pain, No Gain

Dad is coming up on 1 month of using the "silver bullet", Tarceva. The drug is doing wonders as he smiles more, says it's easier to breathe, and his coughing has subsided. He has a re-energized outlook on life and I see a lift in his spirits!  But as they say... No pain, no gain!

Along with the drug's amazing efficacy come powerful side effects. Dad suffers from 5 of the 7 well-known side effects of Tarceva - most noticeable of which are the rashes/acne on his face and upper body.  It's like he's going through puberty again. His re-energized, youthful spirit is accompanied by the struggles of youth as well... He is now taking antibiotics and cream to help with the rashes.

The other side effects - fatigue, mouth sores, diarrhea, itchy scalp, etc, which were strong the first 2-3 weeks, have subsided substantially. Dad says it's thanks to the prayers of his dear brothers & sisters.  Thank you, thank you!  :)

Dad's check-up last Wednesday with the Oncologist was positive.  His lab report showed positive reaction to the medicine.  CEA levels were down from last time 2.5 to 2.2.  (< 3.0 is normal level).  He'll continue taking the wonder drug for 5 more weeks until his next PET Scan.  We are looking forward to having a celebration party for him - for a happy 60th birthday & cheers to a successful fight thus far!


- Stephanie

The Silver Bullet

Good news! The PET scan from Monday showed that the tumor activities have reduced. The blood report also showed that the tumor marker CEA has decreased to within the normal range! Knowing how tough it is to harness the lung cancer, we are happy about the result.  Praise God!

Gwohann can now use the molecularly targeted therapy, as our oncologist coined it  'the trump card', to kill the driver for the cancer growth and keep the beast under control.  He is fortunate to be one of the 10% NSCLC patients whose gene mutations match EGFR.  Therefore, the targeted therapy Tarceva will work 'beautifully' and produce great result for him.

We are very excited about this new treatment which was only available in the last few years.  The drug will be taken orally with tolerable side effects, hence, not only that the drug will be effective, but we will have a better quality of life.

It feels like that we are let out of the 'chemo cage', free and wonderful!

You are receiving this update because you have been cheering us on and giving us a hand while we were in the chemo treatment.  We couldn't have sustained the chemo without you!  Thank you for all you have done for us!

Love,
Gwohann 國漢 and Jacqueline 佳芬