The Declining Rates of Breast Cancer in Recent Years are Largely Confined to Caucasians

Research conducted Dr. Dezheng Huo of the University of Chicago illustrates that the sharp drop in U.S. breast cancer cases in recent years was limited to Caucasian women. The decline maybe linked to Caucasian women’s greater use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in the late 90’s than other ethnic groups. Many women terminated using hormone replacement therapy after a large study suggested in 2002 that the combination of estrogen and progestin used to treat menopause symptoms raised the risk of breast cancer and heart disease.

According to the American Cancer Society, the overall incidence of female breast cancer fell 3.9 percent a year from 2001 through 2004. The bulk of the decline has been principally among women older than 50 with estrogen-receptor positive cancer.

Rates of change in rates of breast cancer by ethnic are as follows (by the end of 2003):

Caucasians had 2.4 percent decline per quarter;
African Americans had a 0.7 percent increase per quarter;
American Indians and Alaskan Natives had 0.14 percent decline per quarter; and
Asian Americans by 0.46 percent decline per quarter.

This study offers additional evidence that HRT (estrogen therapy) influences the rates of breast cancer in women.

Less than 2% of Early-Onset Dementia is Alzheimer’s

A great deal of press was generated a few years ago when The U.S. Administration on Aging highlights 2006 estimates released by the Alzheimer's Association, which indicate that between 220,000 and 640,000 American men and women currently suffer from early-onset dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association specifically defined early-onset dementia as Alzheimer’s developed at an age below 65. Many in the research community rolled their eyes as this was unlikely to be the case and was unnecessarily alarmist and not based on scientific evidence.

Dr. Brendan J. Kelley, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota has conducted a study focused exclusively on 235 patients diagnosed with a form of dementia diagnosed between the ages of 17 and 45 -- citing statistics suggesting that 12 in 100,000 people develop some form of early-onset dementia before the age of 45. The results of the study is that early onset dementia is the result of inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Huntington's, lupus or HIV infection.

The study’s data indicated that approximately:

33% of the cases were classified as frontotemporal dementia
20% of the cases of dementia were resulting from autoimmune and inflammatory disorders
10% of the cases of dementia resulted from metabolic disorders
20% could not be directly attributed to any cause.

Dr. Kelley is attempting to identify markers that would offer better diagnostic methods for early-onset dementia. He rightly believes that these types of dementia may be treated by combating the underlying disease mechanism.

Regrettably, this is just further evidence that dementia research has taken a back seat to Alzheimer’s research. Of the 5,5MM so-called Alzheimer’s patients in the United States, epidemiological evidence would argue a population that includes misclassified cases of vascular dementia, pharmaceutical dementia, Lewy Body Dementia, frontotemporal dementia, as well as, depression. Complicating matters is that many patients present with overlapping and co-morbid conditions. Research indicates that only 60% have Alzheimer’s involvement and only approximately 30% of patients present with Alzheimer’s solely. The tragedy is that many misclassified patients could benefit through known clinical interventions and that much of the research that has been conducted over the last two decades does not account for the true nature of dementia in the elderly.

Breast Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise Against Deadlier Form of Disease

A breast cancer vaccine in Phase II clinical testing significantly reduced reoccurrence and mortality in early stage patients with a high expression of protein HER2-neu. HER2-neu patients represent 25% of all breast cancer patients. The vaccine lowered mortality by 100 percent in women with breast cancer and low or intermediate expression of HER2/neu. Current treatments for HER2-neu expressing patients are limited to chemotherapy and surgery. Regrettably the study design was insufficiently powered to generate a statistically significant result, that is, the results maybe due to chance. Nonetheless, the vaccine is safe and well-tolerated. The vaccine is designed to stimulate the immune system to fight breast cancer. A Phase III trial is planned for 700 to 1000 patients for patients that are not eligible for Herceptin. The sponsor is Apthera. Please check with Clintrials if you would like to participate.

April is National Sarcoidosis Awareness Month

National Sarcoidosis Society, Inc. and Affiliates
2525 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60616
(877) 763-4389
(312) 567-6626
(312) 567-6144 Fax
sarcoidosisfriends2@hotmail.com
nationalsarcoidosisfriends.org.tripod.com

THE TRUTH ABOUT CANCER PREMIERES ON PBS APRIL 16, 2008

The Healing Project (THP) wishes to alert its community to the upcoming presentation of THE TRUTH ABOUT CANCER on PBS. The Healing Project was founded by a breast cancer survivor, Debra Lachance. Our Board of Directors includes scientist H. Michael Shepard, PhD who led the Herceptin discovery team at Genentech. Dr. Shepard continues to develop novel medications for treating a range of diseases including Breast Cancer as president and CSO of Receptor BioLogix. Stephanie F. Bernik, MD, FACS is a member of our Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Bernik is Chief of Breast Surgery for the comprehensive breast program at St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York City. THP is painfully aware of how far we need to go in developing treatments and cures for a range of cancers, especially metastatic cancers. Take some time and watch this film as it presents the realities of what many patients and families are confronting.

Watch a Clip.

About the Film
What is the truth about cancer? Is it the same deadly killer it was 30 years ago - or are we making progress? Find out through the poignant stories of patients battling the disease. Written, produced, and directed by award-winning filmmaker Linda Garmon, The Truth About Cancer (Web Site) premieres nationally on PBS Wednesday, April 16, at 9:00pm ET (check local listings). Comprised of a 90-minute documentary followed by a 30-minute panel discussion, the two-hour broadcast event takes a deep look inside the cancer field gauging how far we have come in this decades-old war and asking, "Why does anyone still die of cancer?"

Part science, part personal catharsis, part character-driven storytelling, The Truth About Cancer is narrated by Garmon, who tells the moving story of her husband's battle with cancer. Over the course of the film, Garmon returns to the same Boston-area hospitals at which her husband was treated, and exposes startling truths about survival rates of metastisized cancers, and the limited success of drugs and clinical trials. Interwoven throughout are the stories of three additional cancer patients, and their families and doctors, as they navigate the deeply personal decisions surrounding the disease. The documentary also follows several medical professionals working to promote screening, research the latest developments in cancer treatment, and help patients and their families live with a cancer diagnosis.

"This film makes it clear that it's very much a part of American culture to believe that if you fight hard enough, you can beat cancer. But when it comes to having metastatic cancer, your survival depends on the biology of your cancer cells, and whether they are susceptible to state-of-the-art treatment," says Garmon. "In sharing my husband's story and the stories of other patients, I hope to shed light on this important truth." The Truth About Cancer is the third installment of PBS's Take One Step—a campaign offering primetime programming and outreach tools to help people take the first step towards better health. Following the 90-minute documentary is a 30-minute panel discussion entitled Take One Step: A Conversation About Cancer with Linda Ellerbee. News journalist and breast cancer survivor Linda Ellerbee moderates the dialogue featuring a panel of doctors, all of whom are cancer survivors themselves. Having sat on both sides of a cancer diagnosis, the panel shares their unique perspectives, offering both personal and professional observations on how to handle a cancer diagnosis, what to say to loved ones, how to advocate for yourself, and how to best live your life, with cancer. Panelists include U.S. News and World Report health editor Dr. Bernadine Healy; breast cancer surgeon and Breast Cancer Research stamp mastermind Dr. Ernie Bodai; neurologist and leading palliative care expert Dr. Richard Payne; and counseling psychologist Dr. Paul Brenner.

Resources for Cancer Patients and Caregivers:

The Healing Project Resource Center

Resources for Living with and Through Cancer

The Medicated Child Premieres on PBS Frontline

PBS Frontline is premiering The Medicated Child that examines the use of powerful psychiatric drugs on children. The Healing Project strongly encourages parents to judiciously use all prescription drugs, supplements and alternative therapies. The extraordinary rise in the use of very powerful unpredictable pharmaceutical compounds on children is of great concern. In many psychiatric disorders in both adults and children, psychological and behavioral interventions are often successful. Nonetheless, if these therapies fail to demonstrate results, pharmaceuticals are often the best solution. One should seek to find a board certified child psychiatrist or neurologist (preferably trained at a leading research center), depending on the nature of the malady, and have your child carefully examined before committing to a particular course of treatment.

The Medicated Child

Six million American children are taking psychiatric drugs, but most have never been tested on children. Is this good medicine – or an uncontrolled experiment?

About the Film
In recent years, there's been a dramatic increase in the number of children being diagnosed with serious psychiatric disorders and prescribed medications that are just beginning to be tested in children. The drugs can cause serious side effects, and virtually nothing is known about their long-term impact. "It's really to some extent an experiment, trying medications in these children of this age," child psychiatrist Dr. Patrick Bacon tells FRONTLINE. "It's a gamble. And I tell parents there's no way to know what's going to work." In FRONTLINE's report, The Medicated Child, producer Marcela Gaviria confronts psychiatrists, researchers and government regulators about the risks and benefits of prescription drugs for troubled children.

Watch the Full Program Online - Free
Free Parents Guide

April is Irritable Bowel Syndrome Awareness Month

If you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you are not alone – IBS is common with worldwide prevalence estimated at 9% to 23%. Although the condition is associated with heavy economic and social burdens, many people remain undiagnosed and unaware that their symptoms indicate a medically recognized disorder.

International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders

P.O. Box 170864
Milwaukee, WI 53217-8076
(888) 964-2001 (414) 964-1799
(414) 964-7176 Fax
iffgd@iffgd.org
http://www.aboutibs.org/
http://aboutibs.org/site/about-ibs/april-ibs-awareness-month

20 Years of Wasted Research? Beta-Amyloid Theory Called into Question, Again.

Science Daily reports that University California, Irvine reports that a promising Alzheimer’s Vaccine tested in a canine succeeded in clearing beta-amyloid plaques but failed to demonstrate ecologically results of restoring memory and/or learning ability. This is no surprise.

The near religious zealotry that has surrounded beat-amyloid theory has caused the loss of many promising avenues of research over the last 20 years. If the Elan/Wyeth AD Vaccine in phase III trials demonstrates plaque reduction without ecological validity, it should not be marketed. Beta-amyloid is a surrogate marker for Alzheimer’s not the outcome (Most 50 year-olds have some plaques and tangles without exhibiting AD). Further, any drug seeking to FDA approval must demonstrate a direct benefit of increased ir stable memory and learning capacity relative to the expected decline in the disease. (In no way does the editor supports the use of the ADAS-Cog endpoint, it is flawed and borders on useless.) Also, it would be useful to measure the effect on psychiatric disorders presented by many dementia patients.

We will shortly see the results of several late-stage clinical trials that have targeted beta-amyloid, and I am not sanguine. Dementia is very complicated and Alzheimer’s disease is a subset of the space. Many patients with Alzheimer’s have other forms of dementia. Measurement is very challenging. Any approval of an agent should not rely on anything other than the patients’ cognitive performance and mental condition. The failures in dementia research are so myriad that it defies description.

In the event beta-amyloid therapies fail in humans, it is time to replace the entire leadership of Alzheimer’s research across the board from universities, foundations, not-for-profit organizations, pharmaceutical companies and government agencies. (Pharma has already starting moving its chips as its researchers are only vested in producing drugs that can be marketed.) They bet big on one theory resulting in the dismissal of alternative theories and insured that we will be set back 20 years. Not only was this ill-informed, it demonstrated an arrogance that is unsuitable in science. A younger generation of researchers have a vastly better understanding of the disease and maintain open minds. Much as Dr. Anthony Fauci has recently called for new generation to take up the mantle of developing an AIDs vaccine, it is time dementia research follow suit. The old guard is invested in proving its theory was correct so they can keep getting grants. Admit the failure and get on to solving the problem.

Caring For Your Parents Premieres Tonignt at 9 on PBS

About the Special
As the population ages, many adult children are grappling with an unprecedented social, cultural, economic, and personal revolution as they transition into the primary caregiver role for their aging parents. Produced, written, and directed by award-winning filmmaker Michael Kirk, Caring for Your Parents is a moving two-hour special that draws much-needed attention to this universal reality.

The first 90-minutes of Caring for Your Parents underscores today's struggle to keep parents at home, tensions between siblings, and the complexity of shifting caregiver roles through an intimate look at five American families. In the end, the documentary contends successful caregiving requires one primary ingredient love.

Immediately after the 90-minute broadcast, medical correspondent Dr. Art Ulene leads "A Conversation About Caring." This half-hour panel discussion offers concrete advice and guidance on how to start the conversation often the most difficult step in caregiving.

Caring for Your Parents is a Kirk Documentary Group, Ltd. Production for WGBH Boston. The executive producer is Laurie Donnelly. Major funding is provided by Harrah's Foundation. Additional funding by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

A clip of Caring For Your Parents is available, and Starting April 3, 2008 the program is shown in its entirety at PBS online.

Filmmakers Lab – personal short films on Caring For Your Parents.

Free Online Handbook

Download the Enitre Handbook

Buy the Video

The Healing Project is please to Annouce the Release of Voices of Alcoholism

New Anthology “Voices of Alcoholism” Gives Voice to Silent Disease
-- Alcoholism Knows No Boundaries… Impacting All Races, Sexes and Ages--

Approximately 14 million Americans meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or alcoholism and more than half of American adults have a close family member who has or has had alcoholism, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Twenty-five percent of children (under the age of 18) are exposed to alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence in the family. However, the social stigma associated with this nation-wide epidemic often prevents victims and their families from seeking help or speaking out. Voices of Alcoholism: The Healing Companion: Stories for Courage, Comfort and Strength is an opportunity to bring recognition to this disease and honoring all of those who have survived it.

Author Donna Veneto, a college senior and author of “Daddy Hyde” in Voices of Alcoholism captures this sentiment, “The Secret was ours to keep and hide from the world. I was terrified that my friends would learn that my father had a drinking problem. (Little did I know that they, and the entire neighborhood, knew as much).”

Alcoholism Knows No Boundaries
· Children who parents abuse alcohol or drugs are three times more likely to be verbally, physically or sexually abused.
- I Really Am Special is a woman’s childhood account of life with her alcoholic father and the physical, mental and sexual abuse she suffered at his hands.

· The highest growing number of alcoholics is among 75 year old widowers, according to the American Medical Association.
- Two Mothers demonstrates how retirement ended the line for one woman’s mother; who only drank at night.
--more--Although drinking by persons under the age of 21 is illegal, people aged 12-20 years drink almost 20 percent of all alcohol consumed in the U.S.
- A Mother’s Journal chronicles one woman’s vigilance and helplessness as she watches her son’s downward spiral from innocent experimentation, to arrest and rehab.

The publication of this anthology includes more than 40 stories of parents, spouses, children and loved ones impacted by alcoholism. These tales of courage, strength and compassion offer insight into the challenges of facing addiction, as well as the shame and isolation experienced by victims of alcoholism.

LaChance Publishing is donating 100% of profits to LaChance’s other entrepreneurial venture The Healing Project (http://www.thehealingproject.org/), a non-profit organization dedicated to the education and support of those living with life-threatening and chronic illnesses. LaChance is also a Senior Vice-President at The Corcoran Group, a major real estate company in New York City.

Voices of Alcoholism and all of the "Voices Of" books are available at bookstores everywhere and online at The Healing Project website http://www.thehealingproject.org/.