An important component to successfully managing your cancer is to be as informed as possible regarding treatments and new trends. This coming Thursday, June 11th, a free public forum is being held sponsored by the CIHR (Canadian Institute for Health Research). This is Canada's leading research machine which devotes it's monies and energy to help discover new interventions and encourage research.
This event is titled "Hope for Cancer Patients...Tall and Small". At this interactive Forum you will be able to pose your questions and concerns to leading Canadian Cancer Researchers such as Dr. Gerald Batist (Jewish General Hospital, McGill University), Dr. Mark Kieran (Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University) and others.
The event takes place at the McIntyre Building, 1200 Pine Ave West and begins at 6.oo pm.
This event is free and to register you can contact by email publicevent.cancercentre@mcgill.ca or by phone (514) 398.6268.
On another note, June 19th is the date for this year's Relay for Life. On the West-Island the event will occur on the grounds of Pierrefonds Comprehensive High Scchool. This is a fundraising event for the Canadian Cancer Society. Those who attend are cancer survivors who spend the evening and night walking a candle lit pathway remembering those who have survived their cancer. The host this year is Lori Graham (CTV TV). The Nova Support Group will be attending and are excited to celebrate renewed life and energy. They are actively searching for funds which will benefit research and help The Canadian Cancer Society to develop new programs to help those newly diagnosed and encourage survival. Our group leader is Suzanne (asjaneusse@videotron.ca), feel free to contact her at any time. Become energized and join the event.
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Thanks for the heads up on the "Hope for Cancer Patients" event - I`m already booked elsewhere, but if someone attends, I would like to get the highlights.
ReplyDeleteTonight Lis & I attended the Relay for Life Team Captains' meeting to obtain the info on the organization and progress of the event. I will summarize the details sometimes this week or this week-end and send it to all the team members.
A few highlights on our team's progress:
- NOVA Care & Hope has so far raised over $1,400 (donations, registrations, cash) and I know more funds will be coming in.
- I`m really grateful for all the support that we are getting - it is such an important cause for me, and for all of us who are and have a family member or friend who has been affected by this horrible disease.
- The West Island event itself is up to $70,000 (on a target of $80,000). There are 25 teams registered. There will be entertainment and activities throughout the evening and of course the very moving luminary ceremony.
If anybody need more information on the event, do contact me: (sjansseune@videotron.ca) or visit our team's web page :
http://convio.cancer.ca/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFL_QC_PointeClaire_?team_id=65570&pg=team&fr_id=3592
Let's make cancer history !!
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ReplyDeleteTerrific event at McGill on June 11, really worth attending. The format was for the five brilliant scientists/researchers who formed the panel, to answer the MC's questions as well as take individual questions from the audience. I did not take notes, however, these points stand out in my mind ....
ReplyDelete• Cancer increases with age.
• Stress does not cause cancer.
• It's about time we stopped looking at cancer under a microscope in order to diagnose the treatment.
• We are starting to look at cancer and, doctors who treat cancer, in a different way. We may learn that a group of cancers share identical characteristics and can be treated in the same way. The specialists would be named after these common characteristics instead of parts of the body where cancers occur. For example, instead of breast cancer specialists, we may label our doctors according to types of cancers after we have been able to identify them.
• Children are not “little adults” and their cancers are not treated in the same way. For example, the cure rate for leukemia is over 80% in children because they can be treated more aggressively than adults. Childrens’ bodies are free of pollutants compared to adults and they can be beaten down into the ground and taken right to the edge and still bounce back quickly after treatment ends; whereas adults can die from such aggressive treatment or suffer permanent damage.
• Stem cells are the key and how to kill them in order to stop their growth. Stem cells are the very first cancer cells that start to grow. If we can get to those, the cancer can be destroyed at the source.
• Clinical trials are the key to further progress in fighting cancer. There are 3 stages to each clinical trial and each stage takes a long time and requires huge amounts of money.
• Clinical trials benefit those who come after more than those who are presently taking the treatment. The first stage is determining the quantity of the drug to give (how much is in the blood and targeted in the tumour itself) and the frequency of the treatment (weekly, monthly). The second stage is to try it out on a living thing such as an animal. The third stage is to give it to humans. Each stage costs a huge amount of money and each stage takes a lot of time.
• The lack of money is slowing down the progress and search for a cure and this is wrong. Scientists and researchers should be able to keep going because we are on a roll. Lack of funds should not be what dictates the pace of discovery.
• Hope is always a vital factor in treatment. Even when there is no treatment option, hope can be in the form of a future discovery.
• As more cancer genes are identified, progress will be made.
• The "cure" for cancer will not be one headline in the paper one day. It will consist of a series of breakthroughs and steps.
• Alternative treatments can never replace conventional chemotherapy and radiation. However, activities such as yoga, chi kong, massage, etc. can help allieviate nausea during treatment and provide the patient with an outlet for relaxation and meditation. These therapies can be helpful but cannot kill cancer cells.
• Radiation both shrinks tumours and causes tumours. Think about Horoshima. Radiation as a treatment can sometimes cause cancer to return somewhere else in the body later in life.
• The "platins" often cause deafness. When treating brain tumours, one must weigh the possible side effects of deafness and blindness.
• The "cure" for cancer is so long in coming because there are so many different kinds of cancers and each one is different from the other. For example, one type of brain tumour, often seen in children, has over 300 different kinds within this category. It all takes more money than is presently available.
• We need to develop a new individual, personal approach to treating cancer.
• Even in the past 20 years working in the field, we can see an improvement in the treatment of cancer. This is what keeps us going.
Another dear friend has been affected by cancer and it's opened my eyes again. All too often we try to forget that it's something to stay aware of, within ourselves and while interacting with others.
ReplyDeleteOften times a person will not divulge that they are battling this disease while being outwardly positive. We must consider the possibility that at any given moment someone might be lost to us and how we would like to remember the time spent with them.
Sadly, there is still a stigma attached - a prejudice, if you will, to this disease and I say to everyone..it doesn't matter how we go, we all do and life is short.
The reality too, is that it's hard for some people to cope with. Unsure of how to react around someone with cancer. It can be frightening, but it need not be.
Being supportive does not mean talking about it all of the time. On the contrary. We can immerse ourselves in life's beauty and all that it offers to us.
Be kind and pass a smile along. It will be returned to you tenfold.
God bless