Vol. 5, No. 009 |
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ZERO Online Community Launched
In This Issue:
LEAD
WHAT'S NEW AT ZERO
- Participate in the 2008 AWARE Survey
- Congratulations End Prostate Cancer Endurance Team
- Become a Founder of ZERO
RESEARCH AND TREATMENT UPDATE
- Large Vitamin Supplement and Prostate Cancer Study Halted
- The Drive Provides Key PSA Research in Newly Published Study
- Study Generates New Prostate in Mice
- Bone Drug Helps Men Undergoing ADT
IN THE COMMUNITY
ACTION UPDATE
- 2008 Presidential Healthcare Proposals
- Timeout for Veterans' Health
- National Cancer Institute Wants Your Input
- Ensure Your Signature is Read by the Next President
THE DRIVE AGAINST PROSTATE CANCER
Lead
ZERO Online Community Launched
ZERO - The Project to End Prostate Cancer launched a new interactive, online community today on its Web site at Community.ZeroCancer.org. This online community will allow users to join interest groups, such as Prostate Cancer Survivors or Family and Friends; set up personal blogs to recount their prostate cancer journey; participate in discussion forums on the latest treatment techniques; and more. The ZERO online community offers men several opportunities to discuss their experience with the disease with other affected men and their families
If you are already a registered user on the ZERO Web site, you should be able to use your regular log-in and password to join the community. To set up an account, visit Community.ZeroCancer.org to set up your online profile.
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What's New at ZERO
Participate in the 2008 AWARE Survey
ZERO - The Project to End Prostate Cancer wants to hear from YOU! If you haven't done so already, please feel out the 2008 AWARE Survey. We want to know how useful you find the information on our site, and specifically, which items and sections are most valuable in learning about prostate cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment. We are always aiming to make our communications and Web site more helpful and user-friendly to you and your loved ones with prostate cancer. Your opinions are important to us, and will be kept anonymous and completely confidential.
Congratulations End Prostate Cancer Endurance Team
Congratulations to the 11 members of the End Prostate Cancer Endurance Team for their participation in the 2008 Marine Corps Marathon last weekend. These runners joined more than 30,000 runners from all over the world who competed in this endurance race for their own personal goals. The End Prostate Cancer Endurance Team raised more than $17,000 for the fight to end prostate cancer.
Become a Founder of ZERO
Become a founding member of ZERO and your $500 contribution will be matched by the Schwartz Family (of our late CEO William A. Schwartz). Now is your chance to be a founding member of the organization that's leading the way toward ending prostate cancer. This exclusive group of individuals will have their names permanently on the founders' page of the new Web site, ZeroCancer.org, and in the 2009 annual report.
Your support helps us accomplish our goal by providing comprehensive treatment information to patients, education to those at risk and conduct more free screenings than ever before. We will increase research funds from the federal government to find new treatments and we will fund research to discover a better test for the disease.
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Research and Treatment Update
Large Vitamin Supplement and Prostate Cancer Study Halted
A large government study of vitamin E and selenium’s preventive benefits has been suspended after it was determined that the nutrients did not reduce the risk for prostate cancer. This marks the latest in a series of findings that negate the potential health benefits of vitamins and other nutritional supplements when it comes to preventing cancer. An independent expert panel following the study found that after five years of taking the supplements, there was no benefit found, but suggestion of possible harm, which prompted a stop to the project.
"The important message for consumers is that taking supplements, whether antioxidants or others, is not necessarily beneficial and could be harmful," said Eric Klein of the Cleveland Clinic, a study coordinator. "You should not be taking them unless there is a rigorous scientific study that shows a benefit."
RELATED STORY
RELATED LINK
The Drive Provides Key PSA Research in Newly Published Study
The Drive Against Prostate Cancer served as part of a recently published research study on PSA testing and how standardization bias could affect clinical decision making. The purpose of the study was to look at the level of awareness among physicians regarding PSA standardization to the WHO 90:10 standard and to see whether they were instead aligning results with the original Hybritech® assay, which could lead to potentially disparate results. To gather data, a total of 1,915 men were screened during a Chicago Drive event and PSA was tested from the same serum sample using the Access® (Hybritech standard) and ADVIA Centaur® (WHO 90:10 prostate specific antigen standard) assays. Researchers examined the differences between the two assays and the effect this might have on clinical decisions.
They concluded that the prospective screening population median PSA was 17 percent lower using WHO, versus using the Hybritech based assay standardization. If these assays were instead used on a serial basis in the same patient, it could lead to false acceleration or deceleration in PSA velocity. Men should be proactive in determining which standard is being used to evaluate their test results to ensure it is accurate.
Read
the complete study RELATED LINK
Study Generates New Prostate in Mice
By identifying a genetic signature which distinguishes stem cells from other types of cells, scientists have been able to grow entire prostates in mice, according to a report in the Oct. 23 issue of Nature. The researchers found a new marker, CD117, which, when combined with previously known prostate stem cell cancer markers, could identify a single, normal prostate stem cell. That single stem cell was able to generate functional prostates and was also capable of renewing itself. While what was learned from this study will need to be confirmed in humans, the knowledge gained by understanding normal cells should lead to a better understanding of how prostate cancer develops.
Bone Drug Helps Men Undergoing ADT
A recent study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology shows alendronate, usually given to women for osteoporosis, may also help men undergoing hormone therapy to fight prostate cancer. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and colleagues examined the effect of alendronate, also known as Fosamax, on changes in bone density in 112 men on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer. After two years, continuous alendronate treatment produced the greatest increases in bone density. Additionally, men who had been receiving ADT for more than 36 months before beginning alendronate treatment had significantly less gain in bone density than did men who had been on ADT a shorter time.
"Improvements in bone mineral density in men with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation are greatest in men who continue to receive alendronate therapy," researchers concluded. "Furthermore, delay in treatment is detrimental to skeletal integrity."
RELATED STORIES
RELATED LINK
In The Community
Birthday Celebration to Benefit ZERO
Trena Morton wanted to make a difference when celebrating her upcoming 28th birthday, and to take an opportunity to honor the father she lost to prostate cancer when she was a mere 13 years old. To do so, Trena recently committed to join ZERO - The Project to End Prostate Cancer to raise awareness about the disease in the Atlanta area. To do this, Trena will host a birthday party for 30 family and friends at a local restaurant which offered to donate five percent of the dinner's proceeds to ZERO. Trena worked with ZERO to acquire prostate cancer information and ZERO pins to hand out during this fundraiser, which will take place in November.
Follow Trena's lead and work to build awareness of prostate cancer in your community.
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Action Update
2008 Presidential Healthcare Proposals
Part 2: What needs to be done?
Last week we discussed the details of the Presidential candidate's healthcare plans and how they might affect the prostate cancer policy. While specific prostate cancer issues are not addressed in the proposals, the fact remains there is a great deal of work to be done to advance awareness, and further research, screening and treatment. But beyond this education what really needs to be done to reduce prostate cancer and alleviate the pain and suffering from it?
At the top of the list is increasing federal funding for research. Research funding for prostate cancer has been in a slow decline since 2000. Every year that funding is the same as the year before, it is a virtual cut in funding due to medical inflation. Despite the virtual cut (the Prostate Cancer Research Program at the Department of Defense has been level funded at $80 million for the past four years), there has been an increase in the number of published research projects as well as increased number of grant applications. Funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has fallen more than $50 million during the past six years from almost $400 million in 2002 to an estimated $344 million in 2008.
Read the complete article below.
RELATED STORY
Timeout for Veterans' Health
Are you a veteran? Are you a Washington Redskins fan? Then come on out to the Timeout for Veteran's Health! In recognition of Veterans Day, the Washington Redskins, GlaxoSmithKline, Men's Health Network, Prostate Cancer Education Council and the American Heart Association are hosting a unique screening and education event in the Redskins locker room at FedEx Field in Landover, MD on Saturday Nov. 8 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. to encourage military veterans to be proactive about their health. Free screenings will be administered including PSA and DRE testing as well as blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol screening, to name a few. Space is limited, please visit www.redskins.com/healthandwellness or call (866)543-6461 to register.
National Cancer Institute Wants Your Input
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) invites you to provide your feedback on how to best involve advocates in cancer research. Participate by telephone on Nov. 5 from 3-4:30 p.m., EDT, when NCI’s Office of Advocacy Relations (OAR) will host a Webinar on the proposed initiatives of the Advocates in Research Working Group (ARWG). Those who wish to access the online portion can do so here. No registration is required.
Please send any written input to: nciadvocacywg@mail.nih.gov. For further information, please visit http://advocacy.cancer.gov/activities/teleconferences or contact Mr. James Hadley, Advocacy Program Manager, at nciadvocacywg@mail.nih.gov or call 301-594-6831.
Ensure Your Signature is Read by the Next President
A new online petition urges the next U.S. President to bring funding for prostate cancer research and awareness to the same levels received for breast cancer. Do your part to inform the next American president of the importance of prostate cancer research by signing the petition. The petition was developed by Malecare, Inc., a prostate cancer support group, and will be delivered on Inauguration Day in 2009.
Drive Against Prostate Cancer
On the Road with the Drive Against Prostate Cancer
Your support for the Drive Against Prostate Cancer can make a difference by helping us save more lives through early detection. We are now counting down to screening nearly 100,000 men since the program began.
All donations are tax-deductible. Remember, a gift of $30 provides a free test to a man who would otherwise go without one.
Have you had your yearly prostate cancer screening? Click here to find out when The Drive will be coming to a city near you in 2008!
RELATED LINKS
