VISION, SEPTEMBER 2011

SEPTEMBER 2011

CANSA holds rst ever Corporate Relay For Life

Although the Relay For Life has been run in many countries, 4 September marked the first ever Corporate Relay For Life. Held in the grounds of Denel in Centurion, the event was attended by corporates fielding 107 teams. They formed a tented village where team members could relax while awaiting their turn to walk around the 400metre track.

The event started with some 140 cancer survivors walking the first lap to the emotional applause of a very large crowd. For the second lap they were joined by their caregivers and supporters and received cheers and encouragement from those lining the track. The teams then paraded with their banners and the relay commenced. At dusk the candles stretching around the track were lit for the Survivor Luminaria Remembrance Ceremony in which 3 500 people participated. One of the youngest participants was Tristan, a very young boy in remission from a rare brain cancer, pictured right with his dad. They lit a candle for his little friend who passed away recently. The Relay continued throughout the night and over 2 000 participants finished the event at 06h00 on Sunday. One participant summed it up saying It was a wonderful experience. We experienced moments of happiness, sadness, humility and gratitude. Photos courtesy of Paula B Photography.

WEAR YELLOW
LIVESTRONG Day is a day of global action designed to raise awareness for the fight against cancer. This year we are asking you to wear yellow on 2 October to show your support and help raise awareness about the worlds leading cause of death. Known for its iconic yellow wristband, LIVESTRONG has become a symbol of hope and inspiration to people affected by cancer around the world. Since its inception, the organisation has raised more than $400 million for the fight against cancer. www.LIVESTRONG.org.

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Mad Hatters Tea Party

Bosom Buddies and the Breast Health Foundation held their annual Mad Hatters Tea Party in September at the Full Stop Cafe in Parktown North abdm once again, it was a great success with some very imaginative headgear and a very entertaining auction of hats, old and new, was held. Guest speaker, Bev du Toit, had some hilarious examples of tumour humour to share with the crowd.

Listening to the patient voice

Planetree Status, the newsletter of the Planetree organisation, reports on the development of a truly patient-centred care experience at Platte Valley Medical Centre in 2008 with the formation of the hospital's community focus group. Staff are trained to participate in an interactive process to listen and respond to patients' feedback through care-centred interviews. Some of the important lessons learned from this were: p p p p p p Typical is not typical Patients want to learn more Patients don't know the "lingo" Working together makes a difference "Little things" make a "big difference" Communication is key to patient perception

Heideveld Cancer Awareness Day

On Saturday, 8 October 2011, the Friends of the Heideveld Library and Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA), will be hosting a Cancer Awareness Day to raise much needed funds in the Heideveld community and the upliftment of the library. Cancer Awareness is one of the CANSA signature projects where people in the community are educated and informed about cancer. We appeal to all cancer survivors, their families and friends, residents of the area to join us in this venture. We will be running a workshop where some of your questions will be answered. We would like the whole family to partake, as this will be a day of fun for all ages, from toddlers to grannies. There will be lots of activities and entertainment. Any donations towards this event will be welcome. For further information please contact Mercia on 083 983 1287 or Mark on 021 637 5432.

As a result of this the Centre was able to: p Improve listening skills and openness to total transparency and collaboration; p Measure care improvements with every testimony (i.e., hand sanitizer usage rates doubled after a patient expressed concern staff wasn't using it enough.); p Development of a new outpatient service request form ensuring scheduling happens in accordance with information the patient is given; p Extended hours in the ambulatory post surgical unit have led to satisfaction and comfort for both patients and nurses; http://www.planetree.org/about.html

DISCLAIMER: This newsletter is for information purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of a medical professional. Please consult your doctor for personal medical advice before taking any action that may impact on your health. The views expressed are not necessarily those of People Living With Cancer or those of the Editor.

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United Nations High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases

The American Society of Clinical Oncology report that on 20 September the UN General Assembly concluded a two-day HighLevel Meeting to address the epidemic of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including cancer, heart disease, diabetes and chronic lung disease. The meeting was called to address the growing burden of these diseases, which are the worlds leading killers and will continue to be without combined efforts of our global leadership and medical communities. ASCO strongly supports the Political Declaration unanimously adopted at the Meeting by Member States as a powerful demonstration of commitment by countries around the world to reverse the epidemic of cancer and other NCDs, and save millions of people from preventable death and disability. The Declaration contains an agreement to establish specific targets by 2012 for combatting NCDs and a mechanism for measuring progress towards those targets. In addition, the Declaration includes commitments to increase access to safe, affordable, effective and quality medicines and palliative care services, and calls for increased resources for NCDs through domestic, bilateral and multilateral channels. In remarks delivered by world leaders attending the High-Level Meeting and in subsequent roundtable discussions, there was universal acknowledgment that NCDs pose a critical global health threat to which the worlds response has to date been inadequate. Today, an estimated 63 percent of all deaths are due to NCDs, and 80 percent of these deaths occur in less developed countries. If the world does not act, the impact on developed and less developed countries alike could be catastrophic. Beyond the suffering that these diseases inflict on the patients, their families and communities, there is a very real economic threat. According to the World Economic Forum, NCDs could cost $47 trillion in lost productivity and medical costs over the next two decades. For many years ASCO has been aware of this growing issue, particularly as it relates to cancer, and we are glad to see it recognised by our world leaders, said Allen Lichter, MD, CEO of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). The Political Declaration on NCDs is of enormous importance to the cancer community and organisations like ASCO in particular. We look forward to establishment of the Declaration targets and identifying opportunities to match our ongoing efforts against them.

Quotes to remember
Yes, it's easy to look at something like cancer and think you're in a cage with a tiger. But instead of cowering and letting him maul me, I chose to confront the tiger and stare him in the eye until he tires of me and falls asleep... And maybe, just maybe someway, somehow we find a way out of the cage while he sleeps... - Anon We understand death for the first time when he puts his hand upon one whom we love. - Madame de Stael What cancer cannot do: Cancer is so limited ... it cannot cripple love, it cannot shatter hope, it cannot corrode faith, it cannot destroy peace, it cannot kill friendship, it cannot rob memories, it cannot silence courage, it cannot invade the soul, it cannot steal eternal life, it cannot conquer the spirit or separate us from God.

Sometimes we need to fall apart!

We dont always have to be strong. Sometimes our strength is expressed in being vulnerable. Sometimes we need to fall apart to regroup and stay on track. We all have days when we cannot push any harder, cannot hold back self-doubt, cannot stop focusing on fear, cannot be strong. There are days when we cannot focus on being responsible. Sometimes we cry in front of people. We expose our tiredness, irritability, or anger. Those days are okay. Part of taking care of ourselves means we give ourselves permission to fall apart when we need to. We do not need to be perpetual towers of strength. We ARE strong. We have proven that our strength will continue if we allow ourselves the courage to feel scared, weak, and vulnerable when we need to experience those feelings. Today, help me to know that it is okay to allow myself to be human. Help me not to feel guilty or punish myself when I need to fall apart. Author unknown

ITS OK TO TALK ABOUT CANCER

We do it all the time at our CanSurvive Cancer Support Group!
Join us on the second Saturday of each month for a cup of tea/coffee, a chat and an interesting talk. 9h00 at 18 Eton Road, Parktown

Enquiries: 073 975 1452 email: jhb@plwc.org.za

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CanSurvive Group
Members at the September meeting of the Group spent some time enjoying the Spring weather while listening to two clinical psychologists explaining what is Mindful Meditation and what are the benefits to be derived from it. They then spent some time answering questions from the very interested participants. (right) Nico Brink, a clinical psychologist is based at Fourways Life Hospital and is interested in Mindful Living with medical conditions cancer, chronic pain etc. His website is www.mindfulliving.co. za

(Left) Ms Alessandro Maggs Newton, a counselling psychologist explained just how her interest in mindfulness helped her during her battle with breast cancer.

Mindfulness meditation training can change brain structure

It has been found that participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. In a study in the journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditationproduced changes over time in the brain's grey matter. "Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day," says Sara Lazar, PhD, of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, the study's senior author. "This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing." Previous studies from Lazar's group and others found structural differences between the brains of experienced mediation practitioners and individuals with no history of meditation, observing

thickening of the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration. But those investigations could not document that those differences were actually produced by meditation. Meditation group participants reported spending an average of 27 minutes each day practicing mindfulness exercises, and their responses to a mindfulness questionnaire indicated significant improvements compared with pre-participation responses. "It is fascinating to see the brain's plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life." says Britta Hlzel, PhD, first author of the paper and a research fellow at MGH and Giessen University in Germany. "Other studies in different patient populations have shown that meditation can make significant improvements in a variety of symptoms, and we are now investigating the underlying mechanisms in the brain that facilitate this change."

CONTRIBUTIONS FOR PUBLICATION IN VISION NEWSLETTER

Articles and letters submitted for publication in VISION are welcomed and can be sent to: cansurvive@icon.co.za

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Even though prostate cancer is just as prevalent as breast cancer in South Africa and worldwide, it does not get the same recognition. We really need it to have just as much, if not more attention drawn to it. In order to do that, we need funding to better raise awareness in our rural, impoverished and previously disadvantaged communities and thereby better serve prostate and testicular cancer patients and their families. Show your support for such wonderful resources like Can-Sir, MBTM (More Balls Than Most) and PLWC and help us to help others live a healthy and balanced life. Can-Sir and MBTM the South African initiators, are running a nationwide awareness and fundraising initiative this month about all the cancers that affect men not just prostate and testicular cancer, but also bowel, lung, liver and other cancers. The campaign is aimed at raising funds so that more work can be done in continuing to raise men's cancer awareness and education concerning cancer and to help others reduce the risk of developing and dying from cancer by making better lifestyle choices and seeking help sooner rather than later. Can we really prevent cancer? At least one in three cancer cases is preventable. Thousands of men's lives could be saved by making

healthy lifestyle decisions such as quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake, taking care in the sun, regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and eating a balanced diet. Lives can also be saved if more men know more about the symptoms of cancer and contact a health professional as soon as they notice something worrying such as a lump or a nagging cough. Can-Sirs core function is to act as an awareness campaigner, education driver and advocate for mens health. For more information you can contact Ismail-Ian Fife on can-sir@telkomsa.net

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Around the World

Smoking - bladder cancer link especially in women
The association between smoking and bladder cancer risk appears to be stronger now than it was 30 years ago, particularly among women, according to a report in the August issue of JAMA. Smoking now accounts for 50% of the population-attributable risk for bladder cancer in men and 52% in women, whereas it accounted for approximately 50% of the risk in men but only 20%-30% of the risk in women in the 1980s, according to Neal D. Freedman, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute, and his associates. This is the first article to our knowledge to demonstrate that ... the population-attributable risks for smoking and bladder cancer are now similar in US men and women, they noted. Compared with subjects who had never smoked, those who were current smokers had an adjusted hazard ratio of 3.89 and those who were former smokers had an adjusted HR of 2.14. The adjusted hazard ratio for currently smoking men and women combined was 4.06 (JAMA 2011;306:737-45). http://www.oncologystat.com/news/SmokingBladder_Cancer_Lin k_Strengthened_-_Especially_in_Women_US.html

Cancer support in Soweto

People Living with Cancer (PLWC) assists newly diagnosed patients and families to deal with their illness when they are just starting their journey with cancer. We do this by: m Developing community-based cancer support groups. m Direct contact by Cancer Buddies who have been through the cancer treatment and are living their life despite the diagnosis of cancer. PLWC provides hope to newly diagnosed patients at their time of crisis, to empower and support them to continue treatment and live a quality life after treatment. The Johannesburg branch of PLWC has started a project to build support for patients who receive their treatment at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto. A small group of cancer survivors has been identified, and they will shortly be trained as Buddies who will be able to provide support within their own communities. Soweto is a city with an (unofficial) estimated population of over 2 million, and the large majority of the inhabitants receive their health services from the public health sector. Patients have many challenges, including travel to treatment centres, unemployment, and the difficulty of holding down jobs, if they are lucky enough to have them, while on treatment. There is also substantial stigma and lack of awareness of cancer and its causes. PLEASE ADD YOUR SUPPORT TO THIS VALUABLE PROJECT If you would like to support this project in any way, or just keep in touch with progress, please let us know by sending an email to jhb@plwc.org.za, and you will be added to our mailing list. For more information contact: Kwanele Pooe-Shongwe: 082 902 7929 or batsips@mweb.co.za Peter Hers: 083 445 4634 or jhb@plwc.org.za market by 2012. Bayer will be able to submit its marketing application step-by-step rather than all at once and have the FDAs review expedited. The German pharma giants shares jumped 3 percent after the announcement. http://www.medcitynews.com/2011/08/fda-fast-tracks-bayerspromising-prostate-cancer-treatment-morning-read/

Prostate drug fast-tracked

The FDA granted fast-track status to Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals experimental prostate cancer treatment designed to release radioactive particles that target tumors, suggesting that the drug has blockbuster potential and may be on the

You dont need to face cancer alone!

We are here to help
You are invited to join us at our Cape Town Cancer Support Group held at Vincent Pallotti Hospital in the GVI Oncology unit
Time: 18h00 19h30 See the calendar on page 7 for dates or contact the PLWC helpline on 076 775 6099 WE LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING YOU

Confirmation that Vitamin D acts as a protective agent against the advance of colon cancer
The indication that vitamin D and its derivatives have a protective effect against various types of cancer is not new, but researchers at the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), in collaboration with the Alberto Sols Institute of Biomedical Research (CSIC-UAB), have confirmed the pivotal role of vitamin D, specifically its receptor (VDR), in slowing down the action of a key protein in the carcinogenic transformation process of colon cancer cells. These results are being published in the journal PLoS One. This study confirm this supposition: Vitamin D is essential in the initial phases of colon cancer. In light of these findings, chronic vitamin D deficiency represents a risk factor in the development of

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more aggressive colon tumours. Patients in the initial stages of colon cancer could benefit from being treated with vitamin D3. However, this would not be useful in the advanced stages of the disease when the presence of the VDR is very much reduced. The body not only obtains vitamin D from food, especially milk and fish oils, but also manufactures it from exposure to sunlight. Prolonged exposure is not necessary; just 10 minutes in the sun every day when it is not at its peak is sufficient to stimulate its production. During the summer, when we are more likely to sunbathe, it is important to use the appropriate protective measures against sunburn to avoid future sun damage. Use high-factor solar protection products and do not expose the skin to the sun in the middle of the day to protect against skin cancers. Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/232851.php

Dates to remember
16 September Cancer.vive st University of Jhb. Start of Awareness Ride. Contact Thea 083 602 3102 16-24 Sept Cancer.Vive Awareness Ride (Jhb-CT) see www.cancervive.co.za

26 September Cape Town PLWC Support Group 1 October 1 October 1 October 2 October 8 October 9-15 October 19 October 30 October 31 October Bosom Buddies meeting R4R General meeting/Support 10h00 Cancervive SPAR, W.Cape Ladies Day. Contact Elsabe 021 690 0179 LiveSTRONG Day Cancer Support Group, Parktown 0900 Journey of Hope Breast Cancer Motorbike Run - Contact number: 082 840 3633 R4R Breast Cancer Tea. Speaker: Dr. Ashwin Hurribunce CHOC Walk, Zoo Lake, Parkview, Johannesburg Cape Town PLWC Support Group

Another new treatment option for advanced prostate cancer

Prostate cancer that has become resistant to hormone treatment and that does not respond to radiation or chemotherapy requires new methods of treatment. By attacking stem cell-like cells in prostate cancer, researchers at Lund University are working on a project to develop a new treatment option. A successful interdisciplinary project is underway between two research groups, in which senior researcher Rebecka Hellsten and Professor Anders Bjartell at the Faculty of Medicine's division for Urological Cancer Research, Skne University Hospital in Malm, and Professor Olov Sterner and Assistant Professor Martin Johansson at the Lund University division of Organic Chemistry recently published their latest research findings in the scientific online journal PLoS ONE. "Prostatic tumours are thought to consist only of about 0.1 per cent cancer stem cells, but if you are not successful in eradicating that tumour cell population, there is a risk of subsequent uncontrolled growth of the tumour. The cancer stem cells are often unresponsive to both hormonal treatment and to chemotherapy, so it is essential to develop a direct treatment towards all types of cancer cells", says Anders Bjartell. Exploring the tumour biology of prostate cancer, the research group have now observed that the protein STAT3 is active in the stem cell-like cells. In their previous studies, they have proven that the natural compound galiellalactone affects STAT3 and has inhibitory effects on the growth of prostate cancer. Through the development of new specific STAT3-inhibitors with galiellalactone as a model, the researchers hope to develop targeted therapies that attack the stem cell-like cancer cells in prostate cancer and prevent the tumour from growing and spreading. Sources: Lund University, AlphaGalileo Foundation.

12 November Cancer Support Group, Parktown 0900 16 November R4R General meeting/Support 10h00. Speakers: Sr Frances Hozan & Dr Sue Walter 26 November Bosom Buddies year end function 0900 28 November Cape Town PLWC Support Group 30 November R4R Year End Lunch. Details from R4R Jhb. 10 December Cancer Support Group, Parktown 0900

A saving in cleaning costs!

When apartment tenants light up a cigarette, it's not just their smoking-averse neighbours who suffer. Landlords are also sucking it up - in increased cleaning costs. But by implementing complete smoke-free rules throughout their properties, owners of California multi-unit rental buildings could save up to $18 million a year statewide on the cost of cleaning apartments vacated by tenants who smoke, according to a new

CONTACT DETAILS : People Living With Cancer and CanSurvive Cancer Support Group, Johannesburg: 073 975 1452, jhb@plwc.org.za People Living With Cancer,Cape Town: 076 775 6099, info@plwc.org.za, www.plwc.org.za Bosom Buddies: 0860 283 343, www.bosombuddies.org.za Campaign for Cancer: www.campaign4cancer.co.za Cancer.vive, Frieda Henning 082 335 49912, info@cancervive.co.za CANSA Johannesburg Central: 011 648 0990, 19 St John Road, Houghton, www.cansa.org.za Reach for Recovery (R4R) : Johannesburg, Antoinette Reis, 011 648 0990 or 072 849 2901 Reach for Recovery: Harare, Zimbabwe contact 707659. MBTM: Noelene@causemarketing.co.za, www.mbtm.co.za Pink Drive: cecile@causemarketing.co.za, www.pinkdrive.co.za Cancer Centre - Harare: 60 Livingstone Avenue, Harare Tel: 707673 / 705522 / 707444 Fax: 732676 E-mail: cancer@mweb.co.zw www.cancerhre.co.zw

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UCLA study. These policies can also protect their other tenants from the secondhand smoke that seeps between units. The study was published online in the American Journal of Public Health. Secondhand smoke results in about 4,000 deaths each year from ischemic heart disease and lung cancer, and it is the cause of approximately 31,000 childhood asthma episodes and 4,700 preterm infant deliveries annually, the UCLA researchers said. Smoke wafts between units through shared airspaces and ventilation, hallways, cracks in walls and floors, electrical outlets, and plumbing fixtures, or from outside. This is the first study to take a systematic measure of smokingrelated costs in multi-unit housing, as well as the first study of smoking and multi-unit housing to take into account small-scale multi-unit buildings - those with 15 or fewer units, according to Ong. About 66 percent of California Apartment Association (CAA) members own or manage small-scale buildings. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/233110.php tumors and releases an enzyme which triggers a separately injected "pro-drug" to kill cancer cells. "When Clostridia spores are injected into a cancer patient, they will only grow in oxygen-depleted environments, ie the centre of solid tumors. This is a totally natural phenomenon, which requires no fundamental alterations and is exquisitely specific. We can exploit this specificity to kill tumor cells but leave healthy tissue unscathed," said Minton. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/233879.php

How can you receive the best health care?

Wearing a T-shirt that says "I'm not a doctor," breast medical oncologist Naoto Ueno, M.D., Ph.D., engaged an audience at TEDxTokyo 2011 in a presentation on mutual empowerment in health care. Who better to address this paradigm of the patientphysician relationship than someone self-described as "The 3 C's": cancer doctor, cancer researcher and cancer patient? His advice to patients is: If you want to know what's going on with your health situation, bring good, probing questions to ask the doctor and a recorder to document the conversation. This way, when you get home after a long day of appointments and realize you can't recall exactly what the doctor said, you can listen to the dialogue with confidence. Take time to confirm with your care provider that you're receiving the standard of care for your diagnosis. And if not, find out why. Co-existing conditions, like diabetes, may impact your treatment options and require deviation from treatment standards. Patients also can empower physicians to provide them with the best care. This is achieved through openly communicating desires about what you want out of treatment. Is your goal to get out of the house and back to work? Or maybe you want to not feel pain? Are you seeking the cure or do you want to improve your quality of life? Ueno suggests you should challenge your care, especially if you are dissatisfied. It's OK to be angry but constructive criticism will better serve you and the physician versus screaming and yelling. At the same time, a passive approach of just nodding your head in agreement with the doctor won't help, either. Health care is a mutual thing. The patient and the physician must rely on each other to actively participate in an effort to achieve best care and ultimate satisfaction, no matter what your goals. According to Ueno, patients should practice empowerment in all health situations, including colds and headaches. "Because if you don't do it then, you won't do it when you get cancer," he says.

Soil bacteria help kill cancer tumors

A strain of harmless bacteria that live in soil could soon be helping to kill cancer tumors, thanks to researchers from the University of Nottingham in the UK and the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands who have just presented their work at a conference in York, England. They said they expect to test the strain in cancer patients in 2013, and if successful, hope the method can be combined with additional approaches to win the battle against cancer. The bacterium is Clostridium sporogenes, which is widespread in soil. Injected into cancer patients, the bacterium grows in solid

Cancer-killing virus
Scientists have for the first time shown that a genetically engineered virus infused intravenously can kill cancer cells without damaging healthy tissue. The virus will now move to a mid-stage trial with liver cancer patients. Scientists have been intrigued for decades with the idea of using viruses to alert the immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells. That interest has taken off in recent years as advances in genetic engineering allow them to customize viruses that target tumors. n a study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, scientists at institutions including the University of Ottawa and privately held biotech company Jennerex Inc said a small, earlystage trial of experimental viral therapy JX-954 found that it consistently infected tumors with only minimal and temporary side effects.The trial, which involved 23 patients with various types of advanced cancer, was designed to assess the safety of JX-954. It also found that six of the eight patients given the two highest doses saw their tumors stabilize or shrink. Dr. John Bell, chief scientific officer at Jennerex and senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute said Patients on this treatment only had 24-hour flu symptoms, and nothing after that. the Jennerex virus can be given intravenously, spreading throughout the body, it may hold promise for limiting the ability of cancer cells to metastasize and spread.

Spices now getting attention

According to Penn State researchers, eating a diet rich in spices, like turmeric and cinnamon, reduces the body's negative responses to eating high-fat meals. Sheila West, associate professor of biobehavioral health, Penn State, who led the study said that people eating a high-fat meal end up with high levels of triglycerides (a type of fat) in their blood. She says that "If this happens too frequently, or if triglyceride levels are raised too much, your risk of heart disease is increased. We found that adding spices to a highfat meal reduced triglyceride response by about 30 percent, compared to a similar meal with no spices added." Professor West stated, that many scientists believe that oxidative stress contributes to heart disease, arthritis and diabetes. She said

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that antioxidants, like spices, could play a significant role in reducing oxidative stress and therefore reducing the risk of chronic disease. She added that the amount of spices used in the trial provided the equivalent amount of antioxidants contained in five ounces of red wine or 1.4 ounces of dark chocolate. "In the spiced meal, we used rosemary, oregano, cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, cloves, garlic powder and paprika," said Ann Skulas-Ray, postdoctoral fellow. "We selected these spices because they had potent antioxidant activity previously under controlled conditions in the lab." Meanwhile, scientists at Georgia State University have found that whole ginger extract has promising cancer-preventing activity in prostate cancer. The first of its kind study looks at the anti-cancer properties of ginger as a whole, rather than that of individual compounds found in the plant. "We found very good tumor regression by up to 60 percent, and no toxicity whatsoever," said Ritu Aneja, associate professor of biology. While much research has been performed on ginger's anti-cancer properties, Aneja's lab takes a more holistic approach when it comes to investigating the types of molecules involved. "We believe that it is not any individual compound that is solely responsible for the extract's anti-cancer properties," Aneja said. "It's an interplay of components that is synergistic." Aneja's lab seeks to find natural, non-toxic ways to combat cancer using kinder, gentler drugs as well as plant compounds, as current approaches cause major and debilitating side effects. "Although it might seem easy to work with plant extracts, it is not so, because there are zillions of compounds and other complex

Support groups can empower you!

Angela Davis, received the Order of Australia Medal for voluntary work in the area of community services in this years Australia Day Awards and, writing in Wellness News the journal of the Cancer Support Association of Western Australia, she says: Support groups, I believe, empower you to be involved in your own healing journey and it is a known fact that attending a support group may double your survival. Everyone reacts differently to their diagnosis and level of anxiety that one can experience. There are many aspects to the cancer journey not just the physical but the mental, emotional and spiritual journey. The support group gives one an opportunity to explore every aspect in a safe non-judgemental and confidential environment. I have seen many people come and go and even if they can only attend for one visit the changes are noticeable and you often hear I am so glad I came, it has helped me with my decision or I will definitely be back again. derivatives in there, and we don't know which ones are the good ones," she said. Moreover, the compounds we are seeking to identify may be low in abundance, but they may be very important and cannot be disregarded."

BOOK REVIEW

AFTER PROSTATE CANCER

Here is a new book by Dr. Arnold Melman, Chief of Urology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, about coping with a diagnosis of prostate cancer. There is probably no more confusing part of the body these days than the prostate, at least in the sense that prostate cancer is confusing more doctors and patients than any other disease. Regulatory bodies cannot agree on the best screening strategies for this common illness. Meanwhile, the blood test used for screening has difficulty discriminating between aggressive and nonaggressive cancers, which means that standard cancer treatments are sometimes vastly worse than the disease itself. Some doctors let their patients decide whether to be screened, and some men elect to skip the whole thing. Dr. Melman has seen too many men die from prostate cancer to be particularly sympathetic to this strategy. Instead, he operates from the position that men should want to know if they have cancer, and then should want to become cancer-free in short order. A variety of treatment options will achieve this end; Dr. Melman and his co-author, Rosemary Newnham, a medical writer, deliver a detailed, straightforward and methodical description of them all. Illustrations help with the anatomy, and ample attention is paid to the severe side effects all these treatments can have. The most common side effects are urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction, both caused by surgical or radiation damage to the network of nerves traversing the prostate. Despite the newest amazingly capable surgical robots and finely tuned beams of radiation, either or both of these conditions may ultimately replace cancer as a mans most significant medical problem. After Prostate Cancer details everything that can be done to help, from Viagra and urinary catheters to a variety of additional surgeries. A final section is directed toward men whose cancer has spread; although they will probably die of the cancer, treatments can keep them well for a while. There is nothing revolutionary in any of this; Dr. Melman is merely outlining what capable urologists know and do. What is unusual is the patient, unhurried, slightly pedantic but altogether reassuring tone. The man has all the time in the world for you, and for that reason alone this book may well supply the cancer patient with what he has difficulty finding elsewhere. AFTER PROSTATE CANCER A What-Comes-Next Guide to a Safe and Informed Recovery. By Arnold Melman, M.D., and Rosemary E. Newnham. Oxford University Press. 256 pages.