Caring for someone with cancer? Surprise, you're a caregiver

BY GUEST BLOGGER | AUGUST 21, 2009

Lindsay Ray, a graduate student at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, is an editorial summer intern for CURE.

This summer my cousin was diagnosed with testicular cancer. As this is my first experience with someone close to me being diagnosed with cancer, my mind was immediately filled with questions.

What does this mean? How should I feel about this? How can I help? It was the helping question that proved to be the most trouble. Because my cousin lives a few hours away and being a poor college student, I couldn't drive to visit him often as I would have wanted. Instead, I decided to help out by doing some of the things I do best--research and baking. I volunteered to be the family medical researcher and baked a huge batch of brownies I mailed to him overnight.

Does this mean I consider myself a caregiver? Not necessarily--but maybe I should. While working on the article "I'm Not a Caregiver, Am I?" I got the chance to interview people on how most caregivers don't see themselves as caregivers. What I discovered in working on that article is that most caregivers never label themselves as such. They're so focused on the action of taking care of someone that they never sit back and think about the role they've been thrown into. Sometimes it takes someone else (most likely the patient) to help the caregiver think about their new role.

The main revelation I took away from working on the article is anybody can be a caregiver. The role of caregiver is hard to define for people because it encompasses so many different activities--from occasionally offering assistance from afar to helping someone daily. I still find it hard to consider myself a caregiver. I mainly consider my part as doing whatever I can (no matter how small it might be) to help out. If that makes me a caregiver, then I guess I am one.

What I do know is that caregiving is something that touches everyone's lives whether they recognize the caregiving role formally or not.

I think Rosalynn Carter put it best when she said, "There are only four kinds of people in the world--those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers."

Move over, Lance!

BY GUEST BLOGGER | AUGUST 10, 2009

Lindsay Ray, a graduate student at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, is an editorial summer intern for CURE.

Lance Armstrong is the most famous cyclist to raise awareness about cancer. The seven-time Tour de France champion just placed third in his eighth appearance at the race. But Armstrong isn't the only one to use the power of cycling to raise awareness for cancer. Craig Broeder has picked up his bicycle and turned his love of cycling into a worthy cause--celebrating his wife's 20th year of survival from ovarian cancer.

Kay Broeder was diagnosed March 15, 1989 while Craig was working on his doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin. Craig is now the director of the clinical exercise physiology program at Benedictine University in Illinois where the Broeders reside. As Kay approached the 20th anniversary of her diagnosis, Craig decided he wanted to do something special to celebrate--a 9,000-mile trek around the perimeter of the United States in just 100 days. On his website he writes, "All my life, I have loved challenges that take me beyond what I cannot easily image doing. I like the challenge of seeking a finish line that is beyond my grasp!" However, Craig's finish line is fast approaching. He plans to finish his journey on August 25, his and Kay's 25th wedding anniversary.

Craig began the grueling process of training and planning for the trip about a year in advance. On May 15, Craig left Austin, Texas and began his trip around the country. As of July 30, he's logged over 6,500 miles and is currently on the East Coast headed south. The Broeders blog about the journey (Kay is following in a support car) on their website and frequently provide updates via their twitter account (twitter.com/jazzercb).

On his website, Craig says of his trip: "But whatever I face on this journey, it is nothing compared to what every cancer patient faces when they are diagnosed and doctors tell them about the challenges of chemo, radiation, surgery, loss of life quality, loss of jobs, family challenges, and the potential of a complete loss of life. In comparison, this ride is cakewalk."

In addition, the Broeders hope to get a million people to donate $1 each to the Craig and Kay Broeder Preventive Health Female Cancer Foundation for preventive education, exercise, nutrition, and ovarian cancer research.

But the Broeders aren't the only ones who have turned a love of cycling into a worthy cause. Also check out Cyclists Combating Cancer, a group of cancer survivors who share their cancer experiences and passion for cycling.

PARP inhibitors prime example of acceleration in drug discovery

BY GUEST BLOGGER | AUGUST 3, 2009

Diane Gambill, PhD, is CURE's senior scientific advisor and chief scientific officer for Physician's Education Resource and Cancer Information Group.

You may be wondering how PARP inhibitors burst onto the oncology scene with seemingly little prelude. The other day, CURE's managing editor, Melissa Weber, reminded me that I had made a bold prediction a couple of years ago regarding the PARP inhibitors. At the time, I was very enthusiastic about the early data on PARP inhibition, especially because the science behind it made so much sense to me (look for a feature on PARP inhibition in the next issue of CURE). I advised Melissa to keep an eye on this field for important developments in the near future. Now PARP is one of the most "Googled" cancer-related words on the Web.

The events leading up to this year's much-publicized presentation on PARP inhibitors in breast cancer (see CURE's coverage of ASCO 2009) represent the dramatic acceleration in drug development timelines. Several key advances have primed the bench-to-bedside revolution in cancer research over the past decade. Applying the power of computing to automating lab processes and analyzing large volumes of data is probably the lynch pin of the bench-to-bedside revolution. In the mid 80s, it became possible to sequence a single gene, but it could take several years to confirm just one gene sequence! With high throughput technology, the timelines are now compressed to mere days (not quite fitting into a 48-minute CSI episode ... but close).

Comparing a commonly used cancer drug, Taxol, to the PARP inhibitors brings these advances into focus. Taxol was discovered in 1967 and first presented at a research meeting the same year. This discovery was part of an NCI program established in 1955 to systematically search for natural products--essentially a hunt-and-peck method for drug discovery. It was 25 years later that Taxol was approved by the FDA for treating cancer in the clinic. (You can read more about the Taxol in The Discovery of Taxol from CURE's Winter 2006 issue).

PARP inhibition as an antitumor strategy first emerged from the laboratory around 1994. About four years ago, clinical investigations were undertaken with some of the first-generation inhibitors, and today a phase III trial is already under way. These are indeed exciting times for both researchers and patients.

Many agents now on the market have been discovered and approved on somewhat shorter timelines than Taxol, but the discovery-to-bedside timeline for the PARP inhibitors is quite remarkable--probably more so because of the promising results presented in this year's ASCO plenary session in breast cancer.

So, what about my next prediction? Stay tuned ...

New cancer site combines social networking, research, and medical record keeping

BY GUEST BLOGGER | JULY 24, 2009

Anna Sobering, a senior journalism student at the University of Kansas, is an editorial summer intern for CURE.

Patients and caregivers have a lot on their plates when dealing with a cancer diagnosis and its treatment. Easy tasks such as keeping track of appointments, medications, side effects, medical records, and updating friends and family, can be daunting for patients going through the physical and emotional stresses of cancer.

The American Cancer Society recognized the cancer community should have a way to use available technology with the information the ACS provides that would satisfy the needs of those who are dealing with cancer.

Len Lichtenfeld, MD, deputy chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society says, "We begin to realize, as we live in an information age, that we will need to have tools that take advantage of the technologies that are out there."

As a result, the ACS launched Circle Of Sharing, a free social, organizational, and informational online resource tool for the cancer community.

In the development of this site, the ACS understood it must meet the expectations of a public that routinely uses the advanced social networks already available to them online. Therefore, with the help of Microsoft HealthVault, a free, secure, and private health service, the ACS built the Circle Of Sharing to function as a community networking application combined with a system that stores electronic medical records and provides a personalized collection of credible research and resources from the ACS.

In looking over the site, I've come to the conclusion that this tool could make the lives of those dealing with a cancer a lot easier. Instead of spending hours online researching and sifting through the vast amount of cancer information on the Web that could be unreliable or incorrect, Circle Of Sharing allows users to simply enter in information about their cancer and the site instantly provides them with personalized articles about their cancer diagnosis, treatment options, side effects, local resources, and support groups.

Lichtenfeld says the convenience of this tool makes it an extraordinary online resource for cancer patients and caregivers. "Being able to put all medical information in one place and putting the patient in control, really puts this Circle Of Sharing on a higher level than most of the other services that are available to the cancer community," he says.

Similar to an online social network, users can invite friends and family to become part of their 'Circle' to keep in contact with them or share updates regarding the status of their health. Similar to a Facebook page, users have profiles that they can customize and update. They can also choose to share any of the personalized information that is provided to them by the ACS with members of their Circle. To file their records in Circle Of Sharing, users will also need to create a Microsoft HealthVault account. Electronic medical records entered into Circle Of Sharing are stored in Microsoft HealthVault. Personal information entered in Circle Of Sharing is protected by the security and privacy enhancements put in place by Microsoft.

According to Lichtenfeld, users should not fear the security of their medical records on Circle of Sharing. "Microsoft has gone to great lengths to make sure privacy and electronic medical records are protected," he says.

Does Circle Of Sharing meet all the needs of the online cancer community?--Lichtenfeld says it's a step in the right direction.