Tuesday, June 08, 2010

New Drug Boosts Survival in Major Skin Cancer Study

Researchers have scored the first big win against melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. An experimental drug significantly improved survival in a major study of people with very advanced disease. The results, reported Saturday at a cancer conference, left doctors elated.
"We have not had any therapy that has prolonged survival" until now, said Dr. Lynn Schuchter of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, a skin cancer specialist.


The drug, ipilimumab, (ip-ee-LIM-uh-mab), works by helping the immune system fight tumors. The federal Food and Drug Administration has pledged a quick review, and doctors think the drug could be available by the end of this year.
"People are going to have a lot of hope and want this drug, and it's not on their doctors' shelves," although some may be able to get it through special programs directly from its maker, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Schuchter said. Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. Last year in the United States, there were about 68,720 new cases and 8,650 deaths from the disease. Worldwide, more than 50,000 people die of melanoma each year.

"The incidence is rising faster than any other cancer," said one of the study's leaders, Dr. Stephen Hodi of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. "When it spreads to vital organs, it's almost always fatal."
Doctors also reported Saturday at the conference that an experimental drug for lung cancer patients with a certain gene showed extraordinary promise in early testing. The drug, Pfizer Inc.'s crizotinib, (crih-ZAH-tin-ib) targets a gene that promotes tumour growth and is found in about 4 per cent of lung cancers, especially among younger, non-smokers. Nearly 220,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States alone, and it is the world's top cancer killer. Two other gene-targeted treatments, Tarceva and Iressa, help about 20,000 lung cancer patients annually in the U.S.

The skin cancer study involved 676 people around the world with advanced, inoperable melanoma who had already tried other treatments — a very grim situation. They were given one of three treatments: ipilimumab by itself, with another immune-stimulating treatment, or the immune-stimulating treatment alone. After two years, 24 per cent of those given the drug alone or in combination were alive, versus 14 per cent of those given just the immune-stimulating treatment.
Average survival was 10 months with ipilimumab versus just more than six months for the others, which worked out to a 67 per cent improvement in survival for those on the drug, said one of the study's leaders, Dr. Steven O'Day of the Angeles Clinic and Research Institute in Los Angeles.
Doctors hope the drug can provide more benefit if given earlier in the course of the disease and to less sick patients. Ten per cent to 15 per cent of patients on ipilimumab had serious side effects related to the drug's actions on the immune system. Most were treatable with high doses of steroids.

Every day brings new developments. There are cures for many types of cancer now and new ones every year. Keep your hope alive. Chances are good your cancer can be cured. Just don't expect a magic pill to be developed that cures all cancers. There are so very many types of cancer and each one has to be researched separately.

68 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:32:00 PM

    It's a blessing to know cancer will be wiped out in the new future(hopefully) and true there are so many different kinds of cancer but that leaves us to hope and pray that a cure will be found in the near future.

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  2. I was interested in this discovery because my friend Murphy died of Melanoma. Even now they wouldn't be able to save her from agressive melanoma but it sounds like they are getting pretty close. It gets into your lymphatc system so quickly, often before the melanoma is recognized. This is what happened to Murphy and it was already too late.

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  3. Someday I'll tell her story again, only in full detail, not in the Reader's Digest form that I used the first time. it is a story very rich in joy as well as sadness.I left so much out. I just gave an outline of the events or a knd of summary.

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  4. Jaye and Angeli are starting their book again since Angeli finished her book right on her deadline. I think it's called 'Violet's Ghost'. I'll find out for sure from Jaye then you can read it.Angeli is on a book signing tour right now.
    I can't remember Angeli's married name so I'll get that too.She married a Texan and she now lives in California.

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  5. Anonymous9:38:00 PM

    Hi swetie

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  6. Anonymous9:42:00 PM

    That's wonderful news, I will read the book and they may make it here for a book signing...

    When I read the post , I thought about Murphy.

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  7. Jaye and Angeli's book is the story of two friends who get separated by the different directions their lives take.It is told in a series of letters they write to each other.Not too unlike the story of you and I.

    They needed a hook to pull the story together. I suggested that one friend dies and leaves her little daughter in the custody of the other. She opens her door one day and there is a tiny little girl on her doorstep who is the living image of her mother. So she feels that she hasn't really lost her friend after all.

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  8. Anonymous9:45:00 PM

    Keep working on Murphy's story and you may want to put it all here, I think people will love to read it and you write so well, maybe you may want to write a book.
    about your friendship with Murphy , you two had a very close relationship.

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  9. Anonymous9:47:00 PM

    That sounds like it can pull the story together and it will have a bitter sweet ending.

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  10. Anonymous9:51:00 PM

    If I could write, I would write a mystery about a lady detective that goes missing in the French Quarters in N.O. trying to find out what happen to her sister.

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  11. Any story that takes place in New Oleans would be so colorful and rich in ethnicity.It is an old city with many secrets.

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  12. Anonymous9:56:00 PM

    I like the girl/sister post...I left you a note on it .

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  13. Anonymous9:59:00 PM

    How's Nana??/ I know what Brian is doing and he will be in there to get a little feel.
    Did the twins go to karate or is it just on Mondays??

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  14. Someone sent it to me. I didn't know it was Friends and Sisters Week.I changed the wording a bit to suit me.

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  15. Anonymous10:05:00 PM

    I didn't there was a sister/girlfriend week until I read the post and I brought Sis a card and box of candy...as you know she's my everything.

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  16. Anonymous10:06:00 PM

    Well, I don't have any help...Mamie is gone.

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  17. The boys went to karate tonight. They were teaching younger kids and then they went to their Masters' training.You become a master when you earn your black belt. It will take about five years to earn their black belts and become masters. They are now junior black belts.

    Jakey gave me another karate lesson. He feels old ladies should know how to defend themselves.

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  18. Anonymous10:12:00 PM

    Jakey is a sweetie...he's coming into his own,he will make it.
    I know you are so proud of them both.
    Is Jakey still in the chess club ??

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  19. The live video link from the ROV is still dead. BP said the new fix has cut the oil flow in half but a news video of the pipe just showed it was gushing out pretty much as forcefully as before.
    Maybe that's why they shut the live feed down.

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  20. Why is Mamie gone? Did Gil fire her?

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  21. Anonymous10:17:00 PM

    That is why they shut the live feed down , I saw the same video as you.
    They was having a memorial for the dead oil workers and a brother spoke and said the CEO wanred his life back, he said he wanted his brother back and broke down, I cried with him.

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  22. I saw the same news clip. And i saw Obama saying the CEO should be fired. He said " that guy wouldn't be working for me."

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  23. Anonymous10:22:00 PM

    I fired her.
    Gil and I talked and he said it was best to let her go because as long as she was here he wouldn't have peace of mind.
    Gil said I for one should know better, he followed the series that you wrote about Jaycee and it can happen to anyone.
    He told me he will do it for me if I wanted him to, but he gave her a nice severance check.

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  24. Anonymous10:24:00 PM

    Did you hear Obama cussing, I said go boy, it's about time.

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  25. Anonymous10:28:00 PM

    I know he reads all your stories and says you write well.
    When he mention Jaycee , I thought of all kinds of bad things, and Jaycee's daddy as watching her.

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  26. You did the right thing. You would never have trusted her completely again.Betrayal fo trust is a hard thing to fix.

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  27. Anonymous10:34:00 PM

    Nan said she knew it wasn't going to be long because I didn't want a housekeeper in the first place.
    I feel really good and my babies don't seem to miss her.

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  28. You know, you could just use a maid service that sends a daily a couple of times a week to clean.

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  29. I think if Mamie hadn't abused her position she would have had a job for many years. She got to go on trips and was included in the family. She would have had it pretty good.

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  30. Anonymous10:41:00 PM

    This spill is only getting worst.
    Cuba is only 90 miles from Florida and it's working it's way up the east coast, soon it will be out in open waters.

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  31. It was a much better job than cleaning hotel rooms. I bet they have to clean up some nasty things.

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  32. Anonymous10:45:00 PM

    I don't need a cleaning service, and I have built in baby sitters.
    I did my best and she has only herself to blame and she came clean and said the guy was here 5/6 time before school was out and I got mad but I held my temper.

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  33. I think the spill will get much worse before they fix it.

    The economy of your state will go down the toilet. It was bad enough with the recession and Katrina. Florida's economy will also suffer. They rely on tourism for a big chunk of their income.

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  34. Anonymous10:47:00 PM

    yes Betts says she don't know how they can clean some of those rooms they are so nasty.

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  35. Anonymous10:50:00 PM

    Mississippi and Alabama they all depend on the fish and tourist trade.

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  36. Our weather report is hot muggy and rainy rainy rainy right through the weekend.

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  37. Anonymous10:52:00 PM

    We will soon have another influx of people and I'm sure will also get some bad ones.

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  38. Anonymous10:54:00 PM

    We are having thunderstorms almost everyday. When they stop it's going to hotter than a dick's hat band.

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  39. Anonymous10:56:00 PM

    I hope the rain don't put a damper on your weekend and you can ejoy Jer. Friday.

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  40. I hope it doesn't spoil Friday for Jer also. We all go outside to take pictures in the garden at the auditorium. We will go out to dinner afterwards. Jer won't be with us because the graduates have their own dinner after the ceremony.

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  41. Justin's company is folding so he will be out of a job soon. He has a fancy apartment in Mississauga to support and he is used to a certain lifestyle. He better get moving and find a new job.

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  42. Anonymous11:03:00 PM

    I hope it hold so you can take pictures after the ceremony. I know you are a proud young grandmother...Jer always liked showing you off to his friends.

    Will Brian be able to go I hope so???

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  43. Anonymous11:05:00 PM

    What time do school start there.
    I hope the company give the employees some leads.

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  44. Anonymous11:07:00 PM

    You are going to have a lot of fun with the twins and I know Nana will enjoy as she always do.
    Listen up girl...when you play hide-and-seek remember not to hide in the closet.[giggles]

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  45. Brian will be there. He is not tied to a schedule.
    School goes back on Sept.5.
    Justin's company is giving them no help at all and no severance. The president has already left for better parts and Justin is practically running the whole thing, at least temporarily.

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  46. Even though they are 11, they still like playing hide and seek. It's just that they get distracted and wander off to do something else and leave me in the closet. They do the same thing to Jaye too.

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  47. One time, for a joke, we left Brian standing in the shower and went and played something else. I was tempted to turn on the shower.

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  48. Anonymous11:15:00 PM

    That will look good on Justin's resume , he's a very smart your man. That's a shame the guy runned of and left them to fend for themselves...he's a turd.

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  49. Anonymous11:19:00 PM

    Boy, they are a lot of fun and I can tell you enjoy them.
    I bet they are mischievous little devils.

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  50. To clarify: Brian was hiding in the shower.

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  51. Anonymous11:22:00 PM

    It would be a hoot if the company just decided to down-size and not close and let Justin run it.
    They wouldn't have to pay the guy's high salary.

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  52. Do you play hide and seek with your kids?
    Another little kid's game they still like to play is 'Hide the Button'. You hide it somewhere and when they are looking for it you tell them if they are getting warmer or colder.

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  53. Anonymous11:25:00 PM

    I know what you meant, you are beginning to sound more like me everyday.

    Don't forget to go to the girlfriend/ sister post and put the names in order and I will get them tomorrow.

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  54. Of all those names, does one appeal to you?

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  55. Anonymous11:29:00 PM

    Yes I play hide and seek with them and they show Gilly where I am and let him find me and the little buggie see me and just fall out laughing.
    I will play the button game tomorrow..thankyou.
    Like you, I love being a kid with them.

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  56. Anonymous11:31:00 PM

    I like them all...I'm just not sure if I got them in order.
    Can we have the food gadget too.
    You can re-work some of your yuk yuks .

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  57. I sometimes give them a treasure map which they have to follow, like 'Turn left at the piano and take three giant steps and stop'.The treasure is usually a treat like chocolate bars or something. I hide it under a cushion or a pillow on the bed or in an ottoman. They love it.
    Scavenger hunts are good too. They each get a list of things they have to find and bring you. The first one to bring everything on his list wins a prize.

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  58. Are we going to close this blog? Maybe we should get new gadgets on the new blog and leave the old ones here but of course Maxy should be the mascot.He will become famous.

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  59. Anonymous11:41:00 PM

    They will love all those and I always keep the mini packages of M & M's, and I buy candy in the fun size bags, that way I know how much they are getting.

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  60. Anonymous11:44:00 PM

    No we won't close this blog...sweetie this is our baby,we have a history here and it good for the space and a lot of stuff .

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  61. I got a million of them. If you run out of things to do just ask me.

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  62. Anonymous11:46:00 PM

    Put any gadgets that you want, but I do know I want Maxy, it's nice to see him smile at me.
    You know you will have to fix it up to be pretty like this one.

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  63. Anonymous11:49:00 PM

    I will ask you about a lot of things for them to do.
    A lady asked me how it felt to have Gilly at my age and I asked her did she have kids and she said yes...I said well you should know it hurt like hell and gave her one of my sweetest smiles.

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  64. Anonymous11:57:00 PM

    It's about time for you to check on your patients and let Maxy out to ckeck on his RP. hahaha

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  65. I will do my best to make it pretty.
    I will say goodnight now honey.I am going to peek in Nana's room.I can't relax sometimes unless I check on her. Then I think a nice cup of tea. I can't remember what I put in drafts to be possible posts. I hope it's a good news day.

    So I'll see you at the Bloggers' picnic.I'll be the drunk tap dancing on the picnic table with nothing on but two balloons and a tinfoil thong, singing Joy to the World. Bring lots of fried chicken.
    Sweet dreams and nighty-night....luv...PIC

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  66. Post Script: I just checked on Brian. He is spread eagled on the bed, buck naked, sound asleep and it looks like he is having a sexy dream ( if you know what I mean)

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  67. Anonymous12:06:00 AM

    Nana know she's love and will enjoy the twins..

    I will be there with Gilly's bells on and full of dad's punch...

    Goodnight sweetie and pleasent dreams.
    NITE...HUGS & KISSES...LUV...PIC

    KISS THE ROCK...

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  68. Anonymous12:08:00 AM

    Post Script:
    Yes I know what you mean and I bet you are going to jump his poker.
    [giggles] Jump it girl...PIC

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