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[Wellness] FW: CureXtra-July Issue 2004
Thanks
Jerrie, I forwarded this to the list because it is great info for all and I
think that Cure magazine offers the most up to date in depth coverage in this
area. Thanks again, Best health
Karen
Karen, here is some information relating to the topic you have often
written about: Chemo-brain. The information comes in relationship
with the Cure magazine.
Jerrie Kalenda
Note: forwarded message
attached.
Title: cureXtra June 2004
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Only recently has the condition known as cognitive dysfunction
or “chemobrain” received
attention from medical professionals. Cancer patients have long complained of
symptoms such as memory loss after completing chemotherapy, and recent studies
have shown chemotherapy maybe associated with chemobrain. But now, a new study
has found the cancer itself may potentially result in cognitive dysfunction in
some patients.
Researchers at M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center in Houston published their findings
in the journal Cancer, showing that 35 percent of 84 breast cancer
patients demonstrated
cognitive impairment prior to chemotherapy. The exact reason for this prechemotherapy
effect is unknown. (The study also found chemotherapy causes chemobrain in
women who did not show symptoms before treatment.)
Previous
studies have found the frequency of chemobrain ranges
from 17 to 75 percent. But authors of the recent study believe
earlier studies may have
overestimated
the actual incidence of chemobrain due to chemotherapy because cognitive
functioning was not measured prior to treatment. “Given the current documentation
of objective cognitive impairment before adjuvant systemic therapy, a
large proportion
of patients in previously published reports who performed at levels below
what was expected when they were assessed after chemotherapy may well
have performed at that same level before chemotherapy,” say the authors.
Patients
or family members who notice changes in cognition may consider a
pretreatment neuropsychologic evaluation against which postchemotherapy
changes
in cognition
can be compared.
For more about chemobrain,
see the Spring 2002 issue of CURE at www.curetoday.com.
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More and more men are being diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer
because of routine PSA (prostate-specific antigen) screening. But many
times, it is difficult to know which patients have a more serious case of prostate
cancer as opposed to patients who have a slow-growing, less serious type
of
prostate cancer.
A study, published in
The New England Journal of Medicine in July, found that PSA
velocity (the rate at which PSA levels rise) in the
time before surgery
can predict the risk of developing advanced prostate cancer despite
undergoing radical prostatectomy. This information will give
doctors the knowledge
they need to make better use of results from PSA tests.
The study
followed more than 1,000 men with localized prostate
cancer for a median of more than five years and found that
men in this study with a high PSA velocity were 10 times more likely to
die from
the
disease within
five to seven years.
Prostate cancer often
grows slowly, but these findings give patients and doctors
alike the information they need to make
treatment
decisions of watchful waiting or aggressive treatment. In
addition, these findings emphasize
the importance of getting regular PSA screenings in order
for level changes
to be recognizable.
Be watching for the
Fall 2004 issue, which will include a feature on prostate cancer.
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The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) has partnered with the
National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop an online map that tracks
pancreatic cancer research, treatment programs and clinical trials. PanCAN
originated
the mapping concept and the NCI is helping move the project forward to
identify and track research and clinical trials that are primarily focused
on pancreatic
cancer.
The completed PanCAN-NCI
Pancreatic Cancer Research Map will chart all research focused
on pancreatic cancer and make it publicly available through
a web-based database. Construction of the map is currently under
way and will
allow patients, families, researchers and physicians access to a
comprehensive listing of ongoing research projects and
clinical trial information.
The information will
be used to highlight research progress, identify gaps in areas of research
funding and assist in the development
of
collaborative research projects and clinical trials.
“Our goal is to
deliver progress in the area of pancreatic cancer research and treatment,” said
Paula Kim, co-founder and president of scientific and government affairs
for PanCAN, in a press release. “No
one else is taking this unique mapping approach. The map
will give a true picture of the
current state of pancreatic cancer research, and we’ll be able to
quickly identify the type and location of current research
efforts. We see the
map as an important model for all cancers, but one that is
especially important for enhancing the research effort in
underfunded, underrepresented cancers.”
The map is expected
to be up and running by the end of 2004. For updates, visit www.pancan.org.
And to read more about pancreatic cancer, see the Winter
2003 issue of CURE at www.curetoday.com.
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SEPT. 11
Concert featuring Grammy award-winning jazz singer Diana Krall to
benefit the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF)
San Francisco’s Four Seasons Hotel
For tickets, call Kim McCall at 203-652-0205 or e-mail mccallk@themmrf.org.
SEPT. 16-19
HERA (health, empowerment, research and advocacy) Women’s Cancer Foundation’s
Climb for Life
Salt Lake City
For more information or to register, go to www.ovariancancer.jhmi.edu/climb.
SEPT. 19
MMRF-Ann Landers Race for Research 5K Walk/Run
10 a.m. (registration at 8:30 a.m.)
Chicago’s Soldier Field
For more information, visit www.MMRFrace.org or call
203-652-0209.
OCT. 3
4 Paws for a Cure benefiting the National Childhood Cancer
Foundation
Half-day event (registration and free breakfast starts
at 7:30 a.m.)
Ft. Lauderdale’s Bark Park
For details, visit www.pawswalk.org or call 954-462-4850
ext. 148.
OCT. 28
A Magical Night benefiting Fertile Hope
7 p.m.
San Francisco’s Design Center Galleria
For more information, go to www.fertilehope.org.
Until next time,
Melissa Weber
Managing Editor
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