OCNA Conference and Ovarian Cancer Capitol Hill Day

The Ovarian Cancer National Alliance is holding its 11th Annual conference in Washington DC on July 8-10, 2008 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel . It should be a very interesting time to meet other survivors , listen to reports on the latest research and celebrate those who have made a difference in the lives of other.


July 10th is Ovarian Cancer Capital Hill Day. Training takes place the night before. Capital Hill visits are scheduled from 9 -3 that day. It is so important that Senators and Congressmen are given the opportunity to put a face - our face - on this disease.

LiveStrong
Dee

Two Thoughts

The past week I picked up a fortune cookie and a mint from Chick-fil-A. Here are the words of wisdom they contained.

Fortune cookie
It is up to you to create your own adventures today!

Sometimes on this cancer journey we need to remind ourselves that it is ok to have a little adventure. For me, during treatment a walk in Donaldson Park sometimes gave me the opportunity to watch the Rutger's crew teams row. That unexpected treat was an adventure.


Chick-fil-A
"We never realize our greatest potential until we perform our very best"

LiveStrong
Dee

Senate Passed GINA on April 24th

The US Senate passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) on April 24th. GINA prohibits discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and employment. The bill is being sent to the House for a vote. President Bush has already said he will sign the bill into law.
This will help high risk women feel more comfortable about getting tested for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.

A Great Doctor Visit

Today was my 3 month visit at CINJ with my gynecological oncologist, Dr Darlene Gibbon. She once again went over my CT results. ( There were no changes since the December scan.) . We talked about the results of the clinical trial I was in that Dr Rodriguez reported on in San Diego earlier this month. We also talked about the new Yale marker test and I asked about Dr Wicha and his cancer stem cell research. Then it was exam time. Everything looks good! Hurrah! So I asked Dr Gibbon if I could make my next appointment in 6 months. Now I really enjoy speaking with Dr Gibbon about various topics-not always cancer related. But her answer was no - once I am 3 years out of treatment( that will be March 2009) then I can go to every 6 months. So I will get a chance to see her and her staff in July.

Continuing to LiveStrong
Dee

Help with a LiveStrong Day Project

A fellow LAF volunteer is doing a special project for LiveStrong Day -May 13, 2008.In her e-mail she says:
"I have committed to the Lance Armstrong Foundation that I will obtain 10,000 signatures supporting the requirement that cancer should be a national priority. My goal is to submit these signatures to state and federal legislatures on May 13 -- Livestrong Day."
So please visit her website and sign the petition- I did!


LiveStrong
Dee

Ovarian Stem Cells

I received a calendar of events from SHARE . They are having a a speaker Dr. Max Wicha speak on May 2. His topics is The role of stem cells in the cause and treatment of cancer. So I went on-line and found a NY Times article written this past December on his research. His research looks at cancer stem cells- those cells that make tumors.

"Although many scientists have assumed that cancer cells are immortal — that they divide and grow indefinitely — most can only divide a certain number of times before dying. The stem-cell hypothesis says that cancers themselves may not die because they are fed by cancerous stem cells, a small and particularly dangerous kind of cell that can renew by dividing even as it spews out more cells that form the bulk of a tumor. Worse, stem cells may be impervious to most standard cancer therapies."

Today I looked at my own blog page's News section and I found an article article "Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells Identified, Characterized" based on research done at Yale. At the AACR conference, Dr. Mor presented his research that "identified, characterized and cloned ovarian cancer stem cells"and showed that these stem cells may be the source of ovarian cancer's recurrence and its resistance to chemotherapy."

University of Michigan researchers also presented info as reported in this article; "Secrets of Cellular Signaling ..." . Their research looks at how these stem cells communicate via the Notch pathway and that a drug developed for Alzheimers patients by Merck is being tested on breast cancer patients in a trial.

Maybe these stem cells really do hold the answer to the question of why some women become resistant and recur so quickly and some after a long time and some not at all. Interesting research!

LiveStrong
Dee

It's Good!

Right after dinner Deanna, my oncology nurse from CINJ, called to give me my CT scan report. My chest and pelvic scans were clear and the spots on my liver are unchanged. Now that is GOOD NEWS! She made my day.

Continuing to LiveStrong!
Dee