The American Cancer Society Sets A Goal To Reduce The Burden Of Cancer: Are We Up To The Challenge?

Ever wonder what would happen to cancer in this country if we all did better at what we do every day?

The American Cancer Society has an answer in a recently published paper in our journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and it may surprise you what we could accomplish if we set our minds to the task.

We recently reported that between 1990 and 2015, the cancer death rate declined by 27%. That’s a remarkable accomplishment. However, we still have a long way to go. Too many of us experience the burdens and losses from cancer. All of us want to see this disease in its many forms vanquished.

Our researchers looked at what would happen if all of us had the same cancer risk as college graduates in the United States, then came up with an estimate of how that would impact deaths from cancer from 2015 and 2035.

The answer: we could reduce deaths from cancer by close to another 40% beyond what we have already accomplished. That would be a total of over 54% from 1990. And it would mean 1.3 million fewer premature deaths from cancer between 2020 and 2035. Remarkably, it would mean … Continue reading →

Alex Trebek Is Diagnosed With Advanced Pancreatic Cancer–And We Are Reminded Of The Strength And Dignity Those With Cancer Offer To Others, Every Day

The news that Alex Trebek has advanced stage IV pancreatic cancer has been met with an outpouring of support and good wishes, as would be expected for someone who has been a part of our lives for so many years.

The fact is, pancreatic cancer is a difficult disease to treat effectively. That is due in no small part to the fact that—as the case with Mr. Trebek–pancreatic cancer is usually diagnosed at a later stage, remaining undetected until it causes difficulties and symptoms by its spread. The reality is that for most people pancreatic cancer is too advanced to be treated with surgery and is not very responsive to currently available chemotherapy and targeted therapy medications. And newer forms of treatment such as immunotherapy and CAR-T haven’t shown particular success at this point.… Continue reading →

A Bellwether Study On Excess Body Weights Sends A Warning: Young Adults Have Increased Rates of Cancer

What if I told you our children were being exposed to a known carcinogen, and it was increasing with successively younger kids? If that carcinogen were a preservative in packaging or chemicals from industrial waste, there would be widespread outcry. But it’s neither of those things. It’s something far more dangerous, but that we’ve somehow accepted as no big deal. But the risk is very real. The carcinogen is excess weight.

Now a new report from my colleagues at the American Cancer Society shares evidence the problem is worse than most of us realized.… Continue reading →

A Cure For Cancer? Not So Fast

The news report in the Jerusalem Post regarding researchers’ claim that they have found a cure for cancer is certain to get our attention. And, it goes without saying, we all share the aspirational hope that they are correct. Unfortunately, we must be aware that this is far from proven as an effective treatment for people with cancer, let alone a cure.… Continue reading →

Cancer Statistics 2019: Cancer Death Rates Have Declined 27% In 25 Years, And We Still Have A Long Way To Go

Good news is always welcome, especially when talking about something as serious as cancer. And there is plenty of welcome information in the American Cancer Society’s release today of our annual report on “Cancer Statistics, 2019” and its accompanying consumer-oriented version of “Cancer Facts & Figures 2019.”

Among the good news in this report: A significant decline in death rates from cancer—especially among some of the most common cancers, significant improvements in early detection and treatment of cancer, and a decrease in the disparities in death rates between African-Americans and whites.

Despite the good news, unfortunately, there are also pieces of the puzzle that have not been solved. And to ignore that information is a disservice to those who struggle with cancer and those who have passed because of this dread disease. The reality is we can—indeed, we must—do better. And that fact is an equally important part of the information contained in this report.… Continue reading →

Justice Ginsburg Diagnosed With Cancer In the Lung: What We Know–And What We Don’t Know

The announcement today that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has undergone surgery for cancer in her lung reminds us all that in situations like this we need to be cautious in speculating as to exactly what has happened to the Justice. Notwithstanding information that has been made available to the public in several reports, we need to be aware that there is likely additional information that is not yet available to the media and others.

As in similar situations where those who are in the public arena—be they judges, politicians, actors/actresses or other celebrities—the information they choose to share is usually carefully vetted before being released. Sometimes the information is freely provided. Other times, it is kept very private. Either way, we need to respect those decisions which can be very personal.… Continue reading →

In Praise of Hope

In Praise of Hope

Reading the headlines in the morning newspaper lately can downright depressing. After all, this is supposed to be a holiday season, a time of celebration—not one of a continuing cacophony of conflict at every level.

It was with that feeling that I recalled three conversations I had recently with people who have various cancers. And I realized that despite all the chaos around us, maybe it’s time to say something in praise of hope.

Hope is very real, especially when you or a loved one or someone you know is diagnosed and treated for cancer. Hope is that to which we cling to get us through the difficult days and weeks. Hope is what keeps us looking forward, hope is what we pray for.

We know hope itself cannot change the physical world. It can’t create success. If it could, no patient would ever succumb to this dread disease. However, for the three folks I spoke to, there are very real reasons to be hopeful.… Continue reading →

Aretha Franklin Died From Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor, Not Pancreatic Cancer. There Is A Difference

When is pancreatic cancer not pancreatic cancer? The answer: when it Is a neuroendocrine tumor. And that’s a source of concern for me, especially in light of Aretha Franklin’s death.

A woman who enjoyed a very special place in the hearts of many in this country and throughout the world, her death was bound to be covered extensively in the media. For those of us who are concerned about these things, much of the coverage was frankly wrong in my opinion when it came to describing the disease Ms. Franklin suffered with for seven years.… Continue reading →

A Blood Test For Early Detection Of Melanoma? Not Yet

The headline scrolling across the bottom of an evening news show certainly grabbed my attention: a new blood test had the possibility of detecting early melanoma and saving thousands of lives. And then there were more reports elevating this early research report to a point that I became quite interested—and frankly concerned.

News flash: The research is far from being shown to have proven value in the early diagnosis of melanoma, a less common but certainly potentially deadly form of skin cancer. I am not certain the various media headlines and articles appropriately reflected that fact, once again offering hype over inconvenient reality.… Continue reading →

A New Treatment With Immunotherapy Brings A Moment Of Hope For Patients With Lung Cancer

Lung cancer treatment is clearly the story of the week coming out of the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Chicago. And although media coverage of this emerging information about the role of immunotherapy in lung cancer has been extensive, there is—as always—more to the story, especially if you look closely at the numbers and in particular if you are a non-smoker with lung cancer.

One study stands out among the others in which immunotherapy along with chemotherapy significantly improved survival for patients with certain forms of lung cancer when compared to chemotherapy alone. Not only was that study reported at the Chicago meeting, it was also published simultaneously in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, offering us considerable detail into how the study was performed and the results.… Continue reading →