February 27, 2004 

SOME OF THE TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE:
Avastin Approved, Risk of Weight Gain, Radical Step To Reduce Breast Cancer Risk, Cancer Patients Turn to CAM, Cancer Patients Not Given Full Info, Defining Hope for Cancer Patients, FDA Bar Code Rules, Seniors Confused About New Medicare Law.. and other items

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NEWS HEADLINES

Genentech Wins FDA OK For Colon Cancer Drug
Therapeutic Vaccine Beneficial In Stage III Melanoma
Low-Fat Diet Slows Prostate Cancer Growth, In Mice
Weight Gain Predicts Breast Cancer Risk -Study
Double Mastectomy Markedly Reduces Cancer Risk in BRCA1/2 Carriers
Alternative Therapies Popular with Cancer Patients
IBM Wins One Cancer Suit But Faces Another

Cancerpage news is updated daily, Monday through Friday, and on the weekends as warranted. Thirty new articles have been added to cancerpage news since the last newsletter.

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ARE YOU GETTING THE WHOLE STORY?

If diagnosed with an incurable cancer, which strategy would you choose - to take chemotherapy to shrink but not cure the cancer or to "do nothing"? The survival rates are similar. Chemotherapy may come with severe side effects. "Doing nothing" is more accurately described as active observation or watchful-waiting, which means you treat cancer symptoms when they arise but don't go for a cure. Dutch researchers say cancer patients and their families are often not told about all the options considered reasonable for their cancer diagnosis. To read the story, click here.

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"NO ROOM FOR DELUSION"

Jerome Groopman is an oncologist who has written about his field in critical and laudatory terms. His latest book examines "hope", what it is and what it means for cancer patients. In “The Anatomy of Hope” he argues hope is an organ of the body that needs attention and sustenance like all other vital organs. "Hope," Groopman writes, "is the elevating feeling we experience when we see-in the mind's eye-a path to a better future. Hope acknowledges the significant obstacles and deep pitfalls along that path. True hope has no room for delusion." The New York Times reviews Groopman’s new book.  To read their review, click here. (NOTE: The New York Times requires registration. You can use the cancerpage login. User: cancerpage  Password: visitor )

To read the first chapter (in the NY Times) click here.

Learn more about Dr. Groopman at his web site. www.jeromegroopman.com

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IMPORTING DRUG

A survey by the Associated Press this week found 33% of Americans have difficulty buying the drugs they need. At the same time, recent survey results show many Americans support allowing re-importation of drugs from Canada as a way of cutting costs, actions opposed by the Bush Administration. Now Arizona Republican Senator John McCain is threatening to hold up the nomination of Mark McClellan to head the Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). As head of the FDA McClellan has taken an aggressive stance against online pharmacies and states offering help to Americans seeking to buy cheaper drugs from Canada. Read the story in The Hill newspaper.

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CUTTING MEDICATION ERRORS

Thousands of medications and blood products dispensed in hospitals will have to be marked with bar codes under new rules announced by the Food and Drug Administration Wednesday. “Bar codes can help doctors, nurses and hospital make sure that they give their patients the right drugs at the appropriate dosage,” HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said in a press release.  The government estimates the new regulation could prevent nearly 500,000 medical errors and save the healthcare system $93 billion over the next 20 years. For more information, check out the FDA's Bar Code fact sheet.

It's unclear whether the new bar code rule would have prevented the error that lead to last year's death of 2 1/2 year old cancer patient Brianna Cohen of Maryland. The child was recovering at home from a bone marrow transplant when a mistake was made in the IV solution she was getting. Earlier this week a state investigation found numerous safety deficiencies at the Johns Hopkins Home Care Group, which supplied an improperly mixed IV solution. Johns Hopkins accepted full responsibility in the child's death. An out-of-court settlement was reached with the family last week. Hopkins reportedly will  dedicate a Children's Center playroom in Brianna's name and pledged to "take all the necessary steps to investigate the causes and to put into place measures to improve safety processes." To read more about the story, click here.

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CONFUSION ABOUT MEDICARE DRUG BILL

A new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that many seniors (66%) aren't aware that the Medicare prescription drug bill passed Congress and was been signed into law even though two-thirds of seniors said they followed the debate closely. Surprisingly, 24% said they thought the bill was defeated in Congress. Sixty percent of seniors also said they don't understand the bill very well. "The lack of understanding of the prescription drug law makes it ripe for political demagoguery on both sides as we enter the election season. The President will say he delivered a good prescription drug law and the Democratic candidate will say it's a bad law. How are seniors to judge?" said Drew E. Altman, Ph.D., Kaiser's President and CEO.

To protect yourself from political demagoguery, check out the Kaiser Family Foundation's Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit resources online. http://www.kff.org/medicare/rxdrugdebate.cfm

Or check out the government's information site at http://www.medicare.gov/MedicareReform/