Cancer Quote Fri - uh, Saturday!

Ok, so it's not Friday, but it is in the early morning hours of Saturday here in London - and the very wee hours in the States - so here goes.

I just uploaded my photos from my recent trip to the Midwest, and couldn't wait to share this quote from the Richard & Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Plaza in Chicago. It is on the first of a series of bronze plaques that surround the plaza entrance.



The plaque reads:

"Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells. It is the most feared disease in America, because it is not understood, even though it is not the largest killer. If we understood cancer, we would not be as afraid of it. It is estimated that the average individual has a wildly dividing cell six times a day. The immune system recognizes this, kills it, and we never know the difference. When the immune system lets down, even temporarily, and these dividing cells get established to the point that the immune system cannot control them, we have cancer."

Upon further Googling, it turns out that Richard and Annette Bloch have named a number of these cancer survivor parks all over the USA. Richard Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block, was a lung cancer survivor (!!!) who died of heart failure in 2004 at the age of 78. After being declared cancer free, he and his wife Annette dedicated their lives to helping people with cancer. The R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation website has some good information; a free e-book for cancer supporters; links to cancer articles and programs; and more. This is an incredibly positive site, clearly reflecting the attitude of its founder.

Ooh, heartwarming stuff! I love it! A great way to start a weekend.

Here is What Cancer is, By the Way.

I have to point out this article (and its multimedia incarnation online) from the June 23 issue of Newsweek. The article is cowritten by Robert A. Weinberg - a name I knew sounded familiar to me - the author of One Renegade Cell, one of the books on my reading list. And frankly, after reading this article, I'm not sure I even need the book (but of course I will). This article gives a great, concise, easy to understand introduction to what cancer is, how it starts, and the lifestyle choices that are in our control to lessen our chances of getting it.

One of my initial motivations for starting this blog was that I, a passionate cancer advocate, could not answer this simple question: What is cancer?

I'm getting there though, and I could probably explain it myself, because for such a complex disease, it starts quite simply - but I'll leave it to Dr. Weinberg this time:

"All tumors begin with one renegade cell [and yes, quoting his own book title is what led me to realize who he was]. Initially the cell is just one of about 30 trillion or so in the body. It looks no different from the cells around it, and, like those cells, it divides only if the organ it's part of needs it to divide. Then, even though the organ around it has enough cells, the renegade cell begins to multiply uncontrollably: one cell becomes two, two become four, four become eight, until the descendants are beyond counting."

It sounds so simple, doesn't it? No wonder Nixon declared the War on Cancer in 1971 - a disease that starts with just one stupid, ugly, mutant cell with a bad attitude should be easy enough to cure, right?

Yeah, not so much.

So what can we do, Dr. Weinberg? He says we can stop smoking (duh), eat foods that don't have a bunch of creepy chemicals in them (duh), and get off our butts on a regular basis (duh). This is not news to me, and it's probably not news to you. But apparently Americans can't hear this enough - our most present cancers (breast, colon, prostate) occur at a fraction of our rate in other parts of the world.

This article may not be groundbreaking, but I sure hope a lot of people read it. If my cancer reading has taught me anything, it's that this disease has a nasty way of striking at random and without bias. But there are fundamental things we can do to prevent cancer - and it goes without saying that we need to be doing them.

I suppose I won't be going out for fish 'n chips for dinner after all.

First Attempt at the Big Cancer Picture

So I just spent way too much time this afternoon creating a cancer timeline in Microsoft Paint that is really hard to read. Oops. But I am going to publish it anyway! This was my understanding of what I am calling the Big Cancer Picture (how it started, how treatments began and have developed, the roots of cancer advocacy, etc.) after reading

One in Three. So, get out your microscope, and without further adieu...

P.S. It's legible if you click on it! Cheers!

Back to work! (A Book Review)

Ok, it's been awhile since I've hit the books - well, cancer books at least. I've taken a slight vacay from the heavy reading and have been thoroughly enjoying Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger (See? I'm not just a nerd, I'm also a girl!) but as my school year approaches there is still a lot I need to learn.

So to get myself back in the mood, I'll post a couple reviews of books I've read this year. I am eager to hear if anyone out there has also read these books, so please leave your comments!

First up: One in Three: A Son's Journey into the History and Science of Cancer by Adam Wishart.

Frankly, I could not have kicked off my quest to learn about cancer with a better book for me. I had just moved to the UK from New York City, and lo and behold, Wishart is a British TV producer. I felt right at home, both in my new home and in my new book.

Wishart masterfully weaves together anecdotes of his father's cancer battle with his own fearless quest to learn about the documented history of the disease that was slowly breaking down his father's body. His ultimate take on the whole thing is this:

"We need desperately, therefore, to learn how to talk about cancer and to regard it no longer as a painful taboo. There is an urgent need to do so, because each of us will one day be touched by the disease, as one in three people will be diagnosed with it within their lifetimes. It is time to understand that cancer is becoming a disease to live with rather than only die from."

Word!

I couldn't have said it better myself.

After reading this book I felt like I had a very good understanding of the basic history of cancer - when it was first documented (a malignant tumor scar on the jawbone of Homo erectus?!); how treatments began and (thankfully) have progressed over hundreds of years; cells, radiation, and chemo - oh my! And also Nixon's "War on Cancer," alternative medicine, genetics, the latest advances in treatment and the movement towards "living with cancer" instead of dying from it. Phew! Glad someone else has done all that research so I don't have to. I'll just read your books, thank you very much.

Needless to say, I was excited to find a kindred spirit in my first foray into cancer lit. I even emailed Adam to tell him as much. He never replied, but I am determined to not let that affect my feelings for this book. I am profoundly grateful for its existence and hope to be able to both teach about cancer and encourage others to approach the disease as fearlessly as Wishart exemplifies for us all.