Chronic Lympocytic Leukemia (CLC) unfortunately remains an incurable disease, but thanks to scientists from the Mayo Clinic -- working in conjunction with the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center -- it is becoming increasingly more manageable with the help of new chemotherapy tools.

Using a drug cocktail consisting of Pentostatin, Cyclophosphamide and Rituximab, patients experienced a positive clinical response, meaning that they experienced improvement in their condition. To measure the success of this three-drug approach (which was implemented as a means of increasing the efficacy of using the antibiotic Penostatin by itself), the researchers found that 91percent of the patients had positive results to the treatment based on the National Cancer Institute's Working Group criteria for responses. Of that 91percent, forty-one percent achieved complete response, twenty-two percent experienced nodular partial response and twenty-eight percent had partial response. Additionally, the researchers discovered that the treatment also had an effect on the suppression of bone marrow and/or infections.

It appears as though patients of all ages can benefit from this treatment, as the data suggests that it was equally as effective for the young and the elderly (people over 70).

In a curiosity about Dole Food owner David H. Murdock's quest to help people live better longer, I visited the Dole Food website. When you first arrive you will be greeted by the slogan The Dawn of the Nutrition Age. When it comes to food and nutrition, this is a comprehensive resource of internet destination. In the Healthy Recipes area, you can find 30 Minute Meals, BBQ & Grilling, Fruit Salads, Fun Kid Snacks, Holiday Entertaining, Less than 5 Ingredients meals, Main Dish Salads, Pizzas, Quick Breads and Tastes Like Chicken. There is a Glossary, Conversion Table, The Benefits of Getting Steamed, Healthy Snacks, and Put the Squeeze on Added Calories. The Art of the Meal included instructions on how to create simple works of art with food.

Dole Nutrition News is a bi-monthly online newsletter featuring information and news on diet, fitness, nutrition and natural beauty available free to interested readers.

What is a wonky wave? It is Science AGoGo's non-technical term for the circular waves found on cancer cells that allow cancer cells to spread. Mayo Clinic researchers call it the discovery of a cellular secret. While watching the circular waves on cancer cells researchers were able to understand  how specific processes in the wave may affect such things as cell growth, cell movement and cancer metastasis.

According to the newly-discovered information, the circular waves round up activated growth-promoting proteins from the cell surface and take them to the interior of the cell. In cancer cells it appears that either these waves may not function properly, or as Science AGoGo would say, when the waves go wonky, the process allows the waves to signal a cell to acquire cancerous traits such as excessive growth and invasive movement that constitute metastasis. All very intriguing, and if the continued research holds up, this could mean a new way to combat cancer metastasis. If researchers can figure what prompts cancers to spread, they will be able to control it with more effective treatments. Waves going wonky might be a start.

On April 17th, in his first visit to the Mayo Clinic, the 14th Dalai Lama will speak to patients and staff. Compassion in the Face of Suffering will focus on practices that encourage a peaceful mind and positive ways to live during difficult times. The Mayo Clinic will host a live webcast of the presentation on the website.

Buddhist monk, the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual and political leader of Tibet, who is respectfully referred to as His Holiness. Yet he describes himself as just a simple monk.

Since his first visit to America in 1979, he has visited the U.S. dozens of times. He has been awarded numerous honorary doctorates, addressed major universities and partaken in scientific research involving powers of the mind disciplined by meditation. Speaking November 12, 2005 to a gathering of neuroscientists in Washington, D.C, he stated, "I feel, therefore, that a dialogue between neuroscience and society could have profound benefits in that it may help deepen our basic understanding of what it means to be human and our responsibilities for the natural world we share with other sentient beings. I am glad to note that as part of this wider interface, there is a growing interest among some neuroscientists in engaging in deeper conversations with Buddhist contemplative disciplines." I will keep you updated as more information becomes available regarding the live webcast.

A marketing campaign in South Africa has recently been launched claiming Insulin Potentiation Therapy, IPT, as a breakthrough in cancer therapy.  The Cancer Association of South Africa, CANSA, wants the public to know it is nothing more than a sham of false promises being made to appeal to desperate cancer patients, and warns people to ignore the claims being made in the ads.

According to CANSA researchers, this is not a new breakthrough cancer therapy, but originated in Mexico over 70 years ago. The Mayo Clinic has designated IPT as a dangerous alternative cancer treatment with absolutely no scientific evidence that it works, or is safe. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has referred to IPT as an unproven treatment with potentially lethal side-effects. This is another case to be made for questioning the source of cancer cure claims and researching any alternative treatment before you buy into it. There are alternative cancer therapies that are proving to be of benefit, but this is not one of them. Be warned, and be informed, because it's only a matter of time before these people show up on other global doorsteps trying to sell their medical miracle.

As a newly-diagnosed cancer patient, many well-meaning people may share cancer information they believe to be true, but in reality may simply be a cancer myth. Myths are commonly held beliefs not supported by facts, that often defy common sense, and persist despite evidence to the contrary. Dr. Timothy Moynihan, a cancer specialist at the Mayo Clinic, addresses some of the common cancer myths that many may still accept as factual truths. A few of the myths Dr. Moynihan discusses are:

• A positive attitude is all you need to beat cancer. While there is no scientific proof that a positive attitude improves a cancer patient's chances of being cured, it can improve the quality of life during cancer treatment and cancer survivorship.

• If we can put a man on the moon, we should have a cure for cancer by now. Cancer is a complex group of more than 100 diseases, involving many different factors. Advancements in treatments are being made almost daily, but there is still much the medical and scientific community does not understand when it comes to cancer survivorship and why some people do better than others in surviving cancer. Dr. Moynihan points out that finding the cure for cancer is proving to be more complex than mastering the engineering and physics required for space flight.

• Cancer is always painful. Some cancers never cause pain, while many advanced cancers do cause pain. Cancers that do cause pain can be controlled more effectively now with pain management , than it was in the past.

• Everyone who has cancer has to have treatment. Cancer treatment is, of course, ultimately a decision of the cancer patient. Some cancer patients decide not to have any treatment for their cancer, in cases where the cancer is a slow-growing cancer, a late-stage cancer, or for quality of life issues. Typically, there will be a team of physicians who evaluate a cancer patient's diagnosis, and recommend a cancer treatment plan, but sometimes the plan will be no treatment.

• Good people do not get cancer. This is a singularly cruel belief. Illness is not a punishment for being a bad person.

• Cancer is contagious. Cancer is not contagious. You can not get cancer by being around, or touching, someone with cancer.

These, and other myths are discussed in detail in Debunking cancer myths: An interview with a Mayo Clinic specialist.