Lung cancer patients may not need to wait until their radiation treatment is over to know if it worked according to a new study.

A PET scan several weeks after starting radiation for lung cancer can indicate whether the tumor will respond to treatment, according to researchers the University of Michigan.

PET, positron emission tomography, has been used after radiation treatment to assess response. However, researchers found that PET could be used only a few week into treatment, with a strong correlation between tumor response a few weeks in and three months after treatment completion.

This could allow doctors to change plans midway through treatment and improve outcomes.

At a meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine in Washington in early June, German scientists reported that imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) can show esophageal cancer patients' responses to chemotherapy.

"This is the first study to apply PET results from early metabolic response assessment to clinical decision making in the treatment of common solid tumors, said Ken Herrmann of the Technical University in Munich, Germany. "The outcome for metabolic responders turned out to be remarkably favorable compared to metabolic non-responders."

According to Herrmann, the results can help select patients who are benefiting from chemotherapy and "circumvent the adminstration of inefficient chemotherapy to patients with no metabolic response."

The beloved member of our family, Spotted Calamity Jane, the oldest of our two Dalmatians had to be put down on February 17. It was the hardest decision I personally ever had to make, knowing when it was time to put her out of too much pain. The tears continue to flow and I know will for a long time. She had survived breast cancer at the age of 4 and continued to live a happy life loving her runs on the beach. 2 1/2 years ago she was diagnosed with renal failure, something that is irreversible but we continued to give her a low protein diet and top notch vet care and monitoring that included some acupuncture. It came to a point where we knew the pain was outweighing the good quality of life and the end was not far away and it was time to end the suffering. For 13 years she brought us joy and laughter and unconditional love. She was the leader and companion to our other 8 year old Dalmatian Kiva, who is deaf and followed Cally everywhere watching everything that she did. Watching the two of them running and playing on the beach in the water and sand are memories I will always carry. So we decided to have Cally cremated so we could spread her ashes out on the beach that she loved so much.

Then we were faced with another heart break. Seventeen days later we were told that her ashes had been lost and it floored us. It sent me curled up in a bed crying for a whole day. Family members and friends were outraged as our hearts once again tried to overcome the loss. We were told to get an attorney and sue for compensation. In quietness I walked through the trails in the woods near our house and thought what good could come from all of this. The vet of course refunded our money and offered to buy a memorial stone or something for us. I told him we would think about things. Then I decided that her life and the joy that she brought us should go to something positive and that I did not want to go through the stress and negativity of a law suit and staring at a meaningless stone memorial would not make it any better. That wouldn't change anything. So I suggested to the vet and the cremation services company, to donate money to my favorite charity, Indie Music For Life, that works with independent singer songwriters and comedians to raise money for cancer research and educational awareness programs on the benefits of music and laughter as therapy to cancer patients. This turned the tragedy into a positive. We have the great memories of her life with us and the knowledge that even in her death she has brought more good to the world. Cally is the beautiful dark colored Dalmatian on the left in this picture. Her spots continued to grow and grow which made her look like a black Dalmatian with white spots. We called her "our little negative" for those of you in the photography field that understand reverse imaging. She was a rare jewel and always a positive in our lives.

A poodle named Lucy refuses to leave her owners side and has become very popular with the nurses and visitors. The patient Maggie Bellamy is staying at the hospice while she is undergoing cancer treatments.

Lucy likes to snuggle up on the rug near Maggie's bed and goes for short walks around the grounds. Ms. Bellamy said "I thought it was incredible when I was told that Lucy could come and stay with me in the hospice. She frets over me, but is very well behaved and everyone fell in love with her. She is good therapy for other patients too."

Lucy is the only dog you will see at this hospice. Dogs belonging to Pets as Therapy also pop in with their owners to visit patients.

Fraser Meek, manager of the hospice in-patient unit, said "We are happy to welcome a patient's pet to be bought along either for a visit, or to stay in the room where possible. Visits from gentle pets help the patients relax and add to the homely atmosphere of the hospice".

What a nice story!

Steve, my rat terrier, has been having a problem with his eye for about two months. After four visits to two different veterinarians I was referred to the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in North Jersey. What an amazing place. I did not know that a place like this existed. It was a real hospital but for animals. I was taking my dog to an animal hospital nearby but this was an entirely different experience. I wish I would have gotten him to this place sooner. I scheduled an appointment for their ophthalmologist, Michael J. Ringle, DVM. He knew what was wrong with Steve after about 5 minutes of examination. He used special equipment to look at his eyes and had a diagnosis and plan of action right away.

I was sad when I learned what Steve had was a degenerative eye disease and that without surgery he could go blind. I was however thrilled to get a diagnosis so quickly and actually was expecting them to tell me they didn't know what was wrong with Steve since I have been hearing that for two months. Steve will get surgery next Tuesday and I'm confident he will be fine under the care of Dr. Ringle.

What does this have to do with cancer? Well, when I was in the waiting room I met a women who was with her dog who was getting his second chemotherapy treatment. He was diagnosed with lymphoma. I was so impressed with this place that I wanted to share some information about what they offer at the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital.

The Red Bank Veterinary Hospital offers the most state-of-the-art medicine. RBVH has become the country's largest privately owned veterinary hospital with a general medicine and surgery practice, 24 hour emergency and critical care service, and specialty practice, which includes Avian and Exotics, Cardiology, Critical Care, Dentistry and Oral Surgery, Dermatology and Allergy, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Oncology/Radiation Therapy, Ophthalmology, and Surgery.

Dr. Chandra Belani, Professor of Medicine and Oncology at the University of Pittsburg Cancer Institute, is a leader in the study of lung cancer. During a podcast interview, Belani shares some thoughts on the state of lung cancer -- currently the most common cause of cancer death in the United States.

Belani reveals that progress in the areas of lung cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment can best be described as modest. There has been some progress -- and there are many on-going studies in these areas -- but there are no major breakthrough stories. Belani says there has been modest progress in diagnosis with the use of CT scans and PET scans -- and a combination of the two. There has been modest progress in chemotherapy treatment options. There has been no significant advance in detection -- and prevention is mostly in the hands of each individual since 90 percent of lung cancer cases are related to smoking.

Belani shares that true achievement would come with the discovery of a biomarker to detect lung cancer early and to lower overall mortality rates. He would also like to determine why he is seeing an increase in lung cancer cases among non-smokers.

The bar is being raised, says Belani. But it's slow going.

Positron emission tomography (PET) can measure metabolic activity of tissue. Cancer cells tend to have a higher metabolism than normal tissue, which can be determined on PET for more accurate detection of cancer.

Using the PET scan after diagnoses of breast cancer to check lymph nodes for cancer was looked at in a study that was published in the Archives of Surgery. What the study found out is that the PET scan can detect 60 percent of patients with positive nodes. These patients that know they have positive nodes might be able to start therapy and avoid the axillary dissection or the sentinel node biopsy. These surgical procedures can often have side effects. By avoiding these surgeries a patient that knows they have positive lymph nodes won't have to wait for surgery and extra time to heal to start chemotherapy or other treatments.

If a patient has a negative PET scan showing no cancer in the lymph nodes the axillary dissection or the sentinel node biopsy should be performed since the PET can only pick up 60 percent of patients cancer in the lymph nodes. The patients could still have microscopic cancer cells that the PET can't pick up so in this case surgery is needed.

Getting accurate information on whether or not the cancer was confined to the breast has a big impact on the treatment plan.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a federal agency that conducts research on healthcare quality, costs, outcomes and patient safety has performed a study that shows that other tests other than a biopsy can miss four to nine percent of cancers in women who have an average risk of breast cancer after an abnormal mammogram.

Usually when a women has an abnormal mammogram she will need further testing done. Sometimes testing is performed by MRI, ultrasound or PET scan. This study showed that a biopsy is more effective at detecting breast cancer than the other methods mentioned.

Sometimes we hear about the overuse of biopsies being done since eighty percent of breast abnormalities come out to be benign, however the other twenty percent show to be cancerous.

The research showed that none of the tests mentioned are sufficient to replace biopsy because the screening tests show a two percent risk of missing a cancer in a women who has an abnormal mammogram.

Make sure if you do have an abnormal mammogram that you discuss with your doctor the option to have a biopsy.

You want to be sure your diagnosis is accurate!

When six-year-old Emily Kearney was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma, her parents thought a pet might cheer her up after she spent five months in the hospital undergoing intensive cancer treatments. Casper, a Yorkshire Terrier, became a dearly loved pet companion and comfort to Emily when she came home.

Emily, now 12, and cancer-free, has new cancer worries. Her beloved dog has been diagnosed with the same cancer she had six years ago. Casper has been diagnosed with lymphoma and is currently undergoing the exact same cancer treatments she had to go through -- receiving the same chemotherapy drug, called cyclophosphamide.

Two weeks ago, Emily's mother Jackie, found the lump in Casper's neck. Both parents said they just broke down when the vet gave them Casper's diagnosis. Emily is heartbroken and scared her beloved pet is going to die from the same disease she fought so hard against as a little girl. Her parents are telling her Casper can make it too, and the family is now cheering on little Casper, who once cheered on a little girl through the same cancer. 

Whoever stumbled across this discovery is a genius! First let me say there is nothing that will knock the breath right out of you than being told a test for cancer has come back positive. False-positive results are determined when the second follow-up test reveals the first test is an error in diagnosis. I am certain the first reaction is relief -- and then a sort of aggravation that you had to be put through the harrowing emotions of a cancer diagnosis in the first place.

False-positives can happen for a number of reasons, but one of them involves body heat generated by brown adipose tissue, or brown fat, which can mimic cancer during a PET/CT scan. The current solution is the use of valium and beta blockers during the scan, and studies have shown it reduces reading error by 30 percent. However -- and here is where the whoever thought to do this is a genius comes into play -- the simple use of a warm blanket is more than twice as effective as the administration of drugs in preventing the uptake of tracer by brown fat in the body. According to the researchers, everyone has brown fat, but it is more common in slender women.

Oh this is lame. The AFL is fining players for wearing yellow armbands in a game as a show of support for a fellow teammate who is battling cancer. Here's the really lame part. The AFL said if they let this team do it then they will have to let the other teams do it too. And their point is? So the AFL is going to fine the team $20,000 and then donate the money to cancer charity. In this case, not a redeeming gesture. When Essendon requested permission to wear the armbands in a show of support for player Ramanauskas, who is fighting for a third time of cancer recurrence, the AFL denied the request -- probably based on the fear that if you let one person do it you know what is going to happen next -- everyone is going to want to do it. It's a stupid rule. I am guessing that's what the players were thinking when they went ahead and wore the armbands during the game against Melbourne at Telstra Dome.

It's not like players haven't worn armbands during a game. Once a player wore a black armband in a game in memory of his pet dog who had died, while another player wore a black armband in memory of his family's pet goat. Serious -- that is what the news is reporting happened in the past.

Yeah, if I was one of the players, I woulda worn the yellow armband yesterday too.

The outlandish comedian Tom Green will sit at home in his livingroom and host an internet-only talk show. During his stay at MTV, he taped The Tom Green Cancer Special, an intimate sharing of his diagnosis, surgery and recovery from testicular cancer in the usual Tom Green style of humor. It appears, in his new weekly phone-in internet-only talk show, his cohost will be his pet parrot Rex Murphy. Debuting June 15, Green will tape 50 episodes from his Hollywood Hills home.

"It seemed like the ultimate playground for someone like me," Green told the Associated Press Monday. "I've always enjoyed doing goofy experimental stuff that sometimes was too weird to put on a TV show but was fun artistically." The anything goes Tom Green show will air on ManiaTV.com. According to ManiaTV's VP of programming, Richard Ayoub, ManiaTV has no standards and practices.

Green is a six-year cancer survivor who proves that there is an uproarious life to be lived after a cancer diagnosis. Green certainly doesn't appear to have lost his sense of humor. In addition to his upcoming internet-only talk show, Green keeps a website and a blog.

"I would not like to be in a canoe on the river because it was so big and wide; and yet here I am. I guess I have gradually become accustomed to the size. There are a lot of things in life like that. If you focus on all the potential problems, there are many things that you will not even try to begin. However, once you get involved in doing something, the problems are often not as bad as you first thought. The key is to just take each problem as it comes and do not be obsessed with the problems not yet here." -- Mississippi Howl

Allan Roden was diagnosed with melanoma that had spread. Dianne, his wife of twenty-seven years took a sabbatical from work to spend time with Allan during his last months of life. They had both shared a dream to paddle the length of the Mississippi river, but now it looked like a dream too late to be realized. With nothing left to lose, more than he was about to lose, which was everything, he signed up for a clinical trial testing a new immune therapy. He recovered. The dream of the river was about to come true. Allan and Dianne Roden, with Annie, their Australian Cattle Dog, set off for a river adventure in a small home-made, cedar-strip canoe. As they traveled the Mississippi river, they kept journals, the result being a book called Mississippi Howl.

"With the high water level, campsites were really hard to find again today. We finally found one that was on an island with a sign that said, “Posted DMPD”. Damn if I know what that means. We decided it meant “Dumb Morons Permitted if Desperate” and stopped to set up camp. So far we have had no problems." To read more excerpts and see photos of the trip, visit Dianne's webpage.