Merck, maker of the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil, is backing off its lobbying campaign following pressure from medical groups and parents who believe the vaccine should not be mandated as a school attendance requirement for adolescent girls.

The public outcry that caused Merck to announce its stop order on Tuesday stems from the fact that the vaccine protects against the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer. School-mandated vaccines are typically for diseases spread through casual contact, such as measles and mumps.

Merck's medical director for vaccines, Dr. Richard M. Haupt says, "We're concerned that our role in supporting school requirements is a distraction from that goal, and as such have suspended our lobbying efforts," adding that the company will continue providing information about the vaccine upon request.

Gardasil, launched in June and the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, has inspired controversy since day one. There's the cost -- $360 for three required shots -- and all sorts of insurance concerns and conservative groups who worry the vaccine encourages premarital sex and interferes with parental rights. Even those in support of the vaccine -- like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Practitioners -- question Merck's quick push to market this drug, especially in light of the company's withdrawn painkiller Vioxx.

"I believe that their timing was a little bit premature so soon after (Gardasil's) release, before we have a picture of whether there are going to be any untoward side effects," says Dr. Anne Francis, who chairs an American Academy of Pediatrics committee.

Legislatures in 20 states have taken steps to mandate the vaccine for young girls. And with the exception of Texas governor Rick Perry's February 2 executive order requiring Texas girls entering the sixth grade in 2008 get vaccinated, nothing has been made official so far.

When World Tag Team Champion Rowdy Roddy Piper underwent back surgery for an injury he sustained during the World Wrestling Entertainment tour in Europe last month, the surgeons discovered two small marble-sized areas behind his stomach that gave cause for concern that he might have cancer. After biopsy, a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was made. Because the cancer was found early, Piper is optimistic that he will be able to wrestle cancer to the mat to complete defeat.

"It seems like I have been fighting someone, something, someplace, in some manner, my whole life. But this fight, is one I am gonna win! Ever Forward." stated Piper on his blog.

Canadian-born Piper lives in the Portland, Oregon area. If you are a fan who would like to send Piper your support and best wishes, you can write to him at:

Roddy Piper
18645 S.W. Farmington Rd.
PMB 312
Aloha, Oregon
97007
USA

Piper blogs about wrestling, his family, and now surviving cancer at Piper's Pit.

The family has asked that they not be identified by name as they grieve the loss of their family member lost to a massive overdose of the chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil. Last week, a 43-year-old mother of three, died from a massive chemotherapy drug overdose mistakenly administered by a portable pump used primarily by gastrointestinal, genito-urinary and head and neck cancer patients. The fatal dose of 5-fluorouracil was 24 times what was intended.

According to the report, a nurse programmed the wrong information into the woman's pump. Another nurse checked the pump but failed to notice the error. Four days later, the woman was dead. The Cross Cancer Institute calls this mistake one of the center's worst nightmares but they will not hide the mistake.

While the nurses who made the error are receiving counseling over the mistake they made that led to the mother's death, they will not be disciplined for the error, as the cancer center believes it was not due to negligence. Then what was it due to? There are times when human error cannot be allowed to be made as it can be fatal -- as in this case. There are some professions that require an absolute fail-safe set of procedures and practices that do not allow for human error. A standard of professional excellence in carrying out one's job that this type of incident does not happen -- even once. Because human life can be lost. How do you remedy that error -- right that wrong? I feel for this family, for the children left motherless due to the errors made by two nurses.

According to the woman's oncologist, she had a 75 percent chance of surviving her cancer diagnosis. Tragically, she did not survive treatment. An investigation by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices is underway, and the cancer center states it will implement any changes recommended.

Reuters has just issued an update on Eli Lilly's announcement that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, approved the use of Gemzar in the treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer, questioning why the company omitted information that the FDA approval goes against the advice of an FDA advisory panel earlier this year that strongly recommended against approval of the drug for this use.

The FDA approved use of Gemzar in combination with carboplatin, in chemotherapy treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer that has relapsed at least six months after initial therapy. The reason the FDA advisory panel voted against the approval of the use of Gemzar in combination with carboplatin, were due to questions raised about Lilly's trial data and the way the company conducted the 356-person clinical study. The panel was concerned that patients in the late-stage clinical trial failed to survive longer than those taking carboplatin alone. The FDA went ahead and approved it after the drug company provided additional information.

What needs to be made clear is that Gemzar does not seem to prolong the life of women with recurrent ovarian cancer, and the drug company is only stating that Gemzar provides longer progression-free survival than patients taking carboplatin alone. Progression-free survival measures the time before the disease recurs or worsens.

According to Reuters, when a spokesperson for Lilly was asked why they did not mention in its release that the FDA advisory panel had voted against the approval of Gemzar, or the drug's failure to prolong life, he said, "I'm not sure that needed to be the focus."

Each year 350 children are diagnosed with a rare form of thyroid cancer. What are the random odds that three teenagers who live within a few miles of each other would be diagnosed with this particular cancer?

Cincinnati News 5 is reporting that the parents of these teens are asking this question and speculating that it might have an environmental cause. The parents wonder -- could a pipeline that runs through town carrying jet fuel have leaked into the ground water -- or is the Edgewood Middle School all three teens attended built on a site that is contaminated?

The parents have no proof, they have no answers and no one seems to want to help them find out what the problem might be that has led to the unusually high concentration of thyroid cancer cases to be diagnosed in one small group of teens living in such close proximity to one another.

According to one of the parents, all they want is to have water samples tested and they feel their requests have been ignored for the last 18 months. Now city officials plan on meeting with the parents next week to discuss their concerns.

It is frustrating to be ignored when you are asking for help to find the cause of circumstances that appear suspicious. It seems rather than let this matter drag out as long as it has, it would have been so much easier for officials to just look into it when it first came up. At least the parents would not have been left to draw their own conclusions.

Patsy Ramsey, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1993, and suffered a recurrence of cancer in 2003, has lost her life to cancer. Ramsey is the mother of murdered child beauty pageant winner JonBenet, whose beaten and strangled body was found by her father John Ramsey in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado. JonBenet's murder remains unsolved and while her parents insisted that an unknown intruder entered the home, her parents were extensively investigated as possible suspects in the murder. Although cleared by a grand jury and lie detector testing, suspicion followed both John and Patsy Ramsey regarding JonBenet's death.

According to the family attorney Lin Wood, "I think people will remember Patsy as being someone who was falsely accused in connection with the death of her daughter when she should be remembered for being an incredibly loving mother, wonderful wife, and person who showed great courage in fighting a vicious disease over the last many years." Patsy Ramsey was 49.

08.16.2006 UPDATE: Patsy Ramsey: daughter JonBenet murderer arrested.

How do you measure the ethereal? In an earlier post, I quoted Dr. Richard Sloan, a professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia and author of a forthcoming book, Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine, who I believe summed it up best when he stated, "The problem with studying religion scientifically is that you do violence to the phenomenon by reducing it to basic elements that can be quantified, and that makes for bad science and bad religion."

It doesn't seem to keep those intent on attempting to measuring the immeasurable and attempting to prove in physical world scientific terms that spirituality can play a powerful role in health and healing. Of course it can. Spirituality is a path to profound healing for those who are spiritual in nature. But it does not exclude healing from those who do not follow a spiritual path. The truest power rests in the power of belief itself on an internal landscape of the mind and body.

The John Templeton Foundation announced it is funding a new study at Michigan State University exploring the role spirituality plays in the recovery from breast cancer. I think that it will not matter the results of the study -- if it is positive it will reaffirm what the spiritual believe to be true and challenged by those who do not put much weight in the spiritual dimension of being. If it does not reveal a significant link between spirituality and healing, then the reverse dismissive rejection of the findings will be made.

Do I believe in the power of spirituality to heal? Yes. Do I believe it gives me an advantage to healing over those who do not share my beliefs? No. There are many paths leading to the same destination. The wisdom would be in acknowledging all paths as real and powerful. If we did that, we wouldn't need a study sure to bring nothing but more controversial debate with little possibility in the blending of hearts and minds between spirituality and science. 

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.

It's sour grapes of some kind. That's all I can conclude after hearing what a Welsh physician had to say about cancer, cancer research, celebrities and money. Dr. Paul Walker is quoted as saying that a disproportionate amount of research money is spent investigating cancer because celebrities supporting anti-cancer campaigns bring too much attention to cancer and that the average person fears cancer when they should not worry. Dr. Walker, who chairs the Welsh public health association PHA Cymru, is in a certain position of power in medical matters, which makes his personal perspective all the more disturbing.

Irish pop singer Ronan Keating, an ex-Boyzone star, who lost his mother Marie to cancer, and is currently launching a Cancer Research UK awareness campaign in Newport, Wales, made a public comment of his own regarding Dr. Walker's insensitive and ill-informed statements on cancer:

"You don't knock charities that are doing good work. It is disgraceful that a doctor could say something like that. He (Dr. Walker) said that men and women in the street fear cancer more than they should - but if one in three people are being diagnosed with cancer, they have every right to be concerned. I am very disappointed in him. It is totally absurd that someone in his position could say these things."

From all the cancer survivors -- from all the families who have lost someone to cancer -- from the many who are working tirelessly to find a way to curb the near-epidemic numbers of cancer diagnosis -- thank you Keating, we could not have said it better.

European women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer with tumors that over-express the HER2 protein will now be receiving the sought after, and fought for, drug Herceptin. Six years ago, the drug, known to reduce the risk of recurrence of breast cancer by 46 percent, was approved for women with late-stage HER2 breast cancer, but not for women in the early-stages of the same cancer. In the UK, there have been public protests and almost daily headline news over women being denied access to the drug through the universal health care medical coverage plans. Depending on where a woman lived, some breast cancer patients were receiving Herceptin, while other women were not getting the drug.

Joanne Rule, head of UK charity Cancerbackup is quoted as saying, "Breast cancer patients across England and Wales are currently experiencing a dreadful postcode lottery; denied Herceptin because of where they live or how exceptional their lives are deemed to be. This can stop now."

In a universal health system, care is rationed by medical priority when determining where health dollars will be spent and what types of treatment will be covered. In the UK, a debate is taking place between British scientists who are recommending that unproven or disproved complementary therapies not be funded and therapists of complementary medicine who argue that many of the alternative therapies have been proven effective and should be funded for patients who can benefit from such therapies. This has opened up a whole new discussion in defining exactly what alternative or complementary therapies are and what place they have in modern medical practice.

Meanwhile, Prince Charles, a strong advocate of alternative therapies and organic foods, spoke to World Health Assembly members of the World Health Organization about the need to consider making better use of traditional therapies, particularly acupuncture and herbal medicines, to improve health care around the world.

"I believe that the proper mix of proven complementary, traditional and modern remedies, which emphasizes the active participation of the patient, can help to create a powerful healing force in the world,'' Charles said. "This is where orthodox practice can learn from complementary medicine, the West can learn from the East and new from old traditions."

Prince Charles is concerned that if we do not recognize the wisdom and value of the past, much of that knowledge will be lost. Putting aside politics, monarchy and scandal, I am gaining more respect for the Prince of Wales the more I learn about his perspectives concerning health and the environment.

Bureaucratic silliness or grinchy meanspiritedness? Here's the facts. In 2003, Ronald Michalowicz, a fire inspector for the village of Bedford Park, was diagnosed with tongue cancer. He was not given great odds on surviving his cancer. He kept working while going through chemotherapy. Chemotherapy was rough -- he lost 107 pounds.

In 2004, at the end of chemotherapy, but before radiation treatment began, he finally took a leave of absence from a job he had worked 28 years. The community cared about one of its own enough to raise $25,000 dollars to help Michalowicz with medical and living expenses. Cancer is expensive.

Miraculously, he beat the odds and his cancer went into remission. When he went back to work, he was fired. Why? According to village officials, he had accepted monetary contributions from the community in violation of the Illinois Gift Ban Act and village code prohibiting employees from soliciting gifts that could affect their decision-making. He hadn't asked anyone for money. A building inspector, Steve Edwards, cleared a form letter with the mayor at the time, Ronald Robison, to ask for contributions on behalf of Michalowicz. There is a new mayor now. Michalowicz only has one more year to work before he is eligible for retirement. What's really going on? You decide. 

The Food and Drug Administration, FDA, announced it has identified the following soft drinks as containing high levels of benzene, a chemical known to cause cancer:

• Crush Pineapple
• Safeway Select Diet Orange
• Crystal Light Sunrise Classic Orange
• Giant Light Cranberry Juice Cocktail
• AquaCal Strawberry Flavored Water Beverage
  

Dr. Laura Tarantino, director of the FDA's Office of Food Additive Safety, said drinking sodas high in benzene does not pose a health risk -- while the people at the Environmental Working Group accuses the FDA of past and present suppression of information about benzene in soft drinks and views the benzene levels in soft drinks a problem. "FDA's test results confirm that there is a serious problem with benzene in soda and juices," said Richard Wiles, senior vice president at Environmental Working Group.

Basically, the problem is sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid, which together form benzene. Benzene is a known cancer-causing chemical.

This is a problem that has been going on for years -- both here and in Europe. Over the months we have reported on the possible cover-ups and controversy related to the cancer risks of some soft drinks and about the good guys and bad guys of this continuing story. You can read a bit of background on this issue here and here.

If you are a Tom Hanks fan -- and who isn't -- if you enjoyed reading the Da Vinci Code -- and who didn't -- if you plan on seeing the movie based on the book -- and many will be going to the theater to see this anticipated blockbuster movie -- and if you are into collecting memorabilia -- then I want to tell you about an eBay auction that went live today. Hanks donated a signed personal copy of the Da Vinci Code book he used while filming the movie to support the Macmillan Cancer Support cancer charity.

According to the folks at Macmillan Cancer Support, last September, IKEA Edinburgh store at Straiton invited Tom Hanks to their coffee morning, as part of Macmillan Cancer Support's World's Biggest Coffee Morning, as he was filming the Da Vinci Code at nearby Rosslyn Chapel. Unable to attend himself, he kindly sent his bodyguard with not only apologies but a signed personal copy of the book.

The highest bidder in the eBay auction will win this celebrity signed book that has sparked both interest and controversy around the Holy Grail mythology. The auction runs from May 19 - 29 with all proceeds going to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Paul McCartney lost both his mother Mary and his first wife Linda to breast cancer. Heather Mills McCartney, his current wife, is an outspoken advocate for cancer prevention, campaigning for the reduction of dairy products that can lead to greater risk for some cancers -- like ovarian cancer.

I have admired the efforts both have made for cancer prevention. Today, it was announced that the two have separated and will be getting a divorce. Of course speculation immediately turned to financial matters, with tongues wagging about how much Paul is worth and how much Heather stands to receive, considering there is no prenuptial agreement.

The couple issued a joint statement insisting their split was friendly -- but said that intrusions by the media made it difficult to sustain their relationship. Well! This turn of event isn't going to dim the lights on the media extravaganza that has surrounded them. The end of a marriage is difficult, and I am just sad to see that two people who have spent time and money working to improve the lives and health of others will be suffering personal pain on a world stage. You can read personal messages directly from Paul here.