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Posts with tag fights

Farrah Fawcett fights cancer, malicious news reports

Yes, Farrah Fawcett's cancer has returned, just three months after she was given the all-clear following treatment for rectal cancer. But not all of what is appearing in the media is true, and Fawcett now finds herself fighting for both her life and the truth.

The National Enquirer was right about Fawcett's recurrence -- a malignant polyp has been found in the area where her original cancer began. But reporters for this magazine are wrong about their previous take on her illness.

Farrah Begs: Let me Die
was one previous headline. Such words were never spoken, says Fawcett who is planning to file a lawsuit against the Enquirer for libel, invasion of privacy, and infliction of emotional distress regarding numerous fabricated articles about her cancer journey.

This negativity is not only harmful to Fawcett and her family, says her spokesperson. It also jeopardizes Fawcett's chances for a successful recovery, and it's disrespectful to thousands of others surviving cancer.

The Charlie's Angels actress, who is still weighing her treatment options, is prepared to continue the fight she began last Fall. She is not prepared, however, to allow the tabloids to continue to invade her privacy.

Cancer drug Avastin fights brain tumors too

Lung and colorectal cancer drug Avastin has been tested for the first time against the most common and deadly form of brain cancer.

Duke University researchers used Avastin, known chemically as bevacizumab, in combination with a standard chemotherapy agent in patients with recurrent brain tumors called gliomas. Good news -- the two drugs together stopped tumor growth for twice as long as any other therapy.

Gliomas are mostly incurable in all cases, but this new treatment approach may extend life and may help preserve physical and mental function for a longer period of time for patients fighting this deadly disease.

"These results are exciting because of the possible implications for a patient population that currently has the poorest possible prognosis going into treatment -- those with malignant brain tumors that have recurred after initial treatment," says the lead researcher whose findings appear in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

Gwyneth Paltrow fights cancer curse with food

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow has lost five family members to cancer -- and she fears the disease may one day strike her. So she's taking action now and is trying to beat back the cancer curse that seems to loom over her loved ones.

Ever since losing her famous father in 2002 to throat cancer, Paltrow has been approaching life from a biological perspective.

"Cancer has been the curse of my family,"she said. "I am challenging these evil genes by natural means. I am convinced that by eating biological foods it is possible to avoid the growth of tumors. I began this crusade soon after my father's death. Since then the fight against tumors has been my mission."

Paltrow and her husband, Coldplay's Chris Martin, have embraced a strict vegetarian diet for their young family, and they hope their commitment to healthy eating will ward off the illness they fear may be headed right for them.

Expressing all that is within me

I spend 10.5 hours every weekday on my own with some combination of my two little boys. My day starts each morning and extends through meals and playtime and laughs and tears and fights and struggles and snuggles -- but never a nap -- and even a part-time preschool job where one or two boys always tag along. Sometimes I try to write during the day while my boys are happy and occupied. Typically, I don't accomplish much. Interruptions are endless -- as they should be for a mostly stay-at-home mom who chooses to devote her daytime hours to raising children.

And so I go it alone until dinner time when my husband returns from work and selflessly takes over and sets me free. He cooks, serves, and cleans up dinner. He plays and entertains and wrestles and heads up bath and book time. And then he transports each boy on his back to their respective beds.

During my moments of freedom each evening, I lose myself in my thoughts -- and I begin to write. I love my mommy job -- and wouldn't trade it for any other full-time job -- but I also love being alone. And I love writing.

Helen Keller said, "I must have something besides husband and children, something I can devote myself to! I want to go on living even after my death! And therefore, I am grateful to God for giving me this gift, this possibility of developing myself, and of writing, of expressing all that is within me."

Writing -- mostly about cancer -- helps me develop my surviving self. It helps me express all that is within me. And maybe it's fitting that I don't get too much time to dwell on the disease that consumed me for two years. If I had to choose between two busy boys and a life busy with cancer, I'd take two boys in an instant. At the end of the day, a little bit of writing about a little of cancer suits me just fine.

Sunday Seven: Seven survivor spotlight similarities

It's day 15 in this Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the survivors spotlighted on this site are stacking up. Yet we've only just scratched the surface of breast cancer survivor stories. And by the end of October, we will have only featured a very small sample of survivors everywhere. There are countless others with their own powerful stories. It's sad there are so many stories shaped by breast cancer. It's empowering too -- because breast cancer survivors are a passionate bunch. They are passionate in their fights, passionate in their beliefs, passionate in their willingness to help others.

A passionate bunch of survivors can be found here on The Cancer Blog. They are all women, of various ages, with various backgrounds, defined by different experiences. They are also quite the same -- for they have all been touched by breast cancer. And their words of wisdom are strikingly similar, despite the contrast in characteristics that define these women and their very individual battles with breast cancer.

Here are seven survivor similarities worth spotlighting.

Continue reading Sunday Seven: Seven survivor spotlight similarities

Vaccine might one day keep us slim: hunger hormone study

There is a vaccine that Scripps Research Institute in California researchers are working with that shows positive results in slowing down a key hunger hormone that keeps rats from gaining weight regardless of how much the rats ate -- although they caution that just because it works in rats does not mean it will work the same way in humans or that it will be a safe vaccine for humans.

This is all relatively new science, as the hormone, called Ghrelin, the researchers are testing the vaccine on was just discovered about seven years ago. The researchers do know that the hormone controls appetite in animals and humans and the current research might prove valuable in discovering more about the connections between hunger and weight gain; how the body stores fat and how to influence the hunger hormone.

At this point in time, if you are a rat concerned about controlling your weight, it's good news. Long-term, if it does show the same benefit for humans, the researchers speculate a vaccine might be developed that helps people who struggle with weight gain and loss maintain a steady and healthy weight. You know it is only a matter of time before they discover and develop something along this line, as obesity is a major threat to health for a number of diseases including cancer.

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