I found David's website while researching about Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive type of brain tumor. I found his website to be very inspiring. My uncle died of GBM twenty years ago this coming holiday season. David is an 11 year survivor this year! You can visit David's website at www.davidmbailey.com.

How did you find out you had cancer?

I started getting these really bad headaches. One morning, I fell over and felt nauseous. My wife called 911 and I remember getting in the ambulance thinking it was silly. I had a small seizure in the ambulance and when we got to the ER, I had a major grand-mal seizure. They did a quick cat-scan and saw a large mass in my head so they put me on a helicopter and flew me to a bigger hospital where they operated the next morning to remove the baseball size tumor in my brain. The pathology came back with the bad news -- grade 4 glioblasoma multiform (GBM) Prognosis, 6 months to live.

What types of cancer treatments were recommended?

I originally saw a general oncologist who had one clinical trial to offer but it was a randomized study, meaning a computer would pick if I got the treatment. I thought that was stupid. Then he gave me the best advice possible -- he told me to see a NEURO oncologist -- someone who specialized in heads.

Mantle cell lymphoma is a type of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. It is a cancer that forms in the cells of the lymph system. Mantle cell lymphoma is considered to be a low-grade and slow growing lymphoma.

The standard of care treatment is usually the chemotherapy combination called MCP, mitoxantrone, chlorambucil, and prednisolone.

The Journal of Clinical Oncology says that the addition of Rituxan (rituximab) to the chemo combination of MCP as initial therapy can improve long term survival rates.

Since Rituxan has proved to have anti-cancer responses in other forms of NHL, researchers continue to evaluate how it can work in the treatment of various types of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

DCIS stands for ductal carcinoma in situ. The cells lining the milk ducts are cancerous, but stay contained within the ducts without growing through into the surrounding breast tissue. DCIS may affect just one area of the breast, but can be more widespread and affect different areas at the same time.

There are three grades of DCIS: low, intermediate, and high. A study was conducted that concluded that high-grade DCIS carries a significant risk of local recurrence if the patient receives surgery as the only treatment. Low or intermediate grade may be safely treated with surgery alone depending upon the individual risks and benefits of radiation and/or hormonal therapy.

The study evaluated 711 women that only received surgery for treatment of DCIS. In the year 2000 Tamoxifen was allowed. The conclusions are as follows:

• The five year risk of local recurrence for low or intermediate DCIS in the treated breast was 6.1 percent.
• The five year risk of local recurrence for high grade DCIS was 14.8 percent.
• Half of all recurrence that happened were found to be invasive cancer.

The results can help physicians understand the risks and benefits of treatment with surgery alone in patients diagnosed with DCIS.

If you receive a diagnoses of DCIS make sure you understand what is on your pathology report and what grade your DCIS is so that you can talk to your doctor about the different treatment options.

A clinical trial in now enrolling patients to evaluate the effectiveness of Rituxan (rituximab) plus the addition of Leukine (sargramostim) for patients with follicular B-cell lymphoma that has recurred. This type of lymphoma is categorized as a low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) that comprises 30 percent of all cases.

Rituxan is commonly used in the treatment of various forms of NHL. Researchers are continuing to evaluate ways to improve the anti-cancer responses to Rituxan. One such drug called Leukine is a growth factor which can stimulate the immune system to help fight disease. Leukine is also thought to have properties that improve Rituxan's cancer-killing effects based on previous clinical trials.

One group of patients in the study will be treated with Leukine plus Rituxan, and the other group will be treated with Rituxan alone. Patients will be assessed according to how their cancer responds to treatment.

For more information on enrollment for this clinical trial, go to

www.eCancerTrials.com

Beverly called Dr. Jeremy Geffen in a state of panic. She had just been diagnosed with breast cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes, just had her breasts removed, and was terrified of her recent diagnosis -- high grade infiltrating ductal carcinoma.

Beverly, age 44, was told by her doctor that she would need chemotherapy and radiation. She had heard horrible stories about chemotherapy. And having never been sick a day in her life, she was scared. So when a friend told her about a caring doctor she heard speak at a conference, Beverly knew she had to locate him. She tracked down his phone number, picked up the phone, dialed, got Dr. Geffen on the phone, and asked him to help. He did.

Beverly was a complete stranger to Dr. Geffen, author of The Journey Through Cancer: Healing and Transforming the Whole Person. Yet she was like so many people he knew -- people with cancer, confronted with the greatest challenges of their lives, seeking more than just physical remedies, grasping for someone who really cares.

Dr. Geffen received calls like Beverly's every day. And the number of calls seemed to increase with time. It's no wonder really. Cancer is a growing presence -- and more and more people like Beverly are confronting the disease. More and more people like Beverly are seeking more than just science to cure their ailments. And in an effort to harness a little compassion in their lives, patients are reaching for alternative methods of healing -- for their minds and hearts and spirits. Yet few disclose to their doctors their secret missions for fear they will be dismissed.

Beverly knew of Dr. Geffen's belief in holistic healing, his desire to treat the whole person and not just the organs and tissues and cells. So when she asked for his guidance on what treatment protocol to follow -- conventional, alternative, or complementary -- she was a bit surprised at his response.

Dr. Geffen told Beverly that conventional medicine was her best line of defense. Science tells us these methods work -- and abandoning them could be tragic. Dr. Geffen told Beverly that chemotherapy and radiation, when used skillfully and sensibly, can be truly beneficial. But he also suggested she pursue complementary therapies related to diet, nutrition, exercise, and stress relief.

Dr. Geffen believes in balance. And he teaches through his Seven Levels of Healing how we all can achieve balance when considering how to scientifically and emotionally heal our bodies.

Dr. Geffen will detail throughout the chapters of his book how Beverly represents all the strengths and vulnerabilities of the contemporary cancer patient, how Beverly is every one of us.

To read previous posts on the same topic, visit:
The Journey Through Cancer: What Is The Purpose Of Medicine
The Journey Through Cancer: Introduction
Sunday Seven: Seven Levels of Healing on Cancer Journey

Stay tuned for:
The Journey Through Cancer: State-Of-The-Art Medical Care

Why is it that younger women have a more aggressive breast cancer? I don't think anyone really knows for sure. Throughout my cancer diagnoses and treatment I have met many young women who had pathology of grade three cancers. Grade one is the least aggressive and can also be called well differentiated. Grade three is the most aggressive and is also called poorly differentiated. Grade two falls in between and is considered moderately aggressive.

I belong to the Young Survival Coalition (YSC). I decided to poll women on the boards to see if the theory rang true that younger women have a more aggressive breast cancer. I polled the group and asked what grade their tumor was at diagnosis. One hundred and fourteen young women participated in the poll. Of course this is only a small sample of young women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Out of 114 women only 12 percent had grade one tumors, 22 percent had grade two and 67 percent had grade three.

A positive thing about having a highly aggressive cancer is that chemotherapy seems to work better on these tumors. Chemotherapy kills fast growing cells so it makes sense that the faster growing cells would be more susceptible to the treatments.

I had a grade one cancer. In a way it makes me happy that I did have a low grade and less aggressive cancer, however, I did have a positive lymph node. My tumor was not very large. It was only 1.5 centimeters. But it did already start to spread. I feel like that since my tumor was slow growing that it might take longer for metastasis to show up. So, I worry about that-among other things!

I do think that breast cancer in young pre-menopausal women is different from the post-menopausal group. It's good to see studies done on younger women so we can figure out better ways to treat our cancer. YSC seeks to educate the medical, research, breast cancer legislative communities and to persuade them to address breast cancer in women 40 and under.

When I first looked at my pathology report more than 18 months ago, it made little sense. Terms like Bloom Richardson Score and margins and Her2Neu were as foreign to me as the breast cancer that somehow invaded my body. So I read it over and over again and was eventually able to identify the basic meaning hidden within the four pages that detailed my disease. As it turned out, this report was my map. It led me in various directions for various treatments. It contained some roadblocks. It was sometimes confusing. And sometimes I got lost. There were some good and not-so-good stops along the way. And in the end, I reached my final destination -- in the land survival. And this is where I hope to stay. For a long time.

My map is not necessary anymore -- although I still look back at it. I've found that it makes more sense now that time has passed. I can interpret it more objectively, with more perspective and less emotion and fear. I am still learning about the disease that was removed from my breast. And I am realizing there was a lot I never really knew -- like these seven subjects -- when breast cancer was new and fresh and debilitating.

When Patsy Ramsey passed away from a recurrence of ovarian cancer two months ago, many felt she died under the shadow of suspicion concerning her possible involvement in the murder of her six-year-old daughter JonBenet, whose beaten and strangled body was found by her father John Ramsey in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado.

At the time of Patsy Ramsey's death, the family attorney Lin Wood said, "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."

Today, breaking news reveals that a suspect has been arrested in the murder of JonBenet. Confessing to elements of the crime, the 42-year-old American second-grade school teacher John Karr was apprehended in Thailand.

John Ramsey confirmed in a written statement that Patsy was aware of the authorities interest in the suspect and she died knowing that the case was about to be solved and the murderer of her child was about to be brought to justice. She did not leave this world not knowing.