Cancer Schmancer is what actress and cancer survivor Fran Drescher titled her 2003 novel. Now, thanks to this spunky gal, there's a whole Cancer Schmancer movement taking place, a movement that will culminate this June with the launch of a non-profit organization with the name of -- you guessed it -- Cancer Schmancer.

Drescher says Cancer Schmancer is all about the politics of cancer education and funding, screening tests, early detection, the removal of carcinogens from women's products, and the often-dismissed truth that young women do get cancer.

Drescher, who for two years fought with doctors who persisted she was too young for uterine cancer -- she wasn't -- says her organization will raise awareness and change health policy to better promote diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of womens' cancers.

Advocacy runs far and wide. Thank goodness for that.

Think about this:

A new breast cancer non-profit organization has been launched especially for South Africans affected by the disease.

Founded by Samantha Galliet, the 31-year-old breast cancer survivor who made headlines with her "David and Goliath" battle to get life-saving Herceptin treatment, created PinkLink to give patients affected by breast cancer a voice.

PinkLink, focusing on the need for self-examination and awareness to encourage prevention and early detection of this silent epidemic, is intended to be a one-stop-shop with valuable South African based information on doctors, treatments, financial considerations, and health issues.

It's been one year since Dana Reeve, wife of the late Christopher Reeve, died of lung cancer at the age of 44. And the grace of this woman, who came to represent the non-smoking population of lung cancer victims, is being honored by the Lung Cancer Alliance.

"Lung Cancer Alliance extends its most heartfelt thoughts to the family
and friends of Dana Reeve," says Laurie Fenton, president of the alliance.

"Dana's beauty, grace and valiant struggle against lung cancer will remain indelibly etched in our hearts and minds. In her memory -- and in the memory of loved ones lost to this disease, smoker or not -- let us come together to replace decades of stigma and neglect with hope, greater compassion and support for those living with or at risk for this disease. It is the right thing to do."

The Lung Cancer Alliance is the only national non-profit organization dedicated to patient support and advocacy for those living with lung cancer, the number one cancer killer.

Lung cancer takes more lives -- about 160,000 Americans this year -- than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney cancers and melanoma combined.

The Men Against Breast Cancer organization wants to help men get involved in helping the women they love battle breast cancer. Their symbol, a pink and blue ribbon signifies the war against breast cancer is one that men and women must face together.

Marc Heyison and Steve Peck are the founders of Men Against Breast Cancer (MABC). Marc's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. He understands how a breast cancer diagnoses impacts not only the patient but the entire family.

The website states that this is the first non-profit organization to provide targeted support services to educate and empower men to be effective caregivers when breast cancer strikes a female loved one; as well as, target and mobilize men to be active participants in the fight against breast cancer.

You can find many resources on the website such as the Partners in Survival workshop that brings practical advice and tips to help the whole family. Special emphasis is placed on men understanding the physical and emotional needs of their female partners.

The website will also have available in January of 2007 a book called For the Women We Love: A Breast Cancer Battle Plan and Caregivers Action Guide for Men.

I am in awe at this very moment, after receiving a generous donation -- from a friend I have not seen in nearly five years -- for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K Walk I plan to run in less than two weeks. I am not in awe simply because of this one donation. I am in awe of the combination of generous donations I have received over the past two months. My grand total right now -- headed for my local American Cancer Society team and earmarked for use in my own city -- is $3,808. My goal is $4,000.

I don't take any credit for this large sum of money that will earn me recognition on the day of the event. I merely reached out to friends and family and they delivered. Day after day, donations as high as $250 flow my way -- and while the American Cancer Society and cancer patients in North Florida stand to profit because of my giving support network, it occurs to me that I may be the biggest winner to cross the finish line. Me -- one woman, one cancer survivor, with one inspiring crowd rallying to support -- me.

It doesn't matter what I do on the day of the race -- although I do hope to accomplish my personal physical challenge -- because I have already done what I set out to do. I raised funds for a fabulous cause. And I gained a little something -- well, a big something -- in the process. I witnessed the wonder of overwhelming kindness. And for that, I am nothing less than grateful.

In a world of checks and balances, there are procedures that need to be adhered to in order to insure the objectivity of the process. In this case, the stages when a newly-developed drug goes from inception to market.

Drug company develops drug. Experimental drug enters scientifically-based clinical trials run by unbiased objective researchers. If all goes well, and the drug shows benefit in the treatment it was designed for, drug gets approved for use. Patient receives drug. Ideally, patient gets better.

Drug company develops drug. Drug company finances clinical trials, and pays researchers who will determine the effectiveness and safety of experimental drug. No need to continue on, the process is now potentially and ethically compromised.

This morning, from many reputable dead tree publications, runs this headline: AP: Researchers Escape Ethics Punishment. Why? According to the National Institutes of Health, "The majority of federal scientists investigated for improperly accepting personal money from drug companies or biotechnology firms escaped serious punishment, and investigators declined to proceed with several cases involving possible crimes."

The next time a reader comes by and extols the virtues of scientific medical research as the gold standard to which all else should be validated, I am simply pointing them to this investigative outcome. We should all be disillusioned and a wee bit angry that the wolves seem to be guarding the barn.

All Macy's stores nationwide are having a Macy's Shop for a Cause day on September 16th, 2006. If you make a five dollar donation to breastcancer.org then you will receive a 20 percent off discount card for the entire day.

Breastcancer.org is a non profit organization and their mission is to help women and their loved ones make sense of the complex medical and personal information about breast cancer, so they can make the best decision for their lives. This year is breastcancer.org's fifth anniversary.

There are more fundraisers coming up in the month of September on the breastcancer.org website. There might be something in your area so check it out!

This weekend I traveled to San Francisco from New Jersey. I belong to a Yahoo online breast cancer support group called Sisters in Survivorship. We are a group of young women under forty that have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Every year we take a trip to get together. We pick a city, we pick a breast cancer walk and we have a ball!

This year our walk was for an organization called Friends of Faith. This nonprofit organization was founded in 1997. Friends of Faith are dedicated to fighting breast cancer by giving assistance to underinsured women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and cannot afford treatment.

Sadly, Faith passed away after a very public battle with breast cancer. She knew how lucky she was to have insurance and great physicians. She knew that others were not so lucky.

Faith's family and friends are keeping her dream alive and helping other women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Today was a celebration of Faith's life. It was the second annual walk for the organization. I learned today how much Faith was loved and supported by her community.

What a great day!

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."

The big business of cancer is ... well ... really big business. Right now, in Chicago, academic and business leaders in the life sciences industry are convening at the four-day Biotechnology Industry Organization's annual convention, billed as the red-hot industry's information-packed extravaganza of networking and marketing. At the McCormick Place Convention Center, 33 states and 22 countries and regions are represented during business meetings, 200 panel discussion sessions, networking opportunities, luncheons, gala receptions, parties and 30-minute meetings that are a form of speed dating with potential commercial partners.

According to the reporter covering the event, the convention becomes an international media circus, with politicians showing up looking to gain support during election years, as well as groups of protesters taking issue with the use of biotechnology to alter the genes of humans, plants and animals.

There are pavilions set up with whiskey, wine, beer, and even an oxygen bar to entice a visitor's attention and create buzz during the convention. Actor Richard Roundtree, cancer survivor, spoke at the convention last year. Musical artists Patti LaBelle and Melissa Etheridge and golfer Arnold Palmer have appeared as speakers. This year, former President Bill Clinton and NBA legend Magic Johnson will be featured speakers. Quite a shindig, but there are millions and millions of dollars at stake. Medicine is big business -- very big business indeed. How this translates for the cancer patient can be worrisome, if treatments are motivated primarily by the competitive nature of commerce and big profit. A peek inside the convention is very revealing.