American Cancer Society helping local patients on a national scale

Littlepage

What's more important: finding a cure for cancer or helping those who already have it?

The American Cancer Society is trying to do both - and more. The cancer society also strives to educate people about preventing cancer or diagnosing it early.

"Our mission is to cure cancer," said Ben Littlepage, an American Cancer Society community representative.

While researchers search for cures, they also are discovering new ways to detect and treat cancer. ACS-funded research resulted in "major breakthroughs in pancreatic, breast, prostate and colorectal cancer (in the last year)," Littlepage said. "We secured 1 million dollars of state funding for individuals unable to afford an annual breast or colorectal exam and our educational efforts helped the nation see the largest decline in cancer death rates it has ever seen: 2.8 percent."

Researchers are "finalizing now a new pancreatic screening test," he said. "Pancreatic cancer is the most deadly cancer there is. It is hard to detect and it progresses fast."

The ACS Mid-South Division spent $24.7 million - or about 37 percent of its funding - on research between Sept. 1, 2008, and Aug. 31, 2009. More than $10.5 million was given to Tennessee researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis and to Vanderbilt Hospital and Meharry Medical College in Nashville and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

It also spent $28.4 million - or about 42 percent of its funding - providing patient services, Littlepage reported.

The Mid-South Division is the second largest in the nation. It includes Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Requests for patient services rose in Dyer County during the last fiscal year and the ACS responded. Forty-seven cancer patients received a total of 127 services. Littlepage said that's two more patients and 30 more services than the previous year.

The type and amount of patient services provided in each county varies greatly, depending upon the county itself. Littlepage said residents of some counties request a large number of services while those in other counties never ask for anything.

A breakdown of the services reported in Dyer County during the last fiscal year follow.

* Nine uninsured individuals received financial assistance. Of those, one was also assisted with health care services and one was also assisted with medical equipment. Assistance is based on need and the ACS looks at a patient's debt-to-income ratio before awarding funds. "We want to be good stewards of the money (we receive)," Littlepage explained.

* Five individuals received transportation assistance in the form of a card to purchase gasoline to get to medical appointments.

* Three individuals stayed in the ACS's Hope Lodge in Nashville while receiving medical care. Dyer Countians spent 10 nights in the lodge, where patients are provided a room, meals and transportation to medical appointments. Patients must have a doctor referral to stay in the lodge. A second Hope Lodge is being built in Memphis and should be open by spring.

* Eleven individuals received assistance with treatment or drug referrals through the Cancer Resource Network. A number of programs are available to help patients acquire the treatments they need. Littlepage said one woman needed a shot that cost a couple thousand dollars. The Cancer Resource Network helped the woman get the shot for free.

* Nineteen individuals participated in patient programs, such as Reach to Recovery for breast cancer patients and Look Good ... Feel Better, a program that teaches women how to look their best while going through cancer treatments.

The ACS also offers Camp Horizon, a summer camp for children with cancer, and college scholarships. No one from Dyer County is currently taking advantage of either program.

"We know there are people in Dyer County who would be eligible for both," Littlepage said.

Camp Horizon is designed for children age 7 through high school who've experienced cancer. The weeklong camp is free and is held on the last week of June in Dickson.

Anyone diagnosed with cancer before the age of 21 is eligible for $1,000 college scholarships from the ACS. The scholarships are renewable for up to four years. Recipients must use the scholarships before the age of 25.

Anyone interested in Camp Horizon or the college scholarships should contact Littlepage at (731) 512-5008 or ben.littlepage@cancer.org.

The cancer society also provides countless educational materials, a Web site (www.cancer.org) and a toll-free phone number (1-800-ACS-2345). The percentage of ACS funds spent on education was not available.

The ACS also has established a "Hope Room" in the Cancer Care Center on Wilkinson Drive. Lindsey Ferrell, an ACS health initiative representative, said cancer patients may obtain Ensure nutritional supplements, turbans, hats, wigs and informational brochures on cancer and cancer-related issues. Classes are also held there. Five women attended a Look Good ... Feel Better class Nov. 19, she said. The Hope Room is open whenever the Cancer Care Clinic is open.

ACS volunteers also participate in an advocacy program, meeting with state and federal officials on cancer-related issues. For example, Littlepage said advocates secured $1 million of state funding for breast and colorectal cancer screenings for persons who couldn't afford them.

"We do a lot in Dyer County, but we're not a local organization. We're a local, state and national organization," Littlepage said.

"We need to be progressing to a point that we've got a remedy or cure for cancer - not just sticking a Band-aid over the problem."

Critics have complained for many years that the ACS and its main fund-raiser, the Relay for Life, drain the county of charitable funds and offer nothing in return. The Dyer County Relay for Life raised $111,521 this year and recently kicked off a push toward the 16th annual Relay, which is scheduled April 30 at Dyersburg State Community College.

Some people have suggested that the ACS give all or part of the money raised here to the Community Cancer Fund, a county charity that also assists local cancer patients.

"The funds raised at Relay for Life of Dyer County are used to support the mission and services of the American Cancer Society," Littlepage said.

To understand the cancer society's impact on Dyer County, he said, people "need to understand the full spectrum of what we're doing and how we are accomplishing our mission, which is to cure cancer."

"Dyer County is blessed to have the Community Cancer Fund and the American Cancer Society. Both aid the same constituents in different ways."

The cancer society touches lives directly through its patient services and educational programs and indirectly through the new medications and treatments that come with research.

"I think if you're a Dyer County resident and you've been assisted by the cancer society, you realize the importance of the Relay," Littlepage said. "As a volunteer-led organization, community support is essential to what we do on the local, state and national level."

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A new group of drugs may break the genetic chains that make people more susceptible to breast, ovarian and prostate cancer, the American Cancer Society reported.

The drugs are called PARP inhibitors.

It appears the PARP inhibitors may be used to effectively target cancer cells in persons who have BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. These genes put people at a higher risk of many cancers, including breast, ovarian and prostate cancers.

PARP inhibitors work by blocking the action of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, an enzyme that helps repair DNA. The enzyme can lead to the death of certain tumor cells, such as these two genes.

"Scientists hope PARP drugs can be used to effectively target the cancer cells in those people without destroying their healthy cells, minimizing harsh side effects," the ACS reported in one of its research updates. ACS Community Representative Ben Littlepage said he periodically receives updates on ACS-funded research, such as this.

Dyer Countians help make the research possible through donations and participation in the annual Relay for Life.

"Patients with inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations saw their tumors shrink or stop growing. These patients all had ovarian, breast or prostate cancer. The drug had no effect on patients who were not BRCA1 or BRCA2 carriers," the cancer society reported. "Side effects were minimal compared to traditional chemotherapy drugs and included nausea (32 percent), fatigue (30 percent) and vomiting (20 percent). The findings were so promising they were published recently in 'The New England Journal of Medicine,' which typically doesn't publish results from early phase I studies."

The research update also reported that breastfeeding may help prevent cancer among women with a family history of the disease.

"Researchers found that women with a mother or sister with breast cancer were 59 percent less likely to develop the cancer themselves if they breastfed their children," the report said.

"Whether a woman had breastfed for only three months in her life or three years, she was still half as likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer as those who had never breastfed."

Another research report indicated aspirin might help treat colorectal cancer in some patients. The study findings were reported in the "Journal of the American Medical Association with the notation that the data are promising but not conclusive. Colorectal cancer patients were cautioned to discuss the study with their physicians before beginning an aspirin regimen.

"This study found aspirin may be helpful as a treatment for some colorectal cancer patients. While the finds are encouraging, this is just one study and it wasn't randomized. We're awaiting confirmation from other studies before we change our recommendations to the public, said Dr. Durado Brooks, director of the ACS colon and prostate cancer prevention programs.

The study was based on nearly 12 years' worth of follow-up data from 1,279 colorectal cancer patients enrolled in two large prospective studies: the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.

It found that colorectal cancer patients who took aspirin regularly lowered their risk of dying from the disease by 29 percent and were 21 percent less likely to die overall, compared to patients who didn't take the drug.

Patients with kidney cancer also received good news from ACS-funded research this year. Avastin was recently approved to treat the most common type of kidney cancer.

Avastin plus interferon-alfa, an immunotherapy drug, may be used to treat renal cell carcinoma that has spread to other parts of the body. The Food and Drug Administration approval was based on results from a phase III study that found the drug combination stalled the re-growth of cancer cells about five months, compared to using interferon-alfa alone.

Avastin works by slowing the growth of new blood vessels. It blocks vascular endothelial growth factor, a protein that stimulates blood vessel growth.

Kidney cancer is the eighth most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. The ACS estimates 57,760 new cases of kidney cancer will be diagnosed nationwide and about 12,980 persons will die from the disease this year.