A Toast to Cancer Survivors

About 11 million Americans are cancer survivors today. But what exactly is a cancer survivor? Wikipedia defines one as an individual who is still living which has had any kind of cancer, past or present. Currently nearly 65% of persons diagnosed with cancer are expected to live at least five years after the cancer is discovered. Many cancer survivors have found the process to be a life-changing experience which allows one opportunities for creative self-transformation into a "better person" or as motivation to meet goals of great personal importance, such as climbing a mountain or reconciling with an estranged family member. Our founder of BoobieHead, Britt Figueroa, is a great example of someone who has used the difficulty of cancer to motivate, inform, and transform her life into a creative and charitable endeavor. I'm humbled and honored to assist her in her lofty goals. Here are some other notable people to whom we toast:

The following are notable people who are breast cancer survivors:
Brigitte Bardot, Merridith Baxter, Anastacia, Shirley Temple Black, Christina Applegate, Diahann Carrol, Sheryl Crow, Betty DeGeneres, Jill Ekenberry, Linda Ellerbee, Melissa Etheridge, Edie Falco, Betty Ford, Greta Garbo, Kate Jackson, Rue McClanahan, Kylie Minogue, Olivia Newton John, Cynthia Nixon, Carly Simon, Gloria Steinem, Suzanne Somers, Jaclyn Smith, Cokie Roberts, Minnie Pearl, Sandra Day O'Conner

Here are a couple of Pancreatic Cancer Survivors: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Steve Jobs

And, some Skin Cancer Survivors: Jenna Jameson, John McCain, Ewan McGregor, Ronald Reagan, Cybill Shepard, Elizabeth Taylor

Four Testicular Cancer Survivors: Lance Armstrong, Richard Belzer, Tom Green, Scott Hamilton

Three Colorectal Cancer Survivors: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sharon Osbourne, Ronald Reagan

One Lung Cancer Survivor: John Wayne

And we toast all of the other individuals who fought cancer and were survivors as long as they could-- all notable, and all loved... including my father, Reginald Adair Anderson, and my best friend, Bart Copeland.

November is COPD and Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Do you and your loved ones know:
• COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.? Or that it affects more than 12 million Americans?
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis –describes the obstruction of airflow.
• COPD is often preventable and treatable.
• Lung cancer is the second-most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and women. However it is still the most common cause of cancer death.
November is also Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, sponsered by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. And, November 18th is the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout.

Good News: Crizotinib New Champ Against Tumors

A new study shows Crizotinib (Pfizer) acts on small cell lung cancers, specifically (ALK) anaplastic lymphoma kinase tumors, showing a 57% response rate and an 87% disease control rate at 8 weeks. "This response rate is unprecedented in lung cancer," said Anil Potti, MD, associate professor of medicine at Duke University. More study will need to be done, of course, but the ramifications are inspiring. In a related story, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center scientists report that combination drug therapy from the very start of therapy can produce good results.