Lung Cancer Alliance Takes Action

Help increase lung cancer research funding. Ask your Senators to add their support to the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2008.

History has been made! Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) have introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate creating and authorizing at least $75 million for lung cancer research. This is the first ever multi-agency, comprehensive program targeted at reducing lung cancer mortality.
Contact your U.S. Senators today and ask them to add their support to the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act!

the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting

There were many encouraging results for the future of lung cancer treatments that emerged from the 2008 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting:

• Cetuximab (Erbitux) was shown to provide an overall survival benefit in lung cancer when paired with standard chemotherapy.

Intriguing early results suggest that:

• celecoxib (Celebrex) may help to prevent lung cancer in those with a substantial smoking history,


• genetic analysis may predict which early-stage lung cancer patients will benefit from chemotherapy, and


• an investigational drug called CP-751,871 may improve response to chemotherapy.

To learn more about these results and others, please visit ASCO's website.

The State reports Quitting smoking just got tougher

By JOHN O’CONNOR - joconnor@thestate.com

State budget cuts and the failure to raise the state cigarette tax means S.C. smokers trying to quit the habit will get no help from the state next year.
Among the items cut from the state’s $7 billion-a-year budget by lawmakers was $2 million to pay for anti-smoking and cessation efforts.
A proposed 50-cent-a-pack cigarette tax would have budgeted $5 million of the $160 million raised by the higher tax to cessation and anti-smoking programs. But lawmakers failed to override Gov. Mark Sanford’s veto of a bill to increase South Carolina’s lowest-in-the-nation tax.
That means a state quit line — where smokers can call to get advice — will have to provide only bare-bones assistance, paid for with a federal grant. Youth anti-smoking programs will have to raise their own money, and South Carolina’s already low ranking for anti-smoking efforts will likely worsen.

South Carolina has received $364 million from its $910 million settlement with tobacco companies to pay the cost of providing health care to smokers.
But the state has spent just $5.4 million of that settlement on anti-smoking efforts — 1.5 percent of spending — according to the Office of State Budget.
The state should spend 11 times what it does on smoking cessation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends spending based on the number of smokers in a state.
Starting July 1, however, the state will spend no money on smoking cessation. That has anti-smoking advocates worried they could lose ground in the gains that they have made in reducing smoking since 1999.

Young fan battling cancer honored at Evergreen Speedway

By Scott Whitmore Herald writer - Everett, Washington

Mini-stock division driver Mark Weedin (left) and Kelton Little, 11, of Everett celebrate Weedin's feature race victory on Saturday, June 21 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington.

Kelton Little knows how to pick a winner.Standing on Evergreen Speedway’s frontstretch during the autograph session before Saturday’s races, the 11-year-old from Everett didn’t hesitate when asked who would win the mini-stock division feature race.“Him, the red 01 car” Kelton said, pointing to former champion Mark Weedin, who was standing next to his car.Kelton, who is battling cancer, was a guest of the speedway’s mini-stock division on Saturday. He was presented with a trophy and an autographed driver’s helmet, and Kelton also took a ride in the pace car.After Weedin made good on his prediction, Kelton also got to climb to the top step of victory stage with the four-time winner.“Kelton, you’re awesome,” Weedin said, holding his winner’s trophy. “This one is for you.”When he was 10, Kelton noticed a lump on the left side of his jaw. He was diagnosed with adenoma carcinoma of his parotid salivary gland — a rare cancer for someone so young.After surgery to remove the lump and radiation treatments, Kelton’s follow-up tests were cancer-free until last February, when spots were noticed on his lungs.It was determined that the cancer — stage 4 metastatic non-small cell lung cancer — had moved into his lungs, kidneys and his left leg.

A Website, www.keltonlittle.com, has been set up to give people a chance to learn more about Kelton, and make donations to help offset the cost of his treatment.

Yerington plaintiff in Wyeth case dies at 65

BY MARTHA BELLISLE of the Reno Gazette-Journal • mbellisle@rgj.com

June 21, 2008

One of three Northern Nevada women who recently was awarded millions in damages against pharmaceutical giant Wyeth has died.

Pamela Forrester of Yerington died Thursday at noon, said one of her Reno lawyers, Geoff White. She was under hospice care for her lung cancer, he said. She was 65.
Forrester, Arlene Rowatt, 67, of Incline Village and Jeraldine Scofield, 74, of Fallon, were awarded $58 million after a jury found that Wyeth drug, Prempro, used to counter menopausal symptoms, caused their breast cancer.
The jury initially ordered Wyeth to pay $134 million, but Washoe District Judge Robert Perry ruled that the verdicts were the "result of passion and prejudice" and should be lowered.
The $58 million remains the highest amount awarded yet as Wyeth faces thousands of similar cases across the country. Wyeth has appealed the verdict to the Nevada Supreme Court.
"One of her best events was her ability to get some degree of justice from Wyeth even though she knew she was going to die," White said.

WMFX’s rock loses battle with cancer

MIKE SCOTT 1962-2008

By OTIS R. TAYLOR JR. - otaylor@thestate.com

When Charles Wilkie, a local booking agent and concert promoter, thinks of classic rock, one person comes to mind: Mike Scott.
Scott, the WMFX-FM Fox 102.3 afternoon DJ, died of lung cancer Wednesday morning at age 46.
“He always cared about how the shows did, and that meant a lot to me,” Wilkie said.
Scott, whose real last name was Uischner, began his career at the classic rock Fox in 1988, a year after the station started broadcasting.
For more than 15 years, it was Scott’s voice that introduced segments with the familiar “Aah, Fox.”
“He was one of the true lovers of classic rock,” said Benji Norton, who hosts “The Early Game” on 107.5 The Game.

Congratulations to our Georgia neighbors, Ed and Linda Levitt, advocates of LCA!

Washington, D.C. [June 16, 2008]— Today, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) praised Georgia State Senators John Wiles (R-37th), Chip Rogers (R-21st), Judson Hill (R-32nd), Steve Thompson (D-33rd) and Doug Stoner (D-6th) for introducing Georgia Senate Resolution 1215 (S.R. 1215).
Adopted by the GA Senate at the end of the 2008 legislative session, S.R. 1215 recognizes the tireless work and dedication of LCA-GA Chairs Ed and Linda Levitt to the lung cancer movement.
Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in the United States and in Georgia, taking more lives than breast, prostate and colon cancers--combined. This year alone, over 4,500 Georgians will die from the disease. Of those diagnosed over 60% are former smokers or never smoked at all.

Watch the video of Matt Lauer's interview entitled, "Golfer Defies the Odds."

On Monday's Today show, Matt Lauer interviewed lung cancer survivor and golfer John Atkinson, who won the opportunity to participate with him in the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge at Torrey Pines over the weekend.

"...John Atkinson, with all he's going through, and the fact that he had never been in a pressure-packed golf situation like this before -- or really ever faced any crowds or the attention like this -- he was a true gentleman. I know he didn't play as well as he wanted to play, but he inspired us out there.
I think the most emotional moment was on the 18th hole, when he and his brother and his family all embraced on the green. We all started crying, it was very moving."

a quote from Matt Lauer taken from allDAY (the Today show's blog)

CT Lung Cancer Screening No Cure-all For Smokers

ScienceDaily (Jun. 13, 2008) — Screening for lung cancer with computed tomography (CT) may help reduce lung cancer deaths in current and former smokers, but it won't protect them from other causes of death associated with smoking, according to a new study.