Killing Cancer - HBO documentary

HBO documentary - Killing Cancer

VICE founder and host Shane Smith follows pioneering researchers across the U.S. — including specialists from the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center— who are changing the face of modern-day medicine through their work with oncolytic virus therapy.

This revolutionary treatment uses HIV, measles and other viruses that have killed millions to combat cancer. You can view the trailer:

For VICE‘s Shane Smith, the VICE Special Report: Killing Cancer, is personal. He’s watched his mother fight breast cancer and his stepmother die from cancer. Anyone whose life has been affected by cancer will understand where he’s coming from immediately — the way that the sword of Damocles descends at the first diagnosis, telling the patient just what will kill them in the future.

Killing Cancer is a 40-minute documentary that premiered February 27th on HBO, a week before the debut of VICE Season 3, and delves into some of the most exciting current research into how cancer might be controlled — or maybe even cured. Smith takes us from Ottawa to the Mayo Clinic to Houston, Texas to look at three separate experimental trials (that all seem to be in the very early stages — phase 1 or 2‚ which come long before phase 3 and FDA approval).

What’s fascinating about these trials is that a new strain of thinking around cancer involves the idea of using other viruses that have killed us en masse (measles, smallpox, HIV) to kill the cancer cells growing in the afflicted person’s body. It’s a clearly demarcated battle, where scientists are able to isolate and protect the cancer patient’s healthy cells while sending the destructive and disruptive virus into their body in order to mess with the cancer cells.

“It could lead to a cure in our lifetime,” an Ottawa doctor says to Smith. For anyone who’s been touched by cancer or even just scared of the genetic possibility of it, this prospect is utterly thrilling. And VICE‘s study is only the tip of the iceberg for some of this research — cancer clinics like Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Dana Farber aren’t even featured, and they’ve been working on trials like this as well.

Smith goes to Minnesota to talk to Stacy Erholtz, a woman whose multiple myeloma is currently in remission thanks to the experimental trial that sent the measles virus after her cancer. It’s an amazing story, and we see the hope and bravery of current myeloma patients receiving the same treatment as Stacy.

Where the special really tugs at your heartstrings, however, is in the story of the successful treatment of Emma Whitehead, a young girl who nearly died from leukemia when she was six years old, before doctors made the radical decision to use HIV to reprogram her T cells. Now, her cancer is in remission. They’ve done further treatments on young cancer patients who have also responded well, and it may be a breakthrough that shows that it’s fair to hope for a cure.

It wouldn’t be a VICE special with some edginess, though; Killing Caner takes you right into the operating rooms for cancer patients’ head surgeries, complete with the squishy, squirmy sounds of real-life procedures.

The information on trials like this is readily available in newspapers and via other media outlets, but the VICE team does a good job of showcasing the most exciting breakthroughs in the fight against cancer. The special is downright earnest, which is weird coming from VICE, but in this case Smith’s everyman quality makes something that could be wonky into a human story of people working to eradicate a random and cruel disease. An optimistic summary of where we are in the fight against cancer and where we’re going with this new research, Killing Cancer shines a little light on a possible future where a cancer diagnosis may never be a death sentence.

Total Eclipse of the Sun

Total eclipse of the sun will be seen over Europe on March 20th. The eclipse of the sun by the moon to be seen across Europe will be the biggest solar eclipse event on the continent since August 1999.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/total-eclipse-of-the-sun-will-be-seen-over-europe-on-20-march/article/427061#ixzz3T0vdV9oY

Paul Krugman's opinion on Greece

Paul Krugman was interviewed by Evan Davis on the BBC’s Newsnight program on 17th February. The following is a transcript of the part of the interview dealing with the negotiations for a new deal for Greece:

BBC -- I don’t know what you think but how far should the Eurozone go, the European Commission, in helping yield to what Syriza is asking for?

Krugman -- The important thing to realize is that Syriza is actually not asking for an inflow of money, it’s not asking for aid. There’s no question that Greece is going to be net transferring money to its creditors. What’s happening right now is that the Eurogroup is demanding that Greece commit to, or recommit to, increasing, to tripling the amount that it’s paying; it’s the primary budget surplus that we are actually talking about. So they are demanding that Greece go ahead with a program that calls for a major further increase in austerity despite the fact that Greece is suffering a Great Depression level slump.

That’s not gonna happen. Let’s put it this way: it is an absurd demand. Maybe this Greek government might agree to it; if so they will fall and something much more radical will take its place. So the question is whether the Eurogroup is so determined to make an example of Greece that they are willing to see that happen. It’s very frustrating to see Syriza portrayed as asking for easy terms, asking for a lot of money. They are actually prepared to continue with the enormous sacrifices Greece has already made. What they are not willing to do is to substantially increase those sacrifices going forwards.

BBC -- There is one criticism people make of Syriza though, which is that you have to say that Greece’s problems are not entirely imposed on it from overseas. There were some problems, structural problems, in the Greek economy before all this started. By essentially turning a back on reform of the Greek economy, they are not giving what gives hope to the rest of Europe that Greece will turn itself around and be a flourishing economy in 20 or 30 years time.

Krugman -- I think that, let’s be serious here, some of the reforms that Europe is trying to get in Greece are a good thing, some of them are more dubious. All of that is going to be very long in the payoff. Meanwhile we are now, remember we’re almost five years into this, we’ve had five years of Europe saying to Greece “do this, suffer this, make these cuts and you will see your economy turned around”. The Greek electorate is not going to stand for this. If Europe isn’t about democracy, what’s it about?

BBC -- What’s your theory as to why Europe, both the Germans and also the non-Germans - the Spanish, the French - what’s your theory as to why they are playing such hardball game with Greece?

Krugman -- Well for some of them, actually you want to think about it in terms of the various governments. Other European countries, first of all the Germans, they’ve been telling their electorate that it’s all about lazy, irresponsible southern Europeans. And they’ve never really leveled with them about the fact that yes, there was a lot of bad behavior in Greece but, you know, this is a shared European problem. In the case of a government like that in Spain, which has been dutifully imposing a lot of austerity, how can they turn to their voters and say “well, you know the Greeks are right we really shouldn’t be doing this. We shouldn’t be sacrificing quite as much”. So there is a real issue. I talked to some Irish economists. They are pointing out that the government in Ireland is really acting against the interests of the people of Ireland but in its own interests by saying “all look we’re good. We’re good on austerity, we’re good on reform, so therefore the Greeks should do it as well”. So lot’s of political incentives to continue.

BBC -- Would Greece be better off leaving the Euro? I mean this could be one outcome of all of this. And we know some people in Syriza actually want to leave the Euro.

Krugman -- Well, Greece would be better if it had never joined but unfortunately that’s not an option. The trouble with all of this is that the process of a divorce from the Euro would be incredibly messy and costly. It’s not something anyone wants to do lightly. And the consequences, by the way, for the rest of Europe, once the Euro becomes clearly a not necessarily permanent arrangement, that’s a really bad thing. So this is not where you want to go but it is not inconceivable. And if the demands are unacceptable, if Greece is told that, in effect, it must give large-scale reparations to creditors forever, then Euro exit will become a realistic possibility.

~~~~~~~~

(Paul Krugman is a Nobel Prize-winning economist and regulator columnist and blogger for the New York Times.)

Germany's debt relief after WWI & WWII

Highly indebted, without access to capital, viewed suspiciously by creditors - that was Germany in 1953. Half the country's debts were canceled over 60 years ago - the foundation of the "economic miracle."

Many Germans are still proud of the so-called "economic miracle." Post-war growth was extraordinary - the new Federal Republic's economic output doubled between 1953 and 1963 alone. Generations of schoolchildren have since been taught that the Germans are simply unbelievably hardworking people who were supported by US money after the war.

"That is a very regrettable part of the suppression of history in this country," says Joachim Kaiser of erlassjahr.de, an alliance that campaigns for the cancellation of debts in the developing world. He believes that the Germans have forgotten that they were hopelessly in debt after World War II, not unlike Greece today.

The parallels with Greece today are hard to overlook.

It was only with the London Debt Agreement of 1953 that the German economy was given room to breathe again, says historian Ursula Rombeck-Jaschinski of Stuttgart University: "One could even argue that the economic miracle would have been impossible without the debt agreement."

In those dark days, Germany owed money to around 70 countries, with the debts partly dating from before the war, partly from the short period afterwards. 

Altogether, the debts were worth around 30 billion Deutschmarks. Budget cuts and laborious repayments were not an option for the West Germans - on the contrary - the economy desperately needed more cash to finance the country's reconstruction and growth.

That much was clear to the banker Hermann-Josef Abs, who led the German delegation in London in 1953 - his mission: to make the creditors of today into the financiers and investors of tomorrow.

The negotiations, which began in the summer of 1952, were tortuous. Would the creditors write off their money? Could the Germans be trusted? "There was even a moment when the negotiations almost broke down," says Rombeck-Jaschinski. "The Germans had made the foreign creditors an offer that, from the point of view of the finance ministry, was the most that was possible. The creditors basically considered the offer an insult."

The Germans were forced to alter their offer in order for talks to continue. The parallels with current negotiations between Greece and its creditors are obvious. Just like during that year in London, the key is finding the right balance. In 1953, the creditors wanted to get as much of their money back as possible, while at the same time Germany was not to be economically overburdened.

"The Britons above all took the view that the Germans could essentially pay everything back," says Rombeck-Jaschinski. "But the Americans blocked them, because they had an interest in making sure that Germany had money left over for other things, especially rearmament."

The agreement, which all sides finally signed on February 27, 1953, turned into a very good deal for the West German economy - around half of its debts were written off, the rest restructured for the long-term.

On top of that, the agreement laid the foundation for Germany's export strength, as the country could only service its debts as long as it earned money through foreign trade. That, as Kaiser points out, meant creditors had an incentive to buy German products. In his opinion, a similar agreement today would help highly indebted Greece - particularly as the country spent billions on German tanks shortly before the debt crisis began.

"If we said: the Germans will only get their money if they agreed to a Greek trade balance surplus - then the Greeks could export for a long time and bring in German tourists, until they had finally paid for these damned tanks," says Kaiser.

Rombeck-Jaschinski says the situation 60 years ago cannot be transferred to today's problems so easily, but she does think the Germans shouldn't forget that their own country was once hopelessly indebted and dependent on foreign help.

Wolfgang Schäuble / Dr. Strangelove

Wolfgang Schäuble

A blogger known as Redesigning the foot and describing himself as “an ex-economist existing beyond his means in Greece”, has this week continued a detailed demolition of Schäuble’s economic policies by giving poor Schäuble the dark glasses, the uncontrollable right arm and the wheelchair sported by Peter Sellers in the movie masterpiece of 1964.

The ex-economist argues that holding down the wages of German workers has beggared the unemployed workers of Greece.

Whether Schäuble’s chilling words at the end of an Ecofin press conference in Berlin yesterday, “Greece must decide does it want this program or does it not“, quite match the horror of Dr. Strangelove’s wheelchair announcement, “because of the automated and irrevocable decision-making process which rules out human meddling, the Doomsday machine is terrifying and simple to understand … and completely credible and convincing” remains to be seen.

The “ex-economist” says that Schäuble’s misguided policy has been:

To chase down little pots of gold, found at the end of the rainbow, called trading surpluses.

If it weren’t for the euro or for agreements in the labor market that Schäuble mentions above, then this excess demand for ‘all things German’ would have raised the price of German goods, increased the demand and the wages of the workers that produced these goods, and eliminated the trade surplus.

A Schäuble trade surplus means that wages are lower than what they would be (without the agreements). It also means the wages are also lower than what they would be relative to capital (so we use less machines, robots etc in the production mix). So more labor (which Schäuble economy sucks in from the periphery’s pool of idle young) and less capital is being used than what would otherwise have occurred. In other words, there is less physical investment and this creates a lower or sluggish growth rate. This drags down the growth rate not only of the Schäuble economy, but the entire European continent with it.

In other words the German or the Schäuble economy is highly inefficent one in its misuse of resources and dooms the European economy, by getting investment wrong, to lag behind the rest of the world. This inefficiency is paid by imposing austerity on taxpayers living in the periphery.

So if surpluses are wasteful, Germany is Europe’s most inefficient economy.

Germany rejects 6 month extension from Greece

Germany has rejected a Greek request for a six-month extension to its eurozone loan program.

The rejection came despite the European Commission calling the Greek request "positive" only minutes earlier.

Greece had sought a new six-month assistance package, rather than a renewal of the existing deal that comes with tough austerity conditions.
However, a German finance ministry spokesman said the new plea was "not a substantial proposal for a solution".

Later on Thursday, Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and German chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by telephone, according to the Reuters news agency.
One Greek government official described the 50-minute call as "constructive", adding: "The conversation was held in a positive climate, geared towards finding a mutually beneficial solution for Greece and the eurozone."

Like grandmother, like granddaughter

My office ...

Today is not so good a day. The last couple of days have been very difficult for me. 

I can't help but remember my grandmother and her lymphadema. Both of her arms would swell up but the right arm was the worst. I have that in common with her. My right arm is swollen. I wear a compression tubigrip that helps with the swelling.

Like grandmother, like granddaughter. I miss her big time.

The outer area of my scar closest to my arm pit along with the area around my arm pit is on fire and every now and then I get sharp pains. 

This too shall pass. Tomorrow is another day.

Thank you Senator Sanders!

Sen. Bernard Sanders, (I-Vt.), is calling for the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government to remind the ECB of their obligation to pursue financial stability in Greece.

CNBC

Published February 9th 2015, 4:21 pm

5 months ...

My life has been about cancer the last five months - trying to learn about my disease, trying to figure out what I can do to prevent a recurrence.

I look at myself differently now.

Today, to mark World Cancer Day, I drank a couple of bottles of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. John brought a case back from Kentucky. The ale is aged in barrels that were once used to age bourbon. Very strong but smooth nonetheless.

My life post treatment hasn't been easy but with the ups and downs I have gained a new perspective on my cancer experience. What I used to see as a race to get back to my old life and the way things were pre cancer, is now a journey to finding a new normal and adjusting to it.

I feel like I will never be free of cancer but I'm finding happiness in what I have today and being grateful for that.

World Cancer Day aims to raise awareness for the fight against cancer by highlighting solutions that currently exist in the areas of prevention, early detection, treatment, and care.  
To the millions of people who have been diagnosed with cancer and who are fighting, the the survivors, and their families - you are not alone.

To my friend Janet who had her mastectomy on September 23rd - the same day I had mine - and who is still undergoing radiation treatments, keep fighting!

Life is good!

World Cancer Day 2015

Not beyond us

World Cancer Day: 4th February 2015

Taking place under the tagline ‘Not beyond us’, World Cancer Day 2015 will take a positive and proactive approach to the fight against cancer, highlighting that solutions do exist across the continuum of cancer, and that they are within our reach. 

The campaign will explore how we can implement what we already know in the areas of prevention, early detection, treatment and care, and in turn, open up to the exciting prospect that we can impact the global cancer burden – for the better. 

World Cancer Day is a unique opportunity to raise awareness that there is much that can be done at an individual, community and governmental level, to harness and mobilize these solutions and catalyze positive change. By moving forward together we have the potential to show: Cancer. It is not beyond us.

The 2015 campaign will be articulated around four key areas of focus:

● Choosing healthy lives

● Delivering early detection

● Achieving treatment for all

● Maximizing quality of life

Relay for Life - 2015

Each year, more than 4 million people in over 20 countries raise much-needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer through the Relay for Life movement.

Go to  www.relayforlife.org  to sign up for an event near you.

If you can't run or walk, please consider donating.

Relay for Life is an event that was born in 1985 in Tacoma, Washington (USA), where a doctor ran for 24 hours in a stadium to raise money for the local chapter of the American Cancer Society. This was the birth of the Relay for Life event which has since grown throughout the United States and into Canada, Australia and many European countries with the support of the American Cancer Society and the International Union Against Cancer. Each event is held over a 24 hour period with teams of participants taking turns to walk or run for the full 24 hours. It is an event that has become synonymous with a show of solidarity for all patients with cancer.

Haverford College is participating again this year - Sunday, March 1, 2015 - 4:00 a.m. (Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA).

Sign up and help fight cancer. Insert your zip code for a list of events near you.

Thank you.





Wahooooooooooo! NEGATIVE!

I had an Oragene-Dx DNA test back in December. All of my doctors were in agreement that I should get the test done.

28 genes known to be involved with hereditary cancer were analyzed. Everyone has these genes. The test looks for any changes ('mutations').


Dr. Hyett called and left me a voicemail. He received the test from Ambry Genetics and I tested negative. He mentioned he would be sending me a copy of the test.

I checked my email a few minutes ago and downloaded the attachment. I jumped for joy when I looked at the results and summary. NEGATIVE!

PANEL RESULTS:
 
CancerNext                Pathogenic Mutation(s):    None Detected
               Variant(s) of Unknown Significance:    None Detected
                                 Deletion(s)/Duplication(s):   None Detected
 
SUMMARY:

                NEGATIVE: No Clinically Significant Variants Detected

I can't even explain how I am feeling right now. It feels like a tremendous amount of weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.

In an older post, I tried to come up with words that rhymed with mutation. Here is one:

OCCASION

This Friday I will go out with my family to celebrate the results of my test. A drinking OCCASION.

Busting a gut! I'm always looking for an excuse to drink.

LIFE IS GOOD!

 

Budweiser - best buds

I love this commercial!

Monsanto - just label it

When consumers across Europe started campaigning for GMO labeling in the early 1990s, Monsanto released a series of advertisements in support of mandatory GMO labels. And in 1997, the European Union implemented mandatory genetically modified food labeling requirements for all member states.

But the biotech giant doesn’t want Americans to know about its onetime support of labeling. Since 2012, Monsanto has spent more than $22 million to fight state ballot initiatives to label GMOs and millions more to lobby Congress against mandatory labeling.

Our question for you, Monsanto: Why do you oppose Americans’ having a right to know about GMOs when you supported it for Europeans?

#JustLabelIt