October 11, 2002 

In This Issue: 
Cancer Survival Rates Re-Calculated, Recall Alerts for Cancer Patients, Adding Spice To Life, Researchers Investigating Cattle Growth Hormones for Link To Increased Breast Cancer Risk

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NEWS HEADLINES

News Media Informs, Doesn't Inflate Hopes: Study

Younger Folks See Decline in Melanoma Mortality

Late Recurrence of Melanoma to be Expected in Significant Portion of Patients

Researchers Look At Cattle Growth Hormone and Breast Cancer By Rachael Myers Lowe, cancerpage

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THE ODDS IMPROVE

Scientists writing in this week's The Lancet magazine say recent cancer treatment breakthroughs require a new look at figuring the odds on survival after a cancer diagnosis. In fact, for many common cancers, the odds of living 10 years or longer have improved significantly. For instance, under the old way of measuring survival, a breast cancer patient has a 51% probability of being alive 20 years from time of diagnosis; reworked, that number is 65%. For melanoma, the stat jumps from a 20 year survival rate of 73% to nearly 83%. One of the most dramatic jumps is realized in prostate cancer - from 44% likelihood of living 20 years to 81%. 

To read the whole story. http://www.cancerpage.matria.com/cancernews/cancernews4992.htm


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MEAT RECALLS RAISE ALERTS FOR CANCER PATIENT

In recent days, the USDA has announced the recall of thousands of pounds of beef and poultry potentially tainted by E. coli or listeria bacteria. Even in healthy people, infections can be life threatening. Patients with compromised immune systems, such as some cancer patients, face even more serious challenges. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service offers guidelines for preparing meat for consumption. The USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline # is 1-800-535-4555.

To read about steps you can take to prevent listeria infection. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/recalls/prelease/pr090-2002.htm
To read about steps you can take to prevent E. coli infection. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/recalls/prelease/pr091-2002.htm
For a list of active re-calls: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/recalls/rec_actv.htm 

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THE SPICE OF LIFE..
...just may be Indian curry. Two articles out this past week in peer-reviewed medical journals reported on the potential life enhancing benefits of one particular curry spice. In test tubes and lab mice, curcumin, the component of turmeric that makes it yellow, has shown success in reducing radiation induced skin burns and in reducing a protein tumors use to grow.

Radiation Burn story
Tumor Growth story