Radioactive Listeria Being Researched as Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer

From this Forbes.com Article

"Claudia Gravekamp and Ekaterina Dadachova of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine combined a radioisotope, 188Rhenium, with attenuated live Listeria bacteria and injected the radioactive bacteria into mice bearing a transplanted human pancreatic cancer.  Multiple treatments with low doses of the radioactive bacteria resulted in a 90 percent decrease in the number of metastases compared to mice that received only saline solution.  The treatment had no serious side effects."
...
"In response to a question about the applicability of her mouse model to humans, she noted Listeria also infects human pancreatic cancer cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, which helps to deliver the Listeria to the tumor microenvironment. Also, in humans the tumor microenvironment – but not normal tissues – is heavily immune suppressed, which is necessary for the Listeria to survive.  Furthermore, both Listeria and 188Rhenium have already been tested in human clinical trials, and both induced only very mild side effects.  “Therefore, we believe that the radioactive Listeria is applicable to humans."
...

“We would like to apply our treatment of radioactive Listeria as an early second line therapy directly after surgery for the primary tumor, to eliminate existing metastases and to prevent new metastases, and to eliminate any remaining tumor cells of the primary tumors.”

In an ideal world, we would like to know how to prevent pancreatic cancer in the first place, and research into prevention, which has recently been the focus of lobbying in Congress, may still yield valuable discoveries in the future.

In the meantime, however, if the radioactive Listeria approach to destroying metastases from pancreatic cancer proves safe and effective in humans, it would represent a huge advance in our ability to combat this most fatal cancer.

If that’s the best we can have for the present, we’ll take it."

Sandra Moon - Former Huntsville Councilwoman Dies of Terminal Pancreatic Cancer

From this article: http://blog.al.com/breaking/2013/04/former_huntsville_city_council.html

(Huntsville Times Photo)

This popped up on my facebook feed today. It's about a local Huntsville woman.

"Sandra Moon, who represented southeast Huntsville on the City Council from 1998 to 2010 and made history as the council's first female president, died at her home Tuesday evening.
Moon, 67, had recently been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.

Known for her sharp wit and tell-it-like-it-is candor, Moon was one of the Rocket City's most popular figures during her dozen years on the council. While political observers touted her as a potential candidate for mayor, Moon was content representing District 3. And voters in southeast Huntsville were content with Moon, re-electing her the first time with nearly 70 percent of the vote. She didn't even draw a challenger in the 2006 election.

Moon retired from politics in 2010, but not from public service. She was an active member of several boards, including the Von Braun Center and ALS Association of Alabama, and had been tapped to chair a volunteer committee working on a new southeast Huntsville branch library."

I'm guessing that her cancer was found at a very advanced stage, as is the cast with a vast majority of pancreatic cancer cases. Another reason we need
more research, more funding and more awareness! 

52 Marathons in 52 Weeks - Marathon Goddess Julie Weiss Raising Pancreatic Cancer Awareness

From this article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2295361/Marathon-Goddess--Julie-Weiss-woman-runs-52-marathons-52-weeks-honour-father-died-cancer.html

"For many, just taking part in a single marathon is the achievement of a lifetime, but Julie Weiss, they've become something of a weekly routine. She has run 52 of them - one a week - for the past year in memory of her dad who passed away from pancreatic cancer.>Yesterday, the 42-year-old California mother of two finally stopped as she crossed the finish line of the Los Angeles Marathon."

Do be sure to check out the video I've linked below (sorry, it wouldn't let me embed it.) So inspirational!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2013/03/22/dnt-blackwell-52-marathons.cnn

Plant Purple - Grow Hope! Plant purple flowers for pancreatic cancer research

From this article: https://www.tgen.org/news/2013-media-releases/plant-purple-grow-hope-3rd-year.aspx

"More northwest Ohio garden centers this spring are teaming up with an Arizona-based biomedical research organization to fight pancreatic cancer through the sale of purple flowers, which symbolize the nation's fourth leading cause of cancer death. ...

Kelly Kinney started Plant Purple-Grow Hope in honor of her brother, Bret Connors, a Scottsdale, Arizona, resident who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in 2009.

"We are really excited to continue working with the Maumee Valley Growers, who have made a long-term commitment to us and who at the same time are open to others joining our community awareness efforts," said Kinney, who moved to Houston, from Toledo, and hopes to secure a major sponsor in the future that will enable Plant Purple-Grow Hope to become a nationwide program.

To launch a Plant Purple-Grow Hope program in your community, please contact Erin Massey at the TGen Foundation at 602-343-8470

Proceeds will fund TGen and its Pancreatic Cancer Research Team (PCRT), which includes leading pancreatic cancer scientists, physicians and researchers, armed with the most technologically advanced tools and resources, at 45 top-flight medical research institutions worldwide."

Or it nothing else, you could plant a bunch of purple flowers and put a big pancreatic cancer awareness sign (or maybe a flier?) in it.

Wilko Johnson - Diagnosed With Terminal Pancreatic Cancer

From this article

" Wilko Johnson, the 65-year-old actor who played the part of Ilyn Payne in HBO's "Game of Thrones," has terminal pancreatic cancer and will not be receiving chemotherapy, according to news reports.

 "He is currently in good spirits, is not yet suffering any physical effects and can expect to enjoy at least another few months of reasonable health and activity," a statement from Johnson's manager stated, as reported by The Guardian. "

 Jason and I - as well as our friends - are fans of the Game of Thrones TV series, so I thought I'd share this news.  I hope that Mr. Johnson's family finds comfort and peace during this trying time, and enjoys the time they have left with him.