tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17819666543784886432024-03-19T00:50:58.817-07:00The Reno DispatchJamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.comBlogger339125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-36726438156831435812023-04-21T00:00:00.023-07:002023-04-24T17:36:29.360-07:00The Magnificent Obsession of Mike Milken<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYOko9nwvZqvOkbHVOKDUDroXumujryDRLazz36s0IiFfam3JVrHOZPn83eHe0k1AimK4XRPSHK8L5TKD234cWKWnYhN4uv7SpWBiaNLjVxTt0FTnct4zZ99i21o7pH50PNEAohwhgrXLMJDfpSqH8y1i91Bzza8Bi2dCk80t6Ag6cfEFO-B-sWJQ/s500/9780063260214-us.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGYOko9nwvZqvOkbHVOKDUDroXumujryDRLazz36s0IiFfam3JVrHOZPn83eHe0k1AimK4XRPSHK8L5TKD234cWKWnYhN4uv7SpWBiaNLjVxTt0FTnct4zZ99i21o7pH50PNEAohwhgrXLMJDfpSqH8y1i91Bzza8Bi2dCk80t6Ag6cfEFO-B-sWJQ/w265-h400/9780063260214-us.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">If I asked you to pick one person who is most responsible for the remarkable progress we've seen in the cancer drug development arena in the last 25 years, who would you choose? </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Here are ten of my top candidates for that honor:</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Jim Allison, the father of modern immunotherapy; Carl H. June, one of the pioneers of CAR T-cell research; Dennis Lo, who detected fetal cfDNA in the blood and introduced the first commercially available liquid biopsy assay; and Steve Rosenberg, whose hard work led to the world’s first gene therapy that deployed the body’s immune system to fight cancer. <br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">There are also Gwen Nichols, a renowned physician, researcher and chief medical officer at the Leukemia and Lymphoma who plays a critical role in advancing cures; Michala Short, for her compassion toward patients as well as her work establishing Australia’s first proton therapy center; and Mark Kaminski, the hematologist and researcher who co-developed Bexxar, a radio-immunotherapy that saved my life. There are also Dr. Jian Zhou, the inventor of the cervical cancer vaccine; Bert Vogelstein, the first scientist to explain the molecular basis of a common human cancer; And Jennifer Doudna, whose work could make ultra-precise edits to DNA in cells and potentially cure cancer and more.<br /> <br />Those are ten of my personal heroes. But as much as I admire each of these men and women, there is one person who outshines even these bright stars. The Most Valuable Player in the cancer arena over the last three-plus decades is unquestionably Mike Milken. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> more you learn about what he has done nationwide and worldwide, the more I think you will agree. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span>Mike’s work in fact extends to all life-threatening diseases, not just cancer. In a recent WSJ op-ed (linked
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://fastercuresbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/MM-WSG-oped-4-10-23.pdf&source=gmail&ust=1682389334405000&usg=AOvVaw3F2NzRyQXcXBUtvaRSFcLv" href="https://fastercuresbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/MM-WSG-oped-4-10-23.pdf" target="_blank">
here</a>), he refers to heart disease, polio, AIDS, Covid, infectious diseases, Alzheimer’s, hereditary conditions, and more.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />But this story is focused on his work in the cancer world. And it is extraordinary. I generally avoid hackneyed descriptions like “larger than life” when describing someone in print. But Mike (he prefers Mike) really is. He's dramatically changed the cancer drug landscape. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Mike is not a doctor. He is a</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> financier, medical research innovator, cancer survivor, writer and devoted family man. And he has has somehow managed to bring the once-fractured cancer sector together. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">That includes pharma and biotech, academia, regulators, politicians, advocates, patients, all coming together in ways that we have never seen before. They are breaking bread and breaking the mold. </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Yes, it's still competitive. But the landscape has changed dramatically for the better thanks to Mike. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The New Book Takes You Inside His World<br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvtqL-pa3nu_YM4FmUCrKZaCL9C5n6phlycDACEP1I2MznhdvsoH5XxAVmvmAGnkZqiuwNJHfJ1-JXZtaX0DCO02ABHTobprFK596APrhjSiNErlgIywItLgH8vcW7YcqK0V9-XexP1YZmJMTwTt_NybEiaSlTwXes5kTmKDsMXoaUGAc8oJNFcgZ/s261/mike%20milken%20.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="193" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvtqL-pa3nu_YM4FmUCrKZaCL9C5n6phlycDACEP1I2MznhdvsoH5XxAVmvmAGnkZqiuwNJHfJ1-JXZtaX0DCO02ABHTobprFK596APrhjSiNErlgIywItLgH8vcW7YcqK0V9-XexP1YZmJMTwTt_NybEiaSlTwXes5kTmKDsMXoaUGAc8oJNFcgZ/s1600/mike%20milken%20.jpg" width="193" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span>Mike Milken</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>I<span>n his brilliant new book, F<i>aster Cures: Accelerating the Future of Health</i>, which you can <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Accelerating-Future-Michael-Milken/dp/0063260212/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=409941395412&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9061211&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=18342455861902648553&hvtargid=kwd-23654788069&hydadcr=24661_11410855&keywords=michael+milken&qid=1682059204&sr=8-1">purchase here</a>, Mike takes us behind the curtain to show us just how he took on this enormous challenge. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The book details the work he has done to get all the players in the cancer sector on the same page so that they can move cancer research forward. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">“It seemed crazy,” Mike writes. “These doctors held patients’ lives in their hands, yet they had an incomplete picture of the disease without the benefit of expertise from other institutions."<br /><br />He goes on to say that the physicians and scientists at various elite centers viewed one another as competitors, not collaborators. “They were all drawing from the same small pool of grant money, and they were all trying to attract revenue-producing patients,” he writes. <br /><br />“It reminded me of when I coached my kids’ soccer games. The biggest challenge was getting the youngsters to stay in position and cooperate as a team rather than everyone running to where the ball is. Too many medical researchers were running after the same scientific ball and not communicating with each other.”<br /><br />Mike infiltrated the entrenched, isolated cancer "camps" and brought them together to expedite the development of lifesaving cancer modalities and get them to the public. His work has changed the world.<br /><br />In the book, he shares personal stories about his childhood and what motivated him to become a global cancer warrior. The book works both as a ruminative autobiography (with co-writer Geoffrey Evans Moore) and a primer of how one man really can change an industry.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">While many people are aware that Mike runs and hosts the Milken Institute, the nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that helps people build meaningful lives, I'd guess that only a small handful of people know just how much he has done for the cancer community. <br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The Impossible Dream</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />Mike’s Quixotic dream of speeding up the process of drug development has been his mantra for 50 years. He's succeeded to the point where <i>Fortune</i> describes him as "the man who changed medicine." </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">A pragmatic dreamer, he is a gentle but relentless advocate. He's very smart, and keenly aware that the only way to pursue this is to be non-partisan. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">But he has little patience for the way some research institutions act like sports teams carefully guarding their playbooks so their “opponents” won't know what they are doing. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Collaboration is the only way to move forward, he says.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">It's hard to accurately quantify just how much he has given because there has been such an overwhelming ripple effect throughout the entire oncology world from his work. But thanks to Mike, even staunch and sometimes hostile competitors have come together. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Cancer drug development is an arduous and expensive endeavor from the time a scientist has a notion in the lab to the clinical trial stages to FDA approval to manufacturing to marketing the product. But it's gotten much easer and more streamlined thanks to Mike. <br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000;">CaP CURE</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">His mission actually started in the 1970’s with a few programs to advance drug development. But he knew there was so much more to do. As he writes in the book, he decided in the early 1990's that the cancer universe needed a complete overhaul. It was time to roll up the sleeves and get to work.</span><br style="color: black;" /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">His resolve would lead to the formation of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Melanoma Research Alliance, and ultimately <i>FasterCures</i>. By March 1993, Mike had come up with a new name for his organization: CaP CURE. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The “Ca” stood for all cancers, he explains. The the “P” stood for prostate. And “CURE” was for all diseases. And he was inspired to fund young scientists. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">For nearly 50 years, Mike has advanced the careers of more than 600 early career researchers. “We call them young investigators, or YI’s,” Mike writes. “They work in two dozen countries."<br /><br />Mike has connected with thousands of medical and scientific experts worldwide. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">He came up with this list of principles:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /><i>• Focus on the career paths of these young physicians.<br />• Focus on collaboration in place of competition.<br />• Build cross-sector ties.<br />• Identify the most promising research not funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).<br />• Eliminate needless bureaucracy.<br />• Relinquish intellectual property rights in exchange for speed and administrative costs.<br />• Supplement traditional therapies with proven alternative concepts. Generate public awareness.<br />• Educate members of Congress.<br />• Assure other disease groups that we were a resource, not a threat.<br />• Act with urgency.</i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: medium;">These are just some of the organizations Mike has created. Each one is doing stellar work and is worthy of your support:</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><div style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream (MCAAD)</b></span><br />The Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream believes anyone with a dream, and the drive to achieve it, should have the opportunity to make it come true— through expanding access to education, health, and economic freedom, and by unleashing the power of entrepreneurship and innovation.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Milken Institute</span></b><br />A non-profit, non-partisan economic think tank whose scholars lead an international dialogue on solutions in the areas of economics, health, aging, human capital, philanthropy and capital markets.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>FasterCures</i></span></b><br />This Washington, D.C.-based think tank is removing barriers to progress against all life-threatening diseases.<br /><b><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;">Milken Family Foundation</span></b><br />Established in 1982, the Foundation is one of America's leading charitable organizations supporting education and a broad range of medical research.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Bioscience/Public Health</span></b><br />Major recent initiatives include the Milken Institute’s COVID-19 Treatment and Vaccine Tracker, and the biggest health initiative -- The Milken Institute School of Public Health.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Milken Scholars Program</span></b><br />The Milken Scholars Program provides outstanding high school students with a commitment of four years of college financial assistance, counseling, volunteer opportunities and preparation for graduate studies and beyond.<br /><b><br /><span style="color: #0b5394;">Melanoma Research Alliance</span></b><br />The MRA has awarded approximately $123 million to medical investigators in 18 countries focused on accelerating new therapeutic approaches for melanoma, improving existing treatments, developing new biomarkers and advancing understanding of risk factors. Since 2007, the FDA has approved 13 new melanoma treatments.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Prostate Cancer Foundation</span></b><br />The world's largest philanthropic source of funds for prostate cancer research, the Prostate Cancer Foundation is helping reduce the death rate from one of the most common cancers.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Other Non-Profit Activities</span></b><br />Mike's five decades of philanthropy include many other programs in medical research, public health and education.</span></div></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Immunotherapy Has Come of Age</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, it’s fitting and poetic that just as Mike’s book was released, Moderna and Merck announced the results of a Phase 2 clinical trial that combines Moderna’s personalized mRNA cancer vaccine and Merck’s blockbuster immunotherapy drug Keytruda for people with melanoma.<br /><br />In the trial, which <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/skin-cancer-vaccine-may-help-prevent-it-from-returning">I wrote about this week for Healthline</a>, the drug-vaccine combination reduced the risk of death or recurrence of melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer, by 44% compared with Merck’s immunotherapy Keytruda alone. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />Several immunotherapies have made their way from the lab to the clinic, largely because of Mike’s support. Keytruda, for example, the checkpoint inhibitor, is now approved for more than a dozen types of cancer. I've written about <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-keytruda-and-other-immunotherapies-are-expanding-cancer-treatments?utm_source=ReadNext">Keytruda</a> extensively. <br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">And now the world is getting the first look at what can happen when you combine an immunotherapy with a personalized cancer vaccine. This is the future of cancer medicine, right here, right now. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />The next step of course is a Phase 3 trial, which could lead to a new option for people with melanoma. This is just the beginning of the cancer vaccine combination.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Moderna is of course the company that saved countless lives during the pandemic. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Personalized medicine is just beginning to blossom. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Throughout </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">t</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">his magnificent obsession of Mike's, he has been consistent and unwavering. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">And to his credit, he has always been especially enamored of immunology. He is fascinated with the science of getting your own body to fight the cancer. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Mike was convinced that this could be a game-changing medicine decades
before the world began to open their eyes and minds to the idea
that we have an immune system. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I, too, was an early believer in immunology. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">From a young age, I instinctively believed that we all have an immune system. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">In late 1996, I was diagnosed with stage IV non-Hodgkin’s follicular lymphoma. My oncologist told me I would be lucky to live three years. But I had other plans.</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />I was originally treated with a type of chemotherapy called CHOP. It was rough. It gave me a remission. But two and a half years later I was back in the trenches. <br /><br />This time, I took charge of my situation. First thing I did was get a new oncologist, who was much kinder and far more open-minded about my desire to enroll in a clinical trial. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I looked far and wide for any and all potential treatments, including trials. I chose to enroll in a Phase 3 trial of a drug called Bexxar, a so-called radio-immunotherapy.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Bexxar was a monoclonal antibody linked with radioactive iodine I-131. Monoclonal antibodies are built to target and destroy only certain cells in the body. At the time, the drug, which was used to treat certain forms of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, was usually given after other medications had been tried without successful treatment.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br />Bexxar not only put me back into remission and saved my life, it cured me. I have many friends who were also cured by that drug. But it was sadly shelved by Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) for all the wrong reasons. <br /><br />The drug company didn’t effectively market the drug and they clearly didn’t think it was going to be financially advantageous to continue offering this remarkable medicine. I was heartbroken with the drug was scrapped. Because it works. <br /><br />GSK scientists have certainly done some very good things. But this decision was wrong on all kinds of levels. I have written extensively about Bexxar in <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/my-life-guinea-pig-151415"><i>Newsweek</i></a>, where I proudly spent 23 years as a national correspondent, and <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/when-drug-companies-are-hazardous-your-health-lifesaving-cancer-drug-bexxar-discontinued-1551568"><i>International Business Times</i>,</a> and The <a href="http://therenodispatch.blogspot.com/2013/08/breaking-exclusive-lifesaving-cancer.html"><i>Reno Dispatch</i></a> news blog you are reading, and many other publications. <br /><br />I still believe we should resurrect Bexxar and its sister medication, Zevalin, which is also a radio-immunotherapy that showed very good results with minimal side effects. These are both safe and effective medicines that were poorly marketed and underutilized. Perhaps they arrived too soon. <br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Thanks again, Mike</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">As a fellow cancer survivor, I thank you again for all you have done for the national and global cancer communities. If you ever need me for anything, please do not hesitate to ask.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-56524048118733641612023-04-07T11:54:00.002-07:002023-04-07T12:17:20.016-07:00EXCLUSIVE: Why Are Teen And Young Adult Cancer Patients Still Not Getting The Research And Support They Deserve? <p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmKTaIHRlkLGm7hWwVdF5mDStjArrmmLtN0J3JhuHVmtNhAG6LxsXjLzPfWx3Wc11fjnzZ0Q9qAzIiN5ywuSQOOB9z1IZ6R1GWYM0QeAltboZ5NrvNtsE5iamGDhLGJGqDW9mhsrz0rQ3TAhKWczTT4LlcL4Acw6207GcI8CXjwhCYPLPAH1GsExo/s636/Rosen%20Allison%20headshot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="636" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmKTaIHRlkLGm7hWwVdF5mDStjArrmmLtN0J3JhuHVmtNhAG6LxsXjLzPfWx3Wc11fjnzZ0Q9qAzIiN5ywuSQOOB9z1IZ6R1GWYM0QeAltboZ5NrvNtsE5iamGDhLGJGqDW9mhsrz0rQ3TAhKWczTT4LlcL4Acw6207GcI8CXjwhCYPLPAH1GsExo/w640-h424/Rosen%20Allison%20headshot.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">When Allison Rosen (above) was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age 32, it came as a complete shock. She had no idea someone her age could be diagnosed with this type of cancer, which most Americans still associate with people who are much older.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;">It was a daunting challenge for Rosen, physically and emotionally. But she bravely pushed on, endured treatment, and is now in remission.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Rosen, a trained scientist who worked for years in a lab, now works in cancer prevention and is a passionate advocate for her fellow adolescent and young adult cancer patients (AYA’s). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“I believe there needs to be more research and more attention given to teens and young adults with cancer,” says Rosen.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">“The physical as well as psychological aspects of being diagnosed with cancer just as your life is beginning can be devastating.”</span> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rosen is intensely focused on increasing awareness of the unique challenges faced by adolescent cancer patients ages 15 to 39. </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And she’s not alone.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The idea is unambiguous:</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Teens and young adults too often get the short end of the stick when it comes to cancer care, and it has to change, for the sake of us all.</span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why does this age group need and deserve more attention?</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There are multiple compelling reasons.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">First of all, teens and young adults are diagnosed with cancer at later stages than any other sector of the population.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Teens and young adults are also the sector of cancer patients who are most often misdiagnosed. </span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Teens and young adults also get by far the fewest research dollars thrown their way, the least amount of clinical trials, and the least amount of space in cancer hospitals.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The young adults age group is also the least likely to have health insurance. While kids and teens are typically covered under their parents’ insurance, young adults are often not covered. And many of them are just not even thinking about cancer or any other serious illness.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Teens and young adults also generally do not get tested for cancer. It’s simply not on their radar, or their doctor’s, if they have a doctor.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But the sad and chilling fact is that cancers in young people are alarmingly on the rise in America.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(252, 252, 252); font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(252, 252, 252);">In a </span>recent<span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll rgb(252, 252, 252);"> <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/article-abstract/2773343" style="color: blue;">study</a> of cancer trends among adolescents and young adults in the US, researchers reported a shocking 30 percent increase in cancer diagnoses among individuals fifteen to thirty-nine years old between 1973 and 2015. </span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Despite the fact that cancer in AYA’s is alarmingly increasing, data on the epidemiology of cancer in AYAs are still inexcusably limited.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">AYA’s Need Their Space</span></b></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And lest we forget, there are the psycho-social aspects of being diagnosed in this age group, as well, and just where this age group is typically being treated. </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It’s insulting for someone who is 16 years old to be relegated to the pediatric cancer ward next to a very young child.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It is also unfair for for a 23-year-old cancer patient to be placed in the same treatment room as a person who is two or even three times his or her age.</span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Neither is optimal. Teens and young adults want and need their own space. A treatment environment that is age-appropriate is something every cancer patient wants and deserves.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Teen Cancer America (TCA) is addressing these needs. The non-profit organization works tirelessly every day to support adolescents and young adults with cancer, including establishing spaces in hospitals that are exclusively designed for this age group.</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;">Simon Davies, CEO of TCA, says that people of all ages need so support this sub-group of cancer patients.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;">“We need real change to improve the treatment experience, services, and research for this largely forgotten group of teenagers and young adults with cancer."</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;">Roger Daltrey, legendary lead singer of the Who, is co-founder with his Who bandmate Pete Townshend of both Teen Cancer America and Teenage Cancer Trust in the UK. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;">"AYA cancer awareness is the most important week of the US calendar,” Roger says.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;">“We need everyone to understand the unique needs of young people with cancer and support these advocating charities in their vital work to save young lives."</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;">Stupid Cancer Steps Up</span></span></b></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Another leader in the AYA cancer coalition is Stupid Cancer, whose CEO, </span></span><span style="font-size: large;">Alison Silberman, is proud that so many disparate organizations have come together for this age group.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Silberman says there is nothing but sincere collaboration going on here.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> “We all support each other. We all want the same thing,” she says.</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">The 411 on Teen and Young Adult Cancer</span></b></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 90,000 people ages 15-39 are diagnosed with cancer each year.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Every hour in America, a young person between the ages of 13 and 25 is diagnosed with cancer</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Teens and young adults with cancer are usually treated in children's units (pediatrics) if they are teens or treatment with older people (medical oncology) if they are older young adults.</span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The average age for pediatrics is 6 and average age in adults is 60.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Entering high school or college, critical exams, career pathways, more significant relationships. These are just a few of the challenges of this age group. Cancer can disrupt and adversely affect all of these, sometimes causing irreparable damage. </span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Peer groups are of course key at this age. Losing contact with friends and being treated where there are no other people of the same age is depressing and isolating.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In some cancers affecting young people, such as bone cancer, there has been little progress or improvement in survival in 30 years.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Compare that to leukemia where survival has improved from 20% to 80%.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There has been a paucity of research and clinical trials in the AYA field. Their outcomes and survival have made inferior progress compared to older and younger populations.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This must change. <br /></span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Teens and young adults are old enough to know what is happening to them but often they are understandably not mature enough to cope with all of the unexpected and unwelcome changes and challenges.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is not uncommon for a young person to protect his or her family from how distressed and frightened he or she may be.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Issues such as body image and loss of fertility are also complex and difficult things to navigate during cancer treatment.<br /></span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Losing hair, fatigue, weight loss due to cancer or weight gain due to some treatments, surgery and scarring are all hugely important issues for a teenager who is just discovering his or her own identity.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A young person being told they may not be able to have children can have distressing long-term effects. The simple act of deciding when or how to tell a boyfriend or girlfriend that this is a possibility can be a harrowing experience.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMo1iOJmktJpTjwbWQrggr4pvsnASBFs8EiT2Er6KsRVF67eQEHRaO-9bffW6ZH_2odMpgLTCUwgub5zyhBwKyTBnhJRj5dg-dya6iCjAa-n-iagzOcCP4CYSw08E1OOfiSRU4TKB3es/s310/teen+cancer+american+logo+1.jpg" style="color: blue; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMo1iOJmktJpTjwbWQrggr4pvsnASBFs8EiT2Er6KsRVF67eQEHRaO-9bffW6ZH_2odMpgLTCUwgub5zyhBwKyTBnhJRj5dg-dya6iCjAa-n-iagzOcCP4CYSw08E1OOfiSRU4TKB3es/w400-h211/teen+cancer+american+logo+1.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></span></div><span face=""Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div><br /></div>Davies of Teen Cancer America says his organization plans to be an antidote to much of the above by developing specialized facilities, services and teams that will improve the treatment experience of young people, their outcomes and their survival. </span></span><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Teenagers and young people should be treated with people of their own age, Davies notes. Just as they are in schools, universities and youth groups. Even the criminal justice system treats teenagers differently.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The facilities that Teen Cancer America creates are vibrant, teen-friendly environments geared specifically to meet their needs. They are based on the successful model developed by Teenage Cancer Trust in the UK over the past 25 years and which are now a main stream part of cancer services over there.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">These spaces can include social areas, kitchen/dining areas, computers, gaming systems, music systems and digital lighting. They may have pool tables and jukeboxes installed to create a strong youth centered environment. </span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Having both facilities and expert teams in place at cancer hospitals will inevitably enable researchers to focus on this age group and study both the effect of the cancers on them and the effects of the treatments.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Teen Cancer America developed the first US specialized facility at UCLA.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Some of the hospitals with whom Teen Cancer America is currently working are UCLA (CA), MSK (NYC), Yale (CT), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Dana Faber (MA), Stanford (CA), Moffitt (FL), Baylor Scott and White, Fort Worth (TX), University of Chicago (IL), UH Hospitals/Seidman Cancer Center (OH), Duke (NC), UNC (NC), Children’s Hospital of Minnesota (MN) Lurie (IL) North Western (IL), UC Davis (CA), James (OH), and Nationwide (OH).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">Allison Rosen Is Living Her Life</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></b></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; color: #a5a7aa; float: left; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; padding: 5px; position: relative;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5axQS9Ufd2gdo0OsKKAUKQHj-_6_dtbStJ6XRBfRe91a4G8ox93OxnKevZ-N4vt2AlYRZyhaLfBLfBaLWOE7xTE5Y5LlmMNprztfzDyTbVBezTWBd62CETX8TBJZfChIlcXEK3IaNgo/s2048/allison+rosen+hospital.jpeg" style="clear: left; color: blue; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5axQS9Ufd2gdo0OsKKAUKQHj-_6_dtbStJ6XRBfRe91a4G8ox93OxnKevZ-N4vt2AlYRZyhaLfBLfBaLWOE7xTE5Y5LlmMNprztfzDyTbVBezTWBd62CETX8TBJZfChIlcXEK3IaNgo/w240-h320/allison+rosen+hospital.jpeg" style="background: transparent; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.56px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Allison Rosen during treatmen</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">t</span><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, the good news is that Allison Rosen is getting on with her life and continuing to inspire and inform her fellow cancer patients and survivors.</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“I work in cancer research, and now in cancer prevention,” she says . “I was living my life, having a great time and not thinking I was on the clock to get married or have kids. When I was first diagnosed it was overwhelming. But there is help, and hope.”</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rosen asked her oncologist if there was another patient or group of patients around the same age that she could talk to for support at her hospital, MD Anderson. </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“I went to one support group, but it was older adults, and they just do not have the same needs,” she says.</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rosen played an early role in the development of the AYA support group at MD Anderson.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“They did not have a young adult support group, so I brought that up in a meeting,” she said. “They took it from there and created a young adult support group. I am in remission, but still attend to this day.”</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The simple message, Rosen says, is that you will need emotional support for rest of your life, people you can connect with.</span></span></p><span style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“That support group saved my life,” she says. “I felt alone, I didn’t understand, and these perfect strangers have turned into some of my best friends.”</span></span></p></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-3144932369023856242023-04-04T13:43:00.001-07:002023-04-07T12:03:28.838-07:00Concert Review: Legendary Band The Who Defies Time<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwnyf9a2TQY7O0IsRyt6R3Bx7DBYvB4VfLF6YVVFFj-jK2Nvdw9X3WaluodZidGtPKI-N3B1WLSscQvzlTPq6a-Alwq2yZTtkZYb_TpUYc7zOSOkv4PeC15piogCC768tZHfoIysHK8GqqMvxi_0bL9i0Qn5qvzOQkyweo7QnEgpF9wJ1OLNSNgoY/s320/ho%20anaheim%20one.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwnyf9a2TQY7O0IsRyt6R3Bx7DBYvB4VfLF6YVVFFj-jK2Nvdw9X3WaluodZidGtPKI-N3B1WLSscQvzlTPq6a-Alwq2yZTtkZYb_TpUYc7zOSOkv4PeC15piogCC768tZHfoIysHK8GqqMvxi_0bL9i0Qn5qvzOQkyweo7QnEgpF9wJ1OLNSNgoY/s1600/ho%20anaheim%20one.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There are many time travel-themed films such as "Back to the Future," "Interstellar" and "The Terminator." There are also a bunch of acclaimed time travel-themed books such as "Slaughterhouse Five," "Kindred" and "A Wrinkle in Time." </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Traveling through time is clearly a universally popular notion. But I always thought it was a purely fictional enterprise. However, a</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">fter seeing The Who on Saturday night, I'm not so sure.</span></p><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The legendary rock band's lead singer, Roger Daltrey, 78, and lead guitarist and songwriter, Pete Townshend, 77, were in impossibly good form when they performed with a full orchestra at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. I was flabbergasted by how youthful they looked and sounded. It literally felt as if they were visiting us from another time.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Roger is singing as powerfully and with as much nuance as he did 40 years ago. Maybe even more so. Pete is singing and playing with the energy and passion of a teenager, and still does those trademark windmills. And that alone is inconceivable. Both of these living legends have tremendous energy on stage. It borders on the supernatural. </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The most memorable scream in rock and roll history is of course Roger's joyously blood-curdling wail near the end of "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHhrZgojY1Q" style="color: #366ba7; text-decoration-line: none;">Won't Get Fooled Again</a>." I did not expect him to reach the same emotional, eardrum-shattering level as he did back in the day. But he did. It was bloody brilliant!</span><div><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It was the same raw, gut-punching, emotional roar that I heard the first time I listened to the song from "Who's Next," which could very well be the greatest rock album of them all. I was ten years old when I first heard that record. It is now written into my DNA.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There are basically three untouchables in the history of rock and roll. Three bands who tower above the rest in terms of, well, greatness. There is no real need to name them, but of course they are The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who. And The Who is the only one of the three that is currently active. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Yes, original drummer Keith Moon and original bass player John Entwistle are both sadly no longer with us. But Roger and Pete keep the fire burning. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Townshend's energy belies time and physics. I'd have been happy just to hear these guys sing and play. But what I did not expect was how powerfully and superbly they sang and played, and how much visible, palpable joy they felt as they performed.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">With a superb orchestra behind them, the band opened with several songs from "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhNawCtaffw&list=OLAK5uy_mE7mv6Mr5CZxclWLHAf4o-g-alrFcXjN4" style="color: #366ba7; text-decoration-line: none;">Tommy</a>," the iconic rock opera which of course was made into a wild and wildly acclaimed film of the same name directed by Ken Russell. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Then the orchestra departed, and the band continued to rock with such favorites as "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj58IHA3urc" style="color: #366ba7; text-decoration-line: none;">You Better You Bet</a>," "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAbzlj3nf4E" style="color: #366ba7; text-decoration-line: none;">The Seeker</a>," "Won't Get Fooled Again" (as mentioned above) and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMrImMedYRo" style="color: #366ba7; text-decoration-line: none;">Behind Blue Eyes</a>." </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">When the orchestra returned, the band played a few songs from "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F3HxlYFc5U" style="color: #366ba7; text-decoration-line: none;">Quadrophenia</a>," the group's other rock opera and concept album that has been called the "anti-musical," but whose songs are genius. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">They ended the show with two of their epic best: "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhLsC2FpDZk" style="color: #366ba7; text-decoration-line: none;">Love, Reign O'er Me</a>" and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRTNm6GLJYI" style="color: #366ba7; text-decoration-line: none;">Baba O'Riley</a>," which many refer to as "Teenage Wasteland." </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I guess we all get more sentimental as we grow older. We all begin to sense our own mortality, though I try not to dwell on that. I'm not ashamed to say that I had tears of joy in my eyes for a good portion of the show. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Music has been a huge part of my life since I can remember. I have an absurdly clear memory of myself at age 5 flipping over plastic buckets and kitchen pans to use as a drum set as I played along with the "I Saw Her Standing There" by The Beatles. And of course I remember vividly when I bought my first guitar at age 14. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Besides the love of my family and friends, there has been no greater joy in my life than music. And getting an opportunity to see these masters play at such a high level this late in their careers is touching, reassuring and amazing. <br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Thank you Roger and Pete for all the music you have given given the world. And thanks, too, for the amazing work you have been doing for teen and young adult cancer patients for the last 30 years with the <a href="https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/" style="color: #366ba7; text-decoration-line: none;">Teenage Cancer Trust</a> in the UK and for the last 10 years in America with <a href="https://teencanceramerica.org/" style="color: #366ba7; text-decoration-line: none;">Teen Cancer America</a>. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">The band gave $2 per ticket to Teen Cancer America on the recent tour. That’s worth over $400,000 to the charity and makes every fan feel like they are helping young people with cancer. </span> </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Who rocks, and cares! </span></p></div></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-63591817880426614912023-02-08T11:52:00.002-08:002023-02-10T12:44:35.276-08:00Outer Space & Inner Space: A Potentially Game-Changing New Cancer Test Has Just Arrived<p><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uFYqcQqox9BWqdk0FBiAY0UC5aPaxy-qSD2eAsumVVWO_hEeaPHurL7I_zssno935ROnDTjAA_CHwvGGz1sa5D37DNM8isRyetzte8VFhykCEdBu4-jqmvEuxOoig9eYZiQj2PujSBLHzQdmwuPHygldzTfqVt5ubtsuFzphqpeoEPLuRq0YvHsk/s1600/Pluto%202015%20one.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uFYqcQqox9BWqdk0FBiAY0UC5aPaxy-qSD2eAsumVVWO_hEeaPHurL7I_zssno935ROnDTjAA_CHwvGGz1sa5D37DNM8isRyetzte8VFhykCEdBu4-jqmvEuxOoig9eYZiQj2PujSBLHzQdmwuPHygldzTfqVt5ubtsuFzphqpeoEPLuRq0YvHsk/w400-h400/Pluto%202015%20one.webp" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">When NASA's New Horizons spacecraft sent back the first high-resolution outer space views of Pluto in 2015, they were the most remarkably vivid close-ups of the "dwarf planet" that humans had ever seen. NASA scientists and then the rest of the world were stunned by the breathtaking, high-resolution photos.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Meanwhile, in inner space (the human body), cancer scientists, too, are seeing things they have never seen before and working in an equally vast and mysterious universe that they are just beginning to comprehend. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">On that note, I participated in an enlightening interview this week with Dr. Rick Baehner, Chief Medical Officer, Precision Oncology at Exact Sciences. It's a dynamic cancer screening and diagnostic testing (liquid biopsy) company that I've been following for several years. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">He put it all in the proper perspective with an insightful and appropriately cosmic take. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"Working with liquid biopsy technology is like looking at the horizon and seeing Pluto and its moon imagery," said Baehner, who was eager to talk about the company's breakthrough test and what it means for people with cancer. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This week, the company turned its relevance in the cancer arena up yet another notch. My conversation with Baehner was a bit like speaking with astronomer/scientist/author Carl Sagan and physician/biologist/author Siddhartha Mukherjee at the same time. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The conversation made me consider both outer space and the human body, which can feel just as ominously vast and unfamiliar.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But thanks to companies like Exact Sciences and scientists like Baehner, that is changing. And people with cancer are the beneficiaries of this change.</span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPW7KwWHcQQixVbD06fUJt3J4GM-P7pldZf_qASxoKkg-OFvdbIVgUbymTOO02DwsL4gcHpdVktynmkTJC0TT2RlZ1hqIj0wpJAaIS7nJwm6CAQENIV4FZnc8UHVqjnaxlkIeeixme5G2Ss9m2lIjTIC8JH1gCCxFUKyOi1qR2NEuacPf8xqRoc9F/s225/cancer%20cells%20inthe%20body.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPW7KwWHcQQixVbD06fUJt3J4GM-P7pldZf_qASxoKkg-OFvdbIVgUbymTOO02DwsL4gcHpdVktynmkTJC0TT2RlZ1hqIj0wpJAaIS7nJwm6CAQENIV4FZnc8UHVqjnaxlkIeeixme5G2Ss9m2lIjTIC8JH1gCCxFUKyOi1qR2NEuacPf8xqRoc9F/s1600/cancer%20cells%20inthe%20body.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cancer cells in the body</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Exact Sciences has just launched a personalized cancer test that provides doctors with vitally important information needed to make important decisions about therapy based on the specific patient's cancer. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"As diagnostic medicine continues to move forward," said Baehner, "the importance of having genetic information about a specific tumor becomes even more essential and will ultimately benefit the person who is taking the test."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The OncoExTra therapy selection test was announced this week in the United States. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">OncoExTra is a next-generation sequencing (NGS), comprehensive DNA and RNA based genomic test that provides physicians and their patients with a complete molecular picture of the patient's cancer. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The test provides reliable and actionable results personalized to each patient. Remember that word: Personalization. It is the future of cancer medicine, and ideally all medicine. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"The OncoExTra test substantially enhances our ability to characterize and understand solid cancer tumors, giving out patients the best chance at treating their cancer successfully," said Stephen Gruber, MD, PhD, MPH, vice president of the City of Hope National Medical Center and Director, Center for Precision Medicine at City of Hope in a press statement this week.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"With this test, I have a much better picture of my patient's cancer, allowing me to prescribe the most effective treatment for their specific tumor," Gruber said. </span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Personalized Cancer Treatment</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As you read this, the majority of eligible cancer patients do not receive comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) to help understand their disease and guide treatment. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Personalized medicine, powered by CGP, helps oncologists understand the unique biology of each patient's tumor and prescribe treatments that offer the best outcomes. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In a press statement this week, Kevin Conroy, chairman and CEO of Exact Sciences, said the company continues to build its leadership in cancer diagnostics by offering innovative tests addressing clinical needs at every step of a patient's cancer care.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"We are glad to add OncoExTra to our growing portfolio of cancer solutions across the cancer-care-care continuum, and deliver new levels of tumor-specific information and insights to doctors and patients that guide vital treatment decisions to achieve the best outcomes," Conroy said.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The OncoExTra test uses NGS to assess the tumor's RNA and DNA, providing actionable information to inform treatment decisions and uncover variants possibly missed by only evaluating DNA.</span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">NGS is a method used to determine a portion of the nucleotide sequence of an individual's genome. </span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> This technique utilizes DNA sequencing technologies that are capable of
processing multiple DNA sequences in parallel. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The test works by profiling the entire <b>exome</b> and the <b>transcriptome </b>across 20,000 genes. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en">The “exome” consists of all the genome's exons, which are the coding portions of genes. </span><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en">The "</span>transcriptome" is simply the sum total of all the messenger RNA molecules expressed from the genes of an organism.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has updated its guidelines to recommend FNA-based fusion testing for patients with no actionable information provided by a standard DNA, multigene panel test.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Medicare covers the OncoExTra test. And doctors can order the test for all advanced solid tumors.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Bottom line</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Cancer scientists are now discovering remarkable, game-changing things related to cancer in the human body that they have never seen or identified before simply because they did not have the tools to look. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This is truly the golden age of cancer screening and treatment. Only 2o years ago, we knew very little about how cancer really works in the body. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But scientists have learned more about cancer in the last ten years than they did in the previous century. </span></p><p><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>For more information, visit precisiononcology.exactsciencves.com</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-48535205891423885402023-01-05T00:01:00.004-08:002023-01-06T13:46:03.337-08:00Caris Life Sciences - Equal Amounts Innovation And Compassion<p><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEu70zHb7AFMB7i6EMYyvOLpoSx9Fq7pw16PgATIDCM3Gi6PFr-Lo5hDCDIVuMZylVJgpD-isRZjqlRWhZ_d5x1k5czwhBWzY0MX-rstGWqjEJmsAEhcNk2bs1L0kki0Tfo0t8fzZEKkH2X8Y9wwHgSkdJJ9d59QRkFcKYB30I3bbTOTag7OVmGI1u/s1304/Spetzler_300ppi%5B9%5D.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1304" data-original-width="1046" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEu70zHb7AFMB7i6EMYyvOLpoSx9Fq7pw16PgATIDCM3Gi6PFr-Lo5hDCDIVuMZylVJgpD-isRZjqlRWhZ_d5x1k5czwhBWzY0MX-rstGWqjEJmsAEhcNk2bs1L0kki0Tfo0t8fzZEKkH2X8Y9wwHgSkdJJ9d59QRkFcKYB30I3bbTOTag7OVmGI1u/s320/Spetzler_300ppi%5B9%5D.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dr. David Spetzler, President, Caris</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="text-align: left;">It's important when covering new cancer innovations to steer clear of hyperbole. The bar for the Next Big Thing in cancer must remain high. I'm not interested in providing false hope. But some things are hard to overstate.<br /></span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="text-align: left;">As we begin 2023, arguably the most promising breakthrough in cancer is the liquid biopsy. These are the blood assays you may have heard about that identify biomarkers in body fluids and give scientists valuable information about cancer.</span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">These tests are far less invasive than traditional screening, but are often more informative than most current screening tests. </span></span></p><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Liquid biopsies look for cancer cells from a tumor or small pieces of DNA, RNA, or other molecules released by tumor cells into a person’s body fluids. <span><span> </span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span>These assays can identify cancer in the body at very early stages, </span></span><span>help physicians decide which treatment will work best, identify new targets in the blood that can conceivably lead to new treatments, and more</span><span>.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Liquid biopsies allow multiple samples to be taken over time, which can help doctors understand what kind of genetic or molecular changes are taking place in a tumor. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's fair to expect that in medicine, 2023 will be The Year of the Liquid Biopsy. These technologies have come of age. Yes, more work needs to be done in the lab to hone and advance this technology. But the potential is vast. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>Liquid biopsies bring the promise of a new paradigm for cancer detection, treatment, recurrence and even cure. At my last count, there were more than 150 viable liquid biopsy and early cancer detection companies now doing business. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><b>What Makes Caris Life Sciences Unique?</b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>Among the new leaders in the liquid biopsy space is </span>Caris Life Sciences, a patient-focused company that has remained somewhat under the radar as it builds its impressive foundation of liquid biopsy as well as tissue-based work. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>Caris, whose ascension has been deliberate and effective, </span>is revolutionizing precision medicine by providing physicians and patients with the highest quality information about their health. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>The goal is to develop new targets for a variety of cancers and partner with pharmaceutical companies to move these drugs into the market. <br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>What makes Caris unique? The company </span>provides cancer patients and oncologists with reliable, high-quality, comprehensive molecular information. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Because of all the other advances that we have seen in recent years, knowing what cancer looks like at the molecular level can now lead to better treatment options for people with cancer. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Cancer treatments have advanced dramatically over just the last decade, and it's increasingly important to understand the molecular features of a cancer when the diagnosis is made so oncologists can create a personalized treatment plan. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Regardless of where a tumor is located, its molecular composition tells docs a lot about how the cancer may behave and what treatments may be most effective.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Caris was the first to provide Whole Exome Sequencing (WES) and Whole Transcriptome Sequencing (WTS) for every person with cancer. All molecular profiling orders include next-generation sequencing of all 22,000 genes. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>This gives Caris an edge in terms of collecting targets that can actually lead to new treatments. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><b>Big Announcement Today</b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>And on that note, Caris today announced a new multi-year strategic option and license agreement with Xencor, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, to apply Caris Discovery to identify novel targets for bispecific antibody drug candidates. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en">Bispecific antibodies are simply a type of antibody that can bind to two different antigens at the same time. </span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Antigens are basically any substance that causes the body to initiate an immune response against that substance. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Antigens include toxins, chemicals, bacteria, viruses, or other substances that come from outside the body. Body tissues and cells, including cancer cells, also have antigens on them that can cause an immune response.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Bispecific antibodies, which are made in the lab, are being studied in the imaging and treatment of a variety of cancers, including blood cancers. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I've been covering bispecific antibodies for the last several years as a journalist, author and cancer patient advocate. They took center stage at the annual American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting last month. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The partnership will put these two companies on the front lines of precision cancer drug development. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>It's easy to feel optimistic about this. It shows that liquid biopsies will indeed be an integral part of the cancer treatment landscape moving forward. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><b>Strong Leadership, Bright Future<br /></b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span>I recently had the pleasure of meeting with the leadership at Caris. It was a fascinating conversation. </span><span>They explained to me that what the company is focusing on is people with cancer who have either bad treatment options or none. </span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>The company's novel approach leverages the aggregate strength of its platform to unlock previously inaccessible drug targets in oncology. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>"Despite numerous breakthroughs in the cancer research sector, discovering new cancer medicines remains intensely challenging and one of the biggest stumbling blocks is the scarcity of viable targets," said David Spetzler, M.S., Ph.D, MBA, president and chief scientific officer of Caris. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>"Building on our strength in molecular profiling, an unparalleled repository of real-world samples and industry-leading clinico-genomic database, the company has spent years investing in the formation of Caris Discovery, a platform to identify and validate targets for cancer development," Spetzler said.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span>Milan Radovich, Ph.D, senior vice president and chief precision medicine officer at Caris, said that historically </span><span>the vast majority of potential drug targets were considered undruggable, which simply means </span></span>a protein that is not pharmacologically capable of being targeted.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>"But with the proliferation of new therapeutic modalities, the universe of targets for cancer medicines has vastly expanded," said Radovich</span>, who added that these targets will lead to novel medicines that transform patient care. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Through tireless efforts, breakthrough molecular science and a passionate commitment to quality, Caris is clearly on an impressive track. They are moving forward. </span></span></p></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-87858988094095087422022-12-02T12:32:00.004-08:002022-12-03T10:49:27.386-08:00Lance Kawaguchi & His Friends Take Nasdaq By Storm This Morning, But In A Good Way<div><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGej7PW6UWu1HsIBSQVUB0ta1jubB7A_B39K4QWzeiVs6H2VFfxWq7lOqntex5RCcXOUUybCAeQ2c-ZKC5WjxuyQooqL8wvYjzK_gDUrlSwoUnephg8TaY9W9ezS_6-cv57Ncyy405_bq5shqUXksqZZEg3fNyE4b5pO643skuVL95JKFsrOxBVCGr/s1024/Lance%20nasdaq%20best.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="1024" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGej7PW6UWu1HsIBSQVUB0ta1jubB7A_B39K4QWzeiVs6H2VFfxWq7lOqntex5RCcXOUUybCAeQ2c-ZKC5WjxuyQooqL8wvYjzK_gDUrlSwoUnephg8TaY9W9ezS_6-cv57Ncyy405_bq5shqUXksqZZEg3fNyE4b5pO643skuVL95JKFsrOxBVCGr/w640-h426/Lance%20nasdaq%20best.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Reading
through my morning online mail, I was overjoyed to see Lance Kawaguchi (above) standing at the podium for the opening bell of Nasdaq. Seeing him on
that stage is both inspiring and reassuring. It sums up everything about
the man that he has become. </p></span></span><p></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A few short years but a lifetime ago, he
would have been at that podium to tout his perpetually booming
investment banking business. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">But
that was then. This is now. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">He was indeed wearing a grin of accomplishment and
optimism today, but not about anything to do with his personal wealth. This was about helping others. Namely,
people with cancer. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Kawaguchi is now the CEO of the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, and a senior Board Member of several other global cancer organizations. He didn't bring the finance folks onto that stage today. He brought new friends, co-workers, cancer patients and
others who now inhabit his new life. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Of course the real stars of this show today were the children, who pretty much took over the proceedings, which is just what Lance expected and wanted. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">He
was on that podium to celebrate the courage of cancer patients and to
spread the word that he has our back. He is intensely focused on finding new
treatments and cures for cancer. He has dedicated his life to this
cause. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As a survivor of stage IV cancer myself, I am a believer in Lance's vision. The
image at Nasdaq speaks volumes. Instead of a bunch of stock and investment folks
surrounding him, today it was young people with cancer and their
families, as well as some brilliant scientific minds who are helping
Lance get to the Promised Land, which in cancer parlance means "A
Cure". </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Thankfully,
Lance still has a lot of that investment banker mentality in terms of
going big, cutting to the chase and getting stuff done. But now, it's
not about him, it's about the people who happily surround him. Even The
Grinch would smile if he saw Lance's beaming face today. <br /></span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Lance's mother, the beloved school teacher who sadly died of cancer, is the reason why Lance is now working in the not-for-profit sector. He has dedicated this amazing new life to his mom. And I'm sure she is looking down at her son today with great pride. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-25726587075881378462022-11-23T10:43:00.003-08:002023-05-17T09:02:32.250-07:00Lance's Amazing Journey<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Lance Kawaguchi, CEO Magazine's "Not-For-Profit Executive of the Year," Traces His Journey from International Investment Banker to Global Cancer Philanthropist</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVpdxE8ffmqfs_iQKbgmZ4mzBq-CDfz4dHbR_-IGX6SgWdNd5TePiS_dpRzidRmPVxeolpJnD5AAUAnRg32m9Tp-Pcaltp6BKdsEtoxrobujJ-wljWhmfkJ-dzy8lB7qqCtY3W2lKzjFuKDXPBznBVP0lfLzatj-JN47UXYwYhSiNomV4SA2ohkkK/s800/lance%20is%20the%20winner.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVpdxE8ffmqfs_iQKbgmZ4mzBq-CDfz4dHbR_-IGX6SgWdNd5TePiS_dpRzidRmPVxeolpJnD5AAUAnRg32m9Tp-Pcaltp6BKdsEtoxrobujJ-wljWhmfkJ-dzy8lB7qqCtY3W2lKzjFuKDXPBznBVP0lfLzatj-JN47UXYwYhSiNomV4SA2ohkkK/s320/lance%20is%20the%20winner.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">When <i>CEO Magazine</i> announced last week that Lance Kawaguchi was named <i>"Not-For-Profit Executive of the Year"</i> for 2022, I was pleased, but not surprised. If I were asked to pick someone to run a non-profit organization, Lance would unquestionably be my first choice. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There are plenty of smart, creative non-for-profit CEO's out there. But there are only a small handful of visionaries. As the leader of the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, Lance's work in the cancer arena has been a magnificent obsession. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Lance has demonstrated a genuine and tireless compassion for the people he is working hard to help. He's given an enormous boost to the national and global cancer research communities and of course cancer patients and their families. He has provided new and real hope. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Lance, who is a man with a sharp, self-deprecating wit, has been all over the world and is a terrific storyteller. But when it's time to work, he hunkers down. No small talk. No BS. No nonsense. His eyes are on the prize.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">If you'd met Lance six years ago or before, you would have probably never imagined he would become one of the globe's most respected not-for-profit leaders. His back story is downright Dickensian, with success, pathos, joy and redemption. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">For 25 years, Lance was a global investment banker, traversing the world many times over and making a fortune. He wasn't exactly Ebenezer Scrooge, but he certainly wasn't thinking much about charity. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But when his mom, Katherine Kawaguchi, a beloved school teacher for more than 40 years, was dying of cancer, she told her son that he needed to become a better person and do something more meaningful with his life and his money. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">With tears in his eyes, Lance absorbed every word. He took the blows. And when she died of cancer in 2016, he honored her wishes in spectacular fashion, and continues to do the same.</span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Great Unknown</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Lance instinctively knew the not-for-profit world would be demonstrably different than what he was used to. But he has an innate ability to adjust on the fly, shut out the outside noise, and get to work. It's the reason why he was such a successful leader in the high-stakes, high-wire world of investment banking, and it has served him well in his new role. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"It was an enormous adjustment. But I love challenges," he said in an interview with <i>The Reno Dispatch</i>. "When I was in banking, my office in London was an 800-square-foot space on the 27th floor. When I came to the not-for-profit in Australia, I didn't even have an office. I held all my meetings in a Vietnamese restaurant. We had done a 180, from a massive office to no office. But the food at the restaurant was great and they loved me."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">For the first six months, many people were skeptical that Lance could turn things around. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"I had so many things going against me," he said. "I just kept saying to everyone, 'Just stay with me and trust the process'. Two global recruiters told me that I would not fit at a not-for-profit. They worried that I was going to force too much positive change too quickly."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But leadership is leadership. The tenets of success are virtually the same no matter what industry you're in. Fueled by the memory of his mom, and his own burgeoning compassion, Lance hit the ground running, learning the ropes and identifying the players and the pretenders. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"Everyone told me not to do it. The organization was a mess. But if you tell me not to do something, I am gonna do it. What better way to show my worth? I had everything going against me," he said.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In Lance's hands, the organization went from a demonstrably dysfunctional workplace to an ideal one where people trust each other and everyone works in unison for the same worthy cause. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"I love the fact that the community left us, and then they all came back. Everyone told me not to take the job, that it was dysfunctional, that there was too much damage," he said.</span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Raising Millions Worldwide for Cancer Research</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Lance decided early on that brain cancer would be a priority in his new career because it affects so many young people and because it's so difficult to treat. He has already raised millions to fund new cancer research in brain cancer, and other cancers as well. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">His goals are big but simple: Find better, less toxic treatments for cancer, support early detection, and ultimately find cures. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">He has dedicated his life to this mantra.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Lance is not only CEO of the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation (CBCF), he's also now a Board Member of the National Foundation for Cancer Research, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Asian Fund for Cancer Research, and Strategic Advisor to the AIM-HU Accelerator Fund.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In his time as CEO at CBCF, Lance has increased net profitability and pivoted to digital offerings to engage communities in Australia and internationally. He launched the world's largest brain cancer-dedicated Clinical Accelerator program to support early-stage biotech companies to take innovative therapeutics from the lab to clinical trials to the clinic. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And that in fact may be his most brilliant move: Embracing the biotech industry. There is strength in numbers, and there are many innovative cancer scientists in the biotech world who are just waiting for support. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This includes executives in the relatively new but booming liquid biopsy sector. Liquid biopsies are simply blood tests that identify biomarkers in the blood. These biomarkers can tell us if a person has cancer and what type of cancer, even in very early stages, which is key for survival. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">These tests are less invasive than traditional screenings. It's just a simple blood draw. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Lance is dedicated to learning more about biotech companies who are working in the cancer space, and about the newest treatments and clinical trials worldwide. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">For example, CBCF led the critical funding to bring the historic brain cancer GBM Agile to Australia with the Foundation's largest-ever investment of $8 million. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">GBM Agile is a group of more than 130 oncologists, pathologists, neurosurgeons, imagers, advocates and researchers from academia, industry and government that have been working collectively since 2015 to design a new type of randomized trial that will further enhance the way therapies are identified for brain cancer. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This trial will give Australia's cancer patients access to new, cutting-edge therapies that were previously unavailable in the region. </span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Only The Beginning</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Lance clearly had a deep reserve of compassion that he kept close to the vest in his former career. His mom knew this would eventually make its way to the surface. And we are all thankful that it did. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The truth is that just beneath the confident, go-getter personality there is a man who cares deeply about those who are suffering. He gets emotional when he talks about his own family and about young people with cancer. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"I always had a soft spot for kids with cancer," he says. "My greatest skill now is just being honest and getting stuff done. My title or previous success doesn't matter now."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">At a 6-year-old cancer patient's recent birthday celebration, Lance surprised the boy with a Qatar World Cup soccer jersey and Pokemon. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"We also gave him his very own glow stick party when he was undergoing treatment," Lance said. "The nurses used glow sticks in the hospital so that he wouldn't be scared."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Lance also surprised a woman with cancer at a recent walk and had everyone rally around her to sing happy birthday.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"She only had two more weeks to live, and she was in a motorized wheelchair," Lance said. "Just meeting people like this is a privilege. All the other stuff just doesn't matter. What's important is what you have done to serve others. No matter how tired you are, someone has it worse than you."</span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Memorable Acceptance Speech</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Graciously and poignantly accepting the award for Not-For-Profit Executive of the Year, Lance stated, "I'm deeply honored to be recognized for my work as CEO of Cure Brain Cancer Foundation. I left my lucrative career in investment banking to join the not-for-profit sector after my mother passed away to cancer. I had then made a pledge to her that I would give back to the community and strive to help find a cure."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Lance continued with a vow that he would continue to honor all his commitments to the cancer community by building networks to collaborate globally and navigating the intricacies of the sector.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"I don't believe failure is an option, cancer has no boundaries, and I am here to give it my all to find new opportunities for treatments and innovations that will increase the survival rate and quality of life of those impacted," he said.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Lance concluded the powerful speech by stating, "My journey over the past year has been the most rewarding of my life, and I encourage you all to join the non-for-profit sector and do your part."</span></p><p><br /></p>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-32674494613532336252022-11-18T05:36:00.008-08:002022-11-19T08:26:16.073-08:00The Reno Dispatch Garners Three More Prestigious Awards For Our Global Journalism<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1B3vybs4BJqjbPUP7rxxSWrxCxgC4vcb58QxBDGn_DEndpqr5JwaXx1u-Yo6Z6v1pqZ29jHoE9_AmDYvtgU2TbII58qkwfCp3-lATb00C6btiJhtDwXSISL23VH98orPsMzH_f_RQRZhG0lu9gf06yK0yJMNkG8WxRBxj1f4y-yR6oiY6z6dNPkoG/s233/press%20club%202022.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="216" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1B3vybs4BJqjbPUP7rxxSWrxCxgC4vcb58QxBDGn_DEndpqr5JwaXx1u-Yo6Z6v1pqZ29jHoE9_AmDYvtgU2TbII58qkwfCp3-lATb00C6btiJhtDwXSISL23VH98orPsMzH_f_RQRZhG0lu9gf06yK0yJMNkG8WxRBxj1f4y-yR6oiY6z6dNPkoG/w297-h320/press%20club%202022.jpg" width="297" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The San Diego Press Club continues to shine.</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"> One of the largest and most positively productive journalism organizations in the United States, the San Diego Press Club is a bastion of quality journalism and camaraderie.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The organization, of which I am a proud and longstanding member, has been around for nearly 50 years and is bigger and better than ever. But in my view, journalism has never been more important than it is now. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our Club is one of the largest of its
kind, with nearly 400 members in the news communications
field. </span></span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was honored to have won three major awards this year for this global news site, <i>The Reno Dispatch</i>. </span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">I also proudly earned three awards for my work with <a href="https://www.healthline.com/authors/jamie-reno"><i>Healthline</i></a>.</span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Reno Dispatch</i> has now garnered more than 45 major journalism and writing awards since we created the news site a decade ago. Thank you to everyone who reads and supports The Reno Dispatch:<br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href=" https://sdpressclub.org/2022-awards-celebration/ "><b style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">SAN DIEGO PRESS CLUB 49th ANNUAL EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM </span></b></a></span></div><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b></span></div><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online and Daily newspapers: General News </b></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">First Place - Jamie Reno, “Nursing Home Staffing Shortages: What to Know Before Putting a Family Member in a Facility” - <i>Healthline </i></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online and Daily newspapers: Health & Medicine </b></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">First Place - Jamie Reno, “How New Blood Tests May Be Able to Detect Cancer Earlier and Easier”<i> - Healthline <br /></i></span></span></div></div></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online and Daily newspapers: Entertainment Reporting </b></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Third Place - Jamie Reno, “EXCLUSIVE: Legendary Rock and Roll Troubador Jim Messina Continues to Shine” - <i>The Reno Dispatch </i></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online and Daily newspapers: Political/Government </b></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Third Place - Jamie Reno, “Exclusive: San Diego's 9/11 Terror Ring”<i> - The Reno Dispatch </i></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online and Daily newspapers: Science/Technology/Biotech </b></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Second Place - Jamie Reno, “This New Test Can Detect 50 Types of Cancer from a Single Blood Draw" - <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Healthline </i></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Online and Daily newspapers: Breaking News </b></span></span></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Third Place - Jamie Reno, “Breaking News: New Study Shows That Most Blood Cancer Patients Benefit From Third COVID-19 Vaccine”<i> - The Reno Dispatch </i></span></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></span><br /></span></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></p>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-75512645153284927472022-11-01T00:11:00.016-07:002023-01-08T01:24:34.515-08:00Concert Review: Legendary Band The Who Defies Time<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZqDQSR206ZYrR_Y7Mh86pRR16LXTwS-npVNb0Mp0EUkD2MqkoWFo4U2LvW5evBq7oSNSFfWKoSYl9Oj6_L-fp6UTq0KBdRxIYJ0KrnpxHG7zBppn3sx5Cs1SN9ygHkWmDgObVsuvhdUFTGlpF9h--O4IvVGRPIRuFRMFOqTar7TWcB9iRRhacIfs/s1080/the%20who%20anaheim%20one.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZqDQSR206ZYrR_Y7Mh86pRR16LXTwS-npVNb0Mp0EUkD2MqkoWFo4U2LvW5evBq7oSNSFfWKoSYl9Oj6_L-fp6UTq0KBdRxIYJ0KrnpxHG7zBppn3sx5Cs1SN9ygHkWmDgObVsuvhdUFTGlpF9h--O4IvVGRPIRuFRMFOqTar7TWcB9iRRhacIfs/s320/the%20who%20anaheim%20one.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are countless time travel-themed films such as "Back to the Future," "Interstellar" and "The Terminator," and many acclaimed time travel-themed books such as "Slaughterhouse Five," "Kindred" and "A Wrinkle in Time." </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Traveling through time is clearly a universally popular notion. But I always thought it was a purely fictional enterprise. A</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">fter seeing The Who on Saturday night, I'm not so sure. </span></span></p><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The legendary rock band's lead singer, Roger Daltrey, 78, and lead guitarist and songwriter, Pete Townshend, 77, were in impossibly good form when they performed with a full orchestra at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. I was flabbergasted by how youthful they looked and sounded. It literally felt as if they were visiting us from another time.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Roger is singing as powerfully and with as much nuance as he did 40 years ago. Maybe even more so. Pete is singing and playing with the energy and passion of a teenager, and still does those trademark windmills. And that alone is inconceivable. Both of these living legends have tremendous energy on stage. It borders on the supernatural. </span></span><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The most memorable scream in rock and roll history is of course Roger's joyously blood-curdling wail near the end of "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHhrZgojY1Q">Won't Get Fooled Again</a>." I did not expect him to reach the same emotional, eardrum-shattering level as he did back in the day. But he did. It was bloody brilliant!</span></span><div><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It was the same raw, gut-punching, emotional roar that I heard the first time I listened to the song from "Who's Next," which could very well be the greatest rock album of them all. I was ten years old when I first heard that record. It is now written into my DNA.</span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There are basically three untouchables in the history of rock and roll. Three bands who tower above the rest in terms of, well, greatness. There is no real need to name them, but of course they are The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who. And The Who is the only one of the three that is currently active. </span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Yes, original drummer Keith Moon and original bass player John Entwistle are both sadly no longer with us. But Roger and Pete keep the fire burning. </span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Townshend's energy belies time and physics. I'd have been happy just to hear these guys sing and play. But what I did not expect was how powerfully and superbly they sang and played, and how much visible, palpable joy they felt as they performed.</span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">With a superb orchestra behind them, the band opened with several songs from "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhNawCtaffw&list=OLAK5uy_mE7mv6Mr5CZxclWLHAf4o-g-alrFcXjN4">Tommy</a>," the iconic rock opera which of course was made into a wild and wildly acclaimed film of the same name directed by Ken Russell. </span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Then the orchestra departed, and the band continued to rock with such favorites as "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj58IHA3urc">You Better You Bet</a>," "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAbzlj3nf4E">The Seeker</a>," "Won't Get Fooled Again" (as mentioned above) and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMrImMedYRo">Behind Blue Eyes</a>." </span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">When the orchestra returned, the band played a few songs from "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F3HxlYFc5U">Quadrophenia</a>," the group's other rock opera and concept album that has been called the "anti-musical," but whose songs are genius. </span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">They ended the show with two of their epic best: "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhLsC2FpDZk">Love, Reign O'er Me</a>" and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRTNm6GLJYI">Baba O'Riley</a>," which many refer to as "Teenage Wasteland." </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span>I guess we all get more sentimental as we grow older. We all begin to sense our own mortality, though I try not to dwell on that. I'm </span></span>not ashamed to say that I had tears of joy in my eyes for a good portion of the show. </span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Music has been a huge part of my life since I can remember. I have an absurdly clear memory of myself at age 5 flipping over plastic buckets and kitchen pans to use as a drum set as I played along with the "I Saw Her Standing There" by The Beatles. And of course I remember vividly when I bought my first guitar at age 14. </span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Besides the love of my family and friends, there has been no greater joy in my life than music. And getting an opportunity to see these masters play at such a high level this late in their careers is touching, reassuring and amazing. <br /></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Thank you Roger and Pete for all the music you have given given the world. And thanks, too, for the amazing work you have been doing for teen and young adult cancer patients for the last 30 years with the <a href="https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/">Teenage Cancer Trust</a> in the UK and for the last 10 years in America with <a href="https://teencanceramerica.org/">Teen Cancer America</a>. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The band is giving $2 per ticket to Teen Cancer America on the tour. That’s worth over $400,000 to the charity and makes every fan feel like they are helping young people with cancer. </span></span></span> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The Who rocks, and cares! </span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><br /></p></div></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-79573014849471954172022-09-29T08:03:00.003-07:002022-10-03T17:19:41.767-07:00Could Fungi Someday Cure Human Cancer?<p>
</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb1RCIyiS66YIG2KFknmFimUkEe_K01qX80kMWJgjoXr0QWztPykleEidFwH5967s2XXjzy0m0OZtHzF0DjmWW8gaR0xNEyD3RsBYXQ7fQAUK6G92nZkwMQnzFDKqVl1B3vQbMh44E13tsButBoijbHebssxpmrRLK2rfocAH2oaer0KPjXBEvvjo0/s259/Mycobiome.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb1RCIyiS66YIG2KFknmFimUkEe_K01qX80kMWJgjoXr0QWztPykleEidFwH5967s2XXjzy0m0OZtHzF0DjmWW8gaR0xNEyD3RsBYXQ7fQAUK6G92nZkwMQnzFDKqVl1B3vQbMh44E13tsButBoijbHebssxpmrRLK2rfocAH2oaer0KPjXBEvvjo0/w400-h300/Mycobiome.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Science doesn’t have to be complicated. Even the
study of cancer and how it interacts with the human body, while undeniably complex,
can and must be explained in ways that resonate even with avowed non-scientists. The relationship between cancers and fungi, for
example, may sound pretentious. But it could lead to new treatments and even cures. </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>Simply stated, fungi are
<span class="hgkelc">living things, once thought to be plants, that actually feed on plants,
animals, or decaying material. Mushrooms, </span>molds, yeast and toadstools are all members of the fungi family. </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><span class="hgkelc">The human body, which is home to a diverse microbial ecosystem that plays an essential
role in human health and immunity, includes a diversity of fungal species that is
collectively referred to as our 'mycobiome' (photo above). </span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><span class="hgkelc">Yes, we all have one. </span></span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>
</span></span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>Researchers have recently confirmed that this fungi is
even present within human cancers. </span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>Because of this, scientists naturally want to learn how fungi functions in a cancer-tumor environment compared to bacteria
and viruses, and see if and how this knowledge could potentially help people with cancer. </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><b><span>Groundbreaking New Study</span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>A first-of-its-kind international study from the University of
California San Diego School of Medicine released today in <i><a href="https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)01127-8?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867422011278%3Fshowall%3Dtrue ">Cell</a></i> shows the potential of using fungi as a
diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic tool against cancer.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>A global team of scientists including co-author Sandip
Patel, MD, an oncologist and head of clinical trials at UCSD, has created the first
pan-cancer mycobiome atlas. The group looked at 35 types of cancer and associated fungi.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span>"Logic suggests that there are things in the tumor environment that either facilitate the cancer or keep it in check," Patel told <i>The Reno Dispatch</i>.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span>“Living organisms are interacting with the immune cells. This study is the initial foray into understanding what things within the tumor may contribute and/or inhibit the cancer’s growth."</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Findings Were Both A Surprise and Expected</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>Rob Knight, PhD, professor of Bioengineering,
Pediatrics and Computer Science and Engineering at UC San Diego and co-founder
of <a href="http://therenodispatch.blogspot.com/2021/10/exclusive-will-microbiome-save-us-all.html">Micronoma</a>, a San Diego-based liquid biopsy company that is developing microbial
biomarkers in blood and tissues to diagnose and treat cancers, was a co-author of the study.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>“The existence of fungi in most human cancers is
both a surprise and to be expected,” said Knight in a press statement. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>“It is surprising because we don’t know how fungi
could get into tumors throughout the body. But it is also expected because it
fits the pattern of healthy microbiomes throughout the body, including the gut,
mouth and skin, where bacteria and fungi interact as part of a complex
community."</span></span></span>
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><b><span><span style="color: black;">A Key Piece of Cancer Biology</span></span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;">Study co-author Gregory Sepich-Poore, PhD, co-founder and chief
analytics officer at Micronoma, a San Diego-based liquid biopsy cancer company, said the findings “validate the view that the
microbiome in its entirety is a key piece of cancer biology.”</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: black;">He explained that this could potentially lead to significant
new ways of detecting cancer, as well as support other
biotech applications related to drug development, cancer evolution, minimal
residual disease, relapse and companion diagnostics. <br /></span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>The study characterizes the cancer mycobiome in 17,401 samples of patient tissues, blood and
plasma.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>Researchers found fungal DNA and cells in low
abundances across many major human cancers, with differences in community
compositions that differed among cancer types. </span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>“The
finding that fungi are commonly present in human tumors should drive us to
better explore their potential effects and re-examine almost everything we know
about cancer through a ‘microbiome lens,’” said co-corresponding author Ravid
Straussman, MD, PhD, a principal investigator at Weizmann Institute of Science, in a press statement.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>One species of fungi in the study, for example, was found to be enriched in breast cancer
tumors of patients older than 50 years, while another species was notably
abundant in lung cancer samples. <br />
<br />
The researchers said there were significant correlations between specific fungi
and age, tumor subtypes, smoking status, response to immunotherapy and survival
measures. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>Whether the fungi are simply correlated or
causally associated remains to be determined.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><b>Other Studies On Similar Tracks </b><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #2c2c2c; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Meanwhile, an industry-academic partnership between the University of Oxford and biopharmaceutical company NuCana found that chemotherapy drug NUC-7738, derived from a Himalayan fungus, has <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2021-10-08-anti-cancer-drug-derived-fungus-shows-promise-clinical-trials">40 times greater potency for killing cancer cells </a>than its parent compound.</span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>In July, <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Iliyan D. Iliev, MD, an associate professor of immunology in medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Weill Cornell Medicine, was awarded a five-year, $1.25 million grant from the Cancer Research Institute that </span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;">enabled his lab to continue research that investigates relationships between certain types of fungi and specific cancers. </span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12.5px; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>His work stems from his study of patients with ulcerative colitis who later developed colorectal cancer. Iliev and his lab colleagues noticed that some cancer patients share unique microbiome composition where specific fungal strains prevailed.</span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12.5px; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>“We found that some patients carry specific fungal strains that expand and produce a toxin that affected inflammation,” said Iliev, who's also co-director of the Microbiome Core Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine. </span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px 0px 12.5px; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>“One of the questions is whether the presence of these and other fungi influence cancer development and outcomes," he said.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fffffb; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline; float: none;">In studies in mice last year, scientists from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center found that, when normal bacterial communities in the gut were disrupted, fungi moved in. </span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 12.5px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fffffb; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline; float: none;">And these fungi, in turn,<span> </span></span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34329585/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fffffb; border: 0px none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b7bba; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">disrupted the immune response to tumors</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fffffb; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline; float: none;"><span> </span>that may be important for<span> </span></span><a class="definition" data-glossary-id="CDR0000044971" href="https://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=CDR0000044971&version=Patient&language=en" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fffffb; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px thin; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2e2e2e; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">radiation therapy</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fffffb; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline; float: none;"><span> </span>to work most effectively, the team reported in<span> </span></span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fffffb; border: 0px none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2e2e2e; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cancer Cell</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #fffffb; color: #2e2e2e; display: inline; float: none;">.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><b>Mycobiome, Microbiome and Micronoma</b></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="background-color: #fffffb; color: #2e2e2e;">This new branch of science has evolved quickly. </span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>Micronoma's
CEO, Sandrine Miller-Montgomery, told <i>The Reno Dispatch</i> that microbes in the
blood can be used to detect cancer thanks to microbial biomarkers, which are
characteristics of the tumor that you can utilize to identify the progress of a
condition or disease. <br />
<br />
When analyzed properly, she said, these microbial biomarkers can reveal cancer,
even at stage I of the disease. This is a new but growing type of liq<span>uid biopsy</span>, a surging new sector of science. <br /></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>“<span style="background: white; color: black;">Micronoma has been closely following
this amazing work on mycobiome as two of our co-founders are heavily involved
in it,” Miller-Montgomery said. </span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="background: white; color: black;">“It is amazing that we continue to
discover so much about the microbiome, and in this specific paper, the
mycobiome association with cancer.”</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="background: white; color: black;">Micronoma has been focused on microbiome-driven
liquid biopsy since its inception, Miller-Montgomery said:</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="background: white; color: black;">“Scientific knowledge
continues to accumulate on the essential role of microbiome -- bacteria, virus
and fungi -- in oncology, supporting our mission to detect cancer in its
earliest stages with the most innovative and groundbreaking research.” </span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span style="background: white; color: black;"># # #<br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span><span>Co-authors of this study include: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Lian Narunsky-Haziza, Ilana
Livyatan, Omer Asraf, Deborah Nejman, Nancy Gavert, Ruthie Ariel, Arnon Meltser
and Yitzhak Pilpel, all at Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel; Cameron
Martino,</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Antonio González, Justin P.
Shaffer, Sandip Pravin Patel and Austin D. Swafford, all at UC San Diego; Jason
E. Stajich, UC Riverside; Guy Amit and Amir Bashan, both at Bar-Ilan
University, Israel; Stephen Wandro, Micronoma, San Diego. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Also Gili Perry, Weizmann
Institute, Sheba Medical Center and Tel-Aviv University; Qiyun Zhu, Arizona
State University; Nora Balint-Lahat and Iris Barshack, both at Tel-Aviv
University and Sheba Medical Center, Israel; Maya Dadiani, Sheba Medical
Center; Einav N. Gal-Yam, Sheba Medical Center and UC San Diego.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span>
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><style><span style="font-family: georgia;"><font size="4">@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</font></span></style><span><span><span style="background: white; color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-4372700974327529862022-08-29T10:40:00.006-07:002022-08-29T12:10:27.644-07:00The Ride Of His Life: When A Young Cancer Drug Company Executive Gets Cancer<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYgP55gzYVGm-C_bhEoXopbMuiH3xAAO3n6ad-hSodMU8ZpMm8NGytpnhdraPv_RU3Oim4IonLB7N7FhbiD_TeKEACs6cMtJ_fPQGBCV3QXGD7-M_ollg_C-qEydQBNr08AhHX3s4cRnnUXXSiLfLw0BjxItUO_ydzYnxnrN74hjevJpf_Wd4qYkUF/s4032/Drew%20Adams_Photo%201.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYgP55gzYVGm-C_bhEoXopbMuiH3xAAO3n6ad-hSodMU8ZpMm8NGytpnhdraPv_RU3Oim4IonLB7N7FhbiD_TeKEACs6cMtJ_fPQGBCV3QXGD7-M_ollg_C-qEydQBNr08AhHX3s4cRnnUXXSiLfLw0BjxItUO_ydzYnxnrN74hjevJpf_Wd4qYkUF/s320/Drew%20Adams_Photo%201.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div>As a journalist and three-time cancer survivor, I’ve met many kind, dedicated people in the cancer pharmaceutical industry. The folks I’ve encountered in this arena have demonstrated real empathy and compassion. They do their best to understand what it’s like to have cancer.</div></span><p></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But as a patient advocate, I respectfully tell virtually everyone I meet that there is no way to fully understand what it’s like to have cancer until it happens to you. When you hear those chilling words, “You have cancer,” it invariably and immediately changes your perspective on work, health and life. <br /><br />In March of last year, Drew Adams, a young executive at Bristol Myers Squibb, the global pharmaceutical company, found an unusual lump in his testicle and was referred for an ultrasound by his primary care physician. <br /><br />Drew, who was just 31 at the time, was confident that it was nothing serious. But unfortunately it turned out to be testicular cancer. And Drew didn’t have much time to contemplate his situation. He received the cancer diagnosis on a Wednesday. By the following Monday he was in surgery having the testicle removed. <br /><br />Needless to say, it was an emotional time for Drew, a very bright, intuitive and sensitive young man. After he was diagnosed he just stopped everything to contemplate his situation. “To take inventory,” he says.<br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2gjDkZHRsRfLds7VKKrUEuIJDNQ7vGIJiLTegptNl5gOV2KzTVYRyMs8IinwWZCb8ir08zumKtzENtpiX3JW44G3Z6u7FXkXt6fO9_mSHufV6DWjYucCjfZcdLd7-VtDiVpRJesqJ70yKRn0_VUTF9iScQF-t-IkMp_0ZStVwy3u8lIRN-_QVUmwi/s3088/Drew%20Adams_Photo%203_Hospital%20Bed.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2gjDkZHRsRfLds7VKKrUEuIJDNQ7vGIJiLTegptNl5gOV2KzTVYRyMs8IinwWZCb8ir08zumKtzENtpiX3JW44G3Z6u7FXkXt6fO9_mSHufV6DWjYucCjfZcdLd7-VtDiVpRJesqJ70yKRn0_VUTF9iScQF-t-IkMp_0ZStVwy3u8lIRN-_QVUmwi/s320/Drew%20Adams_Photo%203_Hospital%20Bed.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span>The most difficult part of having cancer for Drew was the fact that it happened during the Covid-19 pandemic and he was not allowed to </span>bring his wife, Rosie Adams, to the hospital with him. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As a young husband, Drew also faced the inevitable discussion of having children. Would that no longer be possible? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“My wife and I were approaching having kids, and we needed to have that conversation,” Drew told me. “Will we still be able to have children? If the cancer comes back, will she still want to have kids with me? Do I want my wife to raise a child if I'm not around?"</span><div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So many questions come to mind when you're told you have cancer. For Drew, it was tough to describe all the complicated things he was feeling. "I would wake up in the middle of the night, crying," he said.<br /><br />That is an utterly normal response to receiving a cancer diagnosis at any age, but especially for someone whose life was just beginning. Drew leaned on Rosie to help him sort through it all. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">“I would not have been able to do it without her,” said Drew, whose job at BMS was ironically to find the best doctors in the world. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"I had all the data analytic tools. But it was still terrifying,” he said. “Things like songs just set me off during that time. But I think what stood out to me the most was the fact that my wife could not come to the hospital with me. But she was an emotional rock for me.”<br /><br />Thanks to advancements in cancer research and surgical techniques, doctors were able to identify and remove the cancerous areas in a single procedure. Drew is now in remission and continues monitoring through periodic blood tests, x-rays and CT scans. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And yes, he is still able to start that family. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span>While cancer may be done with Drew, Drew isn’t done with cancer. He is more determined than ever to help other cancer patients get through it. </span>His cancer experience has given him an even deeper understanding and appreciation of what it’s really like to be a young adult cancer patient. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span>And it's inspired him to become a vocal advocate for self-examinations and early cancer detection. </span>He wants people to know how important it is to get checked so that if there is cancer in your body, you can detect it early and get on with your life.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />As Drew and I talked the other day, a bond developed between us. I was just three years older than Drew when I was diagnosed with cancer. I know how he must have felt to get that diagnosis.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There is a strong bond among young adult cancer patients. Perhaps because they are old enough to understand the seriousness of the diagnosis, but also because it is the last thing you could imagine happening to you at this age.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The brotherhood/sisterhood among teens and young adults with cancer is something I have not witnessed anywhere else but among those who’ve served in combat. <br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrmgESoABVEmEx9lOPeWJeUsNK8TXeb42VRkbG-A2QXnRQ3k7SkSpRJc29fFhq67k_KxDB3VrRQvIdI0LCmAf6a_76dPMBOlTV45Q6qXoN890zsnXzvjDRKiY7D6B2V1jbnj_FV8fjALs-t3zQWws9z-VDk4AhJ3TLORCuhS5WOM0XBXbX8xPpNSy3/s4032/Drew%20Adams_Photo%205_Wife.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrmgESoABVEmEx9lOPeWJeUsNK8TXeb42VRkbG-A2QXnRQ3k7SkSpRJc29fFhq67k_KxDB3VrRQvIdI0LCmAf6a_76dPMBOlTV45Q6qXoN890zsnXzvjDRKiY7D6B2V1jbnj_FV8fjALs-t3zQWws9z-VDk4AhJ3TLORCuhS5WOM0XBXbX8xPpNSy3/s320/Drew%20Adams_Photo%205_Wife.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Drew is deeply grateful that his cancer fight is over. Hopefully forever. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">More than ever, he appreciates his family, his doctors, his friends and his co-workers. He wants to keep giving back to others who are still in the fight. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">He especially wants to honor his uncles, one who died from brain cancer and another who died of liver cancer. One of his uncles passed away with his second child still in the womb.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> <br />Drew is focused on supporting new cancer research. Next week, he will be riding alongside more than 126 of his BMS colleagues on the <a href="https://c2c4c.donordrive.com/">Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer</a> (C2C4C) bike ride, a poignant and powerful annual three-week cross-country cycling event to raise funds for the V Foundation. <br /><br />The V Foundation is of course the acclaimed non-profit organization that honors the life and the courage of Jim Valvano, the legendary North Carolina State basketball coach who after being diagnosed with cancer gave so much back to the community and inspired the world with his fierce optimism. <br /><br />Valvano happens to be one of my personal heroes. And the V Foundation is a leader in supporting groundbreaking new science. Inspired by his own work mates, and by Valvano’s life story, Drew will be kicking off the event by riding in the first leg, Cannon Beach to Bend, Oregon, where he’ll be covering up to 80 miles per day for three days.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As someone who lives with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, which affects his shoulders and ability to do activities, Drew has worked hard these the last five months of training to get in shape for this ride.<br /><br />BMS employees have volunteered their personal time to fundraise and extensively train for five months aspiring to raise $1 million and hopefully more in support of the V Foundation for Cancer Research. <br /><br />“The ride kicks off September 7, my section ends on September 9. It’s 225 miles in three days,” Drew explained. “I get a beautiful segment in Oregon. Our goal for the ride is raise $1 million for the V Foundation."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><br />Some of the riders in the </span>C2C4Chave been diagnosed with cancer, Drew said, while others are riding in honor of loved ones affected by the disease. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Nine teams are participating in this year’s ride, which begins Sept. 7 in Cannon Beach, Oregon and concludes on October 3 in Long Branch, New Jersey. Money raised will be matched dollar-for-dollar by BMS up to the $500,000 maximum donation.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />Since 2014, the ride has raised more than $9.83 million for cancer research, with more than 760 Bristol Myers Squibb employees taking part in this epic and emotional event.<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc-n3d9hkLZe0l3Lo3o_OUdmCxJu7sAYadgCKsr3B20aeuHj5jZ0tw_8pSQ3JHhnwxDewAPz3-4vQtnEC1A7SiCjCUqg5czqJrkXaTBjv9ACHUDLsOBYmBhGVSce4ONsXSG_8R8RmtsbSpAGJJ7uogoE094nEhk40Dw_qBlrwjCeCZ13DhPeRZoqe/s292/VF_Logo_Primary_Stacked_4C_Change-1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="292" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGc-n3d9hkLZe0l3Lo3o_OUdmCxJu7sAYadgCKsr3B20aeuHj5jZ0tw_8pSQ3JHhnwxDewAPz3-4vQtnEC1A7SiCjCUqg5czqJrkXaTBjv9ACHUDLsOBYmBhGVSce4ONsXSG_8R8RmtsbSpAGJJ7uogoE094nEhk40Dw_qBlrwjCeCZ13DhPeRZoqe/w320-h203/VF_Logo_Primary_Stacked_4C_Change-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />Shane Jacobson, Chief Executive Officer of the V Foundation for Cancer Research, told me that that the V Foundation partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb has positively developed over the past decade. <br /><br />“In addition to the significant charitable contributions, riders offer such a wellspring of enthusiasm and drive, which is an energizing experience to be a part of," Jacobson said. "I’m looking forward to the chance to visit riders once again along the route to hear their stories and to draw new inspiration for the work we do. “<br /> <br />Jacobson noted that one in two men and one in three women will face a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime.<br /><br />“As Drew says, the experience can be hard to fathom if you haven’t experienced it,” Jacobson said. “Along with the cancer patient, there are also caretakers and loved ones who are thrust into the journey. We believe our mission resonates so universally because we’re aiming to achieve victory over cancer for everyone involved. Our goal is to fund game-changing research to deliver new cures and save lives. We won’t stop working until we achieve this goal.”<br /><br />Jacobson said the V Foundation is committed to awarding grants to the most innovative and promising cancer research projects.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> <br />“Our Scientific Advisory Committee, comprised of leading cancer experts nationwide, identify novel and cutting-edge ideas that hold great promise for gaining new knowledge about the basic science of cancer, improving treatment options, and preventing recurrences,” he said.<br /><br />“By directly funding all-star scientists, we are able to invest in multiple discoveries that provide for a better understanding of the disease as a whole and more targeted treatment options.”</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Meanwhile, Drew's "new life" has just begun. Now 33, he is still a proud employee at BMS, and he and his wife are excited about having children and living every day with gratitude and love.<br /><br />As he looks forward to the big bike ride, he knows that the funds raised for the V Foundation will make a difference in the lives of others. He's riding for a future in which more people can celebrate their health and enjoy more time with the people they love.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"># # #</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i>This is another in our series of stories about teens and young adults with cancer, supported by Seagen and Teen Cancer America. </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBWt1BaO_E16D1TSuzRiXV6h8SOPLJObpZRysPccympWC9AEa4YHg5iAembh75NRB5E16D98HjYONjZ_0qcyNkMUWJG0H7iV4zz1gEMc4O9ouc4e9KRH2kOvqkOLQHYIgij8gQm2zm9mBCgpb_xnA_J7dgLGIeoVgq-7iB6x9ctaE_2B-LSNeoDxz1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBWt1BaO_E16D1TSuzRiXV6h8SOPLJObpZRysPccympWC9AEa4YHg5iAembh75NRB5E16D98HjYONjZ_0qcyNkMUWJG0H7iV4zz1gEMc4O9ouc4e9KRH2kOvqkOLQHYIgij8gQm2zm9mBCgpb_xnA_J7dgLGIeoVgq-7iB6x9ctaE_2B-LSNeoDxz1=w188-h94" width="188" /></a></div><br /><br /></i></span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8v2UxzGpuaUbB2BvifMjlQUszEnhWxKQMuoOjfhzajKDi3YMbH4qAmTUoCWIObJuNLptlCdsZeUbjiMbZAVfjtUqc6THDQ59HdqS4QnpSUYURk-_RRxpWTJNZtwCSD8T-_GxTMP1_oPOd0fgBsID45GPFWVDoirY8uuZbU_6hSb_2eriVk4soaA4T" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8v2UxzGpuaUbB2BvifMjlQUszEnhWxKQMuoOjfhzajKDi3YMbH4qAmTUoCWIObJuNLptlCdsZeUbjiMbZAVfjtUqc6THDQ59HdqS4QnpSUYURk-_RRxpWTJNZtwCSD8T-_GxTMP1_oPOd0fgBsID45GPFWVDoirY8uuZbU_6hSb_2eriVk4soaA4T=w169-h88" width="169" /></a></div></div></div></div></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-24502434705380141222022-08-16T14:28:00.018-07:002022-09-07T22:00:54.874-07:00Is This The Year That San Diego State Basketball Makes History?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumOJfcyctwueu54CXcWcU7AZd366MiC7FnsaqCH1HO_BOTAcjuuateT9g2DvbmmcU_FtT6KTJVsSp8eyk_jCertSjrdxbBXFdOJHRKG3UFThLZLRe62XPkHZgaOJiV4tVE9Vxzdz0f61HEsKiOL4DMCmL567cRcomISP9qlILkwyDHepLbST-1kVk/s350/sdsu%20logo%20cool%20white.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="350" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhumOJfcyctwueu54CXcWcU7AZd366MiC7FnsaqCH1HO_BOTAcjuuateT9g2DvbmmcU_FtT6KTJVsSp8eyk_jCertSjrdxbBXFdOJHRKG3UFThLZLRe62XPkHZgaOJiV4tVE9Vxzdz0f61HEsKiOL4DMCmL567cRcomISP9qlILkwyDHepLbST-1kVk/s320/sdsu%20logo%20cool%20white.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The most heartbreaking sports-fan moment of my life came on March 12, 2020 when the powers that be at the National Collegiate Basketball Association shut down the 2020 NCAA Basketball Tournament just as it was to commence.</span><p></p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">“This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities,” the NCAA said in a statement.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Yes, it was a necessary move. The virus was raging. But it was a bitter pill for me and my fellow fans of San Diego State University, whose </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Aztecs had their finest team in school history that year and would have gotten a #2 seed. They had a legitimate chance of winning the national championship. The squad was led by complimentary superb guards Malachi Flynn and KJ Feagin. </span></span><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Many believe that Flynn was the best SDSU player of them all. You'll never hear me argue against that assertion. Even the great Kawhi Leonard might agree. Kawhi, a proud SDSU alum', has of course become a superstar in the NBA. But Flynn was even more impressive in college. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">SDSU <a href="https://timesofsandiego.com/sports/2020/02/22/unreal-run-over-san-diego-state-falls-to-unlv-to-end-26-game-win-streak/">won the first 26 games of the season</a> in 2020 and was the last undefeated team in Division I. The Aztecs finished with a 30-2 record. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Why bring this up now? Because I believe the 2022-23 San Diego State basketball squad could be nearly as good (not quite) as that legendary 2020 team. The Aztecs are loaded for bear, with superb veteran players in Matt Bradley, Nathan Mensah and more. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are also some impressive transfers, including Seattle U point guard </span><a href="https://goaztecs.com/news/2022/5/10/mens-basketball-aztecs-officially-add-darrion-trammell-for-2022-23.aspx" style="font-family: georgia;">Darrion Trammell</a><span style="font-family: georgia;"> and Oakland transfer </span><a href="https://goaztecs.com/news/2022/5/11/mens-basketball-aztecs-announce-addition-of-micah-parrish-for-2022-23.aspx" style="font-family: georgia;">Micah Parrish</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">. This year, the SDSU offense just might have caught up with the team's vaunted D. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">It won't be easy. The Mountain West Conference is arguably the most underrated conference in the nation, and road wins are very hard to come by with all the rough-to-travel spots. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The experts are finally beginning to recognize the depth and quality of this league. Almost everyone expects big things from the Aztecs, but Wyoming, Boise State and Colorado State are on every smart basketball writer's radar this season, along with some conference sleepers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Below is what the the alleged experts are saying about San Diego State hoops as we move closer to the beginning of what promises to be an exciting season. And I must also mention SDSU football, which debuts a brand new stadium in Mission Valley in a couple of weeks. No more "home games" in L.A. The football Aztecs are back home. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">It's good to be an Aztec! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">But back to hoops... </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Bottom line? I believe that if the transfers and the younglings gel and are as good as advertised, and everyone stays healthy, this SDSU basketball team can be a Top 15 squad. Or better. If all goes as planned and expected, I predict that SDSU will tie for the regular season title and then win the Conference Tournament in Las Vegas. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">On paper, SDSU is good enough to go deep into March Madness. And lest we forget, Coach Brian Dutcher has been masterful since taking over for the legendary Steve Fisher, who is now happily retired and attends every game. Dutch has proved, year after year, that he is every bit as skilled as a hoops leader as Fisher. Dutch learned from the best. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">We'll all learn a lot about this team right out of the gate. They will play in the Maui Invitational against a rebooted Ohio State squad on Nov. 21. If the Aztecs win, they would face the winner of the
Arizona-Cincinnati first-round game Nov. 22 in a championship semifinal.</span></p>
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</aside>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Among the other top hoop programs that will be on Maui that week are Creighton, Arkansas and Texas Tech. It's an early and very tall order. This is the best early-season tournament of them all. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Below are several other preseason hoop fortune tellers' predictions. These alleged gurus are hit and miss. But then who isn't? This isn't science. Some of them get it, but others are completely in over their head. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The number below in bold is where SDSU is ranked in each respective poll. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Check it out, and leave your thoughts at the bottom:</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>#14 - Sports Illustrated:</b> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span>"The Aztecs sported the nation’s second-best defense, per KenPom, in 2021–22, and the return of defensive anchor Nathan Mensah means SDSU will be nearly impossible to score on yet again. What held Brian Dutcher’s team back this past season was an anemic offense, as evidenced by the fact that the Aztecs lost five games where they allowed fewer than 60 points (all five against top-50 KenPom teams). </span>Enter Seattle U transfer point guard Darrion Trammell, a diminutive dynamo who’s proficient operating in ball screens and gets to the free throw line with regularity while fitting into SDSU’s defense-first mindset. Trammell and Oakland transfer Michael Parrish provide a much-needed jolt offensively to a team that didn’t have enough consistent shot-makers to take the next step last season. If San Diego State becomes a top-75 offense this season, it could be special."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b># 21 -ESPN: </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span>"San Diego State has ranked outside the top 30 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency just twice in the past 12 seasons, and with the return of Nathan Mensah and the addition of Micah Parrish, the Aztecs are likely to be closer to last year's No. 2 national ranking. </span>But what about the offense? Brian Dutcher's team was in the bottom half of the Mountain West in adjusted offensive efficiency in conference play, with a low volume of 3-point attempts and a league-worst 47.2% field goal percentage inside the arc. Matt Bradley is back to shoulder the load, but the Aztecs have now improved his supporting cast. Darrion Trammell, a two-time first-team All-WAC selection, averaged 20.5 points in 2020-21 and 17.3 points last season at Seattle; Parrish was a double-figure scorer at Oakland; and early buzz on Jaedon LeDee, who sat out last season, has been positive."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b># 23 - The Athletic:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span>"The Aztecs got a huge break when Nathan Mensah, the 6-10 center who was the Mountain West’s defensive player of the year, decided to return for a super senior season. Matt Bradley, the 6-4 senior transfer from Cal who led the team in scoring at 16.9 points per game, chose that same option before the season ended. </span>Brian Dutcher has also since added a pair of transfers in 5-10 junior guard Darrion Trammell (Seattle) and 6-6 sophomore forward Micah Parrish (Oakland)."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b># 28 - CBS Sports:</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Unbelievably, CBS Sports has the Aztecs out of the top 25 at #28. But they have Boise State at 23 and Colorado at 24!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span>Meanwhile, <b>USA Today</b> has Boise State and Colorado State in the top 25 and not San Diego State. Dumb and dumber. </span><span>And the <b>Washington Post</b> has SDSU at #33 — and no other MWC team in the top 45. That is just another case of East Coast lunacy.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span><br /></span></p></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-35460429930257087722022-08-05T12:14:00.005-07:002023-07-21T23:19:22.444-07:00A Very Good Week For So-Called Sleepy Old Joe <p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfNZ0DULS2XGwpiOwRWsL2dyo9I2GISlKXb177fagvzJonhsaHddDv4XC_4PObo_3LU4OjAyq-47tahG6x_N9DoAhKBE-Jm7xVko6gbuOBCCMZoo5JcJcfsGqJDC6KPoNfliJh0UkKzXQiloMFb0-eT2kulsSZRIoIPTPh2pAorsXHlElvoAfS39j/s1716/Biden%20good%20one.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1560" data-original-width="1716" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfNZ0DULS2XGwpiOwRWsL2dyo9I2GISlKXb177fagvzJonhsaHddDv4XC_4PObo_3LU4OjAyq-47tahG6x_N9DoAhKBE-Jm7xVko6gbuOBCCMZoo5JcJcfsGqJDC6KPoNfliJh0UkKzXQiloMFb0-eT2kulsSZRIoIPTPh2pAorsXHlElvoAfS39j/w382-h348/Biden%20good%20one.jpg" width="382" /></a></span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It's been a very good week for Sleepy old Joe, who isn't so sleepy after all.<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">First and foremost: today's <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/05/jobs-report-july-2022-528000.html">jobs report</a>, which is off the charts. </span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Unemployment is at a 50-year low, at 3.5%, and 528,000 jobs were added this month.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">For all you arm-chair economists out there, you simply can not have that level of job growth and call this a recession.</span></span><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #303030; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #303030; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"The economy is not falling into recession," Brian Bethune, an economist at Boston College, told <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2022/08/05/july-jobs-report-unemployment-rate-3-5-528-000-jobs-added/10243309002/">USA Today</a>. "It is actually picking up speed as demand for services accelerates in a post COVID-19 environment."</span> </span></span></span></p><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">It was also announced this week that gas prices are down for the seventh straight week </span>and are on track to sink by about 20 percent from June’s $5.02-per-gallon peak to a national average of $4; some states are already below that marker. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"> </div></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;">Refreshingly, the first gas station in the country to dip below $3 a gallon is in deep-red Oklahoma City. As of Friday morning, <a href="https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-mustang-gas-prices-below-three-dollars/40818918">Gas Buddy</a> shows that three stations along Mustang Road – two near Southwest 15th Street and another near Reno Avenue – have regular gas for $2.97. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"> </div></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">President Biden also ordered a military strike this week that killed </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/01/1115067289/ayman-al-zawahiri-death-al-qaida-bin-laden">Ayman al-Zawahiri</a>, t<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">he torturing, monstrous leader of Al-Qaeda</span> and successor of Osama bin Laden. This is of course huge news. Sleepy Old Joe got it done. <br /></span></div></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Also this week, after literally years of fighting over support for veterans who were sick because of the toxins they endured while on active duty, the <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">PACT Act</span> to expand healthcare coverage for veterans was finally <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/burn-pits/2022/08/02/millions-of-vets-suffering-from-burn-pit-toxic-injuries-set-for-more-benefits-after-congress-passes-pact-act/">passed</a>.</span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">But it came after Republicans cynically tried to dump the legislation. As a result, they were</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> publicly blasted by just about everyone who cares about our veterans, and </span>the GOP Senators, with collective tail between collective legs, changed their mind. </span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></i></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Well, all but 11 Senators, that is. Here are the 11 GOP Senators who refused to help our veterans. For all of my Republican friends, remember these names. If you vote for any of these guys in November, you might as well just stop saying you support our most in-need veterans, because you don't:<br /></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></i></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i>Pat Toomey (Pa), Rand Paul (Ky), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Thom Tillis (NC), James Lankford (Okla), Mike Lee (Utah), Cynthia Lummis (Wyo), James Risch (Idaho), Mitt Romney (Utah), Richard Shelby (Ala), and Tonny Tuberville (Ala). </i><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Biden got this done. Period. Because he actually cares about our veterans, unlike the other party, which too often pays lip service and uses veterans as political chess pieces. Or, in the case of most of these Republican lawmakers, <i>checkers!</i><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Biden is also preparing to pass the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-inflation-reduction-act-means-finances-tax-health-climate-democrats-2022-8"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Inflation Reduction Act<b> </b></span></a>this weekend. This sweeping bill </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #111111; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">will bring prescription drug costs down, provide free vaccines for seniors, offer generous tax credits for electric vehicles, and much more. </span></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #111111; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #111111; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Its primary aim is to create more than 1 million jobs and substantially reduce inflation. The bill will e</span>nact historic deficit reduction that will fight inflation, as well as:<br /></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> • Lower energy costs, increases cleaner production, and reduces carbon emissions by
roughly 40 percent by 2030 ;</span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">• Allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and caps out-of-pocket costs to $2,000;</span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">• Lower ACA health care premiums for millions of American families; <br /></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">• And make the biggest corporations and ultra-wealthy pay their fair share.<br /></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">It should also be noted that in this bill there are zero new tax burdens on families making $400,000 or less and no new taxes on small
businesses.<br /></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Also this week, a bipartisan majority of voters from Kansas - yes, KANSAS - voted to <span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/us/kansas-abortion-rights-vote.html">defend abortion rights</a>, which Biden vocally supported</span>. </span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Politico's Playbook called what happened in Kansas “A POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE” and said the victory was “stunning”.<br /></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">And finally, The House of Representatives passed a ban on semi-automatic firearms — the weapons used in multiple mass shootings during the last three months — on a near party-line vote.</span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Only two Republicans voted for it, and only five Democrats voted against it. </span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Again, the Republicans are on the wrong side of this issue. <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Regarding this bill, Rep. Jim Jordan, a Ohio Republican, accused Democrats of “<a href="https://www.virginiamercury.com/2022/08/01/u-s-house-passes-ban-on-assault-weapons-after-spate-of-gun-violence/">coming for your guns</a>.”</span></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">But Jordan is lying, again. </span></span> </span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span>Rep. Deborah Ross, a North Carolina Democrat, said that the bill simply<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span> "prevents future sales of assault rifles,” and added that the weapons are “not designed for recreation, they’re designed for combat.”<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">In a statement from the White House, a spokesman said, "</span></span></span><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">40,000 Americans die from gunshot wounds every year and guns have become the top
killer of children in the United States. As President Biden has repeatedly called for, we must
do more to stop this gun violence and save lives." </span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></span></span><div style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><br /></span></span></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">You go, sleepy old Joe. Biden is a good man. Period. And is there anything more important than that? Despite relentless attacks, he continues to do the right thing, on multiple fronts. We're ALL getting older and a little sleepier, but that doesn't mean we can't still be very, very effective. You go, Joe! </span><br /></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-24492636412327932842022-06-28T16:39:00.002-07:002022-11-18T05:56:12.585-08:00BioFluidica's Liquid Biopsy Technology for Breast Cancer Outperforms Traditional Needle Biopsy<span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">It was bound to happen. Liquid biopsies, the increasingly ubiquitous, non-invasive blood tests that can detect cancer in the blood, often at very early stages, are showing positive results in breast cancer. </p></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"> </p></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">Among the most impressive data comes from BioFluidica, a San Diego-based biotech company whose LiquidScan, a next-generation liquid biopsy platform to detect HER2–positive genetic profiles in patients with breast cancer, performed better in a small but significant trial than traditional needle biopsies, according to study results from BioFluidica.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jIfLUP1_c_U7HgsNAmUNWDXSzQb7GC5-IrRlrIZCh5eK5TxOmp2HaiAjAdHNEmJ8jjGIrgAU9g2si2VHoLBONcW_ZgJ9i-4fwpQhmU83tjiJdrAvwdExk5mHvAl59KNzcpoHeZ2y-Rf8mjiC3JRxxgaa67-rfyUGOdFhW33vtafNxChFLMLu53ys/s604/Rolf%20Muller%20.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="604" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jIfLUP1_c_U7HgsNAmUNWDXSzQb7GC5-IrRlrIZCh5eK5TxOmp2HaiAjAdHNEmJ8jjGIrgAU9g2si2VHoLBONcW_ZgJ9i-4fwpQhmU83tjiJdrAvwdExk5mHvAl59KNzcpoHeZ2y-Rf8mjiC3JRxxgaa67-rfyUGOdFhW33vtafNxChFLMLu53ys/s320/Rolf%20Muller%20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Larger clinical trials are on the way, says BioFluidica CEO Rolf Muller (left). But it now seems virtually inevitable that in the not-too-distant future, cancer clinics nationwide and worldwide will be deploying liquid biopsies to discover and diagnose breast cancer. <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">One of several companies studying liquid biopsy for breast cancer, Biofluidica provides advanced biomarker capture with what they call "unprecedented precision" that is clinically validated in six different cancer types as well as stroke. Muller believes the company’s technology will revolutionize disease and bring improved, non-invasive diagnostics to many people.</p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><br />Biofluidica's diagnostic platform can precisely capture and isolate disease biomarkers in the blood such as circulating tumor cells (CTC's), and has been clinically validated.</p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">HER2 is the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, a gene that makes a protein found on the surface of all breast cells.</p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"> </p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">People with HER2–positive breast cancer showed favorable success when using personalized HER2-directed therapy, according to trial results from BioFluidica.</p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br />The study demonstrated that current biopsies are missing more than a quarter of patients who may be eligible for HER2-directed therapy.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The results suggest that the use of non-invasive liquid biopsy methods can rapidly and accurately identify if patient samples have HER2 status.</p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"> </p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">"We at Biofluidica are very excited after a lot of work to commercialize rare cell and exosome applications important to oncology and fetal medicine,” Muller said in a press statement. "Specifically our recent study on HER2 breast cancer, which opens the door to more detailed tools that may guide targeted therapeutic decisions. "</p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"> </p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;">While there are successful tests based on analysis of cell-free DNA, many diseases are not amendable to a cfDNA test.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>This may be<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>because of the size of the DNA marker, the relative concentration of the marker in the blood, or because of a need to explore more within the biology of the disease in question.</p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br />The study was performed by BioFluidica, Neogenomics Laboratories, and Kay Yeung, MD, PhD, from the University of California San Diego Moores Cancer Center and the University of California San Diego Biorepository & Tissue Technology Shared Resource.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><br />"Our hope with LiquidScan is to be able to facilitate and revolutionize disease research and management. Thanks to its flexibility, LiquidScan can be readily adapted for several applications,” said Muller in a press statement.<br /><br /></p></div></div>"The platform is ideal for those applications where the ability to conduct frequent tests and deliver results quickly where point-of-care testing is critical. I am especially excited that we might be able to find more patients that could be eligible for improved therapy using the high sensitivity LiquidScan Next-Generation Liquid Biopsy platform.”</span></span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #373a3c;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></div></div></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-340201906678012832022-06-28T06:19:00.003-07:002022-06-28T07:18:25.821-07:00Breaking News: Liquid Biopsy Company IV Bioholdings Announces Partnership with International AI Company Sonrai Analytics<div id="article__block" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: relative;"><div class="video-detail" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="background-color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgcyG5soH-HJHqZOncQlhG1yi4zzi1DiqmaT0iOYZod2TGTcaJ7CVMYvJJsFa5f5btFb2iIJjVXvi7Cn3-cARzjWXV4bF7MC0XGdgb7IaH8fPE2M3QW5LjpAZnhJBRW-8HbVS5mVgcDnnK0bocVXcXoMfVb6PhKbVSNM0tgKTCqU_fmocZKGC4Ekaz/s1024/Red-Black_Logotype.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgcyG5soH-HJHqZOncQlhG1yi4zzi1DiqmaT0iOYZod2TGTcaJ7CVMYvJJsFa5f5btFb2iIJjVXvi7Cn3-cARzjWXV4bF7MC0XGdgb7IaH8fPE2M3QW5LjpAZnhJBRW-8HbVS5mVgcDnnK0bocVXcXoMfVb6PhKbVSNM0tgKTCqU_fmocZKGC4Ekaz/w640-h320/Red-Black_Logotype.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">If</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> a Generation "Y" version of Ferris Bueller walked up to you at Bella Vista in La Jolla and said, "If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it," he may be an executive at a liquid biopsy company. </span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">America's cancer diagnostics industry, where simple, non-invasive blood tests are exhibiting unprecedentedly meaningful information about a patient's cancer, is a hot commodity on Wall Street and Main Street. </span></span></div><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">But</span><span style="font-size: large;"> if you don't stop to look around once in a while, you really could miss it.</span></span></div><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Take IV BioHoldings (IVBH), a</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">clinical-stage liquid biopsy company based in Newport Beach in Orange County, California. </span></span></div><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">This morning, the company </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">announced a meaningful multi-year partnership with </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">Sonrai Analytics, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: large;">an international artificial intelligence (AI) company that will further accelerate IVBH's efforts to transform the paradigm of precision medicine and save many lives.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sonrai Analytics' AI applications will bolster IVBH’s analytic capabilities and enable the company to improve on clinical insights for the company’s pipeline of noninvasive blood tests for lung cancer, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and breast cancer. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sonrai adopts AI approaches to help biotech, CRO and pharma companies efficiently utilize their data. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwqpt5y9pOFU0cqz85TObvl6mWx68ViPvLBwc8VZ96bQLzmZhOyPPVv03JHN7h2c9JHTXeLE3EyH-lyeKQc8RytL0kZvG6qLqDaz-p5nzXw--5cXSNI3RKiFG0r2zF7yli8R5chfLMDsPTJVDN2mY3BaLWCwH4awt6EyG5F9hOIWMlPI50SMAShyP/s1000/Marty%20Keiser%20pic.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="714" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwqpt5y9pOFU0cqz85TObvl6mWx68ViPvLBwc8VZ96bQLzmZhOyPPVv03JHN7h2c9JHTXeLE3EyH-lyeKQc8RytL0kZvG6qLqDaz-p5nzXw--5cXSNI3RKiFG0r2zF7yli8R5chfLMDsPTJVDN2mY3BaLWCwH4awt6EyG5F9hOIWMlPI50SMAShyP/w285-h400/Marty%20Keiser%20pic.jpeg" width="285" /></a></div>In a conversation yesterday with IVBH Founder-CEO Marty Keiser (left), a family man with a refreshing, almost Quixotic take on the work he is doing, he noted that in the digital age, "Abundance beats scarcity every single time. The partnership with Sonrai will leverage AI and enable us to democratize healthcare research and development and accelerate massive value creation for all stakeholders through our novel and highly efficient decentralized partnership model.”</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">At IVBH, which was built to improve the detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other disease, the work moves</span><span style="font-size: large;"> at a steady but careful pace that investors love and cancer patients deserve. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">"We are seeing very exciting data emerging from the wet lab at the moment, with evidence of strong clinical efficacy and biological plausibility," he said. "The data is further confirming the novelty of our science and extending our competitive lead in the marketplace."</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">IVBH expects to begin clinical trials for the Mammogen genTRU-breast diagnostic program in the fourth quarter of 2022. Yes, this year. And the company expects to launch commercially in the first half of 2023. Yes, 2023.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Keiser's goal at Mammogen, which is one of several companies under the IVBH umbrella, is to "complement and enhance existing standards of care and emerging technologies, and get more patients to intervene earlier and reduce unnecessary procedures that are invasive, risky, expensive and stressful."</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">It seems like a marriage made in liquid biopsy heaven. Sonrai’s cloud-based platform provides full transparency and user-control, and brings the ability to manage structured and unstructured data sources and file types from small CSV files -- a <span style="color: #373a3c;">plain text file that contains a list of data - </span>to terabytes of Gigapixel images. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">And of course it also offers AI, machine learning and deep learning methods to extract maximum value from modern precision medicine digital approaches.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">“From the very first meeting, it was evident that IVBH was approaching everything in a completely novel way,” Sonrai Founder-CEO Darragh McArt, PhD, said in a press statement. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Over the last year, said Keiser, IVBH transitioned its time and resources institutionalizing the people, partners and infrastructure required to accelerate its diagnostic solutions to market with speed, efficiency, and a rigorous approach to risk mitigation</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">“The collaboration with Sonrai closes the loop for us," Keiser said, "providing IVBH with the dedicated data science, engineering and regulatory expertise — and the AI-powered solutions required to optimize the IVBH platform — from R&D through commercialization."</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-40651153348766879452022-04-06T09:15:00.006-07:002022-08-14T11:30:37.742-07:00Teen and Young Adult Cancer Patients Must Be Told About Fertility <p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 18pt;"></span></p><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: large;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkX4ydKzSomjLQZyaxV0-xm62qVVEi2G-fZxfoYZ2iN3Pr7OAX8w62B3JGwErFvu5tNcMzj-qde0DXncEe23-3nITW6SFLsZCxJbXmq1mGMQ62C4sBg6_QQ53SHrD_xjUxswdlr54mvRxOHP2NYYwKCAZVfBrWRRHGZQ6o-vxAK0Q5AXvqpYUt-XYW/s244/joyce-reinecke-04-2020-sm.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="244" data-original-width="203" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkX4ydKzSomjLQZyaxV0-xm62qVVEi2G-fZxfoYZ2iN3Pr7OAX8w62B3JGwErFvu5tNcMzj-qde0DXncEe23-3nITW6SFLsZCxJbXmq1mGMQ62C4sBg6_QQ53SHrD_xjUxswdlr54mvRxOHP2NYYwKCAZVfBrWRRHGZQ6o-vxAK0Q5AXvqpYUt-XYW/w333-h400/joyce-reinecke-04-2020-sm.jpg" width="333" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joyce Roenike<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>I<span style="font-family: georgia;">f there’s anything that can rob you of the joys of being
a teenager or young adult, it’s a cancer diagnosis. When you hear a doctor say
"you have cancer" at such a tender age, you often feel as if you've
lost your youthful innocence forever.</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">But you
haven’t. It mercifully resurfaces when you’re first shown how the cancer
treatment is working. And again when you’re told you’ve gone into remission.
And that joy often returns most profoundly when you have children of your own.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Tragically,
far too many teen and young adult cancer patients are never told that certain
types of chemotherapy and radiation, as well as the cancer itself, can keep them from having children. <br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Patients in this age group are not always told by their doctors or nurses about
the importance of fertility preservation before they begin cancer treatment. And fertility preservation advocates say that has to change. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“I had no
idea. No one told me anything at first about the importance of fertility
preservation,” says Joyce Roenike, an attorney and 23-year survivor of
leiomyosarcoma, <span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">a type of rare cancer that grows
in the smooth muscles in the hollow organs of the body, including the
intestines, stomach, bladder, vessels and uterus.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Roenike was
fortunate, however. She was told before she began her treatment <span><span>that it could
keep her from having kids.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span><span> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span style="color: black;">“I was
thankfully put on notice of my fertility risks, which was uncommon at that
time. I am so thankful that I was told," she says.</span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span style="color: black;">Roenike a</span><span style="color: black;">nd
her husband went through a type of fertility preservation called embryo
banking. Then they had a surrogate carry the babies to term. </span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span><span>“Our twin
daughters are healthy an</span></span>d both in college now,” says Roenike, whose fertility
experience inspired her to become an advocate for her fellow cancer patients
and their loved ones. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">She is now
president of the Alliance for Fertility Preservation (AFP), a 501c3 charitable
organization whose primary goal is to educate the public and fight for federal
legislation so that everyone in the teen and young adult age group is told
about the fertility risks before beginning cancer treatment. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: black; font-size: large; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">According to AFP, every year in the U.S.
approximately 1.5 million people are diagnosed with cancer, and almost 10% of
these new diagnoses occur in people who are 45 or under.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: black; font-size: large; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Many of these people have not
yet had children. </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">For these patients, preserving their fertility and protecting
their parenthood options is an important part of their survivorship and life
after cancer.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Cancer can affect the
reproductive system. This occurs when there is cancer of the reproductive
organs including the ovaries, uterus, cervix and testes. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Roenike, </span><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span><span><span style="color: black;">who's also the </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #212529; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">co-author of "100 Questions & Answers About Cancer and Fertility" and has given many presentations to audiences nationwide, </span>explains that </span></span></span>patients can have
impaired fertility, possibly due to the stress of their illness on the body,
even before they begin their cancer treatments.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">The cancer treatment
itself, including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, can also damage the <a href="https://www.allianceforfertilitypreservation.org/fertility-risks-from-treatment/">reproductive
system</a>. Some treatments, including certain chemotherapies and radiation,
are gonadotoxic, meaning they will destroy sperm and eggs and therefore cause
infertility.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: large; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Some treatments, including
surgery as well as radiation, can cause mechanical damage to the reproductive
system, through the removal of reproductive organs or damage to their ability
to function.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">Patient
Populations at Risk</span></b></span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">In the United States, many men
and women are starting their families later than they did a generation ago. Data from the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that the national
average age for first births among U.S. women rose from 21.4 in 1970 to 25 in
2006. </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Just 20 years ago, many people
who were diagnosed with cancer in their 30's or early 40's may have already
completed their families. But today, they may just be getting married and
thinking about parenthood.</span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">Survival rates are rising, too.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) reports that an estimated
379,000 people in the United States are survivors of childhood and adolescent
cancer, diagnosed before age 20. </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"> </span></span><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">ASCO notes that 83% of children
and adolescents diagnosed with cancer will live at least five years or more
following their treatment. </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: 19.5pt; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">While this represents a great
advance in treatment, many of these survivors are now facing the late effects
of their earlier cancer treatments, including infertility.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Roenicke says
that to date, <a href="https://www.allianceforfertilitypreservation.org/state-legislation/">only 11 states</a> have fertility legislation</span><span style="color: black;">.</span> <span>“In terms of legislation
for coverage, almost everything to date has been at the state level,” Rienecke
says. “We hold out hope for a federal bill.” </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJfC4NfRp2FtIFMGj4C7h-VTg__273U3lsvjByLlGKb2SphjBt2a57VxsOfQvlnOvdj9WHu-51-0QNl5jWwXukSUu9s0eN99s3T8767mbqm8D_OIeozbJG0dJUiWrIIb9u1ongwOS2bXe8UShXeReJ2sWfO1YFYlLiNWQlcAXiVtwFzR7WvRyf5IHJ/s4032/Baby%20Shower%20fertility%20story%20Maria%20Andrulonis%20%20new%20.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJfC4NfRp2FtIFMGj4C7h-VTg__273U3lsvjByLlGKb2SphjBt2a57VxsOfQvlnOvdj9WHu-51-0QNl5jWwXukSUu9s0eN99s3T8767mbqm8D_OIeozbJG0dJUiWrIIb9u1ongwOS2bXe8UShXeReJ2sWfO1YFYlLiNWQlcAXiVtwFzR7WvRyf5IHJ/s320/Baby%20Shower%20fertility%20story%20Maria%20Andrulonis%20%20new%20.jpg" width="240" /></a></b></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Maria Andrulonis
- “It’s a Boy!”</b>
</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">When Maria Andrulonis </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">(right, with her husband) was diagnosed with cancer at age 31, she didn't know who to turn to for advice about fertility and cancer. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">She knew that she wanted to have children, but she was
anxious and not sure where to go for help. <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">She eventually found UC San
Diego Moores Cancer Center, where she met H. Irene Su, a professor of
reproductive endocrinology and infertility fellowship in the department of
obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences. <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">“She was
excited to help me. She told me that I had this option, and she also told me
that I had to get my medication soon because I only had so much time before I
began the chemotherapy. I was placed in a clinical trial, and the care they
provided, the tumor board meetings, made all the difference," Andrulinis says.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">The loss of innocence for Andrulonis actually began not with her cancer diagnosis but with her father's diagnosis. She was taking
care of her father and dealing with his cancer, then dealing with her own
cancer. Needless to say, it was a stressful time for her. <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">But she was determined to not let her cancer rob her of her desire to have children.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“You want to move forward in life, and your peers are getting
married and having kids, and most cancer patients are my parents’ age or older,
there are just not as many in my age group," she says.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">During her cancer treatment she got surprised looks from
other patients. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“In the waiting rooms you get double takes, you can see that they
are wondering what someone my age is doing there. In the chemo suite you get looks like
‘you are so young, you are my child’s age’. They just don’t understand.”</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">Getting Her
Innocence Back</span></b></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Almost as soon as she was diagnosed with cancer, Androlinis thought
she may not be able to have kids. So, she wisely chose to look into fertility
preservation. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“We preserved the embryos. It was a week and a half of injections.
I felt more pregnant than I do now,” she says. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">“We stored them, did the transfer,
and it took. It’s a boy. I am expecting at the end of July. When you hear the
baby’s heartbeat, you know that it worked. It is mind boggling. Doctors should
automatically tell cancer patients about fertility.”</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The part of
the experience that really stays with Andrulonis is just the notion of pregnancy
after cancer. <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>“I wonder if other
survivors have the same thoughts,” she says. <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>“I was never looking forward to
the actual pregnancy part. I just want the baby part. I feel like everything my
body has been through from chemo but then through hormone therapy,well, my body
hasn’t been mine for the last 6 years. It’s been manipulated with medications to
fight cancer and become something that I don’t know as the same anymore.” <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Andrulonis
says the concerns about fertility added more stress to the equation.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>“My chemo was pretty
standard, and I did pretty well with it, but it wasn’t easy,” she says. “I
remember going back to the working world after cancer and hearing women talk
a little bit about their pregnancies and it reminded me a lot of chemo. I
couldn’t think in my mind why people put themselves through that on purpose and
for a longer period than my 6 months of chemo."</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Andrulonis says she has been
dreading the pregnancy part of all this. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>"Maybe dreading isn’t the right word,
but I am more anxious and very unsure about it," she says. "When I met with Dr. Su to
re-establish care and talk about starting this process, I half-jokingly asked
her if there was such thing as an embryo crock pot, and if not then why not. She
giggled, and said she thinks I mean getting a surrogate." <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Andrulonis says she told
Su that they didn't have the money for that.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>"I just told her that
I want to thaw an embryo and sign papers, and they cook it and let me know when
to come pick up the baby, and I show up with a car seat and take some parent
test and go home with the baby," Andrulonis said. "Dr. Su again giggled and said she thinks I mean
adoption.” </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">But all joking
aside, Andrulonis wonders why we as a society haven't gotten to this point in
medicine considering the fact that we have already cloned sheep. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>“I’m sure ethics is a big
part of it,” she says, “but still, why not for people like me or people with
other health issues?” <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Andrulonis was
partly dreading the idea, knowing that she was going into a process that she
knew would take another toll on her body. <br /></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>“I knew it was going to be more
injections and more loss of control of my own body. Instead of medications
taking over for the long haul it would be medications and then a baby taking it
over,” she says.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>If she were younger, she
says she might have waited longer after hormone therapy so she could have her
body back to for a while. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>“I wonder if other young
survivors have these same feelings,” she says. “I know my oncologist mentioned
that they prefer patients wait at least a year after treatment to try for
babies. My first thought was who in their right mind wants to go through
pregnancy and birth within a year of completing cancer treatment?”</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Andrulonis
went through a phase for the first year in which she wondered if she still
wanted to have kids after 30 years of wanting children. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>“I feared the process and
pregnancy being like chemo and then having a recurrence and leaving my child on
this earth putting them through losing a parent,” she says. “Was I the rarity
in this thought process?”</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>So far, she says it has not been as bad as chemo. <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>“Granted, I hear the third
trimester and birth are the hardest parts of it all, so I’m somewhat living in
the idea that ignorance may be bliss. Either way, it’s coming,” she says. <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>“We want a few children,
so I’m also hoping the rumor is true that once the baby comes, you forget
everything else. If it’s not true, I’ll have a lot of sassy things to say to
all these women that have told me this my whole life.” </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Andrulonis is
deeply grateful that she was given this opportunity when so many others have
not, but, she adds, “It comes with a different set of anxieties, and maybe some
aspects of PTSD (post-traumatic stress) that surprised me along the way.” <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: black;">Men Are Dealing With Similar
Concerns <br /></span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Of course, men deal with
fertility issues, too. When I was first diagnosed with stage IV follicular
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma back in early 1997, I was engaged to be married. And we definitely wanted to have a family. <br /></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>I was 34 when I first felt
the enlarged lymph node in my neck, and I did feel as if my innocence had been taken from
me when I got the bad news that I had stage IV follicular non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>The doctor told me that I could live three to five years. That was hard to hear. But it was a nurse in my oncology
clinic who told me that my chemo could leave me unable to have children. It simply had not
occurred to me.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>After learning about the
possible consequences of not preserving, I visited the sperm bank. Thankfully,
my wife eventually did get pregnant two and ½ years later, so we did not need
to inseminate. Our daughter Mandy Reno is now just a few months away from
graduating from college. <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">The point is, I was lucky. Someone did tell me, briefly, that if I wanted children, I should seek
out fertility preservation. For those of you reading this who have recently been
diagnosed with cancer, I urge you to ask your doctor about fertility preservation before you begin any treatment.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">In this era of harsh politics and angry rhetoric, fertility
preservation is one issue that I think and hope virtually everyone can support. Because it’s
about families. Fertility preservation is a profound issue for teens and young
adults with cancer -- both men and women -- who want to have a family soon, or
later in life. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b><span> </span></b></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-position-x: 0%; background-position-y: 0%; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><b><span>How to Get Involved: </span></b></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Roenike says that in the past few years, many states have introduced bills that would compel
insurers to cover fertility preservation procedures for cancer patients and
others who are facing potential infertility as a result of medical treatment,
which is referred to as iatrogenic infertility. <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>In 2017, the first two
states -- Connecticut and Rhode Island -- passed such measures into law, Roenike explains. Since
then, several other states have followed, and a national trend toward coverage
has developed. That's a good thing.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #050505;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #050505;">AFP has been working in
collaboration with local cancer groups, interested professionals, nonprofits,
and patients in many of these states. If you are interested in getting involved
in these efforts, please reach out at: </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #050505;">advocacy@allianceforfertilitypreservation.org </span></b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #050505;">This series on teen and young adults with cancer is commissioned by Teen Cancer America with financial support from Seagen.</span></i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #050505;"></span></i></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #050505;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsvdxbhAs5vdElZV6ehXvkJffE1r0NqtpIz4fy_fACej1jsy6wdEoluL_LDysdxYzDnwPkOBCR6-bV__pofJ3ygyvfTkaOCHchDU3pxnd7F6bTDRltump187l3MyW8_h-OSyCcwiMDEzP7uy7VF7nRtrcni7sLpkp0OuSDtNDY05Gd7hXSFqZwiQr/s310/teen%20cancer%20american%20logo%201.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvsvdxbhAs5vdElZV6ehXvkJffE1r0NqtpIz4fy_fACej1jsy6wdEoluL_LDysdxYzDnwPkOBCR6-bV__pofJ3ygyvfTkaOCHchDU3pxnd7F6bTDRltump187l3MyW8_h-OSyCcwiMDEzP7uy7VF7nRtrcni7sLpkp0OuSDtNDY05Gd7hXSFqZwiQr/w280-h147/teen%20cancer%20american%20logo%201.jpg" width="280" /></a></span></i></span></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #050505;"><br /></span></i></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #050505;"></span></i></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #050505;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5VsdV6wZrKNf0gKSU1kHSyjIEmHRCbamId0FnbGp_LwlEh-loxbtIVgJfRmcu3MIH4biJsOjpcKnO3qMmusN-i-ThTIX78xRQfV-yW2wqgAlMhg-KiI273DdbUPR8yncgvyk07Cp3Z5uZI3UT4slrXwm2fuO2E85-V5czi2xhsBPXQC6Gz7G5hl1u/s1024/Seagen_Logo_RGB%20copy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5VsdV6wZrKNf0gKSU1kHSyjIEmHRCbamId0FnbGp_LwlEh-loxbtIVgJfRmcu3MIH4biJsOjpcKnO3qMmusN-i-ThTIX78xRQfV-yW2wqgAlMhg-KiI273DdbUPR8yncgvyk07Cp3Z5uZI3UT4slrXwm2fuO2E85-V5czi2xhsBPXQC6Gz7G5hl1u/w264-h133/Seagen_Logo_RGB%20copy.jpg" width="264" /></a></span></i></span></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: #050505;"><br /> </span></i><b><span style="color: #050505;"> <br /></span></b></span></span><p></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style> <br /></p>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-19071628874142649032022-04-03T00:27:00.028-07:002022-07-13T06:33:43.619-07:00EXCLUSIVE: Legendary Rock and Roll Troubador Jim Messina Continues to Shine<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16pt;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSbtjrB9JjTMx7iH9279PYQYzBfl4W2DAjIaVlQNus9lDL3iba3WUmvJP2FEm9DiJtRKuXyanJSILhCXwm4HXQSUgZCmy6aLsY12EgQdovYrH1Hlb0EMXRNhNFMmiXSPRHa46hvjUOVMdE9f71YKcYh7-jb-0tYqSDrrRiUQU_PE5GJg99qHF5rPj/s2870/JimMessina4_2016-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2870" data-original-width="2500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSbtjrB9JjTMx7iH9279PYQYzBfl4W2DAjIaVlQNus9lDL3iba3WUmvJP2FEm9DiJtRKuXyanJSILhCXwm4HXQSUgZCmy6aLsY12EgQdovYrH1Hlb0EMXRNhNFMmiXSPRHa46hvjUOVMdE9f71YKcYh7-jb-0tYqSDrrRiUQU_PE5GJg99qHF5rPj/w558-h640/JimMessina4_2016-1.jpg" width="558" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jim Messina - Photo by Barry Sigman</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: #222222;">Jim Messina's contribution to rock and roll has
been quietly profound. From his days engineering, producing and then
joining the legendary Buffalo Springfield in the 1960's, to his years as
co-founder of country-rock pioneers Poco, to his most identifiable role as half
of 70's super-duo Loggins & Messina, to an enduring
solo career, Messina has had a career filled with memorable musical
moments. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: #222222;">A skilled mixer, producer and
musician, Jim's work ethic, calm confidence, songwriting skills, melodic sensibilities, spot-on guitar work and underrated singing voice have served him well in a career that has lasted more than 50 years. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;">In a generously in-depth interview from his home outside
Nashville, where he's preparing to get back on the road, Jim shared nuggets
from a lifetime of music. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The years
with Buffalo Springfield were perhaps the most exciting, he says, but also the most chaotic. Whenever you have Neil Young and Stephen Stills in the same room, you
know you’re going to get both their genius and their fireworks.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">"It was
just a matter of being prepared for that opportunity. It was not my first
rodeo, but it was a big record. I got along with them all," Jim says, adding that Young was
the first member of the band that he met.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #303030; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span></span>“I thought he was the producer," Jim says. "And
Stephen was Stephen: always in the groove, always ready to go. He just wants to
get things done. Richie [Furay] was writing songs and singing, but he couldn't
read music, he needed more help. Each of the members of the band worked in very
different ways."</span></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: xx-large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzFz3lIvlpBCCrnGksYDAD8XCTcleqx9tB1V7ZiWPJcJqfgIbiUG5QkIK21RCzbbDKe_9EPPyjfbhsIYi1Puv9ZIDC60-BEXk3UvjLRKh_-Dn0gZquyKdBo82QUzZ5o4XcIHGL2G35888euBzj8ASF-WmMYvtoUMpO3jc4ZmajAR7uqz1vrtJoJoTi/s1148/Buffalo%20Springfield%20band%20messina.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="1148" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzFz3lIvlpBCCrnGksYDAD8XCTcleqx9tB1V7ZiWPJcJqfgIbiUG5QkIK21RCzbbDKe_9EPPyjfbhsIYi1Puv9ZIDC60-BEXk3UvjLRKh_-Dn0gZquyKdBo82QUzZ5o4XcIHGL2G35888euBzj8ASF-WmMYvtoUMpO3jc4ZmajAR7uqz1vrtJoJoTi/s320/Buffalo%20Springfield%20band%20messina.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buffalo Springfield<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> Jim didn't
realize just how difficult this collection of musicians were until he was deep
into the recording process. </span><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">"It was
like herding cats. They never argued in front of me and they weren't
disrespectful to me or to one another, but they weren't really interested in
being in the same room with each other or in recording at the same time. It was
just a personality thing,” Jim says.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Speaking of
personality things, it was David Crosby who first introduced Jim to the band. </span><span style="color: black;">"I’d
known David for a while. We lived together in Santa Ynez. He is outspoken, he
says what he wants to say, but you tolerate him out of respect," Jim says. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">"I don't know that he has ever admitted to being an asshole publicly. He
was always kind to me, but he was unfiltered. Sometimes you just want to say,
'David, put a sock in it, please'. "</span></span></span>
</p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: #222222;">From his earliest musical years in a surf-rock band to today,
Messina has never stopped learning and teaching. He continues to positively
challenge himself, his fellow musicians and his audience in a gentle way. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: #222222;">Through the chaos of three seminal rock and roll bands, Jim has
remained cool, calm and kind. He's always been a token grownup in an
industry that celebrates eternal adolescence. <span> </span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: #222222;">Even in a room with older professionals, Jim’s typically the one who chills people out and gets things done.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">"I always
wanted to do what I wanted to do. I felt I had to take control, but it was
unconscious to me. Maybe I was a natural herder," he says. "<span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">I was always the guy who was there
first, and I was always the last guy to leave and lock the doors</span>. <span style="color: black;">I always signed the contracts and made the deals. I mean,
someone had to be responsible, right? I never really liked weed, it made me dizzy and
paranoid. I just can't mix it.”</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;"><span><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;"><span>Jim, who'll be performing </span></span><span>songs from his entire career at the <span style="color: red;">Coach House in San Juan
Capistrano, Calif., on Wednesday, April 20</span>, never takes his charmed life and career for granted. He still enjoys the ride, and it shows every night he’s on stage<b>.</b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;">Fellow musicians began to take
notice of Jim Messina when he was an engineer at Harmony Recorders and Sunset Sound in
Southern California. That's where he was first introduced to the Laurel Canyon
crowd. Crosby asked Jim to record the first demo for a burgeoning folkie singer named Joni Mitchell. </span><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;">After that session, the Messina buzz
spiked. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;">The biggest break came in 1966 when Jim was hired to be the
recording engineer on the Buffalo Springfield's second album, </span><i>Buffalo Springfield Again</i><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;">. Young recruited Messina to work on several
of the band's songs including "Broken Arrow."</span></span></span>
</p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;">A year later, Atlantic Records
founder/president Ahmet Ertegun called Jim at 10 p.m. Jim’s time and asked him
to produce the band’s third and last album. Messina without hesitation said yes. Not long after that, Jim replaced the departing Bruce Palmer as the band's bass player and headed out
on tour with the band.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;"></span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg97jjSiyn4MzpOTWMmv_QIz3U7btUg-i78f2A1vSgSPeeGQTDZgwdklJylByh2MilOQR5dmbG7UA50mdHh8Wok2exdA2MfCgiAJ-3vP_VkIQhjJh7W-y9_ziGkHari6UxcDT6WZbsr5P7oEIuHqMr4dq-UitfkeNGhBIkewwnL3CGcKj_BZoWq9tuJ/s972/Poco%20CountrysideOrangeCountyFeb51970.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="972" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg97jjSiyn4MzpOTWMmv_QIz3U7btUg-i78f2A1vSgSPeeGQTDZgwdklJylByh2MilOQR5dmbG7UA50mdHh8Wok2exdA2MfCgiAJ-3vP_VkIQhjJh7W-y9_ziGkHari6UxcDT6WZbsr5P7oEIuHqMr4dq-UitfkeNGhBIkewwnL3CGcKj_BZoWq9tuJ/s320/Poco%20CountrysideOrangeCountyFeb51970.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poco</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;"><br /></span></span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;">After Buffalo Springfield met its inevitable
demise, Jim formed Poco with fellow Buffalo Springfield member and prolific
singer-songwriter Furay. Poco, a band that continues to be absurdly left
out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, essentially created the country-rock
sound that would have an immeasurable influence on a generation of bands, most notably
The Eagles. </span><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;"> </span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;">There would be no Eagles without Jim Messina and
Poco. Nor would there be the country-rock sound that now largely defines the
Nashville sound.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;">Messina wrote “You Better Think Twice,”
Poco's first hit single, and left Poco after three excellent albums and was hired as an independent
producer with Columbia Records. He says he left the band because he just wanted
to stay in one place for a while and work with musicians producing new records, which is one of his deepest passions.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; color: black;">Jim also knew that the rock and roll lifestyle was
creeping up on him and he wanted some sanity and calm. But that sanity and calm
was soon to be replaced by shock and awe, in a good way. Those producing days at Columbia led him to a fateful
meeting set up by the record label in late 1970 with a skinny but confident young singer-songwriter named
Kenny Loggins. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Jim, who was asked by the record company to produce Kenny's
first record, invited Kenny to Jim's house in L.A.</span><span style="color: #222222;"> As they jammed in Messina's living
room and got to know each other a little better, Messina began to realize the vastness
of Loggins' potential. What a diversely talented guy Loggins really was,
Messina thought. </span></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">On that day and in the subsequent days, Jim helped Kenny stretch out, challenging Kenny's musical boundaries as well as his own as they both spread their wings. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">"'Danny's Song" and "House at
Pooh Corner" were sweet songs, and his influences were largely folk
artists. But I realized that Kenny had a real love for R & B," Messina
recalls. "He worked at ABC-Dunhill as a songwriter, and he could do almost
anything. He could sing like Elton John and Leon Russel. I was encouraged that
he wanted to do something diverse."</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJYLcoczdvNwbnics9n10ncOGEff78QDbhsZlKZThB18xksMTJiFnYyymY4xDTKht2T2EBrM9rMP_pp0WTpQGgcbb9MI18sGJKsmi4kYhOhApftzjiOgJ-Y_hVGE3oiCtOqMXINcm3TkwN2asi-5FapB7Ro3EzI7b8NzOcs39hgXZFTXAVp98kNkIp/s500/Loggins_Messina_sittingin.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJYLcoczdvNwbnics9n10ncOGEff78QDbhsZlKZThB18xksMTJiFnYyymY4xDTKht2T2EBrM9rMP_pp0WTpQGgcbb9MI18sGJKsmi4kYhOhApftzjiOgJ-Y_hVGE3oiCtOqMXINcm3TkwN2asi-5FapB7Ro3EzI7b8NzOcs39hgXZFTXAVp98kNkIp/s320/Loggins_Messina_sittingin.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loggins & Messina<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Messina, who likes </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #303030; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">producing music that crosses over genres for a more global effect, </span>says that Loggins & Messina was built to be as musically broad as possible from the get-go. </span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">"We
knew this would give us an opportunity to have real and sustained success and
not be pigeonholed. And we were lucky. We were the recipients of a bit of
good fortune in that radio stations were changing at the time. You could
hear Janis Joplin and Earl Scruggs and Johnny Cash on the radio. The audiences
were college students, they were educated and interested in what was new,” Jim
says.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">The two musicians meshed poignantly.
The enthusiasm and positive on-stage vibe. The harmonies. The charisma. The dry wit. It all worked. This was a band with talent and personality. The name of that first
album became <i>Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin' In</i>. But it
ultimately became known simply as "Sittin' In." </span></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">The band that Jim and Kenny brought
in to record and tour as Loggins & Messina was a collection of all-star
musicians who could effortlessly play multiple types of music and improvise. These musicians
included bassist Larry Sims, drummer Merel Bregante, multi-instrumentalist
and oboe and saxophone master Jon Clarke, and
violinist/multireedist Al Garth. </span></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">Loggins & Messina's subsequent ascent to
the top of the charts was deeply gratifying for Messina. </span><span style="color: black;">Over the next
seven years, Loggins & Messina would become one of the most successful duos
in rock history, to this day. The band released eight hit albums, had multiple
hit singles and sold more than 16 million albums. And they never compromised,
they continued to play songs in a variety of formats. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">The band created such songs as “Be
Free,” “Thinking of You,” “Lahaina,” “Travelin’ Blues,” “Sailin’ the Wind,” “Peace
of Mind,” “Changes,” “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” “Listen to a County Song,” “Golden
Ribbons,” “My Music,” “Nobody But You,” and many more.</span></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">Despite the band's enduring popularity,
Loggins & Messina remains one of the most underrated bands of the rock era.
Pretentious, tone-deaf music critics didn't embrace the group's smart, melodic
and eclectic sound nearly as generously as they should have. But the public
did. So did musicians. So did radio programmers, both FM and AM. And so did
concert audiences, who were consistently blown away by the band's energetic
live shows.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">The Loggins & Messina experiment
dabbled in rock, pop, country, jazz, singer-songwriter, folk, Jamaican and
more. L&M carved out a
niche that was just right for those introspective times. The extended jams
on "Vahevala" and "Angry Eyes," for example, were ethereal,
improvisational, jam band-ish, melodic, and they rocked. </span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">But of course like most good
things, Loggins & Messina came to an end in 1976. It was not a surprise. Everyone knew that Kenny
was destined to pursue a solo career, which he did, of course.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">Jim's subsequent solo years produced
some of the best work of his career. The first album Jim released after he and
Loggins said their goodbyes was <i>Oasis</i> in 1979. A superb record, <i>Oasis, </i>which
was recorded at Santa Barbara Sound Recording in Santa Barbara, Calif., is filled
with brilliantly conceived songs with a Latin jazz feel.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVeRpELia8UeoCGOb9XdCMvIV37kltR11-OjcxeoUHZAp3XHCaMwelTsBKdYKXmAuGGwdF5lsjbWEVllLUfbo3_G638RDiUaSHB3yB9NHy_dSALgostMqOJTqIcV8DqYRvdhjL93C8natuPdfg81or20QZ3tvo9-COcELVNUhPA1fWbjS1Xc_C3x7L/s400/Oasis%20album.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="400" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVeRpELia8UeoCGOb9XdCMvIV37kltR11-OjcxeoUHZAp3XHCaMwelTsBKdYKXmAuGGwdF5lsjbWEVllLUfbo3_G638RDiUaSHB3yB9NHy_dSALgostMqOJTqIcV8DqYRvdhjL93C8natuPdfg81or20QZ3tvo9-COcELVNUhPA1fWbjS1Xc_C3x7L/s320/Oasis%20album.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">Jim explains: "The record was
largely Latin jazz, but with a rock base. The record sold around 150,000
copies, people liked it, and it would have sold a lot more but the record
company decided not to support it. A record executive told me he didn’t like it because
it didn't sound enough like Loggins and Messina, and he stopped supporting
it. I dropped dead and said, 'You've got to be kidding me, I spent
$400,000 of my own money to promote that record'!"</span></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span><p></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">This was of course a classic example of a music
business "suit" making a decision about music that he was simply
unqualified to make. It happens all the time, to this day. But this
was a particularly egregious and infuriating example given Jim's following, musical pedigree
and talent. These were fantastic songs that deserved an appropriately positive and aggressive publicity
effort. The record was basically shelved.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">But what matters most is that it was
a tremendous record, a groundbreaking album that has aged remarkably well. <i>Oasis
</i>showed, again, what a talented and diverse songwriter Jim is. Ask
anyone who's actually listened to <i>Oasis</i>. The songs stay with you:</span><span style="color: #222222;"> “Seeing You For the
First Time,” “Do You Want to Dance,” “A New and Different Way,” “Talk to Me,” “Free
to be Me,” “Love is Here,” “Waitin’ On You,” “Is This Lovin’ You Lady,” and “The
Magic of Love."</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">The record label's decision was understandably hard for Jim to accept. </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">"The record label executives just need to do
a better job of getting to know you, your successes, all sides of you as an
artist," Jim says. "Look at Loggins & Messina. Look at the
musical diversity we had. The record label guys need to understand that an
artist is going to come out with something new and different from time to time.
Elvis took risks, so did Sinatra."</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">The executive who decided to ignore <i>Oasis</i> was, Jim says, "Just not right for that job. He was incompetent. He cost
us a lot of time, effort, money and our audience."</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">While <i>Oasis</i> deserved
a much better fate, I am happy to say that I discovered it the first week it
was released. And, well, so did my neighbors. I had been waiting eagerly for Jim’s first post-L&M effort, and I
wasn’t disappointed.</span><span style="color: #222222;"> The record was released at a perfect
time in my life. I had just moved to Santa Barbara from the Midwest
to attend college. Jim was also living in Santa Barbara at the time. <i>Oasis </i>was
the soundtrack of my first year in California.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #202122;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #202122;">A year or so later, Jim signed a new
contract with Warner Brothers and released his second solo album, <i>Messina</i>.
It, too, was tremendous, and it was a bit more eclectic, with rock, folk, jazz and more Latin. Two years later, Jim released <i>One More Mile</i>, which was more
of a rock-focused album.</span><span style="color: #202122;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #202122;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #202122;">Each of Jim's three solo records
in the 1980's was filled with outstanding songs and superb musicians. But Jim has never
released a record that wasn't well produced, well written and well
played. </span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #202122;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #202122;">And he’s always tried to get along with the people with whom he's worked. Egos are an inherent part of fame, but Jim never seemed caught
up in his own success or in the hoopla of rock and roll. He just loves the process of making
music. </span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #202122;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #202122;">J</span></span></span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">im keeps a
relatively low public profile, but he's never really been out of the
spotlight. He still tours regularly and his shows sell out. But he gets back home every couple of
weeks. Family matters to him.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #202122;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #202122;">Jim, who is also an accomplished painter, </span><span style="color: black;">says he is
"still enjoying discovering who I am, where I've been and most
significantly, where I'm going."</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Of all the things that have happened in Jim's career, though, perhaps the
coolest and most heartwarming thing has been his reunions with
Loggins.</span><span style="color: #202122;"></span><span style="color: black;"> It took a while, but it was worth the wait.</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">In 2005, </span><span style="color: #222222;">Jim and Kenny reunited for the first time and went back out on the road, as I
wrote for San Diego Magazine</span><span style="color: #222222;">. This happened after 30-plus years apart. They enjoyed a hugely successful nationwide reunion tour
that produced a CD and DVD entitled </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1781966654378488643/1817217410409015626" title="Live: Sittin' In Again at the Santa Barbara Bowl"><i>Live: Sittin' In Again at
the Santa Barbara Bowl</i></a></span><span style="color: #222222;">. </span><span style="color: #202122;"></span></span></span>
</p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">At the time, Jim revealed the original
master analog recordings that he had produced and mixed for Loggins and Messina
at Columbia Records, which became </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1781966654378488643/1817217410409015626" title="The Best: Sittin' in Again"><i>The Best: Sittin' in Again</i></a></span><span style="color: #222222;">.</span><span style="color: #202122;"></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">The duo reformed again in 2009 for an extensive tour. It
was another big success. </span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Both Jim and Kenny have admitted that they really were not
close friends during the 1970's when they made musical history together.</span><span style="color: #202122;"></span><span style="color: black;"> The real offstage friendship came years later, and it is
still going strong. </span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">On July 15 and 16, Loggins & Messina will ride again
when they appear at the </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1781966654378488643/1817217410409015626">Hollywood Bowl</a></span><span style="color: black;"> in what
promises to be an emotional concert for the ages. </span><span style="color: #202122;"></span></span></span>
</p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: large;">Jim is justifiably proud of his musical accomplishments. But he should have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame not once, not twice, but three times!</span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;"><b>Hear me out:</b></span></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">* Jim should have been included when the Buffalo
Springfield was inducted back in 1997. Jim played a huge roll in the band as a full-fledged member,
as well as a producer and engineer.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">* Poco, a hugely i</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">nfluential and creative band,</span> also should have been inducted into the RRHOF years ago for
being arguably the most influential country-rock band of them all,as I mention above. T</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #202124; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">hree members of the band have been inducted into the Hall as members of other bands</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #202124; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span> </span>(Furay with Springfield, and Randy Meisner and Timothy Schmit with The Eagles). <br /></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">* Loggins & Messina definitely should have been inducted into the
RRHOF many years ago for obvious reasons. They have been eligible since 1998. <br /></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">But there is no bitterness about any of this from Messina. He’s not the kind of guy who you will ever find sitting on a dusty couch obsessing about what could and should have happened in his music career. </span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">He's too busy playing music, painting, and spending time with his
family. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Life is good for this legendary troubador. </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin: 6pt 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">“I was given a lot of responsibility in my career. And it came
early,” Jim says. “I just didn't want to violate the trust I was given. For me,
it's always been about the work. It’s always been about the music.”</span></span></span><span style="color: #202122; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 16pt;"></span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-4902702577087186242022-03-16T13:30:00.001-07:002023-01-19T12:29:54.502-08:00My Message To Teen And Young Adult Cancer Patients & Survivors: You Are Not Your Cancer!<span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span>This is the first installment of a series in partnership with Teen Cancer America on teens & young adults with cancer. An educational grant from Seagen made this possible.</span></i><i style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span> </span></i></span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia, times new roman, serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhVxEnaFBKkFJpixTRJIeQmwkvdFag5TWJl7uuT82C3KiC3LfzODelZkAnctgGUh-qrTahKD-GsSFaSod04PDPqbftrNoJVYsWgsCw-NK64AkMKQqgMBwDw9kEkCkyC9Kf3gIO7cMmWDsaTWGYYAEKflVX2gST4GXq901op-AWRh37LccQl3pBnnJzu" width="310" /></span></div><i style="font-size: large;"><br /></i></span><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This year has been a graphic reminder of the pain, sadness and fragility of life. It's been a tragic year so far, of course, with the violence spreading in Eastern Europe. </span></span></div><div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But with COVID-19 backing off in recent months in the United States, this new year has also given us an opportunity to exhale and get reacquainted with the life we lived pre-pandemic.</span><div><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-size: large;">For me, 2022 marks two epic milestones in my life. </span></span><span><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-size: large;">It was 25 years ago that I married the love of my life. </span></span>It was also 25 years ago that I was diagnosed with stage IV non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Talk about your highs and lows! </span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Just days before I began my cancer treatment, my then-girlfriend Gabriela and I tied the knot in a no-frills wedding at the San Diego County building in Downtown San Diego. Not to get Dickensian on you, but it really was the best of times and the worst of times.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span>The surgical biopsy was the worst day. As I lay silent, scared and shaking in that cold, antiseptic surgery recovery room, the ear, nose and throat doctor told me that I had lymphoma and that I should schedule an appointment with an oncologist immediately. </span></span><br /><span><br /></span><span>A few weeks earlier I had visited the E.N.T. doc's office to check out a walnut-sized lump on my neck about three inches to the left and below my Adam's Apple. </span><span>I ignored it for too long. I just didn't think it could possibly be serious. I was 34 years old when I first felt it. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span>I was in an age bracket that I cluelessly thought had nothing to fear in terms of cancer. While c</span><span>ancer did briefly cross my mind when I first discovered the lump, I quickly dismissed it. Not possible, I thought. I'm just too healthy and too young. Boy was </span>I wrong. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span>When the doctor initially did a needle biopsy of the lump, it came back "inconclusive." But when I came into the exam room he was holding a folder on which the word LYMPHOMA was written in large type, all caps. He already had a good idea what it was. </span></span><br /><br /><span><span>Obviously I wasn't meant to see that folder. My heart started beating super fast. Tears welled up in my eyes."Oh, shit," is all I could say. He reassured me it wasn't definite, and that only the surgical removal of the swollen lymph node would tell us for certain. </span></span><br /><br /><span><span>When he entered </span><span>post-op, with no emotion on his face and in a monotone voice, he said, "Mr. Reno, you have lymphoma. I'll contact the oncologist," and walked out. Yes, he flunked Bedside Manner 101. But no matter how he would have given me the news my response would have been the same.</span></span><br /><span><span><br /></span></span><span><span>I shed more than a few tears that day. I thought my life was over. Throughout the cancer diagnostic process, in fact, I kept thinking it was a bad dream from which I would awaken. At other times, I honestly believed they had the wrong guy and that they were looking at the wrong chart.</span></span><br /><span><span><br /></span></span><span><span>But it was real. And it was hard to accept. I was 35 years old, living on the beach in San Diego and engaged to the girl of my dreams. I was a multi-sport athlete who had landed my dream job as a correspondent with <i>Newsweek</i>. I didn't smoke. I was very health-conscious and in great physical shape. I surfed in Hawaii and played tennis and basketball regularly. I was healthy, and happy.</span></span><br /><span><span><br /></span></span><span><span>After undergoing all the subsequent obligatory scans and tests, the oncologist gave me the official diagnosis: Stage IV follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It was bad. There was a frighteningly large tumor in my nasal pharynx, which explained why I sometimes had headaches and dizziness. I just dismissed that as stress from working so hard.</span></span><br /><br /><span><span>There were also tumors in my neck, abdomen and pelvis. The oncologist said I would be fortunate to live five years if I was lucky. That's pretty tough news to take when you're 35 and your whole life is ahead of you.</span></span><br /><span><span><br /></span></span><span><span>I started chemotherapy a few days after Christmas. But not before my girlfriend, Gabriela, and I got married. Needless to say, it was the most bittersweet day of my life. </span></span><span><span>I was <span>so scared</span> of the chemo and of dying. But I was so overjoyed that Gabby had chosen to be my wife as I headed down this dark road. She insisted that we get married before I begin the treatment.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There is one thing I know for sure: I w<span>ould not be alive today without Gabby's love these last 25 years. I am <span>even more </span>in love with her today than I was t<span>he day we recited our vows and I prepared to start chemo.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span>We had a big, bold Gatsby-themed wedding planned for the following April, but we canceled that and instead did the no-frills wedding. Just me, my wife, and my sister, Michele Reno Brown. </span></span><br /><span><span><br /></span></span><span><span>The chemo was even worse than I feared. It was brutal for me. Thankfully, not everyone gets as sick as I d<span>id. </span>But I got through it. And I kept working, at least through <span>most</span> of it. I've never really stopped working since I was diagnosed with cancer.</span></span><br /><span><span><br /></span></span><span><span><b>My Roller Coaster Life Since the Diagnosis</b></span></span><br /><span><span><br /></span><span>Since my initial diagnosis, the cancer has recurred, a couple times. I've fought it off with a combination of integrative/holistic things and traditional pharmaceutical treatments. </span></span><br /><span><span><br /></span></span><span><span>I opted to enroll in a clinical trial of an experimental radio-immunotherapy treatment for lymphoma called Bexxar, which, along with all the dietary, lifestyle and supplemental things I was doing put me in remission and saved my life.</span></span><br /><span><span><br /></span></span><span><span>There have been a lot of high highs and some low lows in the past 25 years. I've had many difficult health issues related to the cancer, including blood clots that entered my lungs and almost killed me. But I'm still here. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And of course the highest high was when our daughter Mandy Reno was born.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It's impossible to adequately explain what it feels like to have a child after thinking it would never happen because of a serious illness. It has been the single most inspirational thing of my life to watch our daughter grow up and spread her wings. I am so proud of her. It has been pure joy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span>During this roller coaster ride, I've learned a lot about myself and about human nature. That is, the good, the bad and the ugly in our nature. Perhaps t</span><span>he most surprising and troubling thing I've learned is that in the eyes of some folks, even those you love and who love you and who mean well, you at some point <i>become</i> your cancer.</span></span><br /><span><span><br /></span></span><span><span>Despite all the successes you have post-diagnosis, despite all the things you overcome, including sickness, anxiety, fear, physical pain and emotional turmoil, people eventually stop differentiating <span>between you and your illness, especially if you got your cancer at a young age. </span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Because, you know, cancer is just for old folks, right?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span>Some people conclude that if you're sick when you are still young, that is the choice you made, that is just who you are. </span><span>You </span>essentially become your illness. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span>If you're unable to do something in your life, whether it's taking your daughter to school or attending a family reunion or wedding of a close friend or you name it, some people in your life inevitably no longer think it's because you were dealt this bad hand. </span>They just see it as your choice.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span><span>P</span></span>eople often see you for your inabilities. They blame you, not your illness, for things you can not do. It's not a conscious or mean-spirited thing. It is I think largely involuntary. It's human nature, I guess. And it is based largely on fear, as most of our prejudices are. On some level, everyone's afraid of getting cancer.</span><br /><span><br /></span><span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">We're Still Here!</span></span></span><br /><span><br /></span><span><span>So, for every cancer patient and survivor or anyone reading this who has battled any serious illness, and specifically to the teen and young adult cancer patients out there, I want you to please remind yourself of these very important words: <i> </i></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i><span><span>You are not your illness!</span></span></i><br /><span><span><br /></span></span><span><span>You didn't ask for any of this. You don't deserve any of this. You are not to blame for any of this. And it is not your fault that sickness and pain sometimes prevent you from doing the things you want or even need to do or being who you want to be. </span></span><br /><span><span><br /></span></span><span><span>You are not the things you can't do. You are in fact all the amazing things you <i>can </i>do<b> </b>and <i>have</i> done despite being sick and in pain -- no matter how small or inconsequential they might seem to someone who has never battled serious illness or chronic pain. </span></span><br /><span><span><br /></span></span><span><span>Despite being scared, despite being in physical pain, despite everything, you are still here. From the moment you hear those words, "You have cancer," you are a survivor. And everyone who has ever heard those words is my hero. </span></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Cancer strikes people of <i>all</i> ages. And many cancers are in fact on the rise in adolescents and young adults, who are also now referred to as AYA's.<br /></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Teens and young adults with cancer live in an in-between space. They aren't really comfortable in a chemo room with much older adults, and they are equally uncomfortable in the pediatric area with little children.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span>This is one of the many things that is being addressed by Teen Cancer America, a dynamic, outstanding cancer organization that has built facilities in more than 45 American hospitals that give this teen and young adult age group a place in the hospital that is just for them.</span></span><br /></span></p><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Simon Davies, Executive Director of Teen Cancer America, sends this message of hope:</b></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"Our Co-founder Roger Daltrey, the lead singer of The Who, says that adolescent and young adult (AYA) specialized cancer programs and services should be a right, not a privilege. This age group faces unique challenges in life and in their cancer experience. They have been largely ignored over the years - lumped in with small children in pediatric hospitals or with the elderly in adult hospitals. Thanks to Teen Cancer America and other champions, this is gradually changing. However, we need to keep advocating to get young people the treatment and services that they truly deserve, so that we can improve their outcomes and survival."</span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Davies added, "We are fortunate to have Jamie Reno as a friend and an ally in our journey. With the support of an educational grant from Seagen, we are commissioning Jamie to write about and inform the public of the many complex issues that affect young people with cancer. This will be a dynamic, year-long series that explores the highs and lows that affect young people with cancer. And the right place to start is Jamie's own extraordinary story." </span></div><div class="gmail_default"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="gmail_default"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Reaching Out To My Fellow Patients & Survivors</span></b></div><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I am proud to be working with Teen Cancer America on this ten-part series. It comes at a perfect time for me. This year, as I enjoy an extended celebration of my 25 years with my soulmate and 25 years of survival, I want to express my admiration and love to all my fellow cancer survivors. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span>And I want to send specific love and congratulations to anyone who's battled massive chronic pain. It isn't easy. </span><span> </span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I remain a relentless optimist. I proudly spend most of my time now writing about cancer, in my journalism and my books. I am also an advocate for cancer patients and their families and I have created multiple educational initiatives for my fellow patients. </span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I am especially honored to be writing this series of stories about teens and young adults with cancer. And I want to thank Seagen for supporting this series.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This is the first of ten in-depth stories on the unique issues that teen and young adult cancer patients face. We will touch on a broad range of issues that affect the lives of teens and young adults with cancer. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I want to hear from you. I sincerely want your input. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Contact me directly at jreno@san.rr.com</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, don't cry for me. Even though I'm still in physical pain, I love being alive and I try not to feel sorry for myself. </span><span style="font-size: large;">I am profoundly grateful for my life.</span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i>I am not my illness!</i></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></p></div></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-85299256268030925612022-01-12T12:11:00.003-08:002022-01-12T12:16:27.914-08:00InnoCare Captures the Attention of the Blood Cancer Community With Evidently Safer, More Effective Treatments<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: georgia; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="190" data-original-width="265" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_VmSl4jv_0zqLQt_r9rZ6LAykImW9yYTIXR9B8knVchsXdc2EkPOkHpb2DYn1oHnHSwJuXdyIzvvwJi9f0nsS-OPyAl8QSZtgJ6Ipdb9LlSRj3WE1wRxixVEXl5bCcun2OSS88ZewsPATbXbbJfqyd_m8eq-ajfhqQ7Ah2Q7Ag8aZ_aPFiOAuvuMs=w296-h212" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="296" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Blood cancer research has never been more dynamic, more productive, or more global. And that is a good thing for patients. </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #040404;"><span style="background-color: white;">There are countless new treatments in clinical trials for various types of lymphoma, leukemia, myeloma and other blood cancers. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #040404;">And they're coming from companies worldwide. </span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #040404;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #040404;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Some of these new and promising modalities such as CAR T-cell immunotherapy, bispecific antibody treatment, gene therapies, natural killer (NK) treatments, targeted therapies, and more are already in the clinic, while many more are making their way through clinical trials.</span></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Among the most successful new types of treatment for blood cancers are the Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 15pt; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">These treatments inhibit the enzyme BTK, which is a crucial part of the B-cell receptor signaling pathway. Certain B-cell leukemias and lymphomas use B-cell receptor signaling for growth and survival.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0in 0in 15pt; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">BTK inhibitors can block this signaling and trigger the death of a cancer cell.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white;">In the last several years, the clinical use of BTK inhibitors have changed the treatment landscape for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). </span><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">BTK inhibitors in fact are the first targeted therapies to demonstrate a major improvement in progression-free survival for CLL patients compared with chemotherapy or chemo-immunotherapy.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Three different so-called BTK inhibitors -- Imbruvica from Pharmacyclics and Janssen, Calquence from AstraZeneca, and Brukinsa from BeiGene -- are already in the marketplace, and several more are being tested.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white;">Among the new generation of BTK inhibitors, one of the most promising is orelabrutinib </span>from InnoCare, a relatively new biopharmaceutical company that incorporated in China in 2015 and already has a presence in the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">InnoCare is developing what are potentially first-in-class and/or best-in-class drugs for the treatment of several types of cancer. <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The focus is on patients with blood cancers such as lymphoma, solid tumors, and autoimmune diseases with high unmet medical needs in the U.S., China and worldwide. <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">InnoCare, which has branches in New Jersey, Boston, Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, brought more promising results to the recent American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">An updated study result further confirms that orelabrutinib effectively treats relapsed or refractory (r/r) chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">In a multicenter phase II trial, 80 patients with R/R CLL/SLL were enrolled. The overall response rate was 93.8 percent, with 26.3 percent seeing a complete response and 67.6 percent partial response. <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">This is a significantly higher complete response rate in comparison with other BTK inhibitors at a similar median follow-up period.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The other significant news is that orelabrutinib was found to be well-tolerated. Most adverse events were mild to moderate. <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The evidence so far has shown that with each new generation of BTK inhibitor treatments, the efficacy and safety of the drug tends to improve. <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">In an exclusive interview with <i>The Reno Dispatch</i>, Sean Zhang, InnoCare's Chief Medical Officer, said the updated data that was presented at ASH further confirms that orelabrutinib is effective in treating relapsed or refractory CLL patients with a relatively high rate of complete remission and durable response.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Orelabrutinib had received approval on Dec. 25, 2020 from the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in two indications: the treatment of patients with r/r CLL/SLL, and the treatment of patients with r/r MCL. <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">InnoCare is conducting a clinical study in US for both r/r MCL and r/r CLL/SLL indications. The FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) to orelabrutinib for treatment of r/r MCL.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div><div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">The InnoCare story is a remarkable one, for several reasons. The ascension of CEO Jasmine Cui, PD, is a positive story in and of itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia;">A woman CEO at a major China biotech company had until recently been a rarity. But Cui has been described as one of the most innovative and brilliant cancer scientists and executives in the world. </span><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia;">The company incorporated in 2015 and has a U.S. office in Princeton, NJ. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">Regarding the company’s lead product, orelabrutinib, Zhang said the drug is still in trials in the US, but it looks very promising.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><o:p><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></o:p></p></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">"We have seen CLL patients with significantly higher complete response rates than other BTK inhibitors, durable response, and improved safety profiles,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">"Orelabrutinib provides a favorable therapeutic choice for patients with R/R CLL/SLL and has great potential to be the best candidate for the combination therapy.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">In addition to lymphoma, orelabrutinib shows great potential to treat such autoimmune disease as multiple sclerosis (MS). </span></div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">With the ability to cross the blood brain barrier, orelabrutinib has the potential to provide a clinically meaningful benefit on progression in all forms of MS. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">In July, 2021, InnoCare and Biogen, another international biotech company based in Cambridge, Mass., entered into a license and collaboration agreement for orelabrutinib for the potential treatment of MS.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">This latest collaboration further illustrates InnoCare's international commitment to patients. </span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; margin: 0in; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="color: #040404; font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><p><br /></p>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-40023384320044934832021-12-29T10:24:00.008-08:002021-12-30T15:48:49.041-08:00Are Follicular Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Patients Finally Getting Newer, Better Options to Treat Their Cancer?<div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="background-color: white; direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto;"><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: x-large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="162" data-original-width="310" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgo2EdN6wxD8TTtE2AYSXKVgAudjO0O4ydFB_vKMK67UERcooOG8tgrY-qf5LMm3KjdT-MGD9f4gw0NnKQnG2pm1pojAIXlIXJDNh0W5i6Ut4tg-0fbfe65iem3IwY9K2Y2J6q-Xijr6sD0ovHUSMtJdOVDxakg-P-s-YACBRhepHX1I9uil0cn1-jp=w400-h209" width="400" /></span></div></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><span><span><span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s been nearly 23 years since I participated in a clinical trial after my follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma recurred. When I was initially diagnosed with stage IV Follicular (FL) in early 1997, </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I went through five rounds of CHOP chemotherapy - </span></span></span></span>cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">. It gave me two and 1/2 years of remission. But the treatment was rough.</span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="font-size: x-large;">When the cancer returned, instead of doing chemo again I chose to enroll in a clinical trial of a radio-immunotherapy (RIT) called Bexxar. I did my homework on the trial, and I then respectfully told my oncologist that this was my decision. He tried to talk me out of it. But I was resolute. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0">Ultimately, my choice proved to be the right one. </span>Multiple oncologists tell me that I am now cured of my follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Despite the fact that many of my fellow patients were cured by Bexxar, the drug is no longer on the market for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with its efficacy or safety. </span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ever since Glaxo Smith Kline shelved Bexxar, as I <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/when-drug-companies-are-hazardous-your-health-lifesaving-cancer-drug-bexxar-1551568">wrote about here </a><span>, and <a href="http://therenodispatch.blogspot.com/2013/08/breaking-exclusive-lifesaving-cancer.html">here</a>, I've been on a mission to help my fellow follicular (FL) patients find newer, better options to treat their cancer.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0">I've worked with several dedicated, forward-thinking pharmaceutical companies to promote and encourage the study of new treatments for follicular NHL. </span>It is desperately needed. </span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><span><span>But the research has been slow sledding. </span></span>Follicular lymphoma, <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline; float: none; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.4px; white-space: normal;">the second most common form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, remains an often</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; display: inline; float: none; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.4px; white-space: normal;"> relentless type of cancer that for many patients brings multiple relapses.</span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Since Rituxan was <a href="https://www.drugs.com/history/rituxan.html">approved</a> by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat follicular lymphoma in 1997, we've not seen too much movement in terms of challenging the standard of care for this horrible disease, or finding truly effective alternatives after patients recur. </span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">But at this month's American Society of Hematology (<a href="https://www.hematology.org/meetings/annual-meeting/abstracts">ASH</a>) Annual Meeting, the largest gathering of blood cancer oncologists and scientists in the world, a boatload of promising trial data was presented from a variety of newer-generation medicines for follicular.</span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0">Viable new options are emerging at rapid pace. </span>My hope and expectation is that some of these newer options will eventually replace the current standard of care and become first-line therapies. </span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Below are just a few of the many treatments being studied that have great potential:</span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;">A Cell-Signal Blocker Emerges</span></span></span></b></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0"><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="color: black; left: 73.9368px; top: 13.3337px; transform: scaleX(1.03556); white-space: normal;">One of the most interesting and potentially effective new drug technologies for follicular lymphoma is </span></span><span><span data-offset-key="8ijo5-0-0"><span data-text="true">zandelisib. P</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="8ijo5-1-0"><span data-text="true">reviously called ME-401, </span></span><span data-offset-key="8ijo5-1-0"><span data-text="true">zandelisib, from MEI Pharma in San Diego, </span></span>is neither a chemotherapy nor a CAR T-cell immunotherapy nor a bispecific antibody.</span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span data-offset-key="8ijo5-1-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><span><span><span data-offset-key="8ijo5-1-0"><span data-text="true"><span>Zandelisib is a cell-signal blocker. </span></span></span></span></span>That simply means that it targets a protein in the body called P13K, which plays a key role in the growth and survival of the type of white blood cells that become abnormal in B-cell lymphomas. </span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span data-offset-key="8ijo5-1-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span data-offset-key="8ijo5-1-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Blocking PI3K can help stop lymphoma cells from dividing or cause the cells to die. </span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span data-offset-key="8ijo5-1-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mj _1mf" data-offset-key="bqj9a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span data-offset-key="8ijo5-1-0"><span data-text="true"><div data-block="true" data-editor="1tit" data-offset-key="228p9-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="228p9-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span data-offset-key="228p9-0-0"><span data-text="true">MEI Pharma and Kyowa Kirin recently announced data from the </span></span><span data-offset-key="228p9-2-0"><span data-text="true"><a href="https://www.meipharma.com/press-releases/mei-pharma-and-kyowa-kirin-announce-data-ongoing-global-phase-2-tidal-study">Phase 2 TIDAL clinical trial </a>of zandelisib in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma. </span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="228p9-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="228p9-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;">In the trial, zandelisib showed a 70.3 percent objective response rate and 35.2 percent of patients achieved a complete response. And fewer than ten percent of the trial participants discontinued therapy due to side effects.</span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="1tit" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size: x-large; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">In an exclusive interview with <i>The Reno Dispatch</i>, Dan Gold, CEO at MEI Pharma and a gifted scientist who's been working in the lymphoma sector for many years, explained the status of this promising treatment. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size: x-large; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size: x-large; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">“We are very excited by the emerging zandelisib data, which indicate the potential to positively impact the standard-of-care for patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma," he said. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-size: x-large; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"Once we have<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">collected the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color: black;">final data from the follicular lymphoma patient cohort, we intend to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>discuss our<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>plans to submit an accelerated approval marketing application</span> with<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>the FDA.”</span></span> </span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>Gold added, "</span><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Our<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">development<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color: black;">efforts with our partner, Kyowa Kirin, to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>expand the utility of<span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>zandelisib include the ongoing Phase 3 COASTAL study evaluating zandelisib plus rituximab [Rituxan] in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular or marginal zone lymphomas.”</span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bispecific Antibodies</span></b></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>But </span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span data-offset-key="8ijo5-1-0"><span data-text="true"><span>zandelisib is far from alone. </span></span></span></span></span>There are multiple new treatments and modalities for FL that are showing very positive numbers in trials, including </span><span><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="left: 15.8662px; top: 373.917px;">Roche’s </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://ash.confex.com/ash/2021/webprogram/Paper145872.html">Mosun</a></span><span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span><span><span style="font-size: x-large; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span><span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>In a cli</span>nical trial presented at ASH, </span></span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Mosun, a bispecific antibody that redirects T cells to eliminate malignant B cells, </span>induced "deep and durable remissions" in follicular NHL patients, including those with double-refractory disease.</span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; display: inline; float: none; font-size: x-large; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; display: inline; float: none; font-size: x-large; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div data-contents="true"><div data-block="true" data-editor="8ehu2" data-offset-key="5r6l8-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5r6l8-0-0"><span data-offset-key="5r6l8-1-0"><span data-offset-key="5r6l8-0-0" style="font-style: normal; text-size-adjust: auto;">"Notable</span><span data-offset-key="5r6l8-1-0" style="font-style: normal; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>updates coming out of ASH 2021 include experimental bispecifics such as mosunetuzumab [Mosun], which induced high response rates and durable responses for patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma,” </span>Lee Greenberger, chief science officer at the Leukemia Society, told <i>The Reno Dispatch</i>.</span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5r6l8-0-0" style="font-style: normal;"><span data-offset-key="5r6l8-1-0"><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5r6l8-0-0" style="font-style: normal;"><span data-offset-key="5r6l8-1-0">“With a response rate of 70%, a complete response rate of 54%, and a median duration of response of 23 months, this could be a valuable addition to the treatment landscape in follicular lymphoma,"he said.</span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5r6l8-0-0" style="font-style: normal;"><span data-offset-key="5r6l8-1-0"><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5r6l8-0-0" style="font-style: normal;"><span data-offset-key="5r6l8-1-0">Greenberger added that Genentech's glofitamab, another bispecific for the treatment of relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, also showed significant response rates with good durability. </span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5r6l8-0-0" style="font-style: normal;"><span data-offset-key="5r6l8-1-0"><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5r6l8-0-0" style="font-style: normal;"><span data-offset-key="5r6l8-1-0">"Bispecific antibodies offer the advantage of an off-the-shelf therapy with a performance that appears to be competitive compared to currently approved CAR T therapy for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma," he said. </span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5r6l8-0-0" style="font-style: normal;"><span data-offset-key="5r6l8-1-0"><br /></span></div></div></div></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; display: inline; float: none; font-size: x-large; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>CAR T-Cell Immunotherapies</b><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="92lp0-0-0"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not to be outdone, CAR T-cell immunotherapies, which have been the talk of the cancer research world for the last several years, are also making a strong statement about their place in the follicular space. </span></span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><span style="font-size: x-large; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span><span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Last March, the <a href="https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20210308/fda-approves-yescarta-for-advanced-follicular-lymphoma">FDA granted Yescarta</a>, a CAR T </span></span></span><span style="border: 0px none; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: smooth; vertical-align: baseline;">f</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">rom Kite, a Gilead company, </span><span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">"accelerated approval" as a third-line therapy for adults with relapsed or refractory follicular</span></span><span>. </span><span style="border: 0px none; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: smooth; vertical-align: baseline;">Yescarta, </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>continued to shine at ASH this month, as did Kymriah, a Novartis CAR T product.</span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span data-offset-key="8ijo5-1-0"><span data-text="true" style="font-size: x-large;"><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: smooth; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: smooth; vertical-align: baseline;">Both will likely challenge other drugs for third-line treatment, and eventually could become the new standard of care for FL and other types of lymphoma. <br /></span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: smooth; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: smooth; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span><span style="color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;">The other good news about CAR T is that scientists continue to make progress in reducing cytokine release syndrome, the serious and sometimes even fatal side effect of this groundbreaking treatment.</span></span><span style="border: 0px none; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: smooth; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: smooth; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: smooth; vertical-align: baseline;">Perhaps the most exciting piece of data in the Kymriah report presented at ASH is that <a href="https://www.novartis.com/news/media-releases/novartis-kymriah-demonstrates-strong-responses-high-risk-patients-relapsed-or-refractory-follicular-lymphoma-extended-study-follow">no high-grade cytokine release syndrome</a> was reported within eight weeks post-infusion and no new safety signals were identified.</span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="border: 0px none; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; scroll-behavior: smooth; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"The ability to administer Kymriah, a potentially definitive treatment,
in the outpatient setting may reduce the burden of therapy for patients
and their care teams," Jeff Legos, global
head of oncology & hematology development at Novartis, said in a press statement. </div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="-moz-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">"The breadth
of follicular lymphoma data presented at this year's ASH demonstrate the
potential for Kymriah to provide transformative results and a positive
impact on health systems overall."</div></span></span></span></span></div><span style="color: #050505;"><br /></span></div></div></span></span></span></span></div></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-23121278711380515212021-11-09T15:42:00.005-08:002021-11-09T17:24:37.568-08:00New Study: COVID-19 Breakthrough Cases Can Be A Serious Threat to Blood Cancer Patients, Including Me<p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB6FClgJvotLSoRYxnXS-jkXsA1InEERneTgWOMdollIh-JsfHrs1HIlWyc3I7Rw-oiCuDRbdSbq72X3bdFxoRW07ndArxwWbtTcfZ70KUe87_QlXvfNTS7VeHeKhI41CQO7GnW2tlqQo/s652/Jamie+Best+mug+shot.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="652" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB6FClgJvotLSoRYxnXS-jkXsA1InEERneTgWOMdollIh-JsfHrs1HIlWyc3I7Rw-oiCuDRbdSbq72X3bdFxoRW07ndArxwWbtTcfZ70KUe87_QlXvfNTS7VeHeKhI41CQO7GnW2tlqQo/s320/Jamie+Best+mug+shot.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As a journalist and <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/my-life-guinea-pig-151415">three-time survivor</a> of stage IV non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who is "immunocompromised," according to my oncologist, I've been reporting on the heightened threat that Covid-19 poses for lymphoma patients with great interest, and admittedly some anxiety.</span><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span>As they say, denial ain't just a river in Egypt. I can neither run nor hide from the fact that there are now multiple studies worldwide showing that people with lymphoma and other blood cancers are at a substantially higher risk than healthy individuals for severe and life-threatening COVID-19 illness, and</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUQsMXyH-2BhYYkNJzJxBSI5fZEUQ9dzcEjBzuGYt0hz4EyTRHVVyJZI47qkW19qz52iar-2FQjE-2B209JAjmW0Q3Y8uluHBkGZ0-2FGEW0RbfikDLqL6IBD5o-2FmGP-2FpUoro1edkBA-3D-3DRo_a_M5Yl7VI0cmRMWO-2B-2BaNKIdh-2BPHnSnMYhMo-2Ffa8vruuqWbq2HXtOjXNdpX-2FZmPjjgRD2o2UFss-2Fwl1AFGccpJl-2FZAiS7JYs9KJy-2BjhW465StrSJeKsc1NxoXS9ccE7sK5rWA87Gah6F5f-2BpdQKp-2FdjG7UmEyRD4cR2qlkMNwDDM8N0E3d2y0sC9c2plDVmldEpTvvuBZ43s3KJ92INPBPn2NcBoIOMUhA32QNtzWhwuCZkdjsPG7N0Eqgi-2FSnFlfwPgscosJtjnfAmQNpXKX1lQYfkYdzg-2FE2LUykallvvgRr-2BBh1QqaHY7dLxMRTqJPSPHCYdijXdeEss0uS6xOXDew-3D-3D">research suggests that lymphoma patients don't always achieve optimal protection from vaccination</a><span>. </span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>A new<span class="Apple-converted-space"> American Society of Hematology </span><i>Blood<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>study,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUUEwp6XT3YwO6VyVCS-2FRkEiStPXhJjdw3-2FmXljrciaAsVny4-2FMAw6YhpJJriBiZ0AHkRGoEcSSXmBnIhwYZAmiplPcYlSpJerWG3Nbf3r-2FVrpvJy8UyzssYnPtwNGFqWuna7sea0Ryasj0tQACTUMY3es14Mret8xd72pOD41uXhT7nI_M5Yl7VI0cmRMWO-2B-2BaNKIdh-2BPHnSnMYhMo-2Ffa8vruuqWbq2HXtOjXNdpX-2FZmPjjgRD2o2UFss-2Fwl1AFGccpJl-2FZAiS7JYs9KJy-2BjhW465StrSJeKsc1NxoXS9ccE7sK5rWA87Gah6F5f-2BpdQKp-2FdjG7UmEyRD4cR2qlkMNwDDM8N0E3d2y0sC9c2plDVmldEp85i9ziBBlzFAW6M2nQi8b-2FF587UxbCLeB0BChJmSdd8Elws4YvIeTaBYLUkQK4klvCbNhjOHYtwYNvwN3x2VB4exD-2F3KZEGyjdVakGiUUuFbaXkWQfUpvPQEMc8IqymU1obnGpvWWcKmBBiAhpCnVw-3D-3D">the first to report on post-vaccination COVID-19 cases in patients with blood cancer</a>, offers preliminary findings about the incidence of so-called "breakthrough infection" among my fellow blood cancer patients. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Breakthrough infection refers to people who are fully vaccinated but still get Covid-19.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>The study drew data from an open online registry, EPICOVIDEHA, which collects reports of patients with blood cancers who developed COVID-19 infection. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As of August 31, out of the 4,000 total cases in the registry, there were 113 reported cases of COVID-19 occurring after vaccination. </span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">More than three out of four of these breakthrough cases occurred in patients who were fully vaccinated with either the AstraZeneca vaccine or the mRNA vaccines such as Moderna or Pfizer. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span>Approximately 23% had been partially vaccinated, receiving just one dose of an mRNA vaccine, when they became infected with COVID-19. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Within the group of breakthrough cases, 79 patients experienced severe or critical COVID-19 infection, with 75 needing to be hospitalized. </span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">After a follow-up of 30 days post-COVID-19 diagnosis, 14 (12.4%) patients died, and COVID-19 was deemed the cause of death for all but one of those individuals. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">The study researchers emphasize that although the mortality rate in patients with breakthrough COVID-19 cases was high, it was still <b>much lower than before vaccines were available</b>. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="m_-6592788103837490041xmsonormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAuxC1pwSYERldM62OOyc4yy8zXxkIS5Ivo8CyngTN0OF4X1e3KIX1C1MfN7O7_VUK8fDKf6Gm8J4niz-B-T7KEdjBptFe4D2zSrxjDzj_CU_HYzofYPlglknqm9p1yQ2nsJ22AFH0Jc/s2048/Livio+Pagano+oncologist+Italy.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAuxC1pwSYERldM62OOyc4yy8zXxkIS5Ivo8CyngTN0OF4X1e3KIX1C1MfN7O7_VUK8fDKf6Gm8J4niz-B-T7KEdjBptFe4D2zSrxjDzj_CU_HYzofYPlglknqm9p1yQ2nsJ22AFH0Jc/w400-h300/Livio+Pagano+oncologist+Italy.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In an interview with <i>The Reno Dispatch, </i>study author Livio Pagano (right), MD, of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy, told me, “Vaccines have significantly
lowered the overall mortality rate in our patients with hematologic
malignancies. Still, some patients are not showing a full protective
response from vaccination, so it is important that we understand which
patients are more susceptible to breakthrough infection so we can
investigate how to protect them.”</span><p></p><p class="m_-6592788103837490041xmsonormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This gives me some comfort, if not a lot. </span></p><p class="m_-6592788103837490041xmsonormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As for why lymphomas are harder hit by COVID-19 breakthrough cases, Pagano explained, “The majority of patients
who do not respond to vaccination are those with lympho-proliferative
disease such as lymphomas and multiple myeloma."</span></p><p class="m_-6592788103837490041xmsonormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Pagano said these
patients are often immunocompromised due to altered functionality of
lymphocytes -- both from the underlying malignancy and the chemo-immune treatments -- so they do not always receive optimal protection from the vaccines.</span></p><p class="m_-6592788103837490041xmsonormal"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">"These patients appear to be more vulnerable to breakthrough COVID-19
infection," he said. "Patients with lymphomas are advised, even
after getting the vaccine, to continue supportive measures such as
wearing masks, washing hands, and reducing physical contact with other
people.”</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Previous studies using the registry’s data reported that during the pre-vaccination period of the pandemic, people with blood cancers and COVID-19 had mortality rates ranging from 30% to 50% (depending on type of underlying blood cancer).</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">“Before vaccination, if our patients with hematologic malignancies [blood cancers] developed COVID-19, they died in a lot of cases,” Pagano said in a press statement. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">“With these preliminary data, we showed that vaccination is not able to completely protect, but surely it has a strong role in reducing the mortality for COVID-19 for people with blood cancers.”</span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">The study also found that the level of COVID-19 vaccine response was associated with the type of underlying blood cancer. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">People with myeloproliferative disorders (disorders of red blood cells and platelets) were the least likely to develop COVID-19 after vaccination, and people with lymphoproliferative disorders (disorders of lymphocytes, the white blood cells of the immune system) were the most likely. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">Of the 113 breakthrough COVID-19 cases, 80% occurred in people with lymphoproliferative conditions such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">“Unfortunately, people with lymphomas are more likely to have suppressed immune systems and to develop infections, and it is no different for COVID-19,” said Dr. Pagano. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">“In future studies we will look at the efficacy of additional vaccine doses to understand if they can reduce infection in our patients, especially those with lymphoproliferative disorders.”</span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">The type of COVID-19 vaccine did not affect the risk of breakthrough cases. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">Approximately 70% of the patients in this study received an mRNA vaccine such as the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, and the remaining patients received the AstraZeneca vector-based vaccine or the Sinovac inactivated vaccine. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">There was no significant difference in the prevention of COVID-19 between these two groups.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">“The key message is that we must make a great effort to vaccinate as many people as we can,” said Pagano. </span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">“We can’t only vaccinate our patients with hematologic malignancies; it is also important to vaccinate their caregivers so we can form a barrier of protection around them, because their own immunity from the vaccine is not enough.”</span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><span><span><span style="font-size: large;">These are important facts that we all deserve and need to know. But they are sometimes hard for me to read and even harder to acknowledge. </span></span></span></span></span></p><br />Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-60486876355942246992021-11-06T13:33:00.004-07:002021-11-06T14:13:47.659-07:00Good Friday! Joe Biden's Best Day In Office<p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2cYjKevmbkzbBYBD5jsrqiu8DiZktmtDif-8CqxPPMW3OZ-c-VUJgmmxPuzNkl5B4mmvHKp9b_TFzkCdAuZRRPgd-A3xtDOLAIl4BfNkxOvQiaWkV7otBoiITvYPmQ-wsPZHQJmDd-c/s277/trump+and+Biden.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="162" data-original-width="277" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2cYjKevmbkzbBYBD5jsrqiu8DiZktmtDif-8CqxPPMW3OZ-c-VUJgmmxPuzNkl5B4mmvHKp9b_TFzkCdAuZRRPgd-A3xtDOLAIl4BfNkxOvQiaWkV7otBoiITvYPmQ-wsPZHQJmDd-c/w400-h234/trump+and+Biden.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Despite the fact that it's early November, yesterday must have felt like Good Friday for President Joe Biden. <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Our allegedly sleepy President was wide awake and enjoying easily his best day in office. </span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Among the gifts in Biden’s seven-month late Easter basket: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">An excellent jobs report that left Republicans mumbling, and the overdue passage of a historic $1 trillion piece of legislation that will provide hundreds of billions to fix our roads, bridges, pipes, green energy and more, and create many jobs. His predecessor of course never got that done. <br /></span></span></p><div style="text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #404040;">In addition, Biden’s sweeping $1.75 trillion social-spending and climate bill passed a procedural hurdle in the House and it looks like this, too, shall pass if the </span>lefties in the democratic party stick to their word. </span></span><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Biden also announced on Friday that the U.S. economy created more than 500,000 jobs in October, far more than expected, and that unemployment dropped to 4.6 percent, it's lowest mark since May 2020 during the early days of the pandemic. </span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Meanwhile, Pfizer announced on Friday that in clinical trials, its antiviral pill showed nearly 90% effectiveness rate in reducing hospitalizations and deaths from Covid. This should have a profoundly positive impact on the pandemic and global health.</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Meanwhile, Biden this past week also brought the U.S. back to the global table on climate change and acknowledged that it is of course real. </span></span><div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #202124;">There are still problems in this economy. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">The supply chain issue remains a major headache, as do high gas prices, college tuition costs and jobs for minorities and women. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">But this past week saw far more good news than bad for the economy and for our country.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124;">And Biden's just beginning. </span>As <i>Yahoo News</i> <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/black-america-receive-billions-biden-153000301.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall">reported</a> yesterday, Biden and members of Congress are working out the specifics of a multi-billion dollar agreement with Black farmers as part of the Build Back Better (BBB) infrastructure
spending plan.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The farmers, nearly 50,00o strong, were a big reason why Biden did so well last year in southern states that are typically red. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #202124;">What was perhaps lost in Biden's good day is the fact that t</span></span><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">he bull-market recovery from the pandemic continues.</span><span style="color: #2e2e2e;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #202124;">T</span></span><span style="color: #404040;">he Dow Jones<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: #404040;">soared to above 36,000 points for the first time ever. </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">When you look a little closer at the increase, a percentage rise of just 2.9 percent, it may not look quite as impressive. </span><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">But given where this economy and this country was, it is even more reason for optimism. </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">Lest we all forget, and I think many of us have, Joe Biden was elected in a time of almost unprecedented political chaos. </span><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">The former presidency's time in office was defined by daily lies.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And the former president's loyal, lawless supporters violently and despicably attempted to throw out the results of an election in which there was simply no evidence of widespread voter fraud.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">Biden won a year ago. Bigly. And the results are completely legitimate. But many on the losing side still insist the election was stolen. </span><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">It wasn’t. </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">Biden entered the White House at a time in which the American presidency itself had lost all standing worldwide. </span><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">Biden has only begun to tend to the wounds the previous administration caused to our democracy. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Have some of you really forgotten what Biden inherited? It was a bloody mess. We all had to endure a pandemic as well as a political scandal that dwarfed Watergate. </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Globally, the former president alienated virtually every American ally, and kissed up to and praised dictators.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">While Biden is certainly not perfect, he is a good man and he is cleaning up the mess. He has re-engaged our allies. </span><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">And s</span><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">lowly but steadily, Biden is bringing honor and decency back to the White House. </span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">And now, finally, his policies and plans </span><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">are beginning to positively emerge. </span></span></div></div></div><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #2e2e2e; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-15365308903232436362021-11-01T19:36:00.008-07:002021-11-02T12:21:42.255-07:00Historic China Lymphoma Project, Five Years In The Making, Is About To Take Flight in San Diego and Globally<p><br /></p><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3946370965663311266" itemprop="description articleBody" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; text-size-adjust: auto; width: 680px;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.098) 1px 1px 5px; color: #a5a7aa; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 5px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0w67-SSHtpm2hCs7r7lUXgOlYrrG7rK99A51A_inGkrPqXOhFQE5rXxNiGE8rDNpzUi_NZdZx81Is2cZNww6KzpdKQSoAEWvHSSpbKhPPRHimmMGwWEQCHxb2yybhp1fAZAJ_J317n7U/s1600/conference+pic+schatz+and+zhizhong.jpg" style="color: #366ba7; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0w67-SSHtpm2hCs7r7lUXgOlYrrG7rK99A51A_inGkrPqXOhFQE5rXxNiGE8rDNpzUi_NZdZx81Is2cZNww6KzpdKQSoAEWvHSSpbKhPPRHimmMGwWEQCHxb2yybhp1fAZAJ_J317n7U/s640/conference+pic+schatz+and+zhizhong.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: medium none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.098) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.56px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Lymphoma expert Dr. Jonathan Schatz (left), myself, and cancer researcher Dr. Zhizhong Li\</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was just a little dream I had. But now it's finally coming true. Our China Lymphoma Project's first annual Global Conference, which took place five years ago at the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine in La Jolla, Calif. (above), was the hopeful beginning. </span></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was a lively, informative and inspirational eve</span><span style="font-size: large;">nt whose overriding theme was the burgeoning and crucial friendship between the people of the world's two most powerful countries, and what this compassion can foster through science. </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There were not many folks who thought we could pull this off. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: xx-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: xx-large;">But I never listen to doubters. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As we in the United St</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">ates looked for ways to address the cancer crisis in China, where I have many friends and colleagues and where more </span><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/cancer-kills-7-500-daily-china-201807027.html" style="color: #366ba7; font-family: georgia; text-decoration-line: none;">than 7,500 people die of the disease each day</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">, the consensus among many who attended the conference was that our little project</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> was a positive thing but it wasn't going to make much of a difference. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><div class="p1" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But we are now working side-by-side with such prestigious young biopharmaceutical companies in China as <a href="https://www.jwtherapeutics.com/en/about-us/overview/">JW Therapeutics</a>, <a href="https://www.innocarepharma.com/en/about-us/">InnoCare Pharma</a>, and <a href="https://anticancerbio.com/about/">AntiCancer Bioscience</a>.</span></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Each of these companies has a game-changing lymphoma treatment approved for use and/or in clinical trials or will have very soon. </span></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Each of these companies has a presence in both China and the United States. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">And that is the key point here. These companies are involved in bringing new, state-of-the-art cancer treatments to both China and the United States. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Cancer knows of no boundaries. And lymphoma, especially, is a worldwide menace.</span></div></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As many of you know, I've been fighting lymphoma and <a href="http://hopebeginsinthedark.com/" style="color: #366ba7; text-decoration-line: none;">writing about</a> it for 25 years. Yes, next month is the 25-year anniversary of my initial diagnosis. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">In China, lymphoma has been <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)32152-9/fulltext">on the rise</a> for the last decade. And it is already the fifth most common cancer in the US. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Lymphoma is of course one of several types of cancer that is alarmingly on the rise in China, especially in urban areas where there are hazardous levels of pollution. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But five years ago, unlike lung cancer and some other cancers, lymphoma remained a great mystery to many people in China -- despite the fact that it was becoming much more common.</span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />That has changed, as I predicted it would. China is now enjoying a biotech boom, especially with regard to blood cancer awareness and treatments and clinical trials, largely thanks to the companies I named above.</span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The government in China, too, is makin</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">g a concerted effort to address the problem by, among other things, </span><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-parliament-pollution-idUSBREA2405W20140305" style="color: #366ba7; font-family: georgia; text-decoration-line: none;">"declaring war"</a><span style="font-family: georgia;"> o</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">n air and water pollution, and of course by supporting the biotech industry's growth. </span></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">There are a number of biotechs in China that are now researching and marketing new lymphoma treatments, and the greatest thing about this boom is that it has generated several new partnerships between China and the US.</span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">This remains a great and mostly untold story. US and China pharmaceutical companies are now partnering on many projects and research. And this can only lead to positive things for the entire planet. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I am spearheading a lot of this with our China Lymphoma Project. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The conference I held five years ago powerfully represented our project's mission, which was and is to bring our countries closer together under the banner of science.</span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Our goal then and now is to leverage the latest communication technologies (ebooks, social media, smartphone apps and more) to provide much-needed information and hope, as well as comfort and compassion, to China's lymphoma cancer sufferers and their families and increase good will between our two great countries. <br /><br />When I started this, many people in China who received a lymphoma diagnosis just went home and gave up. The awareness of this type of cancer was just not widespread. They thought it was a death sentence.</span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">With access to new information about treatments and stories of Chinese people as well as others around the world who have been treated and are now doing fine, that has all changed. The now know than all types of lymphoma are treatable and beatable. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /><b>A Global Gathering in La Jolla</b></span></div><div class="p2" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Dr. Jonathan Schatz (pictured at top), a globally respected lymphoma physician and researcher from <a href="http://sylvester.org/" style="color: #366ba7; text-decoration-line: none;">Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center</a> at the University of Miami, pledged his and the hospital's support for the project, talked at our first conference about the need for more international cooperation between physicians, and suggested the project should pursue more epidemiological studies on lymphoma in China.</span></div><div class="p2" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmW42MjLDvb7fg4H8GD10MwWLrwvgO5lxuGc2Xo3ShYibC_sI0fGJ3iMa2Wn0bbY70nYvTrlj19k-uPxoRlb9kP6945DK42C-V7irqp10x1al6NGi2aeKfSYbha5EzWHUFkQ8ScYbcR1w/s1600/china+lymphoma+project+logo+newest+2016.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #366ba7; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmW42MjLDvb7fg4H8GD10MwWLrwvgO5lxuGc2Xo3ShYibC_sI0fGJ3iMa2Wn0bbY70nYvTrlj19k-uPxoRlb9kP6945DK42C-V7irqp10x1al6NGi2aeKfSYbha5EzWHUFkQ8ScYbcR1w/s400/china+lymphoma+project+logo+newest+2016.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.098) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">We are now almost ready to publish our exclusive new e-book for China's lymphoma patients that profiles survivor stories, including famous China lymphoma survivors such as <a href="http://therenodispatch.blogspot.com/2015/02/global-alliance-with-marketing-and.html" style="color: #366ba7; text-decoration-line: none;">Kai-Fu Lee</a>, the hugely popular micro-blogger and creator of Google China, as well as just regular folks (men, women and children) throughout China. <br /><br />This ebook will of course be FREE to China's lymphoma patients, and will be of course available in both Simplified Chinese and English. It is coming very soon. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Project Reaches Tipping Point</b><br /><b><br /></b>Our project now resonates with an increasingly broad audience worldwide. As I told the gathering at my conference introduction back in 2016, the biotech and cancer hospital communities in both China and the US will be eager to join us. Because everybody wins. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The booming San Diego tech community is coming to us now, too, as are a variety of healthcare companies. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">So is the environmental community. And pretty much any company doing business in China and anyone who cares about China's people and about goodwill between the two most powerful countries in the world. </span></div><div class="p2" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">We're now proudly connected with several cancer hospitals in China, and that number keeps growing. We have positive and substantive relationships with several American universities, biotech leaders from China and the US, including Professor Lilly Cheng at San Diego State University, my alma mater.</span></div><div class="p2" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Dr. Cheng, who is one of our project's Chief Ambassadors, gave a stirring speech at our initial conference in which she called on people to act now, not later, and support our project so we can help China's cancer patients and make a real difference. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><span><span style="color: #2e2e2e;">Dr. Cheng made several trips to China on our behalf early on to meet with cancer hospital executives an</span>d others. She even gave us a memorable ride on the </span>Daishan Dao, a hospital ship of the People's Liberation Army Navy of the People's Republic of China. </span><span style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">And it helped us. We are now well known to many in China, and I am personally proud of that. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b><b>Support From Chinese Government Officials</b></span></div><div class="p2" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.098) 1px 1px 5px; color: #a5a7aa; float: left; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 5px; position: relative;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWNm-noqkjfzaiEwpMBTZLN0fdR8DVQB709iw9y3zOAZu5_b-GGeOy-B5wnCqx1B3zv9if0RkYfeEB03yeerizloaRPY7oCsWCUL-b4Fef4gfGBOlv6VY9yQrJNDJ5qPofBh9h8_S-rxo/s1600/conference+pic+Hua+Liu+Consul.jpg" style="clear: left; color: #366ba7; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWNm-noqkjfzaiEwpMBTZLN0fdR8DVQB709iw9y3zOAZu5_b-GGeOy-B5wnCqx1B3zv9if0RkYfeEB03yeerizloaRPY7oCsWCUL-b4Fef4gfGBOlv6VY9yQrJNDJ5qPofBh9h8_S-rxo/s400/conference+pic+Hua+Liu+Consul.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: medium none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.098) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" width="381" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.56px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">H</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ua Liu, Consul of Science & Technology, Photos by Caitlin Prenga</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But perhaps most importantly, there were also three representatives at our conference from the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, including our distinguished opening speaker Hua Liu (left), who at the time was Consul in Science and Technology. Members of the Consulate General's office warmly pledged their support. We look forward to working closely with them.</span></div><div class="p2" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Other speakers at the conference included Dr. Huan-You Wang, a highly respected pathologist and lymphoma diagnostic expert at UCSD Moores Cancer Center, my personal cancer hospital. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Dr. Wang, who is from China, stressed the need for all cancer patients to get the correct diagnosis, and noted that while there are many brilliant doctors and scientists in China, diagnosing cancer in China still has a long way to go. <br /><br />Typically, he said five years ago, pathologists in China are not specialists, they cover all diagnoses, not specific types of cancer. This, too, is thankfully changing as more hospitals learn about lymphoma and have access to new treatments and clinical trials. </span></div><div class="p2" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Dr. Catriona Jamieson, the well-known physician and expert in lymphoma and other blood cancers and Director of Stem Cell Research at the UCSD Moores Cancer Center, spoke brilliantly yet conversationally at our initial launch five years ago about the groundbreaking efforts at Moores to identify new ways to treat cancer, including lymphoma. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">She also explained a few of the encouragingly growing number of partnerships between cancer scientists in China and the US. This has increased many-fold since her speech, as she predicted it would.</span></div><div class="p2" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.098) 1px 1px 5px; color: #a5a7aa; float: right; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 1em; padding: 5px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQbMjILwm1Pf9T6zqxQnwAYdxYNfOqXQFBK6G6_LKFj5YRgR0ooEiBTQHlCeKJ2QyMeACf4v9wthPdQVjJmRjy2XL-BYLVa5S-TICTDstxa2BuN_dRd_vcrsMLTBiHKduBBMASNJQZcQ/s1600/conference+pic+amanda+deanna+best.jpg" style="clear: right; color: #366ba7; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQbMjILwm1Pf9T6zqxQnwAYdxYNfOqXQFBK6G6_LKFj5YRgR0ooEiBTQHlCeKJ2QyMeACf4v9wthPdQVjJmRjy2XL-BYLVa5S-TICTDstxa2BuN_dRd_vcrsMLTBiHKduBBMASNJQZcQ/s400/conference+pic+amanda+deanna+best.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: medium none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.098) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.56px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Conference co-host Amanda Caniglia, myself, and Col. Deanna Won</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Colonel Deanna Won (far right), is pictured here with yours truly and conference co-host Amanda Caniglia, owner and manager of the vaunted Bella Vista Caffe, where we held our event five years ago. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Won, the retired Air Force veteran, stage IV cancer survivor, China expert, and integrative and holistic health coach, shared with the rapt crowd her experience with stage IV cancer. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">She was just days from death and in Hospice care, but her cancer reversed and now she's a powerful and in-demand motivational speaker and is writing a book about her remarkable survival.</span></div><div class="p2" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.098) 1px 1px 5px; color: #a5a7aa; float: left; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 5px; position: relative;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGdjHPzfUwyXC6LTYkiVYc8WnTM3xOpSWr6_sQRC4dpDNn1rU4ZDMKQ8el56LVCAPSJCjcK1BFROUt4zgFzp5WbCh7AMaVG9PA006d19YS9mzP4BS-OHvNZzKBYEniFOffV3nXs7-InI/s1600/conference+pic+jinghong+li.jpg" style="clear: left; color: #366ba7; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGdjHPzfUwyXC6LTYkiVYc8WnTM3xOpSWr6_sQRC4dpDNn1rU4ZDMKQ8el56LVCAPSJCjcK1BFROUt4zgFzp5WbCh7AMaVG9PA006d19YS9mzP4BS-OHvNZzKBYEniFOffV3nXs7-InI/s400/conference+pic+jinghong+li.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: medium none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.098) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.56px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-small;">Yours truly (left) and Dr. Jinghong Li</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The final speaker was Dr. Jinghong Li (left), President Elect of the an esteemed physician at UC San Diego who trained at Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing. Jinghong gave a charming and informed talk about her work with cancer patients and others and expressed her deep gratitude and support for the project.</span></div><div class="p2" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b>Please Support This Global Friendship Initiative</b></span></div><div class="p2" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The <i>China Lymphoma Project </i>is seeking funding to fulfill our global mission of friendship. Please support this historic project with a tax-deductible educational grant, please send a check payable to our nonprofit partner, The Children's Treehouse Foundation, a tremendous organization that supports children who have a parent with cancer. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.2px;"><span style="font-size: large;">E-mail us at: <a href="mailto:info@childrenstreehousefdn.org" style="border: 0px none; color: #77cc6d; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: bold; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">info@childrenstreehousefdn.org</a> </span></span><div style="border: 0px none; color: #292929; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: currentcolor none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><p style="border: 0px none; color: #292929; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: currentcolor none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Denis M. Murray - </span>Executive Director</span></span></p><p style="border: 0px none; color: #292929; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: currentcolor none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="border: 0px none; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-position: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Children’s Treehouse Foundation</span><br />3333 S Wadsworth Blvd, Unit D318<br />Lakewood, Colorado 80227-5165</span></span></p><p style="border: 0px none; color: #292929; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: currentcolor none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">Tel: 303-322-1202<br /><br /></span></p></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">The time is now to support this effort. If you have any questions, or if you want to get involved in our project, call me or email me. </span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">My cell is 858-397-4950</span></div><div class="p1" style="color: #2e2e2e;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">My email is jreno@san.rr.com<br /><br />Xie-xie,</span></div><span style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br />Jamie Reno<br />Founder and Director<br /><i>The China Lymphoma Project</i><br /></span><span style="color: #2e2e2e; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div style="clear: both; color: #2e2e2e; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px; text-size-adjust: auto;"></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-50554729682191412322021-10-30T17:08:00.016-07:002021-10-31T21:57:27.343-07:00Oingo Boingo Lives! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhdqBgQUTXCpH7P4gHD9bcrYy13BNxxNXqv0ELQlKGvMsgGbLHyBoRgsrW6eZcXnshyXM0GS1oQutwAHDIGZB2Axojoq4mFeQ8fqVREp1-QNyCGakdaEqlHPNpPx0mQqlUlGm9jB2to7Q/s361/boingo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="361" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhdqBgQUTXCpH7P4gHD9bcrYy13BNxxNXqv0ELQlKGvMsgGbLHyBoRgsrW6eZcXnshyXM0GS1oQutwAHDIGZB2Axojoq4mFeQ8fqVREp1-QNyCGakdaEqlHPNpPx0mQqlUlGm9jB2to7Q/w640-h248/boingo.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="di6gm-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="di6gm-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Many Original Members of Quirky, Angry, Funny, Edgy, Underrated 80's Band Return!<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="di6gm-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="di6gm-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></span></span></span>If you attended college in Southern California in the early-to-mid 1980's, you must remember Oingo Boingo, the quirky, hard-rocking band whose concerts were dance-and-sweat events. </span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="2kicr-0-0"><span data-text="true">As a child of the 1970's, well, I had never seen or heard anything quite like them. I wasn't sure what to make of the band at first. But they grew on me. <br /></span></span></span></span></p><div data-block="true" data-editor="ecquj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true">When I was working part time as a coach and camp counselor at the Montecito YMCA in college, about half the kids on my sports teams were listening to Oingo Boingo on their Sony Walkmans. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNd9_geWorXtid0sy6e1aCbtKnToDLMoAk4zPZpv_T3ktNWMJsAmZDcj1cwmKaisRr4KG7ZNLQFshSH00UZ4Ah5lut3vvg66mg8SAv0msx9RFZw25PBTOj5oECbnhQtcRFpCRSKstP8PA/s225/boingo+three.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNd9_geWorXtid0sy6e1aCbtKnToDLMoAk4zPZpv_T3ktNWMJsAmZDcj1cwmKaisRr4KG7ZNLQFshSH00UZ4Ah5lut3vvg66mg8SAv0msx9RFZw25PBTOj5oECbnhQtcRFpCRSKstP8PA/s0/boingo+three.jpg" width="225" /></a></div></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true">One afternoon, I just had to borrow a kid's headset and listen in to see what all the fuss was about. It was immediately engaging, and also a bit disturbing and dangerous. I started dancing, and the kids on my team started laughing. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true">They were happy to initiate their coach into the Boingo Universe. When you listen to Oingo Boingo, I realized that day, it's impossible to stay still.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true">The more I listened, the more I liked the creativity, the edginess, the reckless abandon, the just-plain fun. They were so different than anything else we heard on the radio in the early 80's. <br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><span data-text="true">They were punk-ish, but not punk. They were new wave-ish, but not new wave. They were alternative-ish, but not alternative. They were art rock-ish, but not art rock. They were ska-ish, but not ska . </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><span data-text="true">The band, which has been under-appreciated since the first record, created its own genre. Some call them <i>Halloween Rock</i>, 'cuz they had more than a small amount of anxious, scary/creepy themes and vibes, with references to nightmares and monsters and juvenile delinquents and insects underground.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVcvbTheY1J2LTpXh86mwu7EnTIBgd1MFngyldBzqO57p0CLHvyGElcwFz-4n_02KLfJW57Z1Q_sCwIyPR2qsgxR3xIvrVEokn0v8a6yk68Mzo5KJN2C7pz3hLa9a2gEPoLTw1tQr1T68/s225/boingo+two.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="225" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVcvbTheY1J2LTpXh86mwu7EnTIBgd1MFngyldBzqO57p0CLHvyGElcwFz-4n_02KLfJW57Z1Q_sCwIyPR2qsgxR3xIvrVEokn0v8a6yk68Mzo5KJN2C7pz3hLa9a2gEPoLTw1tQr1T68/s0/boingo+two.jpg" width="225" /></a></div><span data-text="true"></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><span data-text="true">Oingo Boingo did enjoy its 15 or perhaps 20 minutes of fame. I first saw them live at the US Festival in 1983 with my fellow 300,000 music fans. The band that day stole the show. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><span data-text="true">They were funny, frenetic, obstinate, wacky, angry and musically gifted. They were jesters from Hell. I loved every minute of it. Of course, many of my fellow classic rock buddies thought they were lame and still do to this day. To each his own. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><span data-text="true">I love those 70's arena rock bands. But I embraced the music of the 80's, too, and still do. I loved my MTV.<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><span data-text="true">Oingo Boingo became hugely and deservedly popular in Southern California, if not quite as much so nationwide. <span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="3cigk-0-0"><span data-text="true">The band had a great reputation as a superb live act. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="3cigk-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="98r4r-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="cplil-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="3cigk-0-0"><span data-text="true">The band's biggest national moments came when they appeared in the Rodney Dangerfield comedy “Back to School”</span></span></span> singing their hit "Dead Man's Party,' and when they recorded the title track of the movie comedy "Weird Science," and when they got their song "Goodbye" placed at the end of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." </span></span></span></span></span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="ecquj" data-offset-key="dd5qn-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="dd5qn-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="dd5qn-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="ecquj" data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span data-text="true">Well, the good news is that most the original members of Oingo Boingo are back in a band called "Oingo Boingo Former Members." The band has a phenomenally talented new lead singer, but of course co-founder and undeniable genius Danny Elfman is still nowhere to be found.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span data-text="true">Danny became a celebrated film composer, as many of you know, and never looked back. He's consistently, stubbornly refused to give the other original members of his former band the name, and he doesn't have any plans to resurrect the band. It kind of sucks. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span data-text="true">The good news is that seeing this band is a total Oingo Boingo experience. The new lead singer, Brendon McCreary, who is decades younger than his bandmates, is billed as an Oingo Boingo "superfan." He is a phenomenal talent. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span data-text="true">Arguably a better all-around and more versatile vocalist than even Danny, Brandon's command of the subtleties of the Oingo Bongo canon is remarkable. <br /></span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span data-text="true">So.... tonight we're gonna party like it's 1983! It's not too late for you to join us and re-live those college parties that you don't fully remember but you know we were there. The show doesn't start until 7:3o p.m. at Humphrey's By the Bay on Shelter Island. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: large;">There are still a few tickets available at </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.ticketmaster.com/oingo-boingo-former-members-missing-persons-san-diego-california-10-30-2021/event/0A005A8FDAF9161C" style="font-family: georgia;">Ticketmaster</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">.</span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="89kg8-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">See you there!</span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="ecquj" data-offset-key="oojq-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3cigk-0-0"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="oojq-0-0"></span><br /></span></span><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="3nnjo-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3nnjo-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">PS -- Here's a partial list of songs by Oingo Boingo, if we missed some, let us know:</span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3nnjo-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="7eqjo-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7eqjo-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Acapella Ditty</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="9m8lp-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9m8lp-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ain't This The Life</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="1lt5p-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1lt5p-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bachelor Party</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="a07ka-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a07ka-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ballad Of The Caveman</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="79ds7-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="79ds7-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Better Luck Next Time</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="59eah-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="59eah-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Burn Me Up</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="52iag-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="52iag-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">California Girls</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="2skga-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2skga-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Can't See (useless)</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="a9jdn-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a9jdn-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Change</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="9hmbk-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9hmbk-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Cinderella Undercover</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="5r4i2-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5r4i2-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Clowns Of Death</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="8ao0q-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8ao0q-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Controller</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="clu10-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="clu10-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Cool City</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="cnq4l-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="cnq4l-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Cry Of Vatos</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="6d0eu-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6d0eu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dead Man's Party</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="2pvov-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2pvov-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dead Or Alive</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="5cmsg-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5cmsg-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dream Somehow</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="8ddh9-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8ddh9-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Everybody Needs</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="c7quu-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c7quu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Flesh 'n' Blood</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="1lmpa-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1lmpa-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Go Away</span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1lmpa-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Goodbye </span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="aikec-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="aikec-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Good For Your Soul</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="32ve1-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="32ve1-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grey Matter</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="b9afc-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="b9afc-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Heard Somebody Cry</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="acuvi-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="acuvi-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Helpless</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="4bhrn-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4bhrn-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hey!</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="c3dom-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c3dom-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">I Am The Walrus</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="n89n-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="n89n-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm So Bad</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="c2u60-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c2u60-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Insanity</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="7a08f-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7a08f-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Insects</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="4ollv-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4ollv-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Is This</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="f2bs1-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="f2bs1-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Just Another Day</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="52nbf-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="52nbf-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Little Girls</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="9dip8-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9dip8-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Lost Like This</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="8f68e-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8f68e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mary</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="13fta-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="13fta-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Nasty Habits</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="7i6oh-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7i6oh-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">No One Lives Forever</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="dtn1j-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="dtn1j-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">No Spill Blood</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="ai5lc-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ai5lc-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Nothing Bad Ever Happens (To Me)</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="e7bvv-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="e7bvv-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Nothing To Fear (but Fear Itself)</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="c2hmr-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c2hmr-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">On The Outside</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="3j4e6-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3j4e6-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Only A Lad</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="aev2m-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="aev2m-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Piggies</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="9fv34-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="9fv34-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reptiles And Samurai</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="1j78o-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="1j78o-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Run Away (the Escape Song)</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="c6hgc-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c6hgc-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stay</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="c3noo-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="c3noo-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Take Your Medicine</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="5i2gk-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="5i2gk-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Cat Is Dead</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="7d02t-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="7d02t-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tough As Nails</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="ehkj5-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="ehkj5-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Water</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="4ltud-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="4ltud-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">We Close Our Eyes</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="fdlk8-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="fdlk8-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">When The Lights Go Out</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="a3g4a-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a3g4a-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Where Do All My Friends Go</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="g86k-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="g86k-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Who Do You Want To Be?</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="6kpb0-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="6kpb0-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Whole Day Off</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="da3ff-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="da3ff-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why'd We Come (all This Way)</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="2cs39-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2cs39-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Wild Sex (in The Working Class)</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="8j6ve-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8j6ve-0-0" style="direction: ltr; position: relative; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">You Got Your Baby Back</span></span></div></div><div data-block="true" data-editor="cnikf" data-offset-key="28rc1-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, "system-ui", ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><br /></div><span data-offset-key="3cigk-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span></div></div>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1781966654378488643.post-53012999596116086442021-10-12T19:16:00.006-07:002022-09-28T11:36:28.552-07:00Exclusive: Will the Microbiome Save us All?<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span><span style="font-family: "Georgia", serif;">I<span style="font-family: georgia;">nnovative San Diego
biotech company is showing that microbes, which can now be identified in a
blood test, can detect cancer at early stages</span></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBkigi8EFpkbm4KnFRa46wyc5ifYnBd1Q7xp14-aQao4IQfoDc34ahq0sIofUTg-bOqnpgS-isMrmZY_cNCfP1DBrEFJUgNW8bseVrkELimRzGhGCXiiCGBlWdyM6IIFLfgRXMriG-i8/s2048/Founders+photo+micronoma.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1594" data-original-width="2048" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBkigi8EFpkbm4KnFRa46wyc5ifYnBd1Q7xp14-aQao4IQfoDc34ahq0sIofUTg-bOqnpgS-isMrmZY_cNCfP1DBrEFJUgNW8bseVrkELimRzGhGCXiiCGBlWdyM6IIFLfgRXMriG-i8/w468-h364/Founders+photo+micronoma.JPG" width="468" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Micronoma co-founders: Greg Poore, Sandrine Miller-Montgomery and Rob Knight</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">One of the newest and most promising developments in cancer research is the use of state-of-the-art blood tests to detect cancer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">It may sound counter-intuitive, but blood tests have never been especially helpful in detecting cancer. Ironically, not even blood cancers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I speak from experience. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">As a three-time survivor of stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, my initial blood tests were virtually normal. More invasive tests, including surgical biopsies, revealed widespread cancer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">But that scenario is beginning to change. <br /><br />Companies such as StageZero Life Sciences, Cleveland Diagnostics, Exact Sciences, GRAIL and others are showing in multiple trials and in the clinic that cancer can be detected in its early stages via biomarkers found in the blood. <br /><br />This is potentially game-changing for patients, for multiple reasons. It will likely mean earlier and far less invasive detection, as well as far less invasive treatment. Or perhaps no treatment at all besides potentially a localized surgery. <br /><br />This could have an especially profound impact on adolescents and young adults who are most often diagnosed with later stages of cancer than any other age group. <br /><br />Among the most interesting and promising of these companies is Micronoma. Originating at the University of California San Diego, Micronoma is the only company that is leveraging the body’s microbiome to detect early-stage cancer. <br /><br />Most companies in the so-called liquid biopsy space seek a molecular signature coming from within the cancer or some fragment of its DNA in the blood. <br /><br />But Micronoma is focused on the microbiome, the vast collection of microbes -- bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses – mostly beneficial, that live inside your body and mine. <br /><br />While initially known to be found primarily in our gut and on our skin, these microbes can also be found in our mouths, tissues, stools and, yes, the blood -- even when we’re healthy. And in each of these locations, even within one individual the composition of these communities will differ. <br /><br />Sandrine Miller-Montgomery, Micronoma’s CEO, told The Reno Dispatch that microbes in the blood can be used to detect cancer thanks to microbial biomarkers, which are characteristics of the tumor that you can utilize to identify the progress of a condition or disease. <br /><br />When analyzed properly, she said, these microbial biomarkers can reveal cancer, even at stage I of the disease. <br /><br />I’m not a scientist, but this feels to me like a no-brainer. Why wouldn't there be clues about cancer in the microbiome? After all, the gut has been called the “center of the human body’s immune system.” <br /><br />Two years ago, Newsweek reported that the gut contains “60 to 70 percent” of the body's immune cells. <br /><br />There’s been a growing interest in the link between circulating microbiome signatures and early cancer detection since Micronoma’s publication last year in Nature.<br /><br />“Our team came together at a time when computer science, microbiome knowledge and sequencing were all reaching a peak, while costs were going down,” said Miller-Montgomery. <br /><br />“There was a clear clinical need and we had a validated hypothesis, so the time was right for us to harness the tumor-associated circulating microbiome to make a difference in the lives of many.” <br /><br />Margaret McFall-Ngai, director of the pacific biosciences research center at the University of Hawaii at Manda, noted at the 1st Microbiome Center Consortium in June 2019 that microbes were on the planet millions of years before us. <br /><br />“The same way that knowledge of the universe moved from geocentric to heliocentric, it may be time for the scientific community to realize that microbiome is not something that should be put on the back burner to better understand our health and diseases,” she said. <br /><br />Micronoma recently announced a collaboration with University of New South Wales, Sydney (UNSW) on a $4 million grant from the Australian Government to fund research into hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of primary liver cancer. <br /><br />The collaboration, led by associate professor Amany Zekry and professor Emad El-Omar from UNSW medicine & health, will enable the development of microbial-based biomarkers powered by artificial intelligence for early detection of liver cancer. <br /><br />Micronoma's chief scientific officer, Eddie Adams, joins the UNSW project as a co-principal investigator on the grant. <br /><br />This research will use machine learning to examine thousands of microbiome plasma features to discover, validate, and translate microbial-derived biomarkers for the early detection of HCC. <br /><br />“Micronoma is currently the only cancer diagnostic company in the world that uses microbial DNA signatures in the blood (mb-DNA) to detect early-stage cancer," Zekry said in a press statement. <br /><br />"Their minimally invasive microbiome-driven liquid biopsy approach is focused on detecting early-stage lung cancer and will provide valuable expertise in establishing an HCC-related microbiome platform.” <br /><br />The diagnostic implications of microbiome markers in liquid and tissue biopsies are extensive. <br /><br />“It has the great potential to prevent unnecessary suffering caused by later-stage cancer diagnosis, as well as potentially enabling personalized and less invasive treatments at the earliest stages of cancer,” said Miller-Montgomery. <br /><br />“Cancer is a disease that is affecting all of us either directly or indirectly through a family member. The team is working relentlessly to ensure that we can help reduce the burden of this disease on all of our loved ones.”<br /></span><br /></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Jamie Renohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07503392544496379634noreply@blogger.com0