Incredulous. Astounding. Unanticipated.

Those were my initial thoughts when I had a moment to read the two reports released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the use of tanning beds and sunburn/sun protective behaviors.

I was completely unprepared for the results of the studies. And I am supposed to know this stuff.

As I mentioned in one of the interviews published on the topic, the information contained in those studies raised my concern and passion about the topic to a new level. And if you are aware of this issue, it should raise your concerns as well. If the trends on tanning bed use and failure to engage in sun safe behaviors continue, we could be in for a serious problem regarding skin cancer and melanoma in years to come.

Now we have information from the CDC that the situation is worse than many of us thought.More...

As I write this, I am returning from a trip to Los Angeles where I participated yesterday in a panel discussion on the topic of cancer prevention and early detection. The occasion was the 2012 Global Conference sponsored by the Milken Institute. (If you are not familiar with this conference, it is probably one of the premier finance and investing conferences in the country, if not the world. And the luminaries in attendance--both as attendees and speakers--were a testament to the influence of the Institute and its founder, Michael Milken.)

I was on this panel through an invitation from the Melanoma Research Alliance and its chief executive, Wendy Selig, a former colleague of mine when she was at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.  Other participants included Dr. Stephen Gruber, who is the recently appointed director for the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center in Los Angeles, Dr. Sancy Leachman who is the director of melanoma and cutaneous oncology at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, and Sherry Lansing who is the CEO of a foundation of the same name and a well-known cancer research advocate (she is very well known in the entertainment industry as the former head of Paramount Pictures and one of the people who conceived of Stand Up To Cancer which has done much to transform the landscape of cancer research in this country).

What made this event more interesting was that the audience was made up of those same financial and investing folks I mentioned above. As you might imagine, almost all the sessions were devoted to topics very relevant to their professional interests. The topic of the session I participated in was a bit off the usual target of the meeting. This session was not about investing--it was about health. I must admit that I was surprised at the number of attendees who joined us for our discussion, and even more pleasantly surprised that they remained engaged throughout our 90 minutes.

In what would have otherwise been a fairly typical recitation of facts about how cancer prevention and early detection can reduce the burden and suffering from cancer, a theme emerged: we as professionals are not doing our best in clarifying our advice about the prevention and early detection of cancer through cancer screening.

When you are sitting in a room with some very intelligent people realizing that our lack of clarity and conflicting recommendations on advising people what they need to do about their health, you begin to understand that we are facing a dilemma that could have a significant impact on how successful we are going to be in getting people to take action to reduce the risk of cancer or finding it early. More...

Lessons in life rarely come at us with lights flashing and horns blaring. Such was the situation recently when I was attending a luncheon in Portland OR for some of our Strides Against Breast Cancer volunteers.

He was not a flashy gentleman. Most of the attendees were young women, and the conversation was very animated. He was more reserved. Older, gray hair with a worn baseball cap, jeans and a work shirt. A bit taciturn but  pleasant, and he had made a special effort to be there. Clearly he was in some personal discomfort and I realized that he needed to talk.

Without going into all of the details, his wife had died from breast cancer. Obviously, they had been partners for life and her loss was painful. In a sense, he appeared to have dealt with that as well as one can "deal" after the loss of someone sorely loved. As I have said for many years, the sad reality is that when we love we always know that sometime in that love there will be intense loss, and that the loss is never the end of the journey.

We talked a bit and the messages arrived. There were lessons he wanted me to hear, and they weren't entirely positive. More...

One of the things I enjoy about what I get to do every day--besides working for a wonderful organization, committed volunteers and very special colleagues--is that I am able to get a broad overview of the world of cancer research, diagnosis and treatment, among other topics. Over time, one gets to incorporate that input into a larger vision of where we have been, where we are and where we are headed.

Sometimes that "larger vision" is challenged with new information that makes you think a bit about whether you need to readjust your thinking about the state of cancer research and treatment. Recently I attended a meeting where just such a challenge occurred.

The meeting was convened by the Institute of Medicine, and brought together stakeholders to be informed and discuss the current status of genomics and drug discovery in cancer. To a more specific point, it provided insights from a variety of viewpoints on the current status of genomics as a science and how that science and knowledge will be translated to the care of patients, with the obvious goal of reducing the burden and suffering from cancer.

What I heard--while reinforcing some of my usually optimistic thoughts--actually was troubling. As we look to the future of that translation, it was clear (at least to some of the presenters) we are headed for some speed bumps. How we handle those speed bumps could define the progress we make in cancer treatment over the next decade or even longer. More...

I have a confession to make:

As soon as I finished reading the Annual Report to the Nation yesterday as I was preparing to write my blog, I got up from my desk and took a walk for 20 minutes.

What, might you ask, compelled me to do this?

The answer is what made me take a walk is the same reason I am writing this follow-up commentary to yesterday's blog: Sitting at my desk all day may kill me. It may be doing the same for you. More...

The "Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer" was released this afternoon as has been the case every year since the first report was issued in 1998. And, like many of the reports previously, we are fortunate to continue to see declines in the rates of deaths for many cancers along with a decrease in the frequency of some cancers.

However, the news is not all good.

Unfortunately, the incidence of some cancers continues to increase. And, as explained very clearly in this excellent report, this nation continues to suffer from an epidemic of overweight, obesity and physical activity that the authors suggest-but don't actually say-has the potential to overcome the favorable impact of declining smoking and tobacco use on cancer incidence and deaths. The implication is clear that if we don't do something-and do something quickly-to reverse the trend we will see incidence and deaths from certain cancers continue to increase in the future.

And I would stress the point that it is no longer just being oversized that increases your risk of cancer, but also sitting all day on the job (like I am doing right now) as another factor that plays into your cancer risk, independent of how large or small you may be. More...

I had the opportunity yesterday to attend the event marking the release of the 31^st Surgeon General's report on tobacco and smoking.

What struck me about this report-which focuses on tobacco use in youth and young adults--is that although we have made progress in the tobacco wars, we presently seem to be in a holding action. We are not making advances in reducing the incidence of smoking and use of smokeless tobacco products, although we are all well aware of their risks and harms.

The fundamental question remains: Although we have a pretty good idea of what works, when are we going to start reinvigorating our efforts to reduce the use of these killer products among our children?

As I have said many times before, tobacco is the one product readily and legally available in the United States that when used as intended will kill half the people who use it. 443,000 deaths a year, 1200 a day, $96 billion each year in direct medical costs and $97 billion in lost productivity. Those, my friends, are big numbers. And they are not just numbers: they are people. They are the people we love, the people we know, the people we work with. More...

Sometimes you have the opportunity to be educated, or to learn a bit more about a topic of importance. Yesterday was one of those opportunities.

Attending a meeting (as an observer) of the National Cancer Institute Director's Consumer Liaison Group on the issue of cancer drug shortages, there were some messages delivered that provided a bit more clarity surrounding a very complex problem. And there were messages delivered that had even me sit up and take notice, and frame the seriousness and depth of the problems that confront patients, their families and those who treat them. The observations were--to say the least--very unsettling. More...

Does it get much worse than this?

A story in the New York Times last week highlights the dwindling supply of the drug methotrexate, which is vital in the treatment of a form of childhood acute leukemia. The closure in November of a key manufacturing plant-without other readily available sources of the drug-means that children with a very treatable form of leukemia may go without a drug that can make a difference in their lives. And there are no immediately obvious solutions to the problem.

This is-unfortunately-only the latest chapter in a saga that has been unfolding over the past year. For a variety of reasons, the supplies of vital drugs necessary to treat cancer and other diseases have been in various periods of short supply, and we as a nation have been unable to find answers that make sense.

Maybe, just maybe, it's time to take the actions necessary to deal with the problem. Too many lives are at stake to expect otherwise. More...

It's Groundhog Day, and that means millions of people will focus their attention on a furry little creature in Punxsutawney PA to see whether or not the animal sees its shadow. Breaking news bulletins say that he did, so we have six more weeks of winter to look forward to.

I--on the other hand--think there is a greater significance to Groundhog Day. It is the day when I check on my own shadow, and determine whether or not I have kept my commitment to keeping my weight steady during the past year, which has proven to be a difficult accomplishment. The answer this year is mostly yes, partly no.

A brief history:

A couple of years ago I took a look at my weight charts for the past decade (yes, Virginia, there are some of us who do that). What I saw disturbed me: for the three previous years, my weight would go down in January and February when I would rigorously diet, only to rise over the remaining months of the year. And, on top of that, when I looked back I saw that both the peaks and valleys were becoming higher and higher, so that each year my weight at the bottom of the trough was higher, and so was the peak in December. And that, my friends, would not suggest a healthy outcome.

So I dubbed this observation my "Groundhog Day Diet," based on the Bill Murray film of the same name. You may remember the picture: Murray relives Groundhog Day every day until he gets it right. Much like Mr. Murray, I decided that I would get it right by not going through the same cycle year after year.

Finally, this year I met with some success: I did gain some weight, but the peak was lower. And the numbers on the scale were steadier over the course of the year. I partly accomplished my goal. Where I missed was that I still weigh too much, just like lots of you. And, as any good doctor would tell you, over time weight takes its toll on things like our joints, our blood pressure, our cholesterol, you name it. More...