Dr. Len's Cancer Blog
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J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD, MACP - Dr. Lichtenfeld is Deputy
Chief Medical Officer for the national office of the American Cancer Society.
He directs the Society’s Cancer Control Science Department, which produces the
Society’s widely recognized guidelines for the prevention and early detection
of cancer and guidelines for nutrition and physical activity for cancer
survivors. Additionally, Dr. Lichtenfeld is a frequent spokesperson on a
variety of cancer-related subjects and serves as a liaison for the Society with
many professional and public organizations. More >>
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As I prepare to leave the office for a much needed two week vacation, I thought it would be interesting to glance back at the news of 2006 and pick out the stories that I think represent the “news of the year” in cancer research, treatment and other various topics.
This wasn’t some sort of scientific analysis. Simply, I reviewed my blog entries and my list of press notes in my email file to remind me which stories garnered the most interest or, in my opinion, had the most impact.
Not all of it is “news” in the traditional sense. But these stories do reflect what has happened over the past year, and include some personal musings.
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Sometimes you are taken a bit by surprise. When that happens to me, I have learned the "surprise" may not be what it appears to be.
Yesterday’s report that the incidence of breast cancer fell dramatically between 2002 and 2003 was one of those surprises.
Not that we weren’t aware that the incidence of breast cancer was either leveling off—or actually decreasing—but we were surprised at the magnitude of the change.
But what has me concerned is the rush to judgment by some experts and much of the media as to the explanation for this apparent welcomed news.
They are saying that this is in fact due to one factor: the decrease in the use of hormone replacement therapy.
I do not agree. There is something going on here that just doesn't add up.
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Thirty years ago, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) was not what we today would call a chronic disease. It was a disease that was initially simple to treat, but would progress over a couple of years to a much more severe illness that would most often not respond to treatment and would, in short order, lead to death. Many of the victims were young folks in the primes of their lives.
I still remember vividly a young patient of mine who, when told that his disease was progressing, committed suicide rather than consider going through intensive chemotherapy that had little chance of success in prolonging his life and no chance in providing a cure.
Today, in the New England Journal of Medicine, a research report reminds us that this disease is now not only treatable, but in fact has become a model for the future treatment of many cancers.
Chronic myelogenous leukemia is now truly a chronic disease.
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