FUTURE EVENTS

NEW! Silver Lining in collaboration with Central Church has a support meeting the second Wednesday of the month. Next meeting: October 12 will feature a guest speaker, Chanu Dasari, MD. He will speak on the role of nutrition in cancer and other chronic diseases with a focus on phytonutrients. Dr. Dasari is a surgeon, author, and researcher with a local practice.

ANNOUNCING Silver Lining support group in HENDERSON. Next meeting, October 20th, 2022! This group is open to all cancer patients and their caregivers, both men and women. We meet on the third Thursday of the month. Time: 6:30 p.m. Place: 130 N. Pecos Rd; Henderson, NV 89074 at St. Thomas More Catholic Church. (Note: Not affiliated with any church.) QUESTIONS? Email: Bev.SilverLining@gmail.com

MEET-UP AND SUPPORT GROUP!

Las Vegas Breast Cancer Warriors is a local group, featuring monthly weekend meet-ups for lunch and/or a yoga class as well as a support group on Facebook. Being able to connect with others who understand what you’re going through can be very helpful. Times and restaurants change monthly, so join the Facebook group, Las Vegas Breast Cancer Warriors to find meetups.  

CANCER RESEARCH IN THE NEWS

Laser Destroys Cancer Cells Circulating in the Blood

Researchers used lasers to detect and destroy tumor cells in the veins of patients with melanoma.

Tumor cells that spread cancer via the bloodstream face a new foe: a laser beam, shined from outside the skin, that finds and kills these metastatic little demons on the spot.

In a study published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers revealed that their system accurately detected these cells in 27 out of 28 people with cancer, with a sensitivity that is about 1,000 times better than current technology. The research team was also able to kill a high percentage of the cancer-spreading cells, in real time, as they raced through the veins of the participants. 

If developed further, the tool could give doctors a harmless, noninvasive, and thorough way to hunt and destroy such cells before those cells can form new tumors in the body. “This technology has the potential to significantly inhibit metastasis progression,” says Vladimir Zharov, director of the nanomedicine center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, who led the research.

Full article at: https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/diagnostics/laser-destroys-cancer-cells-circulating-in-the-blood?

Oolong Tea Extract May Stave off Breast Cancer

By Ana Sandoiu

New research finds that oolong tea can damage breast cancer cells and that people who consume large amounts of this tea have a lower risk of developing breast cancer. Chunfa Huang, Ph.D., an associate research professor at Saint Louis University in Missouri, led the new research.

Huang and team examined the effect of oolong tea extract on six breast cancer cell lines, which included ER-positive, PR-positive, HER2-positive, and triple-negative breast cancer cells. The extracts of green and oolong tea stopped the growth of all types of breast cancer cell.

Huang and team conclude: "Oolong tea, same as green tea, can induce DNA damage and cleavage, play an inhibitory role in breast cancer cell growth, proliferation, and tumorigenesis, and [it has] great potential as a chemo-preventive agent against breast cancer."

Full article at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324255.php

New drug brings unexpected hope in targeting cancer cells

  Source: Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute

An unexpected finding in pre-clinical platelet studies by Baker Institute researchers could provide a novel approach to targeting and destroying difficult-to-treat cancer cells, providing new therapeutic options for a range of cancers.

This latest finding, published in the journal Theranostics, was discovered while studying activated platelets in the setting of heart disease and may now prove useful for delivering targeted treatment to cancer cells without major side effects.

Early detection of cancer is crucial for successful therapy. However, some cancer types do not have specific cancer surface markers that can be used to detect them and even the same cancer type can exhibit different properties in different patients.

Full article at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190208082200.htm

Airbnb  announces partnership with the Cancer Support Community

Through this collaboration, the Airbnb community will provide free housing for cancer patients and caregivers, if they meet certain geographic and income criteria. Please call 1-877-793-0498 or visit their page for more information and to apply. http://bit.ly/2Ww2QyD

What Your Blood Tells You About Cancer

BY ALICE PARK   

Blood tests can tell us a lot about what’s going on in our bodies—from whether we’re eating too much sugar to whether we’re harboring any infectious diseases. Scientists lately have been working on ways to use similar diagnostic tools for cancer, which have the potential to dramatically increase the amount of information doctors use to figure out the best treatments for their patients.

Called liquid biopsies, these tests are designed to pick up genetic material shed by cancer tumors into the blood, which lets doctors avoid the invasive procedures needed to extract samples directly from tumors. That advantage over tissue-based biopsies is especially important in cases where tumors are deeply embedded in internal organs, and hard to reach. For now, the blood-based tests are not used to screen for cancers in healthy people but to guide treatments in those who are already diagnosed. A biopsy, whether from the tissues or the blood, can provide genetic clues about the mutations that are driving the tumors, and can direct doctors to the best drugs for treating them.

https://time.com/5889982/cancer-liquid-biopsies/

FDA Scrutinizes Breast Implants

Many women who undergo mastectomy for breast cancer go on to receive breast implants as part of breast reconstruction. On March 19, the FDA sent warning letters to two breast implant manufacturers noting that they weren’t meeting post-approval study requirements. “We’re issuing these warning letters based on the manufacturers’ low recruitment, poor data, and low follow-up rates in their required post-approval studies,” said Scott Gottlieb, FDA commissioner, in a news release. This warning comes amid concerns about the safety of breast implants, reports the New York Times. Known risks of implants include tightening of tissue around the implant called capsular contracture, implant rupture and a rare form of cancer called anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Full article at: www.cancertodaymag.org/Pages/cancer-talk/March-22-The-Week-in-Cancer-News.aspx

Exercise Adds up to Big Brain Boosts

by Cognitive Neuroscience Society

In new work being presented at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society (CNS) in San Francisco, researchers are finding that brain changes that occur after a single workout are predictive of what happens with sustained physical training over time.

"There is a strong and direct link between physical activity and how your brain works," says Wendy Suzuki of New York University (NYU), who is chairing a symposium on the topic at CNS. "People still do not link physical health to brain and cognitive health; they think about fitting into a bikini, not about all the brain systems they are improving and enhancing every time they work out."

Multiple studies from the Experience Corps Program have found that the regular walking and other physical activity generated from the volunteering experience has resulted in improved memory and other cognitive functions, as well as changes to the prefrontal cortex that mirror those seen after 6 months of exercise in cognitively at-risk older adults.

Full article at: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-03-big-brain-boosts.html

“Exercise Before & After Breast Cancer Diagnosis Improves Survival, Reduces Recurrence Risk”  

Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Doing the minimum amount of recommended exercise per week—2.5 hours—both before and after being diagnosed with breast cancer with a high risk of recurrence is linked to better survival and a lower risk of recurrence, according to a study.

More and more research shows that exercise can reduce the risk of breast cancer coming back (recurrence) if you've been diagnosed, as well as the risk of developing breast cancer if you’ve never been diagnosed.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that adults should do at least 2.5 hours to 5 hours of exercise at moderate intensity per week; brisk walking is considered moderate intensity or 75 minutes to 2.5 hours of exercise at vigorous intensity per week; running or other high-intensity cardio is considered vigorous intensity.

Full article at: https://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/exercise-improves-survival-and-reduces-risk