Filed under: Breast Cancer , Research Here's an opportunity for you to share your personal breast cancer experiences, and help further research too. Molly, a college student at BYU, has launched a national research project aimed at examining the relationship between couple leisure satisfaction and marital satisfaction of couples in which one spouse has breast cancer. Molly and her study partner Dr. Ramon Zabriskie hope to identify new avenues for cost effective intervention targeted at improving the quality of life for adult cancer patients and their spouses. Both the cancer patient and spouse/partner will be asked to complete a short online questionnaire. No identifying information is required, and all responses will be kept confidential. If you would like to participate in Molly's study, click here . Spread the word too -- the more participants, the merrier. Thanks to my breast cancer surviving friend Adriene for this tip!

Filed under: Drug , Prevention , Research , Daily news , Anal cancer It's not yet clear if the drug Gardasil, the vaccine intended to prevent the human papillomavirus (HPV) in females, is effective for men. But some men are signing up for the chance to take the drug. Gay and bisexual men in San Francisco are asking their doctors for the vaccine with hopes it will prevent anal and penile cancer, also caused by HPV. "The prevalence of anal cancer among gay and bisexual men is very high," says Jason Riggs, spokesman for the STOP AIDS Project. "So that's why some people are looking at this as a possible preventive cure for anal cancer and HPV that causes anal cancer." Anal cancer occurs among gay and bisexual men at a rate 35 times higher than that of the general population. And it occurs more in those infected with HIV.

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Young Adult Cancers , Cancer Survivors Unique Issues of Lesbian and Bisexual Cancer Survivors is a panel discussion hosted by the Young Survival Coalition and The Mautner Project . It is a free national teleconference to discuss the unique and various ways a cancer diagnosis affects young lesbian and bisexual women.

Filed under: Breast Cancer , Pink products , Celebrity fundraisers , Products Munchkin, a company offering infant and toddler products that excite, delight and make life easier for mothers and fathers, has launched the Project Pink campaign to support mothers in their fight against breast cancer. "One out of every eight women faces the risk of breast cancer in her lifetime, and I know from personal experience that the disease can strike even young mothers with no family history of breast cancer, as it did my wife last year," said Doug Gillespie, Vice President of Marketing at Munchkin, Inc. "Munchkin is determined to do what we can to offer a helpful resource to the amazing moms who continue to nurture their families while they battle this disease." On the special Project Pink area of the company website, you can read tips and stories from mothers facing breast cancer; order a limited edition pink duck; send a pink ducky eCard; enter the Project Pink sweepstakes to win a family vacation and view the celebrity decorated ducks for auction. Beginning October 2nd, charity auction bidding begins on the fabulous pink ducks glamourously decorated by eBay President and CEO Meg Whitman, Former First Lady Barbara Bush; ABC's Dancing with the Stars Stacy Keibler; West Wing Emmy Award winner Allison Janney; Martin Sheen; Access Hollywood Nancy O'Dell; singer Patti LaBelle; actress Reese Witherspoon; Curb Your Enthusiasm Cheryl Hines and everyone's favorite actor who has gone where no man has gone before William Shatner. Munchkin has invited women to share tips and stories to help mothers in facing the struggles of breast cancer. The advice is practical and real. A sampling of suggestions include:

• Kathy of Pittsburgh, PA advises, "Get meals brought in by anyone who offers even if you don't think they can cook!"
• Christina N. of Boston, MA advises, "Don't be afraid to have the kids see you bald or sick. You're better off talking it through than having the kids be horrified and not telling you."
• Jen G of Des Moines, IA shares, "We had a pajama party for my mother to lift her and our spirits. We even danced to the Time Warp, wore funny hats, ordered pizza, and drank wine."

While visiting Munchkin's Project Pink, enter to win a free family vacation to Los Angeles. No purchase necessary to enter to win. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) decided to include lung adenocarcinoma as one of the three cancer tissue types in its first ever pilot project to catalogue changes in human cancers. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) pilot project is expected to take three years. The goal of the pilot project is to sequence the genome of lung cancer. This research will tell us how mistakes in a cell's genetic instructions lead to lung cancer, how to prevent it from spreading and how to prevent recurrence.

Filed under: Events , Fundraisers World Cancer Research Fund is one of five charities involved in The One Million Masterpiece global art project that is attempting to reflect the true view of our global society by inviting one million people to work on one single piece of art. Each person will contribute one piece to the work of art. No one knows if it will end as a patchwork of a million small squares of artwork, or a larger picture will emerge that cannot be predicted ahead of time. One million images to make one global masterpiece. Each person who signs up will create an image online. It can correspond to an adjacent piece of art or be singular and separate in creation. In of itself the project is intriguing but it has been launched to serve a greater purpose -- to benefit five charities. One of the charities is the World Cancer Research Fund's Global Network, a network of organizations funding research into dietary patterns of different cultures and how they relate to development of various cancers throughout the world. You can view the pieces of art as they are coming together at The One Million Masterpiece -- and quite possibly become one of one million artists working on a serendipitous creation of global proportion. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments

Filed under: Chemotherapy , Liver Cancer , Eye Cancer , Pregnancy and cancer , Products The Northwest Arkansas Morning News is featuring a story about Nicole Young, and her new non-profit Message In A Bottle project, that is providing inspiration to cancer patients and their families with hand-written messages delivered in a bottle. Young, who is now 33, was first diagnosed with ocular melanoma, a rare eye cancer, three years ago while she was seven months pregnant. The diagnosis of cancer was made after she experienced blindness. Last fall, the doctors found tumors in her liver. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Young says she knows all about the emotional and physical pain that cancer patients and their families go through, and she came up with the idea of writing messages of inspiration and delivering them to patients and their families facing cancer as a way to bring happiness and hope. To date, Young has been delivering her messages in a bottle to local cancer patients but she hopes to be able to do this on a worldwide basis. To read more about Young, who at the age of 8, wrote, published and delivered the Lakeside News to neighbors featuring interviews, gossip and a comedy column, read Cancer Patient Bottles Inspiration . She needs help to make her messages in a bottle dream a worldwide reality. Read     Permalink     Email this     Linking Blogs     Comments