Welcome to the Northern Ohio Breast Cancer Coalition...
Northern Ohio Breast Cancer Coalition Fund, a member of the National Breast Cancer Coalition, is a grassroots advocacy
organization created in 2000 by breast cancer survivors to promote and fund research, increase access to quality health care
and increase the influence of survivors in all aspects of eradicating breast cancer. In addition to advocacy, we also provide
education, referral services and financial assistance to breast cancer patients. We serve all of northern Ohio.
Get Involved! Join NOBCCF
Breast Cancer Blog
We'll make regular posts in our online breast blog discussing the latest news for breast cancer survivors
in Ohio...
Report Ranks Ohio Below Average in Cancer Care Quality
Ohio's health care quality is average to below average compared to other states and is well below average in cancer care
quality according to a new report from the U.S. Agency for Health Care Research & Quality.
The report, which is part of the NationalHealthcare Quality and Disparities Reports,
shows Ohio's overall health care quality score to be better than average in areas like end stage renal disease, HIV-AIDS deaths,
getting appointments for care for insured patients, heart disease prevention and care, and maternal and child care.
Ohio ranked worse than average for all cancer measures including mortality for breast, lung
and colorectal cancer, and had no measures of cancer care quality that were above average. Ohio ranked average in
diagnosis of late stage breast cancer. The state quality care was also below average for diabetes care, getting
timely appointments for Medicaid and Medicare patients. and vaccinations for flu and pneumonia for elderly adults and
avoidable hospitalization for influenza.
Ohio has many states it can learn from states like Michigan, Minnesota, California, New York, Texas, Nebraska and
others who all have average to above average quality for cancer care.
Breast Cancer Research Program Success in the House
Breast cancer advocates were successful again in gaining support in the House of Representatives for $150 million in
funding for the FY '09 Breast Cancer Research Program. We were successful in getting 213 signatures
of House members on the "Dear Colleague" letter in support of BCRP funding for next year.
Those of you in Ohio who made calls in support, we and National Breast Cancer Coalition are very grateful and appreciate
your hard work. (For those who haven't made phone calls - what are you waiting for?)
We need you to call and thank the following Ohio legislators who signed the letter:
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-10th)
US House of Representatives
2445 Rayburn House Bldg Washington, DC 20515 (202) 225-5871
Rep. Charlie Wilson (D - 6th)
US House of Representatives
226 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 ph: (202) 225-5705
Rep. Betty Sutton (D-13th)
US House of Representatives
524 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 (202) 224-3353
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-17th)
US House of Representatives
1421 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 p: 202-225-5261
Now that we've had success in the House, we must take the same energy and momentum to the Senate! As of today, only 15
Senators have signed on. The deadline for getting signatures is Monday, April 7th.
Fortunately, long time BCRP supporter Senator Sherrod Brown has already signed the "Dear Colleague" letter.
Please take a moment to call or send him a fax and thank him for signing:
Senator Sherrod Brown
455 Russell Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 p (202) 224-2315
Next, call Senator George Voinovich and ask him to sign the Senate "Dear Colleague" letter.
Your message is:
"I urge you to show your support for ending breast cancer by signing the letter to the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee
calling for $150 million in appropriations for the DOD Peer-Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program for FY 2009. "
Senator George Voinovich
524 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 (202) 224-3353
Please call 440-717-9912 if you have questions. Please also provide feedback. Thanks!
Nearly $25 million in DoD Breast Cancer Research funding has been awarded to Ohio researchers
to date.
This Thursday, March 27, PBS begins its groundbreaking 7 part documentary exploring racial and socioeconomic inequalities
in health. The series explores how the United States spends twice as much as other wealthy nations on health care per person,
yet has one of the worst disease outcomes of any industrialized nation. The United States has become a nation of great
socioeconomic inequity in health outcomes, with each step down the ladder of income revealing progressively worse life expectancies.
In spite of tremendous breakthroughs in research and treatments, the US has fallen from 14th in life expectancy in 1980
to 29th in 2007. This series examines how social and income inequalities contribute just as much as diet, smoking and
exercise to life expectancy. The documentary hopes to educate Americans and get them invovled in promoting economic
justice and racial equality to change the system and allow all Americans to have equal opportunites to live healthy lives.
Unnatural Causes will be presented locally on WVIZ/PBS Channel 25 in Cleveland and WEAO/WNEO - Akron
on Thursday at 10 pm. Check the web site at the link below for PBS schedules elsewhere in Ohio.
Breast cancer patients enrolled in SSDI or SSI disability programs were once faced strict limits on employment earnings
and often faced loss of Medicaid coverage.
Ohio has revised its Medicaid program, effective March 20, 2008, to allow workers considered disabled to earn as much
as 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines and still "buy into" Medicaid coverage.
Now, breast cancer patients and other disbled workers can earn a reasonable income and still be able to have Medicaid
coverage. Check the link below for more information about the program.
Don't forget to give us some feedback on how the new program works for you.
A lower total dose of radiotherapy, delivered in fewer, larger treatments has been shown to be as effective as the international
standard of a higher total dose delivered over a longer time to treat women with early breast cancer – according to new research
published in the Lancet and Lancet Oncology today. This confirms long-held beliefs of cancer specialists in the UK who have been using shorter schedules for many years
Legislative Alert! $150 million for DoD Breast Cancer Research Program
Its time once again to ask our Ohio senators and representatives in Congress to sign the "Dear Colleague" letter
in support of $150 million in FY 2009 for the DoD Breast Cancer Research Program.
Please take the time to call Sen.
Sherrod Brown, who has signed the letter in the past and helped get funding.
Also call your Representative and ask
them to sign the letter, too.
Here is your message:
"I urge you to show your support for ending breast
cancer by signing the letter to the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee calling for $150 million in appropriations for the
DOD Peer-Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program for FY 2009."
For those of you living in Rep. Dennis Kucinich's
district, say THANK YOU! since he has already signed the letter!
To find your representative and for phone numbers
to our senators and Congresspersons offices, click on the "Advocacy" button on the menu at left.
Please call
NOBCCF at 440-717-9912 if you have questions or to report any news! Now make those calls today!
Since reading about this topic a few years ago and hearing more about it at the 2006 SABCS, I've found this area of study to be very interesting with respect to unraveling how changes outside breast cell DNA can trigger changes in
a process called DNA methylation that lead to cancer. IOW, the environment surrounding your DNA can cause
genetic mutations that lead to development of cancer (docs, correct me if I have this wrong).
Because epigenetic regulation is also present in embryonic development - influencing embryonic stem cells to develop
into a human body - they also play a role in development of cancer stem cells that develop into tumors. Its an interesting
area of study that could lead to new developments in treatment, understanding cancer recurrence and also in
early detection.
A recent study shows that DNA methylation occurs very rapidly in breast cancer cells in response to hormones like estrogen
or drug compounds. From the linked article:
"EMBL researchers of the group of Frank Gannon, current director of the Science Foundation Ireland, now found out that
methylation marks occur rapidly in breast cancer cells in response to hormones such as estrogen or drug compounds. Estrogen
withdrawal or treatment with the established anticancer drug doxorubicin cause the methyl groups to be removed from regulatory
regions of specific genes within tens of minutes in human breast cancer cells. The treatment sets off a whole cycle of events:
initial demethylation renders silent genes active and subsequent remethylation shuts them down again. This cycle repeats itself
every 1.5 hours.
"We observed that unlike assumed for a long time methylation can act on a very short timescale. The results challenge
our understanding of epigenetics as a means to regulate gene expression permanently," says Sara Kangaspeska, who carried out
the research together with Brenda Stride. "
Interesting stuff, I hope it leads to more developments...
High Estrogen Levels Linked to Breast Cancer Recurrence
New data from a case-controlled study of breast cancer survivors in the Women's Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) study
comparing survivors who, after seven years had a recurrence of their breast cancer with a matched group who did not have
recurrence. Two thirds of the groups were using tamoxifen.
When comparing the recurrence vs non-recurrence groups, researchers found survivors in the recurrence group had more
than twice the level of circulating estrogen (estradiol) in their systems than the no-recurrence group. In other words, higher
levels of estradiol significantly predicted cancer recurrence, even among women who were taking tamoxifen.
Newly Diagnosed: Helpful Link for Personalized Treatment
One of the greatest innovations in breast cancer has been the development of "genomic" testing - the science of examining
the genetic profile of breast tumors. The OncotypeDX test allows patients with ER/PR+ tumors to find the likelihood of
recurrence based on their tumor's individual profile, helping them to decide whether they can forgo chemotherapy.
With NBCC, we've been working for the past year in helping accrue patients for the TailoRx trial, to study the benefits of chemotherapy plus hormonal therapy vs hormonal therapy alone for women at moderate to high risk
of recurrence.
Another helpful tool for women considering the test is Genomic Health's web site www.MyTreatmentDecision.com. It answers many questions about the OncotypeDx test and includes stories from women who have tried it.
Give it a try or recommend it to anyone you know who has been newly diagnosed with breast cancer.
News stories state the National Cancer Institute will study the efficacy of Tykerb and Herceptin in treating Her-2 positive breast
cancer, a type of breast cancer that affects 20-30% of all breast cancer patients.
The Phase III trial ALTTO (Adjuvant Lapatinib and/or Trastuzumab Treatment Optimization) will be led by Edith Perez of the Mayo Clinic in
Jacksonville, FL and about 300 facilities worldwide will enroll patients. It will enroll between 200 and 300 patients
monthly and will end in 2011. After being randomized to receive either Tykerb or Herceptin, they will be followed for
a year. Questions the study will be asking are: Is one of the treatments more effective when taken alone? Which
treatment is safer for patient use? And is there any benefit in taking them alone, in succession or together?
It is hoped the study will follow patients longer than one year to provide follow up data to determine survival as well
as mortality and to measure long term toxic side effects.
