IMPORTANT COMMENTS

Would you believe:  These two little kids are mothers now.

As many of you know, I get many leads that result in blogs from Google Alerts.  I get one every day, day in day out, no matter where I am or what I am trying to do.  (For instance, helping Paul Kelly track down and harvest his big moose recently cost me seven Alerts).  When I get too far behind I panic and begin skimming, looking for news I should not ignore.  In the process, though, I often find articles that deserve to be shared, but probably don’t merit a blog of their own.  Lately I have resorted to attaching these news-fragments to previous blogs, by way of the Comment process.  Unfortunately, most of you don’t get informed of new Comments – Blogger only gives me a choice of ten emails to be alerted.  (Unless, of course, you are a “Follower”.  Followership is a mystery to me, and apparently to most others, too, because there seem to be only three Followers of this blog.  If you know how to get Followership status, please let me know – and I will publicize it.)  However, in the meantime, here is a list of Comments that have important content, all from the last few weeks.

How to get your chemo

http://ljb-quiltcutie.blogspot.com/2015/08/intraperitoneal-chemotherapy.html?showComment=1442004381731#c35502648862357424

More on hereditary BRCA and OVCA

http://www.clinicaladvisor.com/web-exclusives/multigene-tests-can-change-hereditary-breast-ovarian-cancer-management/article/432712/

CRISPR

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21661799-it-now-easy-edit-genomes-plants-animals-and-humans-age-red-pen

On the meaning of dancer statistics

http://ljb-quiltcutie.blogspot.com/2015/05/survival-vs-cure.html?showComment=1438971633051#c6181785561899624464

A clever new therapy (possibly) in the works
http://www.oncologynurseadvisor.com/web-exclusives/advance-in-photodynamic-therapy-offers-new-approach-to-ovarian-cancer/article/438197/

Reading some of these may be a suitable mental antacid to follow tonight's “Debate”.

More Comments (added later):

About hereditary breast and ovarian cancer
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/299413.php

About testing for ovarian cancer
http://ljb-quiltcutie.blogspot.com/2015/09/to-avoid-cleaning-lady.html?showComment=1443460556696#c1461427845118415457

Genetic counseling, 
http://ljb-quiltcutie.blogspot.com/2015/09/to-avoid-cleaning-lady.html?showComment=1445036066384#c6318035315186688946

Big Pharma gets into the testing game

http://www.investorideas.com/news/2015/biotech/10151.asp

If you have cancer, antioxidants may not be good for you.
http://www.newsweek.com/antioxidants-may-lead-cancer-spread-study-says-384528

OVCA, BRCA, familial proclivities, and other stuff
http://www.dentistryiq.com/articles/2015/11/familial-cancer-risk-assessment-breast-and-ovarian-cancer.html 

New article on immunotherapy.  Informative, easy to read, but a bit discouraging:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cancer-immunotherapy-the-cutting-edge-gets-sharper/

Report on a (very insubstantial) study of the effect of diet on ovarian cancer.  Applies most directly to African-American women, but should (if true) apply to other races as well:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/aafc-hdm111115.php

I am still trying to really understand CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, because I am certain this technology will pay huge health dividends down the road.  This morning, rather than scrape ancient bacon grease off the grill, I sat down to waste time at my computer – and I discovered this article:

http://gizmodo.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-crispr-the-new-tool-1702114381

Finally, it seems, somebody has written about CRISPR in a manner suited to all of us without Ph.D. degrees in molecular genetics.  Give it a read.

 

The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund is supporting an OVCA “Dream Team”.  Elizabeth Swisher, M.D., of UW. (and, to some extent, Fred Hutch) is one of two co-leaders.  Their work involves epigenetic markers.  I will attempt to follow up.

http://www.ocrf.org/ovarian-cancer-research/dreamteam

 

Here is a NYTimes article that helps  account for differences in drug pricing.  Why, for example, can you go on an aspirin regimen for $10/year but need to fork over $100,000/year for many new anti-cancer drugs.  Bottom line:  it’s not entirely greed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/upshot/how-to-decrease-prices-for-an-expensive-class-of-drugs.html?ref=health&_r=0