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Education/Outreach
Free Prostate Screening Services For Houston, Texas - September 2008 TEX US TOO! Prostate Cancer Support Group HOUSTON, TEXAS, CHAPTER (member of Us TOO! International) Message from Tom Kirk, President and CEO of Us TOO: Subject: Phase III clinical trial seeking participants: ExAblate treatment of metastatic bone tumors for the palliation of pain As part of Us TOO's continued commitment to bring news of new interventions and treatments for the benefit of prostate cancer patients, I am pleased to share this news with you about a new ExAblate treatment of metastatic bone tumors for the palliation of pain.InSightec Ltd. is conducting an FDA approved phase III pivotal study(BM004) to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of ExAblate (MR guided Focused Ultrasound, MRgFUS) for the palliation of pain from metastatic bone tumors in patients who are not suitable candidates to receive additional radiation therapy. ExAblate MRgFUS uses (focused) ultrasound to treat tissue without surgical cutting (i.e. non-invasive procedure). The ExAblate use for the palliation of pain from bone metastases is experimental. The study hypothesis is that ExAblate is safe and effective in the treatment of pain resulting from metastatic bone tumors in patients that did not respond to radiation treatment or who are otherwise unsuitable for radiation treatment, with a low incidence of co-morbidity.This clinical trial is open for enrollment at study sites nationwide. Click Here http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00656305?term=exablate&rank=1 for a study summary and a list of participating sites. I hope you find this service useful. All the best to you and your family, Tom Kirk President & CEO Us TOO International
Bio of Speaker: Dr. Robert J. Cornell is a Board-Certified General Adult and Prosthetic Urology surgeon and a repeat speaker to our chapter. He is a graduate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, internship with Dr. Michael DeBakey’s Department of General Surgery and residency at Baylor College of Medicine, Scott Department of Urology NOTES AND QUOTESAnnual Dues to support the activities of Tex US TOO are voluntary but essential for the continuation of our chapter (suggested amount $30) and should be mailed to 12335 Kingsride, #237, Houston, TX 77024-4116. Tex Us TOO Outreach Report:
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: From: gerald chodak [mailto:gerald.chodak@gmail.com] Dear US TOO member: My name is Dr. Gerald Chodak, whom some of you may know because I write a regular column for the monthly US TOO hot sheet. I also formed the first US TOO chapter in the United States. I am writing to you because I have a created a unique educational website to help patients and families with prostate cancer. Unlike other websites, this one includes more than 60 relatively short videos that I made explaining every aspect of this disease. It is factual and evidence-based and does not tell patients one treatment is better than another unless good scientific studies provide support. New information is being added regularly including videos about health stories appearing in the news and media. The website also takes questions sent in by patients. The goal now is to make this information available to as many people as possible. For that reason I am asking you to make a brief announcement at your regular meetings to inform patients and family members about the website and invite them to check it out as I recommend for you as well. The website address is www.ProstateVideos.com. I have also attached a one-page description of the site that you could download and hang up on a bulletin board or show at your meetings. I greatly appreciate your help and based on feedback to date from others who have visited the site, patients and families will benefit greatly. Thank you. Sincerely, Gerald Chodak, M.D
Alternative Vaccine Strategy Shows Promise in Prostate Cancer Patients: Senior New, Waco, TX, October 2008. New Research indicates that giving patients a continuous low dose of an immune system booster, a method known as metronomic dosing, as part of a therapeutic prostate cancer vaccine strategy, is safe and produces similar immune responses and fewer side effects than the more common dosing method, which is not well tolerated by many patients. This study, led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, was published in the August 15, 2008, issue of “Clinical Cancer Research”. The patients received the same total amount of Interleukin-2 (IL-2) as in a previous study, but it was administered in smaller daily doses for 14 days of each 28-day treatment cycle. “Based on safety and feasibility, metronomic dosing appears to be superior to standard dosing and administration”, said James L. Gulley, M.D., Ph.D., of the NCI’s Center for Cancer Research. “More research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of this dosing method in treating prostate cancer”.
Recurrence After Prostatectomy: WRAM Us TOO, Inc. Walter Reed Army Medical Center Newsletter; Nov. 2008. Men with organ-confined prostate cancer and a Gleason score of 6 or less, very rarely have local or biochemical recurrence of disease five years after prostatectomy, according to Hernandez, et al, the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD. In a study of 2,526 such patients, there were 13 cases (0.5%) of biochemical recurrence and 5 cases (0.2%) of local recurrence after a median of 5 years of follow-up. Furthermore, there were no cases of distant metastases and there were no prostate cancer-specific deaths. The 5, 10 and 15 year actuarial probabilities of local recurrence were 0.1%, 0.5% and 0.5% respectively, and the corresponding probabilities of biochemical recurrence were 0.3%, 0.9% and 1.3%. The researchers concluded that their study demonstrated that when prostate cancer is treated by the anatomic approach to radical prostatectomy with negative surgical margins and the tumor is organ-confined and lacks high-grade elements, it is effectively cured. (Source: Urology 208; 72:172-176, via Reuters Health Information, August 11, 2008)
“I Know nothing grander, better exercise, better digestion, more positive proof of the past, the triumphant result of faith in human kind, than a well-contested …election” -- Walt Whitman
We welcome suggestions, criticisms, and contributions to this publication. This Is Your Newsletter. Please contact Manny Vazquez at (936) 597-6646, or by E-mail, at manny@consolidated.net - - TEX US TOO, 12335 Kingsride, #237, Houston, TX 77024-4116 (713) 623-4772 WEBSITES: Tex Us TOO www.texustoo.org The Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP), was established to "educate, inform, and empower patients, the public, medical and research professionals, the media and policymakers, about clinical research participation and what it means to be an active participant in the process." CISCRP, a non-profit organization, is not involved in recruiting patients for clinical trials nor is it involved in conducting clinical trials. http://www.accessexcellence.org/HHQ/clinical_trials/index.php- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MAIL TO: Tex US TOO, 12335 Kingsride #237, Houston, TX 77024-4116 NAME_____________________________________ EMail_______________________________ ADDRESS_________________________________________________________________________ PHONE______________________________ Chapter Dues_______ Receive newsletters by e-mail______ Help with Chapter events_______ We welcome suggestions, criticisms, and contributions to this publication. This Is Your Newsletter. Please contact Manny Vazquez at (936) 597-6646, or by E-mail, at manny@consolidated.net - - TEX US TOO, 12335 Kingsride, #237, Houston, TX 77024-4116 (713) 623-4772 WEBSITES: Tex Us TOO www.texustoo.org FREE PROSTATE SCREENING On an ongoing basis, M.D.Anderson Cancer Center does offer free prostate screenings every Tuesday. The appointments are limited to 10 patients each day and are held at 7:30 a.m. in the ACB (Mays Clinic) building. To schedule an appointment for a free prostate cancer screening, the patient would need to call 713-792-8924 to confirm. For information or to speak to a prostate cancer survivor, please contact the American Cancer Society at 409-938-3191
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