Caregiverstress.com

Are you a caregiver for some diagnosed with pancreatic cancer?  Are you overwhelmed with no time for yourself? You're not alone.  There are thousands of caregivers out there all struggling with how to manage their lives while also caring for someone else.  Visit Caregiverstress.com to find tips on how to manage it all and learn how others are dealing with their circumstances.

http://www.caregiverstress.com/category/helpful-tips-for-caregivers/cfywcfo/

Food & Cancer: One local baker makes a drastic change for her health

We've all read articles how process foods and high fructose corn syrup may be contributors to pancreatic cancer, and pancreatic cancer aside, there have been thousands of books, articles and even movies about how our foods is impacting our health and in some cases our fertility.

Here's a local story -- a woman from Arvada diagnosed with ovarian cancer who as part of her recovery decided to take both sugar and gluten out of her diet.

I remember the day I was told that I could not have sugar or flour anymore. This would be devastating to many people, to myself it was doubly so! You see, my husband Ed Dimmer and I, Maro Dimmer, own and operate a great German bakery, called "Rheinlander" in Olde Towne Arvada, Colorado. Today when I tell people I cannot have sugar or flour, they immediately assume that I am diabetic. However, the disease I am faced with is cancer.

I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2001 at age 42. The cancer was treated successfully with surgery (a full blown hysterectomy) plus an intense chemotherapy regimen for half a year (Taxol and Carboplatinum). I never questioned that chemotherapy and surgery saved my life, but in order to survive the disease a lot more is needed. I have always been a researcher, so during chemotherapy I started studying my disease. I was determined to figure out what else I could do to enhance the long-term effectiveness of the conventional cancer treatments.

My Western doctors were not really concerned about nutrition but there was plenty of information on the internet about the relationship between what you feed yourself and cancer as well as many other serious diseases. This is when I discovered what I now call the biggest irony in my life. The fact that sugar feeds cancer cells. As a matter of fact it is the preferred fuel for the anaerobic environment cancer thrives in. In my case, staying away from sugar and fast carbs (white flour, potatoes, rice, soda pop and fruit juices) was a matter of life or death. Imagine being surrounded by the most luscious European style pastries and cakes and realizing that eating them would be feeding your cancer and worsening your health.

The challenge that I accepted for myself was to see if I could become knowledgeable about nutrition and its relationship to how well we live. My husband and I made a drastic lifestyle change and I put together my antic-cancer regimen. It includes lots of salads, chicken, fish, turkey and lots of fresh green juices (no carrots or beets because of their high sugar content). Today, Ed and I are great fans of Dr. Ron Rosedale and Dr. Joe Mercola. Their optimal health programs are right on for disease prevention.

In sharing my story with many of our customers I became acutely aware that I was not alone. I realized that the anti-cancer regimen I was following is also the diabetic friendly lifestyle. Many people were in the restricted zone and they shared many of their sugarless dessert options with me. Many of these options, usually low-carb commercial power bars or mixes for cookies and brownies were not exactly palatable! That's when Ed and I set out to create desserts that tasted better than sugar and were better for you. It took two years of research, trial and error to find the best and healthiest sweetener alternatives, as well as the best and healthiest flour replacers the market has to offer. Now when our customers taste our sugarless gluten free pastries, they are thrilled! Sometimes, I dare them to tell the difference between our traditional desserts and our healthy choices.

Our Sweet Deliverance website brings you the very same healthy desserts we sell at our retail bakery "Rheinlander". My hope and mission is that people will make the switch, because as I tell my customers, it is not really a sacrifice or a compromise. It's a delicious choice that makes sense for your health and well-being. Knowledge IS power!

To learn more visit: http://www.rheinlanderbakery.com/

And for gluten free eateries in Denver ... visit CBS4's website at:

http://denver.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-gluten-free-food-in-denver/

Who is the Lustgarten Foundation?

The Lustgarten Foundation is the nation’s largest private supporter of pancreatic cancer research. Founded in 1998, the organization was named after Cablevision executive Marc Lustgarten, who died from the disease. The Lustgarten Foundation is dedicated to advancing the scientific and medical research related to pancreatic cancer, the nation’s fourth leading cause of cancer deaths. The Lustgarten Foundation concentrates on stimulating the scientific community to conduct the research necessary to find early detection methods, better treatments and a cure for this disease. Toward this end, The Lustgarten Foundation has provided more than $22 million in support of promising pancreatic cancer research. The Foundation also provides free, accurate and up-to-date information to patients and caregivers. Learn more at www.lustgarten.org.

No Miracle for Mandi, Except for the Gift of a Short Life

An inspirational story of a young woman battling a different type of cancer with a connection to the Colorado Springs community.  While she lost her battle her good work will help others.


Everybody knew this day was coming. We’d get up and read “Mandi Schwartz, 1988-2011.”

So there was no shock when she passed away Sunday, not after what she’d been through. There is just the standard struggle to make some sense of it all.

If ever a story deserved a happy ending, it was this one. By now millions of people are at least vaguely familiar with Mandi’s tale.

She was the Yale hockey player stricken with acute myeloid leukemia.

She needed a stem-cell transplant to survive. Mandi’s brother was the first-round pick of the St. Louis Blues last summer, and the search for a donor became a rallying cry throughout the hockey community.

The drama culminated in Seattle last fall. That’s where the girl from the small Canadian prairie town of Wilcox, Saskatchewan, went for her transplant. I was fortunate enough to visit when her family gathered for a Thanksgiving celebration.

“Having a transplant is like someone sending you to hell and telling you to crawl back,” her mother, Carol, told me.

Mandi kept crawling. That was her style, even if all the attention it got her was not. Bundled in a sweats and ski cap she had become the gentle face of a grand crusade.

There were so many people writing her and praying for her and wishing for that happy ending. Being Mandi, I wondered if she worried about letting them down. Just getting through each day was stressful enough.

Mandi Schwartz, a native of Wilcox, Saskatchewan, played hockey at Yale and her fight against cancer gripped the university as well as the hockey world. (AP Photo)

“I never thought I was that popular,” she said.

It wasn’t false humility. Everybody who knew her said the same thing.

Mandi was as smart and worked as hard as anybody. But unlike so many athletes we admire these days, she never made a point of it.


She was first diagnosed with cancer in 2008, after her usual Energizer Bunny stamina deserted her on the ice. She spent 130 day in the hospital; they thought the cancer was licked.

Mandi returned to Yale. She was still too weak to play full-bore hockey, but she was the first one in the weight room. When teammates asked how she was doing, she’d immediately turn the question back on them.
That’s why they rallied around her for Round Two. The cancer returned and the only cure was a stem-cell transplant. With her Ukrainian-Russian heritage, finding the right DNA match was going to be a problem.
The Yale community embraced the challenge. Her teammates had fund-raisers and donor drives. Friends in Canada made it almost a national cause.

Two suitable blood-cord donors were eventually found. They weren’t perfect DNA matches, but they would have to do. The plan was to irradiate her old immune system out of existence, then grow a totally new one from the new cells.

The operation was Sept. 22. Then came the near-death lung infection, the bloating from 35 new pounds of water weight, the hallucinations.

Recommended On The Web

• Mandi Schwartz, inspirational Yale hockey player, dies at 23 Yahoo: Monday Apr 4
• Yale hockey player loses fight with leukemia New York Daily News: Sunday Apr 3
• Despite Plight, Mandi Schwartz Inspires FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog: Sunday Jan 30

She’d call for her fiance, Kaylem Prefontaine.

He’d proposed with a bouquet of balloons last year. Mandi was in intensive care at the time. Through thick and thin, they were going to stick together.

Jaden Schwartz drafted with the Blues

Prefontaine was there at Thanksgiving. He cuddled Mandi like a fragile dove as we all went to a minor league hockey game. The brothers, Jaden and Rylan, talked about how dedicated Mandi was compared to them. And they must have been pretty dedicated to be as good as they are.

Both star for Colorado College, which recently upset defending national champ Boston College in the NCAA hockey tournament. The family liked what it was seeing out of Mandi that holiday.
"You feel like she’s got life again,” said her father, Rick.

Rylan Schwartz plays for Colorado College

The big test would come in couple of weeks. A biopsy would show if cancer cells had sprung to life in Mandi’s new immune system. While they waited, Mandi found out she’d become a hero to a local girls team.
She showed up at practice with cookies and did a little coaching. Back at Yale, her teammates had adopted a 9-year-old girl who was recovering from a brain tumor.

Giana Cardonita was the team’s Minny Mandi. The real one hoped to meet her this fall. She’d started reading her old accounting textbooks, knowing she needed to get her brain back in Ivy League shape. She planned to get married this summer.

Then the biopsy results came in. The cancer had returned. Medical science was out of answers.

The family packed up and headed back to Wilcox.

“We ask for your support in prayer as we treasure our time with her at home,” her family wrote in a CaringBridge online posting.

Jaden played for Canada in the World Junior Championship. He broke his ankle, which probably cost Canada the title. When he returned home in January, he limped off the plane and put his silver medal around Mandi’s neck.

Back at Yale, the Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registry Drive will go on as planned April 21. There is no explaining death so young, but things like that provide a clue.

Through the Mandi-inspired drives, almost 5,000 new names are registered as stem-cell donors. There’s no telling how many lives that might save.

Then there are the hundreds of told and untold stories, the lives she touched. Like little Giana, who was introduced as the team’s newest member at a fund-raising game last fall.

She dropped the first puck and later toured the locker room. There was a locker with her name above it and a jersey hanging inside.

A few stalls down was Mandi’s locker, with a jersey waiting for her return. That miracle never came, and it’s futile to ask why.

All I know is Mandi is finally resting in peace. And don’t worry, girl. You didn’t let anyone down.

Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2011-04-04/no-miracle-for-mandi-schwartz-expect-for-the-gift-of-her-short-life?icid=maing-grid7%7Caim%7Cdl12%7Csec1_lnk3%7C54274#ixzz1IfHIsPES

Read more and see a video at:
http://aol.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2011-04-04/no-miracle-for-mandi-schwartz-expect-for-the-gift-of-her-short-life?icid=maing-grid7|aim|dl12|sec1_lnk3|54274

Looking for Lustgarten Events in Neighborhood?

Looking to participate, volunteer or just generally get involved with the Lustgarten Foundation?  Visit their events page on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/urgentRx#!/CurePancreaticCancer?sk=events

Aspirin may lower pancreatic cancer risk

(CBS News)

American Association of Cancer Research finds people who took one aspirin a month lowered risk by 26 percent

A new study suggests aspirin can actually help reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer.
Each year, about 37,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease, the fourth deadliest form of cancer. It kills 75 percent of patients within a year and 95 percent within five years, according to WebMD, a medical information website.

Special Section: Dr. Jennifer Ashton
Dr. Jennifer Ashton's Twitter page

The American Association of Cancer Research describes the findings -- the results of a large case-control study presented at the American Association of Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2011 - as "significant."

The study was conducted on 2,128 adults over age 55. The study divided them into two groups: those with pancreatic cancer and healthy matched controls.

"(They were) asked ... to report their use of aspirin, acetaminophen, which is Tylenol and ibuprofen, which is Motrin or Advil. And they found that those people who took at least one baby aspirin a month, had a 26 percent lower risk of developing pancreatic cancer, which is significant, and potentially very exciting."

But why aspirin?


"This study just looked at an association," Ashton said. "So it did not provide cause-and-effect or the mechanism. But there is a theory that the way that aspirin and drugs like Motrin or Advil work to reduce other types of cancer risk is by cutting the risk of inflammation. Now, interestingly in this study, they also found a slight reduction in risk amongst those healthy people who took ibuprofen, but it just wasn't statistically significant. So again, the thinking is that it cuts down on inflammation."

So should people start taking aspirin as a precaution?


Ashton said people need to understand the risks -- just like with any other drug.
"Some doctors say that, if aspirin went up for (Food and Drug Administration) approval as an over-the-counter medication today, it may not get approved so readily," she said.

Ashton warned aspirin can increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, as well as stomach irritation, and can worsen asthma. Aspirin, most importantly, she said, can interact with other drugs, and especially blood thinners.


"It definitely has risks, and people should talk to their doctor about whether those are worth it," Ashton said.

Aside from studies with aspirin and other painkillers, Ashton said pancreatic cancer research does have some additional potential developments on the horizon. She said researchers are looking into doing screenings with biomarkers - your DNA's fingerprint - that may be circulating in the blood. Treatment with individualized vaccines is also being studied.


Watch the video and learn more at:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7361649n&tag=related;photovideo

The Seven Levels of Healing

The Seven Levels of Healing program is designed for patients and families who want to combine the very best conventional medical treatments for cancer and other illnesses with an expanding array of complementary therapies and mind/body approaches to healing. The Program is based on the belief that for healing to be complete, all the dimensions of who we are as human beings -- mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical -- must be addressed in a meaningful and effective way. While supporting patients to find and receive the highest quality medical care and attention to the needs of the physical body, the Program also guides patients and family members through the important and profound dimensions of the mind, heart, and spirit that can profoundly impact all aspects of the healing journey. The Program coherently addresses seven distinct levels of inquiry and exploration that are necessary for awareness, healing, and transformation to occur at the deepest levels -- and which help patients and family members to navigate the journey as skillfully and effectively as possible. Learn more at: http://www.geffenvisions.com/seven_levels_of_healing/index.htm.  Also available through Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers in Boulder.

Lustgarten's Spring Newsletter

Find out about the latest good works coming from the Lustgarten Foundation in their spring newsletter.  Not only does it talk about new studies that they are sponsoring but all the events going on around the country.  Here's your chance to get involved!

See it all at ... http://www.lustgarten.org/Document.Doc?id=260

Understanding Justice Ginsburg’s Pancreatic Cancer

Feb 2009 from the Wall Street Journal.

This morning U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had surgery for pancreatic cancer, the court said today.


The operation took place at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. The attending surgeon, Murray Brennan, said Ginsburg will likely stay in the hospital for a week to 10 days, according to the court.


Ginsburg, 75 years old, had no symptoms before a CT scan found a small tumor — about one centimeter across — in the center of her pancreas during a routine annual check-up at the National Institutes of Health late last month. Ginsburg was treated for colon cancer in 1999.

Pancreatic cancer can be a particularly deadly form of the disease. The American Cancer Society  predicted about 37,680 Americans would be diagnosed with it in 2008, and 34,290 would die of it.
Brennan, who was chairman of surgery at Sloan-Kettering from 1985 until 2006, is an expert in pancreatic cancer and has held leadership roles in several national medical organizations. A Sloan-Kettering spokeswoman declined to make him available to discuss Justice Ginsburg’s case.





J. Randolph Hecht, a gastroenterologist and medical oncologist at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, tells the Health Blog that most patients are already inoperable when pancreatic cancer is found.

For those whose tumor is still small enough for surgery, there are a couple of “binary” possibilities, he says. The surgery could cure Ginsburg. Or the tumor could return, which, if it happens, usually occurs between one and three years afterward. Once pancreatic cancer recurs, the patient usually dies within a year.
For most patients, the cancer does come back, Hecht says. But based on the limited information the Supreme Court put out, Hecht says her situation sounds good and “she has a reasonable chance for cure.” Patients in whom the cancer is found before symptoms begin typically do best, he explains.
Most pancreatic cancer cases are a form called adenocarcinoma. Unfortunately, Hecht adds, “this is the most deadly of all the major malignancies.”

Apple CEO Steve Jobs had a rarer type of pancreatic cancer, called an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor, which was removed surgically in 2004. If caught early that cancer often responds well to treatment.

Update: The fact that Justice Ginsburg had surgery is a relatively good sign, says Gauri Varadhachary, a pancreatic cancer expert at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Most patients have progressed to an inoperable stage of the disease by the time pancreatic cancer is diagnosed. Varadhachary isn’t involved in Justice Ginsburg’s care.

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/02/05/understanding-justice-ginsburgs-pancreatic-cancer/

Local Denver Pan Can Affiliate Gets "In-flight" Recognition

Kara Friedrich, the coordinator for Denver Pan Can Affiliate made friends with a flight attendant a few days a go (March 27, 2011) and was able to help rally support for pancreatic cancer.  Proof that every little bit helps.

Get Involved!

Get Involved! Learn the many ways you can raise support for pancreatic cancer research. Walks, events, fundraisers, community events and so much more!

Find out how at Lustgarten's Website ... http://www.lustgarten.org/Page.aspx?pid=690

Hereditary Pancreatic Cancer

What is Hereditary (Familial) Pancreatic Cancer?

Today, oncology investigators and clinicians agree that at least 10% of all pancreatic cancers are inherited. This means that pancreatic cancer has a tendency to run in certain families, and scientists want to know why. The risk of developing pancreatic cancer increases 2-fold for a person who has one first-degree relative (mother, father, brother, sister) with the disease. Having multiple affected members increases risk even more. The term Familial Pancreatic Cancer (FPC) is for families with 2 or more family members with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (the most common form of pancreatic cancer).

 

What are Familial Registries and Why are They Important?

Gathering information from families with a history of pancreatic cancer offers an opportunity to study the cause of cancer of the pancreas. This information is helping to devise new ways to diagnose pancreatic cancers in earlier stages, and ultimately, to develop better treatments for the disease. These registries are research-based. While your participation in one of these registries may help investigators learn more about familial pancreatic cancer, your participation in a registry does not substitute for clinical care by your own doctors.

 

What are Surveillance Programs?

A number of research programs studying how best to screen for early pancreatic pre-cancer have also been created. These surveillance programs differ throughout the United States, and each program designs its own research and clinical protocols. For example, some involve periodic screening of individuals with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer using endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). Just as is true for family research registries, your participation in a surveillance program does not substitute for clinical care by your own doctors. All Surveillance Programs and Familial Registries share a common goal: To learn more about the biological cause of familial pancreatic cancer in the hopes of developing early detection strategies and better treatments for the disease.

2011 Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk

Join us in the search for a cure!

We may come from different ‘walks of life,’ but we all join the Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk for the same reasons – to support research aimed at early detection methods, better treatments, and ultimately, a cure for this disease. We join to make a difference in the lives of future generations, and to celebrate those we love.

Since its inception in 2001, Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk has raised more than $12 million!

Thank you for taking a personal role in the fight against pancreatic cancer. This year, we have set our Walk fundraising goal higher than ever, and hope that you too will raise your personal fundraising bar!

2011 Pancreatic Cancer Research Walks

Arizona

Green Valley Walk

Saturday, March 19, 2011 at La Posada Green Valley Campus, Green Valley, AZ

Tempe Walk

Sunday, February 27, 2011 at Tempe Beach Park, Tempe, AZ

California

Fremont Walk

Date to be determined at Lake Elizabeth (Central Park), Fremont, CA
Website coming soon!

Westlake Village Walk/Run

Saturday, February 12, 2011 At Westlake Village City Hall, Westlake Village, CA

Colorado

Denver Walk

Sunday, November 6, 2011 at Sloan's Lake Park, Denver, CO
Website coming soon!

Connecticut

Cromwell 18-Whole Stoll

Sunday, June 26, 2011 Location to be determined
Website coming soon!

Delaware

Wilmington Walk

Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Delcastle Park, Wilmington, DE

Illinois

Chicago Walk/Run

Saturday, June 4, 2011 at Grant Park, Chicago, IL

Naperville Walk

Date to be determined, at Naperville Pavilion, Naperville, IL
Website coming soon!

Indiana

Indianapolis Walk

Date and location to be determined.
Website coming soon!

Iowa

Cedar Rapids Walk

Sunday, September 18, 2011 at Noleridge Lagoon, Cedar Rapids, IA
Website coming soon!

Kansas

Olathe Walk

Sunday, September 25, 2011 at Heritage Park, Olathe, KS
Website coming soon!

Massachusetts

Boston Walk

Sunday, October 2, 2011 at Castle Island, Boston, MA
Website coming soon!

Westborough Run / Walk

Sunday, April 10, 2011 at Westborough Tennis & Swim Club, Westboro, MA

Wilbraham Walk

Date to be determined, Mile Tree School, Wilbraham, MA
Website coming soon!

Missouri

Linn Creek

Date and location to be determined.
Website coming soon!

St. Louis Walk

Saturday, September 10 at Frontier Park, St. Charles, MO
Website coming soon!

New Jersey

Bridgewater Walk

Saturday, September 17, 2011at Duke Island Park, Bridgewater, NJ
Website coming soon!

Monmouth Walk

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ

Paramus Walk

Sunday, September 18, 2011 at Bergen Community College, Paramus, NJ
Website coming soon!

Pennsauken Walk

Sunday, October 2, 2011 at Cooper River Park, Pennsauken, NJ
Website coming soon!

Randolph Walk

Sunday, September 18, 2011 at County College of Morris, Randolph, NJ
Website coming soon!

New York

Albany Walk

Sunday, September 11, 2011 at  Elm Avenue Town Park, Delmar, NY
Website coming soon!

Brooklyn Walk

Sunday, May 15, 2011 at Marine Park, Brooklyn, NY

Liverpool Walk

Saturday, June 11, 2011 at Onondaga Lake Park, Liverpool, NY
Website coming soon!

Long Island Walk

Sunday, October 9, 2011 at Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY
Website coming soon!

New York City Walk

Sunday,  April 3, 2011 at Riverside Park, New York, NY

Westchester Walk

Sunday, April 10, 2011 at Rye Town Park and Playland Park, Rye, NY

North Carolina

Charlotte Walk

Saturday, May 14, 2011 at Frank Liske Park, Concord, NC

Pennsylvania

Lehigh Valley Walk

Sunday, September 25, 2011 at Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, PA
Website coming soon!

Texas

Dallas Walk

Date to be determined at Katy Trail, Reverchon Park, Dallas, TX
Website coming soon!

For more information visit: http://www.lustgarten.org/Page.aspx?pid=824

CancerNet Resources

CancerNet offers many cancer resources, including a booklet to help people with advanced cancer and family and caregivers understand the diagnosis and treatment options, discuss options for care and find support. 

Download the booklet at www.cancer.net/patient/Coping/Advanced%20Cancer%20Care%20Planning/Advanced_Cancer_Care_Planning.pdf...

Building Community Around Pancreatic Cancer

It's unfortunate that so many of us are affected by this awful disease.  On the positive side, we have each other and we have a community uniting to fight the fight and hold each other up.  Here's a look back at last year's walk ...