International Transgender Day of Visibility

Transgender people come from all walks of life. We are your coworkers, family and neighbors. We are 7-year-old children and we are 70-year-old grandparents. We are a diverse community representing all racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as faith backgrounds.

International Transgender Day of Visibility is honored every year on March 31 and is a time to celebrate transgender people around the globe and the courage it takes to live openly and authentically, while also raising awareness around the discrimination trans people still face.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute estimates that between 5 and 10% of the general population identifies as LGBTQ. Knowledge gaps have been reported among oncologists relating to the increased cancer risk factors affecting this group. Most health care provides lack culturally competent education or training. A study among medical students revealed 46% expressed explicit bias and over 80% some implicit boas against LGBTQ people. Learn more about LGBTQ people with cancer.

*Shared from hrc.org.

National Doctor's Day

Colorectal cancer screening: What are my options?

No one looks forward to a bowel prep that goes with some colorectal cancer screening tests. But colorectal cancer screening – testing to look for cancer before symptoms start – can help save lives. 

Screening can find colorectal cancer early when it’s small and might be easier to treat. There are several different screening options available. No matter which one you choose, the important thing is to be tested.

The recommended tests fall into 2 categories:

Stool-based tests

Stool-based tests are non-invasive colorectal cancer screening options. No special diet or bowel preparation (no laxatives or enemas) is required for a stool-based test. However, if the test does show abnormal signs of blood or a possible cancer or pre-cancer, a colonoscopy will be needed to confirm the result, and possibly to remove any abnormal findings or polyps. It’s important to remember the cause of an abnormal result may be a non-cancerous condition, such as ulcers or hemorrhoids.

Stool-based tests are not the best option for everyone. They are recommended for people who have an average risk for colorectal cancer: no personal history of pre-cancerous polyps, no colorectal cancer that runs in the family, or no other risk factors.

Fecal immunochemical test (FIT) and guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) are non-invasive tests used to find tiny amounts of blood in the stool that could be a sign of cancer or large polyps. People take these tests at home with a kit they receive from their doctor’s office, along with instructions on how to do the test and return it so it can be checked. Each test detects blood differently, but neither test can tell where the blood might be coming from. That’s why any abnormal result will need to be followed up with a colonoscopy. Stool tests like these need to be done every year.

Stool DNA testing is another type of non-invasive test to check for colorectal cancer. It looks for certain DNA or gene changes that often get into the stool and are sometimes found in pre-cancerous growths and cancer cells.  It also checks for blood in the stool, which can be a sign of cancer. If a stool DNA test finds something abnormal, a colonoscopy will be needed to follow-up on the findings. For this test, people use a take-home kit to collect a stool sample and mail it to a lab. Cologuard® is the name of the stool DNA test that is currently FDA-approved, and the patient gets it from their doctor’s office. This stool test needs to be done every 3 years.

Visual tests

Visual or structural tests are invasive tests that look inside the colon and rectum for abnormal areas that might be cancer or polyps. If a stool-based test was done first and had an abnormal result, a visual test can help find out why.

Colonoscopy uses a flexible lighted tube with a small camera on the end to look at the entire length of the colon and rectum. If polyps are found, they may be removed during the test. To prepare for the test, you may be asked to follow a special diet for a day or two before the test. You will also need to clean out your colon with strong laxatives (called a bowel prep) and sometimes with enemas, as well. Most people are sedated during the test. If nothing is found during the test, you won’t need another one for 10 years.

CT colonography (also called virtual colonoscopy) is a scan of the colon and rectum that produces detailed cross-sectional images so the doctor can look for polyps or cancer. It requires bowel prep, but no sedation. Air is pumped into the rectum and colon, and then a CT scanner is used to take images of the colon. If something is seen that may need to be biopsied, a follow-up colonoscopy will be needed. CT colonography must be done every 5 years.

Flexible sigmoidoscopy is not widely used for colorectal cancer screening in the U.S. It’s like a colonoscopy, but only looks at a certain part of the colon and rectum instead of looking at the entire length of the colon and rectum. If polyps are found, they may be removed during the test, or you may need to have a colonoscopy later. Bowel prep may be required, but is not as extensive as the one used for colonoscopy. Most people do not need to be sedated during this test. If polyps or suspicious areas are seen, a colonoscopy will be needed to look at the rest of the colon. Flexible sigmoidoscopy must be done every 5 years.

Talk to your doctor about screening

Regular screening is one of the most powerful ways to prevent colorectal cancer. If polyps are found during colorectal cancer testing, they can usually be removed before they have the chance to turn into cancer. Testing can also result in finding cancer early, when it’s smaller and might be easier to treat.

If you’re 45 or older, talk to your doctor about which screening test is right for you, and talk to your insurance company about coverage. It’s important to get tested as often as recommended. No matter what your age, talk to your doctor about your family medical history. People at higher risk for colorectal cancer because of family history or certain health conditions might need to start screening earlier than age 45.

NOTE: This story by Stacy Simon, senior editior, news, first appeared on cancer. org.

Earth Hour

Join us on Saturday, March 28, 2020 at 8:30pm local time!

Turn your lights off for an hour to help place the spotlight on nature - the world is watching!

Started by WWF and partners as a symbolic lights-out event in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour is now one of the world's largest grassroots movements for the environment, engaging millions of people in more than 180 countries and territories. It has become a catalyst for positive environmental impact, driving major legislative changes by harnessing the power of the people. Learn more about Earth Hour and how you can participate.

*Shared from EarthHour.org.

Thanks to you ...

The recently passed COVID-19 stimulus bills include many important provisions for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. These include:

• Funding for the Community Health Centers that serve more than 29 million Americans in over 12,000 rural and urban communities across the nation.
• Up to 2 weeks of paid family medical leave so people can take care of loved ones impacted by coronavirus or care for children whose schools have closed.
• Guaranteed coverage with no cost-sharing for COVID-19 testing and treatment, so even those who are uninsured or underinsured can get the care they need.
• Tax relief for charitable organizations like the American Cancer Society so they can remain on the frontlines serving cancer patients during and long after this health crisis.

These are challenging times for ourselves, our families and our nation. Through it all, your American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network will never stop fighting for people impacted by cancer.

If you can afford a small donation, it would go a long way toward helping us keep up this fight through this crisis and its aftermath. It will also help ensure cancer patients always have a loud, powerful voice in Congress.

*Shared from ACS Cancer Action Network.

National Joe Day History

Today is National Joe Day, a day to celebrate and honor all the people with the name or nickname “Joe”. According to the Social Security Administration, in 1910, the name Joseph was the 5th most used in the United States. The observance occurs ever year on March 27th.

Have you meet the Daddy of Relay, Joe Gillette? Joe started volunteering and fundraising for Relay For Life nine years ago and has come up with new exciting events and fundraisers that have taken the world by storm! Check out these top out of the box hits: Hope Train USA, Pull the ResearchHERS, King of the Wing, #RelayFirstLap, and the Relay Luminaria Exchange. We can't wait to see what he comes up with next!

*National Joe Day taken from WinCalendar.

Baseball Opening Day

Minor League Baseball (MiLB) and the American Cancer Society have teamed up to launch Hope at Bat, a fundraising initiative designed to help save lives, celebrate lives and lead the fight for a world without cancer.

Hope at Bat will launch on June 27th via a MiLB league-wide social media campaign.  Fans will be asked to visit www.hopeatbat.org on the 27th and throughout the season to make donations to the American Cancer Society.  In addition, for each Minor League Baseball at bat on the 27th, MiLB will donate $1 to the American Cancer Society.

The campaign will run throughout the 2019 regular season with individual clubs holding Hope at Bat games where fans can contribute simply by buying tickets!  Visit your team's page to find out more or go to www.milb.com/tickets.

From May 27 to June 30, participating MiLB teams will provide free Blue Lizard Sunscreen samples to fans, players, staff and other attendees at their games.  The annual campaign has impacted hundreds of thousands of individuals since its launch in 2017, not only providing sun protection but also information on skin cancer and measures fans can take to help reduce their overall risk.  More than 120 MiLB teams are participating in the 2019 initiative.

Find out if your team is participating here.

Cancer death rate in the U.S. continues to drop

​Healthy People 2020 targets met for lung, prostate, breast, and colorectal cancer deaths; some cancers on rise due to excess body weight and lack of exercise

The death rate from cancer in the U.S. is still falling among men, women, and children, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. During 2013 to 2017, cancer death rates fell an average of 1.5% per year. However, rates of new cancers diagnosed from 2012 to 2016 remained about the same in men and increased slightly among women.

Reasons for these trends reflect changes among large groups of people in cancer risk factors and screening test use, as well as how doctors diagnose cancer and treatment advances.

The American Cancer Society, the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Cancer Institute work together to create the report, which has been published each year since 1998. It provides an update of new cancer rates, death rates, and trends in the U.S., plus a special section, which this year focused on progress toward Healthy People 2020 goals.

The report was published March 12, 2020 in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal published by ACS.

Cancer rates and death rates among men and women

• Overall rates for new cancers dropped an average 0.6% per year from 2012 to 2016. They stayed about the same in men and increased by 0.2% per year in women.
• Overall cancer death rates went down by 1.8% per year in men from 2013 to 2017, and by 1.4% per year in women.
• Among men, death rates decreased for 11 of the 19 most common cancers. Some of the steepest decreases were for lung, colorectal, and melanoma skin cancer. Death rates went up for 4 cancers, with the steepest increase for mouth and throat cancer. Rates stayed about the same for 4 cancers, including prostate cancer.
• Among women, death rates dropped for 14 of the 20 most common cancers, including the 3 most common (lung, breast, and colorectal) as well as melanoma skin cancer. But rates rose for 5 cancer types, with the steepest increases for endometrial and liver cancers.  
• The rate of new cases and deaths in the U.S. has been declining over time for several cancers related to smoking, including  lung, bladder, and laryngeal cancers. But the rate of new cases is increasing for some cancers related to excess weight and lack of exercise. These include kidney, liver and pancreatic cancers, as well as endometrial and breast cancer in postmenopausal women.

Cancer among children, adolescents, and young adults

• For the first time, the Annual Report to the Nation provided rates and trends for the most common cancers among children, adolescents, and young adults. Overall cancer death rates among children 14 and younger dropped an average 1.4% per year from 2013-2017. The rate of new cancers went up an average of 0.8% per year from 2012-2016. The most common cancer types among children included leukemia, lymphoma, and brain and spinal cord tumors.
• The study authors say that better treatments are most likely the reason why death rates among children keep dropping. They are less certain about why rates of new cancers are going up, although part of the reason may be changes in how cancer is diagnosed and tracked.
• Among teens and young adults 15 to 39 years old, cancer death rates decreased by 1% per year from 2005-2017. This continues a slowing trend, as rates decreased by 3% per year during 2001–2005. The rate of new cancers rose an average of 0.9% per year from 2012–2016. The most common cancer types in this age group were female breast, thyroid, and testicular cancer, as well as lymphoma.
• The report showed an increase in colorectal cancer death rates among young adults. This increase came during a time when risk factors – including excess weight and diabetes – have increased.

Special section: Healthy People 2020 goals

The U.S. government launched Healthy People 2020 10 years ago to improve the health of all Americans. Some of its goals include reducing cancer risk factors while increasing use of recommended screening tests. This year’s special section, published in part II of the report, Progress Toward Healthy People 2020 Objectives, checks up on progress in goals related to 4 common cancers:  lung, colorectal, female breast, and prostate.

Goals for reducing deaths from cancer were met overall, but not among males, blacks, or people who live in rural areas. However, these groups did have larger decreases in rates than other groups. During 2007–2017, cancer death rates fell 15% overall.

Measuring progress on cancer screening and risk factors:

• Colorectal cancer screening increased from 52.1% in 2008 to 62.4% in 2017. However, screening rates did not reach the goal of 70.5% in any group except people with advanced educational degrees.
• Breast cancer screening increased slightly among Hispanic women from 2008 to 2015, but dropped among other groups, especially Asians, women in rural areas, and those with public or no health insurance.  The only group to meet the goal for breast cancer screening (81.1%) was those with advanced educational degrees. Screening was lowest among uninsured women (35.4%).
• The goal for prostate cancer screening – to increase the percentage of men who had discussed prostate cancer screening with their doctor to 15.9% – was met overall (16.7%) and in all race-ethnic groups except Asian men, men in metropolitan areas (cities), and men with at least a college degree.
• No goal was set for lung cancer screening because it wasn’t recommended by the US Preventive Services Task Force until 2013. It’s currently recommended only for people at high risk for lung cancer. The report found screening was very low (less than 7%) overall, although the rate did go up between 2010 and 2015. The authors say both doctors and patients need more education about lung cancer screening.
• Cigarette smoking dropped from 2008 to 2017 overall, but fell short of the goal of lowering the percentage of adults who smoke to 12%. People who live in rural areas, those with public insurance or no insurance, and those with less than a high school education had the highest percentages of smoking and the smallest improvement.
• Overall, exposure to secondhand smoke fell to 39%, exceeding the goal of 33.8% in most groups. Exceptions were blacks (43%) and people with public health insurance (36%).
• From 2008 to 2017, the percentage of adults who met physical activity guidelines increased, and many groups met the goal of 20.1%.
• Goals were not met for reducing excessive alcohol use or lowering the percentage of adults with obesity. Obesity rates increased among all groups between 2005 to 2008 and 2013 to 2016. From 2013 to 2016, 39% of all adults were obese.

The authors conclude that efforts to reduce cancer risk factors and promote healthy behaviors, although proven to work, are not helping every community reach Healthy People 2020 goals. They say more effort is needed to make sure all Americans can access a path to long, healthy, cancer-free lives.

This story by Stacy Simon first appeared on cancer.org.

FDA to require new health warnings for cigarette packages and ads

​Beginning June 18, 2021, these new cigarette health warnings will be required to appear prominently, occupying the top 50% of the area of the front and rear panels of cigarette packages and at least 20% of the area at the top of cigarette advertisements.

Here is a statement from ACS CAN:

"By issuing a final rule requiring large, graphic health warnings on cigarette packs and advertising, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today has taken a critical and long-overdue step forward in the nation’s battle against tobacco use – the number one cause of preventable death. The new warnings show and tell the truth about the deadly consequences of smoking and will promote greater public understanding of the many ways in which smoking harms the human body. 

View the final warnings.

The graphic warnings are a dramatic improvement over the current text-only warnings, which have become stale and unnoticed since they were last updated in 1984. They are supported by extensive scientific evidence and will help the United States catch up to the 120-plus countries that have adopted this best-practice strategy to reduce tobacco use and save lives. 

By law, the new warnings are required to appear on cigarette packs and ads 15 months after a final rule is issued (June 18, 2021). The FDA must now ensure these warnings are fully implemented and vigorously defended against likely legal challenges by the tobacco industry. Congress first mandated graphic cigarette warnings more than 10 years ago and we cannot afford more delays – not when tobacco use still kills half a million Americans, sickens millions more and costs the nation $170 billion in health care expenses each year. The FDA’s rule makes a comprehensive and compelling case for the graphic warnings that shows they stand on firm scientific and legal ground. The rule is also entirely consistent with what Congress required in the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

The FDA faced a court-ordered deadline of March 15 to submit to the Federal Register a final rule requiring the graphic warnings as a result of a successful lawsuit filed by our public health and medical organizations and several individual pediatricians in October 2016 (the court’s order required that the final rule be submitted to the Federal Register for publication by March 15). Our lawsuit sought to force the FDA to comply with provisions of the Tobacco Control Act, which required graphic warnings covering the top half of the front and back of cigarette packs and 20 percent of each cigarette ad.

In a September 2018 ruling, Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts found the FDA “unlawfully withheld” and “unreasonably delayed” agency action to require the graphic warnings. Judge Talwani subsequently ordered the FDA to issue a proposed rule by August 15, 2019, and a final rule by March 15, 2020.

The lawsuit was filed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Cancer Society, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Truth Initiative and several individual pediatricians. The plaintiffs have been represented by the legal staff of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Boston law firm of Anderson & Kreiger LLP."

The final cigarette health warnings each consist of one of the following textual warning statements paired with an accompanying photo depicting the negative health consequences of smoking:

• WARNING: Tobacco smoke can harm your children.
• WARNING: Tobacco smoke causes fatal lung disease in nonsmokers.
• WARNING: Smoking causes head and neck cancer.
• WARNING: Smoking causes bladder cancer, which can lead to bloody urine.
• WARNING: Smoking during pregnancy stunts fetal growth.
• WARNING: Smoking can cause heart disease and strokes by clogging arteries.
• WARNING: Smoking causes COPD, a lung disease that can be fatal.
• WARNING: Smoking reduces blood flow, which can cause erectile dysfunction.
• WARNING: Smoking reduces blood flow to the limbs, which can require amputation.
• WARNING: Smoking causes type 2 diabetes, which raises blood sugar.
• WARNING: Smoking causes cataracts, which can lead to blindness.

*Re-posted from MySocietySource.

American Cancer Society suspends Hope Lodge program

The American Cancer Society has suspending our Hope Lodge program as of Friday, March 27, until further notice.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen, we’ve been forced to make the very difficult decision to suspend operations for our Hope Lodge program.

Hope Lodge is an important resource for patients who must travel long distances for cancer treatment, however what we’re experiencing is unprecedented. Some hospitals have begun to turn away all but the most pressing medical cases. Yet, it has been our intent to keep Hope Lodge facilities operating as long as we are able to ensure a safe and healthy environment for patients and their families, as well as our volunteers and staff.

The continued escalation of the COVID-19 threat nationwide has made it clear that we will soon reach a point where we cannot meet the standard of ensuring a safe and healthy environment. We greatly value and rely on our Hope Lodge volunteers and staff. Many are understandably concerned about inadvertently exposing patients to additional risk, leading to fewer people being able to help out at the Hope Lodge. A growing number of states have made shelter-in-place mandates. Our teams are not considered essential health care workers and therefore not exempt from the guidance provided by local authorities.

We are taking action now to prepare to suspend this service before we reach that point where we cannot provide a safe and healthy environment. We have made the incredibly difficult decision to suspend our Hope Lodge program as of Friday, March 27 until further notice.

Our main priority now is to help our current guests. We have begun working with guests to find other resources that might be available in the community. These could include alternate lodging programs or helping find assistance to get back home.

This is a heartbreaking decision for the American Cancer Society and our staff. However, we feel it is the only responsible decision we can make as this pandemic grows. The health of our staff, volunteers and guests surpasses even our will to serve.

*Re-posted from MySocietySource.