The current test for Thyroid cancer is a fine-needle aspirate biopsy. According to a new study done at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, between one-fourth and one-fifth of the results gathered are unclear. Unclear tests cause increased anxiety among patients along with more tests or surgery where cancer is only present in 25% of cases. Three out of every four patients end up having unnecessary thyroidectomies (removal of the thyroid) which leads to high treatment costs and risk of complications.
Investigators have created a gene signature test which identifies 18 genes that are associated with thyroid cancer. Ten of those genes are then used to develop a computer program which finds thyroid nodules with cancer. The study tested thyroid nodules from 300 patients by using a DNA-amplifying test which they call the polymerase chain reaction. So far, the test has accurately identified benign nodules in almost all of the samples that were tested along with identifying cancerous and noncancerous tissue in 96% of samples. The test could be helpful in the future to identify those patients who do not need surgery.
All information taken from:
http://www.drbicuspid.com/index.aspx?sec=sup&sub=orc&pag=dis&ItemID=313639
In our efforts with the Draper Therapies Philanthropy Project, we’re able to raise money through the sale of certain products in our store to benefit the Spencer Bell Endowment Fund. This fund aims to raise awareness for adrenal cancer research, support and provide a training ground for young students interested in a career in medicine or science through sponsorship of summer research fellowships in laboratories associated with the Adrenal Cancer Program at the University of Michigan.
To date, we had made $1,800.00 in donations to the University of Michigan’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. As of late last week, we were able to make a sizable donation in the amount of $865.00 whichbrings our grand donation total to to $2,665.00. We’re so thrilled to have this small part in helping to make a difference!
This money all goes to help further research surrounding adrenal cancer, a rare and typically fatal orphan cancer. Thank you to customers Janet Thurston, Lenette Graham, Michael Lane, Gerard Jacobson, Edward Rasmussen, Lyn Compoli, Claire Ledig-Jenkins, Kristieann Draper, Phillip Taylor, Susan Levine, Linda Barr, Janet LeBlanc, George Boucher, Donna Rivet, Denise Belcher, Geraldine Stutte, Robin Donahe, Hologenix and Linda Cramer for their product purchases. It is through providing health and wellness to others and the support of our customers that we’re able to put our words into action beyond the therapeutic products we’re offering. So hats off to everyone for the support and willingness to stand behind us and go the next step!
It gives us great pleasure to be continually posting the success of our Draper Philanthropy Project. Specifically our goal is to raise awareness for adrenal cancer, a rare and typically fatal orphan cancer, and to help further research through regular donations via the sale of certain products. The University of Michigan’s Comprehensive Cancer Center is leading the way when it comes researching and making further advancements surrounding this cancer. It’s exactly the reason why we’re so lucky to have partnered up with them.
This month we’re able to report that a check to the Spencer Bell Endowment Fund in the amount of of $825.00 helped bring our customer contribution to the program to a grand total of $2,625.00. Thank you to customers Alweinna Sours, Denise Belcher, Kristin Sandborn, William Hale, Joanne Ziolkowski, Erika Wirt, Jane O’Meara, Maryann Belcher, John Shoemaker, Darrell Horsley, Tiffany Brandenburg, Donald Cahill and Barbara Allegretta for their product purchases via Draper Therapies. It is through providing health and wellness to others that we’re able to join forces with a larger force to go above and beyond. Thank you!!!
Article republished from the University of Michigan’s Comprehensive Cancer Center- Cancer News
Building Support for Adrenal Cancer Research at U-M
When Diana Hart’s brother was diagnosed with adrenal cancer, her whole world turned upside down. Like so many others who feel powerless in the face of life-threatening illness, Diana turned to the Internet for information and guidance, but she found very few resources. Considered an ultra-rare cancer, adrenal cancer strikes less than 400 people nationwide each year. Unlike patients with more common cancers, those with rare cancers don’t have national support networks or immediate access to information about best practices and treatment options.
Diana’s search ultimately led her to U-M endocrinologist Gary Hammer, M.D., Ph.D., director of one of the world’s only comprehensive adrenal cancer clinics. Now, Diana has become a driving force for the disease, along with dozens of others who are working across the country to raise awareness about adrenal cancer — channeling financial support into U-M’s research and giving a voice to patients with this devastating disease.
“When Derrick was diagnosed, I didn’t even know what the adrenal gland was, let alone that you could get cancer in it,” recalls Diana Hart. “It was terrifying — his children were very young and he had so much life left in front of him. It’s like the world just stopped and we had nowhere to turn for answers. That’s the reality for people with rare cancers.”
“Then we found Dr. Hammer, and everything changed,” adds Diana, whose brother was treated at U-M and has now been cancer free for nearly two years.
U-M’s Comprehensive Cancer Center established one of the nation’s first adrenal cancer clinics in the 1970s, which formed the basis for the Multidisciplinary Endocrine Cancer Program. Established in 2005, the program brings together experts in related fields to provide coordinated, exceptional care to patients diagnosed with adrenal cancer and other cancers of the endocrine system.
Diana Hart with her brother, Derrick:
“The Schembechler gift allowed us to convene an international consortium of adrenal cancer researchers and establish a mechanism for collaborative research, which is critical given that the adrenal cancer populations are so small,” says Dr. Hammer. “Now the consortium makes it possible for adrenal cancer researchers to share information and establish best practices in patient care, as well as undertake multi- institutional research.”
As a result, the U-M team, in collaboration with international colleagues, has made significant discoveries in adrenal cancer over the past few years, particularly around understanding the biology of the disease and the mechanisms that drive its growth.
“We have made major progress in a relatively short time,” adds Dr. Hammer. “We now have a much clearer understanding of how the disease starts, which has not only allowed us to diagnose it earlier, but has also allowed us to develop and test new drugs designed to target adrenal cancer specifically.”
All of this work has put U-M at the center of adrenal cancer research globally, and the network of patients and their families who’ve been treated by Dr. Hammer and his colleagues, medical oncologist Frank Worden, M.D., and endocrine surgeons Paul Gauger, M.D., and Barbra Miller, M.D., has continued to build momentum on the disease by raising awareness and support for additional research.
Diana Hart, for example, enlisted the support of her longtime friend Geno Auriemma — University of Connecticut women’s basketball coach and U.S. women’s basketball coach for the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics — and his wife, Kathy, to co-host two adrenal cancer events, which raised the capital necessary for Dr. Hammer to establish the world’s first adrenal cancer tissue repository.
Cathy and Bill Bell established an adrenal cancer foundation in memory of their late son, Spencer, another victim of the disease. Spencer was an up-and-coming musician with his band, the Stevedores. His family, close friends (including the band 100 Monkeys), and other supporters host concerts and other events around the world to raise awareness about adrenal cancer and to support U-M’s research.
Kat Wojtylak, product manager at Draper Therapies and a cancer survivor herself, encouraged her company to get involved with the adrenal cancer effort. Draper Therapies adopted the cause and now supports an adrenal cancer website with information about upcoming events and fundraising successes.
“We also include information about adrenal cancer research in all of our product catalogues, and we include an adrenal cancer pamphlet along with every order we ship out,” says Kat. “This year, we also initiated special product promotions, with 50 percent of the proceeds going to support adrenal cancer research.”
These initiatives, along with efforts by dozens of others, have yielded significant funding and provided seed investments in a number of important projects, including new work in genetic sequencing.
“While all adrenal cancers begin in the adrenal gland, we suspect that there are a number of different ways in which these cancers develop. Our genetic sequencing work will allow us to identify the molecular variations among adrenal cancer tumors,” says Dr. Hammer. “Ultimately, instead of treating all adrenal cancers the same, we’ll be able to customize treatments based on the genetic factors involved in each patient’s cancer.”
The widespread financial support of U-M’s adrenal cancer research — from Bo Schembechler’s original gift to the grassroots fundraising of Diana Hart and others today — has not only paid off in terms of immediate progress, but has also helped set the stage for a major investment in adrenal cancer research by the National Cancer Institute. The NCI has just announced that it will make a multi-million-dollar investment in an adrenal cancer genetic sequencing project with the U-M team leading the effort.
“Ten years ago, adrenal cancer wasn’t on anyone’s radar. Now, because of the support of so many people and the research infrastructure and discovery that support has enabled, we’re poised to make a transformational difference on the disease over the next ten years,” adds Dr. Hammer.
For Diana Hart, seeing the power that individuals have to make a real difference in rare cancers is extremely energizing.
“I’ve always been involved in cancer fundraising — I did the walks and wore the ribbons. But before this disease entered my life, I really didn’t understand how few resources there are for rare cancers-for patients and for research,” says Diana. “I feel like all of us involved in the adrenal cancer fight are showing how patients and their families can get involved and help make progress happen on these kinds of orphan diseases. It’s really very exciting.”
For more information on how you can make a difference in rare cancers, please contact UMCCCAnnualGiving@umich.edu.
The Draper Philanthropy Project is out there promoting adrenal cancer research with the sale of our Draped in Health Blankets and silicone cause bracelets. It’s important for us to give back where we can and we never imagined that in just two short months, after the launch of our new blanket colors (left), we were able to bring in $780 (that’s $40 of every blanket sold) to raise our total donations to $3,391.12 since this all began.
The money raised goes directly to the University of Michigan’s Comprehensive Cancer Center to help further research surrounding adrenal cancer, a rare and typically fatal orphan cancer. Thank you to customers and friends, Denise Belcher, Mary Ann Belcher, Margaret Edwards, Linda Caddel, Tiffany Brandenburg, Christan LoCascio, Stacie Tuggle and Hologenix, LLC. It is through providing health and wellness to others and the support of our customers that we’re able to put our words into action beyond the therapeutic products we’re offering. So hats off to everyone for the support and willingness to stand behind us and go the next step!
Draped in Health, Wellness, Life and Love. 