Cancer

May 17 2013

Almost 3 million American teens live with a parent who’s dealt with cancer

Truthfully, the bad news came as no surprise.

Your Mom hadn’t been feeling well lately, and for weeks you’d heard your parents whispering. You knew she was having some tests done. Still, when they finally told you she had cancer, you couldn’t believe it. You cried for 20 minutes, ran out of the house, kicked the door, or just quietly went to your room to think.

May 17 2013

"Miracle drug" contained suntan lotion

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — An ex-doctor who was also a minister was sentenced today to 14 years in federal prison for selling a “brown sludge” made of suntan lotion and beef flavoring as a miracle cancer cure to patients across the country, via ads on a religious TV network and her Mission Hills clinic.

Christine Daniel, 58, of Santa Clarita, who operated a clinic under such names as the Sonrise Wellness Center, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Timlin, who remanded Daniel into custody following the four-hour hearing.

May 9 2013

Zach’s song “Clouds” went viral on YouTube

Zach Sobiech is dying with grace, love, joy and optimism — the kind that somehow makes us all feel more alive.

When he was 14, Zach was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer that mostly strikes children. His prognosis wasn’t great. Last May, with no more treatment options, he was given just a year to live.

Zach turned 18 on Friday. On Saturday he went to prom with his girl, Amy. His high school class graduates next month.

Apr 16 2013

50 percent greater risk of disease recurring

Doctors at Los Angeles’ Children’s Hospital have discovered a link between obesity and a significant decrease in a child’s ability to fight leukemia, according to a recently released research study.

In a study — outlined in the current issue of Cancer Research — physicians and researchers at the hospital’s Saban Research Institute report that obesity substantially impairs the ability of a first-line chemotherapy to kill leukemia cells.

Apr 5 2013

He was planning to slow down

The last hand in the “two thumbs up” film critic team, Roger Ebert, died Thursday, two days after revealing cancer returned to his body.

Ebert and Gene Siskel co-hosted the iconic review show “Siskel and Ebert at the Movies” until Siskel’s death in 1999 after a battle with a brain tumor.

The Chicago Sun-Times, the base of operations for Ebert’s syndicated reviews, announced his death at age 70.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.