According to the University Medical Center at the University
of Groningen in the Netherlands researchers, the damage to
the heart from some cancer drugs is a well known fact but
this is the first long-term study to track the effects of cancer
drugs on the heart that might occur years later.
As a resut of this study, researchers recommend that all
patients treated with drugs known as anthracyclines have
life-long heart function monitoring. They emphasis, even
with the study findings, that doxorubicin is a highly effective
cancer treatment. In addition, today's cancer patients tend
to receive lower doses of these cancer drugs, and
cardioprotective drugs, such as dexrazoxane, were not
available to cancer patients in the past.
Nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy remains one of the most
distressing side effects for patients undergoing treatment for cancer.
Depending upon the chemotherapy agents or regimens given, up to 90%
of patients may suffer from some form of chemotherapy-induced nausea
and vomiting (CINV). Besides significantly reducing a patient’s quality of
life, symptoms from CINV can be severely debilitating and often result in
patients refusing further courses of chemotherapy, which minimizes
chances for an optimal outcome. Furthermore, CINV is burdensome on
the medical system, as nurses must spend follow-up time with phone
calls or patient visits in addressing this issue. The time spent in dealing
with CINV creates a financial impact, and steals time from the healthcare
staff who could otherwise attend to other patients or medical issues.
A multi-institutional clinical trial was recently conducted to evaluate the
combination of Aloxi™ and Emend® in the prevention of CINV following
several different chemotherapy regimens that were moderately or
highly emetogenic.
Complete responses (no emesis and no additional medication for nausea
and vomiting) was achieved in 90% of patients during the acute phase, and
80% of patients in the delayed phase. During both the acute phase (first
24 hours) and the delayed phase (24-120 hours), 97% of patients
experienced no emesis.
Cancerhelp UK page.
Next month, he plans on traveling to Massachusetts for the
Pan-Mass Challenge, which raises money for cancer research.
Many triathletes raise money for causes when they compete.
For instance John Steigerwald of Larchmont, a veteran of rigorous
Ironman triathlons, will compete this year in the Westchester
Triathlon, among others, and raise money for the Association.
But in addition to medical charities, he has raised thousands
for the renovation of a local Larchmont park.
If I can do it, a lot of people can, Mr. Steigerwald said it's just
about committing yourself.
For those interested in charity sports events, free training is
available from the Team in Training, which is sponsored by
the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. According to Ms. Bull,
a mentor in the program, even novice athletes can join the
Team in Training if they raise the minimum contribution.
In return, the group provides free triathlon training as
well as two mentors like Ms. Bull to monitor progress.
"We try to get them well prepared and give them a lot of encouragement",
she said, adding that the shared interest of a good cause gives athletes
"a great sense of being on a team".