Posts

Revealed: Biden Cancer Charity Spent Millions on Salaries, Zero on Research

/0 Comments/in , /by

A cancer charity started by Joe Biden gave out no money to research, and spent most of its contributions on staff salaries, federal filings show.

The Biden Cancer Initiative was founded in 2017 by the former vice president and his wife Jill Biden to “develop and drive implementation of solutions to accelerate progress in cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, research and care and to reduce disparities in cancer outcomes,” according to its IRS mission statement. But it gave out no grants in its first two years, and spent millions on the salaries of former Washington DC aides it hired.

The charity took in $4,809,619 in contributions in fiscal years 2017 and 2018, and spent $3,070,301 on payroll in those two years. The group’s president, Gregory Simon, raked in $429,850 in fiscal 2018 (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019), according to the charity’s most recent federal tax filings.

Simon, a former Pfizer executive and longtime health care lobbyist who headed up the White House’s cancer task force in the Obama administration, saw his salary nearly double from the $224,539 he made in fiscal 2017, tax filings show.

Danielle Carnival, former chief of staff for Obama’s cancer initiative, the Cancer Moonshot Task Force, who took home $258,207 in 2018. (Read more from “Revealed: Biden Cancer Charity Spent Millions on Salaries, Zero on Research” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Man with Cancer Marries Longtime Girlfriend Before Entering Hospice

/0 Comments/in , /by

Corey Cunningham was working for an oil and gas refinery in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands in October 2019 when he had a seizure on the job.

He was evacuated to a hospital in Puerto Rico and later diagnosed with brain cancer while at home in Houston, Texas. Doctors said there was no cure for his stage 4 cancer, and gave him a life expectancy of about 15 months.

“It was heartbreaking,” his longtime girlfriend and now wife, 42-year-old Tyyisha Evans, told People of the diagnosis. “We cried together. I said, ‘You have to fight. I need you to fight.’ And he did.” . . .

When a palliative care physician asked the 45-year-old who he wanted to be his medical power of attorney, Cunningham responded that he had bought a diamond ring and had planned to marry Evans. . .

About an hour before the ceremony began, Evans found out Cunningham was ready to enter hospice care. (Read more from “Man with Cancer Marries Longtime Girlfriend Before Entering Hospice” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Immune Discovery ‘May Treat All Cancer’

/0 Comments/in , /by

A newly-discovered part of our immune system could be harnessed to treat all cancers, say scientists.

The Cardiff University team discovered a method of killing prostate, breast, lung and other cancers in lab tests. . .

The scientists were looking for “unconventional” and previously undiscovered ways the immune system naturally attacks tumours.

What they found was a T-cell inside people’s blood. This is an immune cell that can scan the body to assess whether there is a threat that needs to be eliminated. . .

“It raises the prospect of a ‘one-size-fits-all’ cancer treatment, a single type of T-cell that could be capable of destroying many different types of cancers across the population.” (Read more from “Immune Discovery ‘May Treat All Cancer'” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

America Is About to Get a Powerful Tool in the War Against Cancer

/0 Comments/in , , /by

America’s war on cancer is about to get another tool in its arsenal. The country’s first carbon ion therapy center to treat cancer is being built in collaboration with Hitachi on the campus of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. The cancer therapy treatment will be part of Mayo’s $233 million oncology facility, announced in June.

An alternative to surgery, this new treatment is viewed as the next horizon of cancer care. It has the capability of killing cancer cells that are resistant to traditional radiation therapy. Yet the U.S. has been slow to adopt the treatment even though the technology was developed in California in 1975.

According to experts, carbon ion therapy damages the DNA of fast-growing cancer cells, ultimately destroying them. But unlike older forms of radiation, this technique causes minimal harm to normal tissue. Studies also suggest it triggers an immune response against cancer.

Dr. Steven Buskirk, chair of the department of radiation oncology at Mayo Clinic in Florida, says, “the availability of carbon ion technology will allow Mayo Clinic researchers to evaluate the efficacy of carbon ion therapy for the treatment of various cancer types, including exploration into new and expanded therapies, including multi-modality treatment options.” . . .

The plan is to put together a national Scientific Advisory Board composed of doctors and scientists from the U.S. and abroad to study the efficacy and safety of the treatment and secure FDA approval so the treatment can be offered in 2025, says Dr. Kent Thielen, CEO of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. He notes that his institution is a leading National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, and Mayo Clinic radiation oncologists and physicists have been studying carbon ion treatment in Asia and Europe for nearly a decade. Mayo already has developed a high level of expertise in treatment planning and delivery. (Read more from “America Is About to Get a Powerful Tool in the War Against Cancer” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Congressman Announces Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis

/0 Comments/in , /by

Georgia Rep. John Lewis, a longtime congressman and civil rights leader, announced Sunday he’s undergoing treatment for stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Lewis, a Democrat who has represented Georgia’s 5th Congressional District for over 30 years, said doctors discovered the cancer during a routine visit.

“While I am clear-eyed about the prognosis, doctors have told me that recent medical advances have made this type of cancer treatable in many cases, that treatment options are no longer as debilitating as they once were, and that I have a fighting chance,” Lewis said in a statement.

But, despite the diagnosis, Lewis, 79, said he will continue to serve in Congress. “I have decided to do what I know to do and do what I have always done: I am going to fight it and keep fighting for the Beloved Community. We still have many bridges to cross.” (Read more from “Congressman Announces Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

WATCH: High School Football Player Asks to Pray with Opponent Whose Mom Has Cancer

/0 Comments/in , /by

A high school football player forgot about his team’s rivalry when he went over and asked if he could pray with his opponent whose mom has cancer.

It all went down in Texas when Sherman High School student Gage Smith walked over to West Mesquite High School player Ty Jordan at the end of the game last Friday night and asked if the two could pray together for Jordan’s mom, Tiffany Jordan, per the “Today” Show in a piece published Wednesday.

Ty’s mom, age 42, has stage 4 lung and bone cancer.

“It was meant for just me and him to have a moment and to pray over his family and for his mom,” Smith shared. “I just wanted to let him know there are other people thinking about him and his family, and let him know he has somebody to turn to.”

“I would’ve done that whether we would’ve won or lost,” he added, after his team beat Ty’s team 56-27. “During the game we’re enemies and we’re gonna play and try to win the game, but you still have that respect for the other opponent. I wanted to do that for him.” (Read more from “Watch: High School Football Player Asks to Pray with Opponent Whose Mom Has Cancer” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

New Cancer Vaccine Shows Incredible Promise

/0 Comments/in , , /by

A vaccine undergoing testing at the Mayo Clinic has reportedly removed cancer cells in a breast cancer patient.

Florida resident Lee Mercker became the first patient to participate in a clinical trial for a new vaccine after being diagnosed in March with early-stages of the disease.

She told First Coast News she had “DCIS stage zero” breast cancer, meaning the cancer cells had not yet spread. She was left with three options — have a lumpectomy where the cancer cells are removed, undergo a mastectomy where the breasts are removed, or join a clinical trial for a potentially life-saving vaccine to kill the cells and prevent them from coming back. . .

The treatment is being used on another patient who is reportedly showing positive results.

Chumsri said clinical trials for patients with other stages of cancer are also showing good results. (Read more from “New Cancer Vaccine Shows Incredible Promise” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Media Outlets Downplay, Cut Out Celebrity’s Credit to God for Cancer Recovery

/0 Comments/in , /by

In an interview with People magazine out Wednesday, Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek credited the prayers of millions of his fans for helping him in his fight against stage-four pancreatic cancer, now in “near remission.” Yet, while ABC’s World News Tonight touted Trebek’s praise, the CBS Evening News ignored that part of Trebek’s comments and NBC Nightly News edited it out of the quotes read and video clips they aired. . .

ABC anchor David Muir recalled how Trebek “vowed to fight it” by playing a soundbite of the gameshow host telling fans back in March: “With the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.” . . .

Now let’s look at NBC’s edits. Correspondent Joe Fryer played the same soundbite of Trebek’s vow. But in this one, the NBC reporter spoke over the prayer part so it sounded like this: “I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.” And so the edit stood out.

Next came the part where Fryer skipped over Trebek’s credits in the People magazine piece: “He tells People, “I’ve got a couple million people out there who have expressed good thoughts… I told the doctors this has to be more than just the chemo.” For Trebek, that support is part of the answer.” Compare that to what Muir said and what People magazine wrote.

As for CBS, fill-in anchor and Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan only had a news brief on the story in which the only quote from the magazine was that Trebek thought the turnaround was “mindboggling.” (Read more from “Media Outlets Downplay Celebrity’s Credit to God for Cancer Recovery” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Parents Learn Son’s ‘Crooked Smile’ Is Actually Symptom of Deadly Brain Tumor

/0 Comments/in , /by

The heartbroken parents of a 3-year-old boy in the U.K. said that when they noticed that their son was flashing a new, crooked smile they simply thought that maybe he was imitating someone he had seen. . .

But Lacey said that Jack then started walking with his arms outstretched, as if to brace his fall or feel his surroundings, and also began blinking persistently. The boy also began suffering from night terrors, which led them to seek the help of a doctor.

Jack was sent to Sheffield’s Children’s Hospital where doctors discovered an aggressive brain tumor and diagnosed him with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). The highly aggressive and difficult to treat brain tumors are found in the pons area of the brainstem, which controls breathing, blood pressure and heart rate, according to Dana-Farber Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.

DIPG accounts for 10 percent of all childhood nervous system tumors, and are typically diagnosed in children between the ages of 5 and 9, but can occur in kids of any age. Symptoms may first present as issues with eye movements, facial expressions, speech, chewing, swallowing, problems walking or weakness in the arms and legs. According to the center, prognosis remains very poor. . .

“We are broken,” Lacey said, according to The Sun. “The news has been the darkest time of our lives, I can’t even begin to think about him not being there. He hasn’t got any relatives who have passed away, there’s no one waiting for him.” (Read more from “Parents Learn Son’s ‘Crooked Smile’ Is Actually Symptom of Deadly Brain Tumor” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Implants Increasingly Linked to Lymphoma in Women – 9 Reported Deaths

/0 Comments/in , /by

On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Dr. Binita Ashar released a statement on the danger of women getting cancer after having breast implants. As CNN reported, “At least 457 women in the United States have so far been diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma. … Of those, nine have died as a result of the rare cancer, which affects cells in the immune system and can be found around the breast implant.” Anaplastic large cell lymphoma is a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons has written: “BIA-ALCL usually develops as a delayed swelling of the breast (Average 8 years, range 2 to 28 years) after the insertion of textured breast implants, which may present as fluid collecting around the implant or marked breast asymmetry. It can also present as a lump in the breast or armpit.”

The FDA statement said, “We recognize the limitations of medical device reports, which is why we review other sources of information, including medical literature and the Patient Registry and Outcomes for Breast Implants and Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma Etiology and Epidemiology. PROFILE collects real world data regarding patients who have a confirmed diagnosis of BIA-ALCL. Our participation in this registry reflects the FDA’s commitment to implementing our Medical Device Safety Action Plan, in which we are streamlining and modernizing how we implement postmarket actions to address device safety issues to make our responses to risks more timely and effective.” (Read more from “Implants Increasingly Linked to Lymphoma in Women – 9 Reported Deaths” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE