Did your elected officials sign onto the 2015 goal?

C3 advocates worked hard to gain support in Congress for the National Cancer Institute’s goal of eliminating cancer death and suffering by the year 2015. Our work started on March 15, 2005 when we visited Capitol Hill as part of [One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC)](http://www.ovaconline.org). We asked our elected officials to sign onto a letter of support for the 2015 goal which would be sent to President Bush. After we returned home, we followed up with phone calls, letters and email.

In the end, C3 and other OVAC partners gathered support from:

* 275 Representatives (63%)- 139 Republicans, 135 Democrats, 1 Independent
* 92 Senators (92%)- 48 Republicans, 43 Democrats and 1 Independent

Did your elected officials support the letter?

* [Copy of the House 2015 letter with signatures](/pdf/House2015letter.pdf) (PDF)
* [Copy of the Senate 2015 letter with signatures](/pdf/Senate2015letter.pdf) (PDF)

Read on for a list of *all* signers, alphabetical by state. If your elected officials are on the list, let them know how much you appreciate their effort. If they’re not, write or call and ask them why not?

Continue reading…

Posted by Nancy Roach on September 30th, 2005
Posted in: Policy & Advocacy News | 1 Comment »

Removing Insurance Barriers Not Enough to Improve Clinical Trial Participation

Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine looked at enrollment in cancer clinical trials before and after changes to medical reimbursement policies that were intended to remove some of the economic barriers to clinical trial participation. In two separate reports, the researchers conclude that the removal of these barriers, by itself, is not enough to improve enrollment.

Study 1: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, July 21, 2004 (see journal abstract)

Study 2: Archives of Internal Medicine, July 11, 2005 (see journal abstract)

A National Cancer Institute article on these studies made the following comments:

>Taken together, these studies indicate that insurance coverage barriers are only one factor that limits enrollment in clinical trials. Removing those barriers will not, by itself, improve participation in cancer clinical trials.

>”State mandates and Medicare reimbursement do not appear to be meaningful drivers of patient accrual,” said lead researcher Cary P. Gross, M.D., of Yale University School of Medicine. “Assurance that payers such as third-party insurers and Medicare will cover routine care costs associated with clinical trials is an essential element in improving enrollment rates, but that assurance alone is not a sufficient mechanism for increasing enrollment.”

>”There are numerous barriers to clinical trial enrollment,” said Trimble. “In retrospect, the lack of coverage by Medicare and other third-party payers wasn’t as big of a barrier as we thought.”

>Although the results of these studies are mixed, they do provide important pieces to the puzzle of improving clinical trials enrollment. “The apparent increase in access to early phase studies observed in the JNCI study does show that state legislation can help, just not as much as we had hoped,” said Trimble.

See the National Cancer Institute article.

Posted by Dusty Weaver on September 29th, 2005
Posted in: Policy & Advocacy News | No Comments »

Join the Tour of Hope by making its promise

Encouraged by champion cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, a [team of 24 bicyclists ](http://www.tourofhope.org/team/index.htm) will ride from San Diego to Washington D.C. to raise awareness of the importance of cancer research and cancer clinical trials. The ride begins on September 26 and will follow a [3,300 mile route](http://www.tourofhope.org/ride/2005_national_route/index.htm) across the United States.

[Lance Armstrong](http://www.tourofhope.org/lance/index.htm) will deliver the promises of hundreds of thousands of cancer survivors and supporters to Congress at the end of the ride. You can [add your own promise](http://www.tourofhope.org/promise/index.php) to learn about cancer and support cancer research. You can make the Promise in memory or honor of someone special.

According to the Tour of Hope team, you can help keep the Promise by:

+ Knowing your risks, geting screened and learning about cancer

+ Supporting your family and friends through their health care decisions

+ Advocating that cancer research become a national health care priority

+ And, if faced with the disease, discussing with your cancer care team the options available, including possible participation in a cancer research study (clinical trial).

The Grand Finale will be held [on the Ellipse in Washington](http://www.tourofhope.org/toh/2005_dc_finale/dc_ride_finale.htm) on October 8th.

Posted by Kate Murphy on September 28th, 2005
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »

ASCO Foundation establishes fund to help cancer patients in need because of hurricanes

Donations are being accepted by the ASCO Foundation to help cancer patients affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita who are in need of critical services.

100% of all contributions to the **ASCO Foundation Hurricane Relief Fund** will be available through non-profit organizations that provide direct assistance to cancer patients, including *CancerCare*.

We realize that many cancer patients and their families who have been displaced are not only dealing with the challenges of their cancer diagnosis and treatment, but also with the trauma of uncertainty and temporary relocation. Funds will be made available through the end of 2006 to make sure this support reaches cancer patients as their individual situations and needs emerge over the coming year.

Donations may be made in memory of a loved one or in honor of a person living with cancer.

[More information on how to make a donation](http://www.ascofoundation.org/foundation/FoundationMain/1,2094,_12-003592-00_18-0042395-00_19-0042402-00_20-001,00.aspASC)

Posted by Kate Murphy on September 28th, 2005
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »

Treating elderly colorectal cancer patients with Xelox

Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, 70 years of age or older, were successfully treated with a first-line combination of oxaliplatin and capecitabine (XELOX) in an Italian study. There was a response rate of 41% among patients in the trial, and side effects were manageable.

Patients in the trial received an intravenous infusion of oxaliplatin on the first day of a three-week treatment cycle followed by 2 weeks of daily oral capecitabine and a week of rest from treatment. Doses of both oxaliplatin (Eloxotin©) and capecitabine (Xeloda©) were lower during the first and second treatment cycles and increased if patients did not have serious toxicity.

Seventy-six (76) patients were treated during the study with 2 complete and 29 partial responses. The median time until their cancers got worse was 8.% months, median overall survival time was 14.4 months.

5% of study patients had severely *lowered blood counts.* 8% suffered from *neuropathy* in their hands and feet severe enough to cause pain or interfere with functioning. 13% had advanced *hand and foot syndrome* with redness, pain, and cracking of the skin.

Pasquale Comella, M.D. and his colleagues from the Southern Italy Oncology Group reported the results of their study in the July 15, 2005 issue of *Cancer* (Volume 104, Issue 2 Pages 282 - 289). They concluded:

Fit elderly patients with MCC showed a good RR to XELOX with only mild toxicity observed in most patients. XELOX, should, therefore be considered as an important therapeutic option for elderly patients with MCC.

[Read the study abstract in *Cancer*.](http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/110528042/ABSTRACT)

Posted by Kate Murphy on September 28th, 2005
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »