It's all about health

Hospital patients 'still at risk'

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27 October 2011 Last updated at 18:45 GMT Patients at Romford's Queen's Hospital "remain at risk"

Patients are still at risk at an east London hospital, according to a health watchdog report after the deaths of two pregnant women.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) review began in June after the deaths of Tebussum Ali and Violet Stephens at Queen's Hospital in Romford.

Mrs Stephens died in April and Ms Ali and her baby died in January.

The Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust said it would improve.

The CQC report identified "serious problems" and placed requirements on the trust to deliver "fundamental and wide-ranging improvements".

Midwives suspended

The report said: "Despite some signs of improvement in recent months, patients remain at risk of poor care in this trust.

"While the most immediate concerns were around maternity services, failings were also identified in emergency care and in radiology.

Continue reading the main story Verbally abusive and unprofessional behaviour by some staff to patientsLack of leadership from senior managementVacancies repeatedly filled by agency staff, reducing quality of care"Widespread improvement is needed in patient flows, the management of complaints, staff recruitment and governance in order to improve patient experience."

An independent report found in the case of Mrs Stephens, who was admitted with potentially life-threatening pre-eclampsia, there was a failure to give a blood transfusion and a delay in making the decision to deliver her baby.

In the case of Ms Ali, who was also known as Sareena, the report found staff had failed to spot signs of her ruptured womb and tried to resuscitate her with a disconnected oxygen mask.

Tebussum Ali and her baby died in January

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said the standard of care provided by the trust must improve substantially.

"We should be prepared to shine a spotlight on problems where they exist, because poor performance is not just a statistic or a line on a graph.

"It means patients being let down, or hurt, or worse."

The CQC inquiry found the most significant problems were at Queen's Hospital, although elements of poor care were present across both of the trust's main sites.

However the CQC said leadership of the trust was improving due to the efforts of a new chief executive and medical director.

Speaking after the publication of the report, the trust's chief executive Averil Dongworth said: "We are taking the findings of this report extremely seriously and have already started work to implement its recommendations.

"We recognise that there have been failures in the past, but we are determined to continue to improve until we are among the best trusts in the country."

She said seven members of staff had already or were in the process of being disciplined and there were more to follow.

The trust also said it had recruited an extra 72 midwives this year and had improved staff support and training.

Lawyer Sarah Harman, who is taking legal proceedings on behalf of 20 maternity patients of Queen's Hospital, said: "For patients to receive a reasonable standard of care there needs to be a significant change in the staff culture.

"Patients' concerns should be listened to and their complaints acted on.

"Had this happened in the past, the tragedies in the maternity unit this year would have been avoided."

Director of nursing Deborah Wheeler said the trust was unable to comment on the legal action.

The government has said plans to move maternity and emergency services to Queen's Hospital from King George Hospital in Ilford can go ahead, as long as ministers are satisfied that services are safe.

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Aspirin slashes hereditary cancer risk in UK study

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By Ben Hirschler

LONDON | Fri Oct 28, 2011 2:32am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Taking two aspirin a day for two years reduces the long-term risk of bowel cancer in people with a family history of the disease by around 60 percent, according to a British study published Friday.

The finding could also have implications for the wider population, though more research is needed to determine an ideal dose for different groups of people.

In recent years there has been an intense debate about the merits of routinely taking aspirin, which increases the risk of stomach ulcers and internal bleeding, but also protects against heart problems.

John Burn of Newcastle University believes his study -- the first randomized controlled trial into the effect of aspirin on cancer outcomes -- is a key piece of evidence validating the case for aspirin.

Previous research into cancer and aspirin, a cheap drug originally developed by Bayer more than a century ago, has been based on less robust observational studies.

Burn's study looked at people with Lynch syndrome, a genetic condition predisposing them to a range of cancers. It affects at least one in 1,000 people and around half of them develop cancer, mainly in the bowel and womb.

His data suggests that for every 10,000 cancers prevented, there could be 1,000 extra ulcers due to aspirin.

"There's a trade-off. If we could get by on a smaller dose, then we could potentially avoid a lot of those ulcers," Burn told a news conference.

For the general population, taking low-dose aspirin might be a more sensible option, and a major new multi-dose trial should shed more light on this in the next few years, he added.

DELAYED EFFECT

Burn and colleagues studied 861 people with Lynch syndrome, who began a two-year course of either 600 milligrams a day of aspirin or a placebo between 1999 and 2005.

An initial analysis in 2007 found no difference in cancer rates between the groups. But it turned out the effect was delayed and in 2010 there was a clear divergence, with 19 new bowel cancers among those on aspirin and 34 in the placebo arm.

What is more, among those patients who stuck to the full two-year regimen of pill-taking -- some 60 percent of the total -- the effects were more pronounced, and strongly statistically significant, with a 63 percent reduction in bowel cancer cases from 23 in the placebo group versus 10 in the aspirin group.

"What we have finally shown is that aspirin has a major preventative effect on cancer but this doesn't become apparent until years later," Burn said.

How exactly aspirin provides protection is unclear, but Burn said the delayed effect suggested aspirin may hit faulty stem cells before they mutate into pre-cancerous cells.

The study, which was published online by the Lancet medical journal and part-funded by Bayer, also found some evidence of a reduction in other solid cancers linked to Lynch syndrome.

"This is a really important study showing that aspirin can significantly reduce the risk of bowel and other cancers in patients genetically at high risk of developing cancer," said Chris Paraskeva of the University of Bristol, who was not involved in the research.

In a commentary in the Lancet, Andrew Chan of Harvard Medical and Scott Lippman of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston said the findings were "compelling" and arguably supported more general recommendations to consider aspirin for preventing bowel cancer, based on individual patients' risks.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Will Waterman)

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Die Global Kohle-Handel komplexe Berechnung

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To feed China's insatiable demand for coal, U.S. companies are trying to sell and ship the lucrative commodity to the Asian market from new West Coast ports. Above, the cooling towers of a coal-fired power plant are seen on the outskirts of Beijing.

This is the second of two reports on plans to export U.S. coal to China.

Coal producers in Wyoming and Montana are hoping new export terminals will be built in Washington state so they can ramp up their sales to China. Activists are trying to stop those ports, in part because they're concerned about global warming. But a thriving export market could also drive up the price of coal here in the United States, and that has climate implications as well.

Energy economics can sometimes be like a hall of mirrors, where what you see is not actually what you get. Let's start this story from the top.

Enlarge Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

A 133-car coal train is loaded at the Buckskin Coal Mine in Gillete, Wyo. Each car carries 120 tons of coal. New terminals in Washington state could eventually be destinations for coal, which is currently used for power in St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago and the eastern U.S.

Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Developers want to build a huge coal export terminal in Bellingham, Wash., and another one in Longview, on the south side of the state. K.C. Golden, at the nonprofit group Climate Solutions in Seattle, says this is a terrible idea for a state that is phasing out its lone coal-burning plant as it strives to become a leader in clean energy.

"Now, to become the conveyor belt and launching pad for a huge expansion of global carbon commerce would be exactly the opposite of the future we envision, the kind of economic strategy that we're doubling down on in the Northwest," he says.

Contrast that to what's happening in China, where they're still building new coal plants like crazy. Golden says coal exports would feed that beast.

"Our fear is that if there is an unlimited supply from around the world to fuel these new coal plants in Asia, that will act as a big green thumbs-up for them to build a whole new fleet of coal plants, and we'll essentially be locked into catastrophic climate change."

But U.S. coal exports to China would not be a game-changer. China's current appetite for coal is so massive that even if the two proposed U.S. terminals ended up exporting at full capacity — that is, 100 million tons a year, or 10 percent of current production levels — that would only satisfy 3 percent of China's appetite.

If the U.S. enters the global market in a bigger way in the future, the price of coal in the international market will increasingly affect our prices at home.

- Bill Watson, U.S. Energy Information Administration

And here's where the first turn in the hall of mirrors comes. Bill Watson from the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) says that right now, coal from Wyoming and Montana is mostly sold at a low price, since those are land-locked resources that can't reach the lucrative world market.

"But if the U.S. enters the global market in a bigger way in the future, the price of coal in the international market will increasingly affect our prices at home," Watson says.

The Coal Pricing Conundrum

The logic goes like this: If coal companies can sell coal for, say, $100 a ton on the world market, they will be less inclined to keep selling it for $20 a ton at home.

"Now, that's bad news if you're a consumer in Texas who buys electricity generated with Wyoming coal," says Trevor Houser, an energy analyst at the Rhodium Group in New York. "But it could potentially be good news for U.S. emissions, as an increase in coal prices domestically switches coal plants over to natural gas."

And when utilities switch to cheaper natural gas, they'll also emit less carbon dioxide, because natural gas is much better than coal in that regard.

So welcome to the central room in the hall of mirrors. Houser says if coal exports hasten our switch to natural gas, he figures that would essentially make up for any added fumes from American coal being burned in China. So he says it's a wash.

"I think what's more important is what it does to the politics of climate change in the U.S.," Houser says.

His window on politics is as a climate adviser to the Obama administration's State Department. He argues that coal companies might be more receptive to limits on U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide if they can sell less coal for more money overseas.

And there's one final illusion in this house of mirrors. Watson from the EIA notes that the world price for coal fluctuates widely, and right now, "the prices are relatively high. China has bid them up, and that's why producers are willing to enter the market. But it's going to attract other producers in other parts of the world also."

In particular, if Mongolia beefs up its railways, it can cheaply transport coal to China. China can then stop paying top dollar for coal that is currently shipped in from Australia, Indonesia and the United States. So the bottom could fall out of the U.S. export market faster than the companies can build the shipping terminals in Washington state.

In fact, that's exactly what happened in the 1980s, the last time coal prices skyrocketed. Some port cities scrambled to build coal terminals. Ross Macfarlane at Climate Solutions says companies and ports invested hugely in export terminals.

"One of those that did bite in that cycle was the port of Portland," Macfarlane says. "They locked up a very valuable piece of property for over 10 years — planned, built a facility. Not a single lump of coal was ever shipped."

If that happens again, we're right back to where we started.

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Morning Edition–

Shipping coal to China might help the U.S. switch to more environmentally friendly natural gas.

Bellingham, Wash., says a proposed terminal that would ship coal to China would mar its green image.

The oil tanker S.S. Montebello was sunk by a Japanese submarine during World War II.

Feds Asked Polar Bear Researcher To Take Polygraph

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Enlarge Steve Amstrup/U.S Fish and Wild Life Service/AP

A researcher who wrote a famous report about dead polar bears was asked to take a polygraph test by a federal agent who has been investigating allegations of scientific misconduct. Above, a polar bear rests with her cubs on pack ice in the Beaufort Sea in northern Alaska.

Steve Amstrup/U.S Fish and Wild Life Service/AP

A government researcher who wrote a controversial report on dead polar bears was asked to take a polygraph test by a federal agent investigating allegations of scientific misconduct.

That's according to Jeffrey Gleason's lawyer, Jeff Ruch of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which is providing legal representation to Gleason and Charles Monnett, two researchers with agencies of the Department of the Interior.

In 2006, Monnett and Gleason published a report describing their sightings of apparently drowned polar bears in the Arctic. The report drew public attention to the plight of the bears as the climate changes and ice melts.

Last year, someone at the Department of the Interior alleged that acts of scientific misconduct may have been committed in relation to that report. The department's Office of Inspector General has spent months investigating, and does not typically comment on ongoing investigations.

Some critics of the investigation charge that the scientists were targeted for special attention because of their work's political implications; they say this investigation will have a chilling effect on other researchers.

During a second interview with Gleason on Oct. 26, according to Ruch, a federal agent asked the scientist about an internal routing slip — a slip of paper that various government officials initial after they review a manuscript — that had been attached to a different scientific report. That report was also related to long-term changes in polar bear habitats. It noted that in recent years, bear sightings associated with ice have decreased while sightings associated with land and open water have increased.

Gleason was asked whether he deliberately tried to hide that routing slip from investigators and if he would take a polygraph test, says Ruch, who adds the routing slip was just a third of a page; it was misplaced as Gleason photocopied a variety of documents to provide to investigators, Ruch says.

The routing slip, which Ruch emailed to NPR and posted on his organization's website, shows that officials signed off on this scientific report. One handwritten comment asked: "Are there enough data to make these statements? Was survey protocol the same thru the 26 years? (esp. as regards pol. bears.)"

Ruch says these questions were answered in subsequent correspondence. He says the discussion of that routing slip took up nearly a half-hour of the two-hour interview with Gleason.

"There appears to be kind of a desperate, almost fierce nature to pursue this until they find something," Ruch says, "which is why we think they have seized on this idiotic routing slip issue." He says Gleason wouldn't take a polygraph unless the agent would as well.

He says investigators also charged that just days before Gleason and Monnett made their sightings of apparently drowned polar bears, other researchers also saw dead polar bears floating in the water. But, according to Ruch, scientists said those sightings were neither recorded nor reported.

If that is true, says Ruch, the scientists were unaware of it when they wrote their famous report describing what they called "the first observations of polar bears floating dead offshore."

Investigators also spent considerable time asking why the role of weather was not more emphasized in the scientists' report as a possible contributor to the bears' deaths, Ruch says. "And so you have these criminal investigators asking questions as if they were the journal editors, as to why it was given greater prominence in a certain section in an earlier draft," he says.

Ruch accuses the investigators of taking issues raised during the normal scientific peer-review process and acting as though they constitute evidence of wrongdoing. He has filed a complaint with the department under its new scientific integrity policy, saying these issues should be investigated not by the Office of Inspector General, but by a review performed by other scientists.

The acting inspector general for the Department of the Interior, Mary Kendall, recently said in a letter to a senator that though her office would like to be able to respond to allegations by PEER and other outside entities, it cannot comment until its investigation is complete, because to do so would be unfair to all parties involved.

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Some critics of the investigation say it will have a chilling effect on other investigators.

Bellingham, Wash., says a proposed terminal that would ship coal to China would mar its green image.

Melissa Block talks to Robert Moore of the University of West Georgia's physics department.

When breast cancer tests get it wrong

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Kathleen Maxian says her cancer could have been prevented, and now she's angry. Myriad Genetics owns the patent on breast cancer genesMyriad offers one test that catches most abnormalities, then charges $700 for secondCompany defends BART test, based on separate technology

(CNN) -- Imagine going in for a cancer screening, and the technician turns to you and says, "We're finished, but if I push this button over here, the machine can detect even smaller cancers. But here's the hitch: You have to pay $700 if you want me to push this button."

"You'd be enraged," says Ellen Matloff, director of cancer genetic counseling at Yale University Cancer Center. "You'd want to know why you have to pay extra to push that button. Why didn't they just do it right the first time?"

Doctors and genetic counselors interviewed by CNN say that Myriad Genetics in Utah is doing something very similar with tests that determine if a woman has a potentially dangerous genetic abnormality linked to breast cancers.

Most breast cancers do not seem to be genetic. Instead, they're the result of cells gone wild for no apparent reason. However, some women get breast cancer because a bad gene runs in their families. When testing shows that a woman carries such a gene, she has a much higher chance of getting breast cancer. These women usually then get more frequent MRIs, ultrasounds and mammograms to detect a cancer, and sometimes even choose to remove their breasts to prevent a cancer from growing in the first place.

Myriad owns the patent on breast cancer genes and so is the only company that can test for them. It offers one test that catches most, but not all, abnormalities, and then charges nearly all patients $700 for a second test that catches the rest.

If a woman can't afford the $700 fee, she may miss an abnormality, which could mean the difference between life and death.

"What Myriad's doing -- charging extra for this test -- is really sleazy," Matloff says. "They're collecting blood money off my patients."

Myriad defends the $700 charge for its second test, called BART, even though many patients can't afford it and insurance won't pay for it.

"The BART test is based on different and separate technology," Rebecca Chambers, a Myriad spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail to CNN. "[It's] based on a sophisticated new technology developed exclusively by Myriad."

She added that Myriad is trying to persuade insurance companies to pay for the test and that it offers financial assistance to patients who meet certain criteria, and monthly interest-free payments to those why do owe the $700 fee.

"Myriad's mission is to improve the patient's quality of life and to save lives," she added in the e-mail.

Understanding the furor

To understand the anger and bitterness that patients, doctors and genetic counselors harbor toward Myriad, it's important to know the basics of genetic testing.

In 1996, Myriad offered its first test for breast cancer genetic abnormalities. Known as the BRCA test, it's been revolutionary and has saved countless lives: If the test reveals that a woman has a genetic abnormality, it means she has a very high chance of getting breast cancer in the future, and some women then opt to remove their breasts as a pre-emptive strike against cancer.

Women who test positive for BRCA also sometimes opt to have their ovaries removed, since having a breast cancer gene abnormality gives them a higher-than-normal chance of getting ovarian cancer as well.

"Genetic testing has been a godsend for so many women," Matloff says.

Myriad calls its test the Comprehensive BRACAnalysis, but it soon became clear that it wasn't truly comprehensive. It did not catch all genetic abnormalities linked to cancer, and so in 2006, the company began selling BART, the newer test that catches genetic defects that the original test misses. Doctors and counselors expected Myriad to offer BART as part of its original test, but instead the company offers it separately and charges nearly everyone $700 to take it.

"This is so irresponsible of Myriad," says Molly Klein, director of genetic counseling at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta.

She and other genetic counselors have been fighting to get Myriad to stop the $700 charge. They say they worry that women who tested negative under the first test feel assured that they don't have a bad gene when in fact they might, and wouldn't know they're at increased risk for getting breast cancer.

Klein and other genetic counselors say that when Myriad came up with an improvement in its colon cancer test, it wrapped it into its original screening at one price. The counselors say they think Myriad handled the breast cancer test differently, charging a separate fee, because it has no competition.

"From a business perspective, I guess I understand why Myriad is doing what they're doing, because this is a good chunk of money for them," says Kristen Shannon, the senior genetic counselor at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. "But I feel really strongly that Myriad is doing the wrong thing."

"That accusation is incorrect," Chambers wrote in an e-mail to CNN.

"I'm so angry"

For Eileen Kelly and Kathleen Maxian, money wasn't the issue.

The two sisters were stunned three years ago when Kelly was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40. They breathed a sigh of relief when Kelly tested negative for the BRCA gene using Myriad's original test. This meant Kelly's cancer was a fluke, and not something her sister or other relatives needed to worry about.

Then two years later, at the age of 47, Maxian found out she had ovarian cancer. Surgeons removed her ovaries and found the cancer had spread to her abdomen. After chemotherapy, the cancer came back a year later.

"I told my surgeon my sister had genetic testing, but it came back negative," Maxian says. "My surgeon just hung her head down and shook it back and forth. I was like, 'What? How weird is that?' "

The surgeon told Maxian that her sister's test might have been incomplete. She instructed Maxian to ask her sister, who lives in Atlanta, to find out if she'd received the second test, BART, in addition to the original breast cancer genetic test.

Kelly found out she had not had not received BART. She went back to Piedmont Hospital to have it done, and the test was positive. Maxian and her father then had BART, and it turns out that they, too, carry a genetic abnormality.

Women who have genetic abnormalities like Maxian's have a 50% to 85% chance of getting breast cancer, and a 10% to 40% chance of getting ovarian cancer. She says that if her sister had had BART from the beginning, she also would have taken the test, and the positive result would have made her remove her breasts and ovaries "in a minute."

"If BART had been done from the beginning, it could have saved Kathleen from getting ovarian cancer," says Dr. Nefertiti duPont, Maxian's surgeon at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.

"It could have prevented my cancer, or at least caught it early," Maxian adds. "Now my cancer is so advanced, I have only a 20% chance of being alive five years from now. I'm so angry."

Klein, the genetic counselor at Piedmont Hospital, says she never mentioned BART to Kelly, nor to most of the women who came in for testing at that time. She says information from Myriad led her to believe that BART mutations were extremely rare among women like Kelly without an extremely strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer. When some women do have a very strong family history, Myriad will do a BART analysis for free as part of its original test, and has spent $20 million on these tests.

"We were left with the impression that BART wasn't necessary for families like Eileen's," Klein says. "It just didn't seem urgent."

But over time, it's become clear that Myriad might have been wrong about who needs BART testing, counselors say. Several studies, such as one done by Shannon at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, show that a substantial number of women had BART mutations even without a very strong family history. Now, Klein and others offer BART to all their patients, but many can't do it because of the cost.

"This is all really frustrating," Klein says. "We know we're missing women out there with BART mutations because they can't afford to pay. If you miss just one BART mutation, that woman could be in danger, and so could her mother, her sisters and her other relatives."

"It's heartbreaking," says Mollie Hutton, Maxian's genetic counselor at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. "It's so sad that now Kathleen is fighting for her life when something could have been done to avoid it. It's just crappy."

Chambers, the Myriad spokeswoman, says studies show "less than one percent of all women tested" have a BART mutation.

What to do when you get breast cancer genetic testing

If you're about to get breast cancer genetic testing, specifically ask if you'll receive BART testing.

If you've had breast cancer genetic testing, don't assume you received the BART test.

Also, don't assume that the place where you had the testing will get back in touch with you to let you know about BART. CNN contacted four genetic testing centers, each of which did something different: One center quickly contacted all patients to tell them about BART; another contacted only patients they considered high risk; the third contacted patients three years after BART became available; and the fourth still hasn't contacted patients to tell them about BART.

Genetic counselors recommend that you call the place where you had testing every year or so to see if there have been any improvements in the test.

Most women will have to decide whether they want to spend $700 to get BART testing.

Eileen Kelly wishes she'd had the opportunity to spend that money.

"I'm so mad at Myriad. It's even hard just to talk about it," Kelly says, starting to cry. "A test could have put the information in our hands that could have prevented my sister's cancer. It's frustrating and really hard to comprehend."

Aaron Cooper contributed to this report.

Technology

Cell phone warnings blocked in San Francisco: judge

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By Dan Levine

Thu Oct 27, 2011 8:00pm EDT

n">(Reuters) - A U.S. judge blocked most of a San Francisco ordinance on Thursday that required warnings about cell phone safety risks, saying it violated the First Amendment.

Health questions about cell phone use grew this year after a group of World Health Organization cancer experts suggested that such use be deemed "possibly carcinogenic." Industry groups say this does not mean that cell phones cause cancer.

Among the ordinance's provisions is one requiring retailers to display large posters stating in bold that "studies continue to assess potential health effects of mobile phone use."

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge William Alsup said it was acceptable that customers be given "fact sheets" to discuss possible risks of cell phone use, but insisted on changes to the current sheets so they do not mislead customers into believing that cell phones are dangerous.

The judge disallowed provisions of the ordinance that mandate large posters and warning stickers on in-store displays.

The city will ask a federal appeals court to uphold part of the ruling which allows the fact sheet to go forward, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in a statement.

However, Herrera said he will also ask the appeals court to make clear the city has even broader authority.

"I disagree with his decision to limit the city's message in the way he has done," Herrera said of Alsup's ruling.

John Walls, VP of public affairs for wireless industry group CTIA, said the organization was considering its options.

"CTIA respectfully disagrees with the court's determination that the city could compel distribution of the revised 'fact sheet,'" Walls said in a statement.

Alsup ruled that most of the ordinance violated the U.S. Constitution. San Francisco may "within reason" force retailers to communicate its message, Alsup wrote, but "cannot paste its municipal message over the message of the retailers."

Alsup temporarily blocked enforcement of the ordinance through November 30 pending expected appeals, and said he will void it entirely if the city refuses to revise the fact sheets.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is CTIA-The Wireless Association v. The City and County of San Francisco, California, 10-cv-3224.

(Reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco and Jon Stempel in New York, editing by Bernard Orr)

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Aspirin 'can block bowel cancer'

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27 October 2011 Last updated at 23:04 GMT By James Gallagher Health reporter, BBC News Aspirin

Does and aspirin a day keep the cancer surgeon away? A daily dose of aspirin should be given to people at high risk of bowel cancer, say scientists.

Two pills a day for two years reduced the incidence of bowel cancer by 63% in a group of 861 at-risk patients, a study reported in The Lancet said.

Newcastle University's Prof Sir John Burn, who led the study, said the evidence "seems overwhelmingly strong".

Other experts said the findings added to a growing body of proof that aspirin could be used in the fight on cancer.

The study was conducted on 861 patients with Lynch syndrome, which affects one in every 1,000 people.

They struggle to detect and repair damaged DNA which means they are more likely to develop a range of cancers including those of the bowel, womb and stomach.

'Good deal'

When looking at all patients in the trial, those in the group given 600 milligrams of aspirin every day developed 19 tumours compared to 34 tumours in the other "control" group, a reduction of 44%.

Continue reading the main story

People who've got a clear family history of, particularly, bowel cancer should seriously consider adding low dose aspirin to their routine and particularly those people who've got a genetic predisposition”

End Quote Prof Sir John Burn Newcastle University When the researchers looked at just those patients who took the medication for at least two years the reduction was 63%.

There was also an effect on other cancers linked to Lynch syndrome, which fell by half in the treatment group.

Prof Sir John Burn, from Newcastle University, said there were 30,000 adults in the UK with Lynch syndrome.

If all were given the treatment he said it would prevent 10,000 cancers over 30 years and he speculated that this could possibly prevent 1,000 deaths from the disease.

However, there would also be side effects.

"If we can prevent 10,000 cancers in return for 1,000 ulcers and 100 strokes, in most people's minds that's a good deal," he said.

"People who've got a clear family history of, particularly, bowel cancer should seriously consider adding low dose aspirin to their routine and particularly those people who've got a genetic predisposition."

Aspirin is already well known to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in high risk patients.

Continue reading the main story

Audrey Francis describes herself as "a bit of a walking time bomb".

There is a history of cancer in her family and she has been diagnosed with Lynch syndrome.

Seventeen years ago she had a hysterectomy. That was when doctors discovered she had not one but two cancers - in the womb and the ovaries.

Tests showed she had a chunk of DNA missing which was causing the cancers: "I actually had the inability to stop the cancers developing," she said.

She took part in the trial and has since decided to self medicate with aspirin: "I've got my fingers crossed and I'm hoping it'll do the trick for me."

Other studies over the past two decades have suggested the pain killer reduced cancer risk, but this was the first randomised control trial, specifically for aspirin in cancer, to prove it.

In 2010, a study suggested patients given aspirin had a 25% lower risk of death during that trial.

Prof Peter Rothwell, from Oxford University, who conducted that study said the latest research "certainly helps to build a consistent picture, all pointing in the same direction that there is a link with cancer".

Cancer Research UK's Prof Chris Paraskeva said: "This adds to the growing body of evidence showing the importance of aspirin, and aspirin-like drugs, in the fight against cancer."

'Balanced argument'

One of the questions asked by the research into aspirin was whether healthy people with no family risks should take the drug.

The lower the risk of heart attack or cancer, the lower the benefit of taking aspirin, yet there are still potentially deadly side effects.

Sir John said that it was a "finely balanced argument" and that he decided the risks were worth it for him.

"I think where we're headed for is people that are in their 50s and 60s would look very seriously at adding a low dose aspirin to their daily routine because it's giving protection against cancer, heart attack and stroke.

"But if they do that they've got to have their eyes wide open. They will increase their risk of ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeds and very rarely they will have a stroke caused by the aspirin."

Career Advisor

SCAR layer of SNAKEHEAD, by it on the plate

12.47 egaoart No comments

A snakehead is filleted for a dinner this week hosted by the Oyster Recovery Partnership.

Enlarge John Rorapaugh

A SNAKEHEAD is filleted for a dinner hosted this week by the oyster recovery partnership.

John Rorapaugh

A SNAKEHEAD is filleted for a dinner hosted this week by the oyster recovery partnership.

If you can't em beat, eat you em.

This is the battle cry for environmentalists that setting are cooks - and fillet knives and pans - to combat invasive species.

The latest target of SNAKEHEAD fish, an aggressive animal has after Asia and Africa, which was the waterways of Maryland and Florida with alarming speed in the last decade population. A predator eating fish as large dominated rivers and Lakes such as perch and bass, the SNAKEHEAD location, as soon as they are.

But this week of the SNAKEHEAD went aquatic pest to delicacy on a fundraiser for an Annapolis-based environmental organisation, the oyster recovery partnership. Nine prominent chefs - including national geographic fellow Barton Seaver - grilled, fried, grilled pale fillets and served them then a curious audience.

That dressed until dinner plate strategy was in trying to invasive species to eliminate, or at least contain. And there are varying degrees of success.

It was difficult with some problematic fish such as the Asian Carp, which has over the Mississippi River, which people to customize their palate of the environment's sake. And coral reef defenders still hope that the appetite for lionfish will take effect.

But that's no problem with the SNAKEHEAD. A traditional cuisine in Viet Nam and Thailand is SNAKEHEAD, among others. And John Rorapaugh, Vice President for sustainable initiatives on Profish, a seafood company based in Washington, D.C., describes the fish as a "Very clean tasting, mild, and just a great, great delicacy."

In the past, Maryland Department of natural resources, or MDNR has tried, drain and poison the ponds of SNAKEHEAD to stop spreading.

However, Rorapaugh hopes that convincingly by commercial fishermen to pursue and to market the fish markets will be more effective fish. The biggest challenge is contagious because it usually in large schools not gather.

Promoting this particular fish as a food source removal is an ironic choice strategies, because ", which is unfortunately likely as they have here from the outset", Donald Cosden of MDNR says the salt. The U.S. fish and Wildlife Service is, list the probable cause of SNAKEHEAD branch in the United States as "individuals release these fish produce a local food source."

While Rorapaugh is hoping that fillets to sell in local grocery stores, he says SNAKEHEAD, that there are no plans, a genuine fisheries set up. "I would be very happy to sell, sell, sell, sell, and then have no longer to sell," he says. In the meantime, he says, recreational anglers can help by looking for fish in rivers such as the Potomac where the SNAKEHEAD has set up shop.

What's the power of a good luck charm?

12.32 egaoart No comments

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Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson wore a necklace by Phiten that some believe give athletes an edge.Texas Rangers face St. Louis Cardinals in World Series Game 6, postponed to Thursday eveningThere is psychological value to an item worn consistently, one sports psychologist saysSome well-known superstitous athletes include Michael Jordan, Wade Boggs and Turk WendellManufacturer's claims of special technology in metal-infused jewelry are unproved

(CNN) -- As Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson took to the mound Monday night, he wore a rope-like necklace that may be nothing more than a fashion choice, but if he believes in the maker's claims, that may give him an "edge" against his opponents at bat.

It's not just Wilson; a surprising number of professional athletes have begun wearing the titanium-laced necklaces, including Rangers Derrick Holland, Mitch Moreland and Elvis Andrus.

The "edge" the necklaces' manufacturer, Phiten, claims to give is not proved, but especially for athletes, there is psychological value to an item worn consistently, rituals and superstitions, one sports psychologist says.

"For athletes, there's this unpredictability in sports. They never know how they're going to play, how the other team is going to play, so when you do something that's superstitious, like wearing a trinket, it gives you a greater sense of control," said Gregg Steinberg, an author of "Full Throttle" and professor of human performance at Austin Peay State University.

Some athletes' rituals have been well documented: Pitcher Turk Wendell wore a necklace made from the teeth of hunted animals.

Michael Jordan famously wore his college shorts under his NBA uniforms; third baseman Wade Boggs had to eat chicken before games and wrote the Hebrew symbol "chai," meaning life, in the dirt before batting.

The extra sense of control from the ritual leads to calmness, and calm leads to better performance, explains Steinberg. Whether there are any tangible, special properties in the lucky charm is just beside the point for a sports psychologist.

Fourteen-year-old baseball player Derek Halford of Baltimore says he got his own Phiten necklace when he was 11, after watching the pros wear them.

"Last season, I forgot to wear it to a game, and I called my mom to go get it, because I refused to play without it," Halford said.

This season, he says, he views the necklace differently, but only slightly.

"I probably would still play, but my mind would be all messed up. I probably wouldn't play as well. I probably wouldn't be focused on the game, because I'd be thinking about not having it on."

His first necklace was the plain kind -- selling for $36 -- but now he has upgraded to the newer, larger twisted-rope "Tornado," which costs $50.

Halford adds this self-observation: "I got it for the purpose of making me a better athlete, but now I use it just as a lucky charm."

Bill Burgos, an NBA strength and conditioning coordinator, says that he doesn't intervene when high-performers find value in lucky charms. "When guys have a certain way of doing things, you don't want to mess with that."

The Japanese manufacturer says its products, which include bracelets worn by some pro golfers, do have a special technology that sets them apart.

By fusing fabric with "a novel form of technology that involves metals broken down into microscopic particles dispersed in water" -- metals like titanium and gold -- Phiten is "able to realize customers' potentials in a variety of extents that leads to restore normal status of customers," says the company's website.

Claims like that -- and paid endorsements from 23 professional athletes in the United States alone -- seem to be enough to convince many athletes that it's better to be safe than sorry. Better to be mistaken than without.

"Phiten has used a pseudoscientific appeal in marketing their products. They talk about 'micro-sized titanium spheres' and other things that give the product the air of technology without any real science to back it up," explains professor Stuart Vyse of Connecticut College, author of "Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition."

The Lavidge Co., which represents Phiten U.S.A., could not provide any published studies finding a medical benefit from wearing its metal-infused necklaces and bracelets.

"Baseball players and others who engage in superstitious behaviors understanding that they have no scientific support are likely to say 'I just don't want to take a chance,' " Vyse said." And they get an emotional benefit from doing something that makes them feel like they have greater control. Even when that feeling is an illusion."

Technology

A GPS-Enabled Shoe to Track Wandering Alzheimer's Patients

12.17 egaoart No comments

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Now this sounds like a good idea: use GPS-enabled shoes to track the whereabouts of elderly people with Alzheimer's who may be prone to wandering.

Some 60% of patients with Alzheimer's will get confused and wander off, sometimes without warning, and become lost. They're not always easy to find — because paranoia is a common symptom of the disease, wandering patients may purposefully hide. Up to half of those who are lost and not found within 24 hours may die from dehydration, exposure or injury, AFP reports.

The new GPS-enabled walking shoe is a collaboration between Los Angeles-based GTX Corporation, which specializes in mini-GPS technology, and the footwear company Aetrex, with guidance from Andrew Carle, director of the senior housing program at George Mason University. They came up with walking shoes that look just like the typical shoe you'd see on many seniors' feet, with the GPS device hidden in a heel.

"It's especially important for people in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's who are at the highest risk," Carle told AFP. "They might be living in their home but they're confused. They go for a walk and they can get lost for days."

If you've ever used a GPS-enabled smartphone or other device, you're well-acquainted with the the new shoe's technology. Reported the New York Times earlier this month:

A family member sets a perimeter, a "geo-fence," so that the wearer can freely move around the house, around the yard, perhaps around a familiar immediate neighborhood. "But if he breaks the fence, Google maps pops up on my computer or my phone to show me where he is," explained Mr. Carle, now a consultant to GTX.
Even if your parent is in Tennessee and you're not, "I can call the Memphis police and say, 'My dad has Alzheimer's and he's wandering and he's at the corner of Fifth and Elm. Could you go get him?'" Mr. Carle thinks that possibility could be enormously reassuring "for family caregivers who are afraid to go to the bathroom because when they get back, their loved one may be out the door."

The advantage of putting GPS in shoes over, say, using a tracking bracelet or pendant is that patients with Alzheimer's are apt to take these items off, especially if they're unfamiliar, and discard them. Or they might lose them. People are less likely to take off their shoes.

The GPS shoes, which should be available online soon, will cost $299 per pair, plus a monthly fee of $34.99 for the monitoring service, NPR reports.

News

Do All Women Need Genetic Testing Before Pregnancy?

12.02 egaoart No comments

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For two years, a bunch of medical geneticists in Maryland and New Jersey sifted through 1,000 different genetic mutations. They looked for cellular changes that are fatal and ones that are treatable. They argued. Eventually, they decided to include close to 600 mutations found in more than 160 diseases in a single genetic screening test that will be available come January.

GenPath Women's Health, part of N.J.-based Bio-Reference Laboratories, announced the new development on Thursday at a meeting of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. GenPath says it is the most comprehensive screen currently offered: in a field of rare diseases, the test distinguishes itself by scanning for 95 disorders that are not screened for by any other company, including obscure tongue-twisters such as 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA lyase deficiency and cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis.

Company officials put a lot of thought into a name for the test, ultimately deciding to call it the Pan-Ethnic Carrier Screen as a way to signal to all women, regardless of ethnicity, that genetic-testing is important for them.

But do all women really need to undergo genetic testing? More than half of pregnant women do some kind of prenatal screening or testing of their fetus, but there aren't readily available numbers on how many women choose to learn if they're carriers for various genetic diseases. The vast majority of women undergo carrier screening based on their ethnic background, although many, regardless of their heritage, are also screened for cystic fibrosis. Traditionally, certain ethnic groups — especially Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern European descent — have been advised to consider carrier screening for various fatal conditions including Tay-Sachs and Canavan diseases.

MORE: A Blood Test Determines a Baby's Sex Earlier than Ever. But at What Cost?

Indeed, GenPath is presenting the new test as a way to level the genetic playing field and expand testing to any woman, anywhere. "There are a good number of ethnicities that have been ignored by genetic testing," says Marc Grodman, CEO of Bio-Reference. "You don't have to be Jewish to have a genetic test. That's why we are calling this a 'pan-ethnic' screen."

In general, say genetic counselors, increased interest in genetic testing is welcome because it encourages women to better understand how their genetic makeup could impact their children. But pregnant women are getting bombarded with options: this is just the latest of a battery of new blood tests that can determine everything from fetal sex to Down syndrome to paternity.

When it comes to genetic testing, in particular, it's important to make sure that any screening is done in conjunction with a genetic counselor who can explain results, review options and offer guidance. "Sometimes that means not testing because the patient would not benefit or is not interested once they have a thorough understanding of the test, the benefits and possible limitations," wrote Karin Dent, president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, in an email.

The GenPath test will be marketed to physicians, who will then offer it to their patients. It will cost $500 out-of-pocket should insurance companies decline to pay. Ideally, women would be tested before they get pregnant. Should they turn up positive for a mutation, their partner would need to be tested too. If they're both positive for the same mutation, they would have a 25% chance of having an affected baby.

MORE: How Do You Parent When There's No Tomorrow?

GenPath is not the only company working on new prenatal genetic tests. Good Start Genetics of Cambridge, Mass., is initially targeting fertility clinics with its DNA-sequencing test that will allow detection of a larger spectrum of mutations than the current genotyping method. Its cystic fibrosis screen, for example, is more sensitive than any test currently on the market, says Greg Porreca, the start-up's co-founder.

Its test, which should be available sometime next year, will look for about 20 conditions recommended by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American College of Medical Genetics. GenPath's test, on the other hand, has the potential to identify a host of additional diseases: 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl CoA lyase deficiency, for example, is diagnosed when a person can't process an amino acid called leucine. Potentially fatal if untreated, the condition is so uncommon that it's been reported in fewer than 100 people worldwide.

ACOG officials declined to comment on GenPath's test, but its 2008 policy statement advises screening or testing "for a limited number of severe child-onset diseases." The American Pregnancy Association, meanwhile, expressed skepticism about the wide net that GenPath is casting. "Genetic testing historically is only recommended for those identified as at risk," says Brad Imler, the group's president. "We would advise testing because there is a reason to test, not just a hypothetical something-could-be-wrong."

But knowledge is power, argues Grodman, who is convinced that parents would want to know ahead of time about any increased risks in order to be prepared. "The biggest fear about rare disorders is that a baby is born and no one can make a diagnosis," says Grodman. "Just because it's a hard decision and a hard process doesn't mean we should shy away from asking the questions."

Bonnie Rochman is a reporter at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @brochman. You can also continue the discussion on TIME's Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

News

Can Hollywood take on cancer?

11.47 egaoart No comments

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Share this on:FacebookTwitterDiggdeliciousredditMySpaceStumbleUponLinkedInViadeo Can Hollywood take on cancer? By Lilly Workneh, Special to CNNOctober 27, 2011 -- Updated 1520 GMT (2320 HKT)if (typeof cnnArticleGallery == "undefined") {var cnnArticleGallery = {};if(typeof cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList =="undefined"){cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList = [];}}var expGalleryPT00 = new ArticleExpandableGallery();expGalleryPT00.setImageCount(14);cnn_adbptrackpgalimg("Cancer\'s role in Hollywood films", 1);.cnn_html_slideshow_metadata > .cnn_html_media_utility::before {padding-right: 1px;content: '>>';font-size: 9px;line-height: 12px;color: red;}.cnnstrylccimg640 {margin: 0 27px 14px 0; /*note the exclusion of the top margin*/}.captionText {filter: alpha(opacity=100);opacity: 1;}.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a, .cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:visited, .cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:link, .captionText a, .captionText a:visited, .captiontext a:link {color: #004276;outline: medium none;

Hollywood has tried many times to bring the harsh realities of cancer to the big screen, but audiences don't always want to take on the difficult subject. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":true,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":1,"title":"Cancer\'s role in Hollywood films"}"50/50" starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, left, and Seth Rogen, takes a comedic spin on cancer. A rare spinal cancer strikes 27-year-old Adam and he relies on his best friend, Kyle, to have his back, literally and figuratively. The movie received acclaim from critics and USA Today gave it an "A," saying it "... draws humor out of a young man's illness, walks a tightrope of tragicomedy and touches on all the right points." cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":2,"title":"\'50/50\' (2011)"}Breast cancer hits five female characters in this Lifetime original movie directed by Jennifer Anniston, Alicia Keys, Demi Moore, Patty Jenkins and Penelope Spheeris. The movie's plot brings humor and drama to deliver five original stories about the effects of breast cancer and many of the shared experiences women face. The movie made its debut in October.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":3,"title":"\'Five\' (2011)"}Sara (Cameron Diaz, left) and Brian (Jason Patric) are desperate to keep their cancer stricken daughter alive. The two decide to conceive another child with hopes that the baby will be a genetic bone marrow match. However, once born, the youngest sister sues her parents for the rights to her own body, providing a dramatic plot that pushes the boundaries of their family cohesion and moral and legal issues. The New York Times believed that it "...takes on a very tough subject...but ultimately it is too soft, too easy, and it dissolves like a tear-soaked tissue." cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":4,"title":"\'My Sister\'s Keeper\' (2009)"}Blue-collar worker Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman, right), shares a hospital room with Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson), a billionaire corporate businessman. They discover they have more in common than suffering cancer. The two escape the hospital to squeeze a lifetime of goals into their last living days, all the while creating a close bond. However, USA Today said that it was "...superficial, manipulative and schmaltzy."cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":5,"title":"\'The Bucket List\' (2007)"}Ann (Sarah Polley) is a 24-year-old woman who learns she has cancer and only a few months left to live. "My Life Without Me," records the journey of her bucket list in a movie the New York Post called "...a strangely life-affirming work."cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":6,"title":"\'My Life Without Me\' (2003) "}Troubled high school student Landon Carter (Shane West) is sentenced to community service and active membership in the school's drama club, where he unexpectedly falls in love with good-girl Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore). Jamie, the daughter of the town's Baptist minister, lives a more conservative lifestyle while hiding her problems with cancer. The Chicago Tribune gave it a "D," saying that it ".... scrapes the bottom of the melodramatic barrel." cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":7,"title":"\'A Walk to Remember\' (2002) "}George (Kevin Kline) loses his job in architecture and soon discovers that he has terminal cancer. George sets out to reconnect with his son Sam (Hayden Christiansen), as they spend a summer together by the sea building his dream home. The New York Times said "...nothing about it feels organic." cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":8,"title":"\'Life as a House\' (2001)"}Sara Deever (Charlize Theron) has a bubbly personality and uses her charm to attract bad-mannered and heartless men and transform them into gentlemen. Her candidate for November, Nelson Moss (Keanu Reeves), soon breaks her cycle as the two fall deeply in love. Unknown to Nelson, Sara has cancer and that's the reason she kept relationships so short. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":9,"title":"\'Sweet November\' (2001)"}A family's dynamics change as a Harvard-grad daughter, Ellen Gulden (Renee Zellweger) is asked to return home to aid her dying mother, Kate (Meryl Streep), who is battling cancer. Time at home reminds Ellen of her mother's annoying holiday preparations and lunches. However, Ellen realizes that the moments spent with her mother may be some of her last. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":10,"title":"\'One True Thing\' (1998) "}An astrocytoma brain tumor reverses its effect by stimulating brain cells rather than destroying them in the mind of George Malley (John Travolta). The result is a more active brain and a bizarre power of telekinesis, which attracts interest from the FBI and local officials. George becomes famous for his newfound powers and falls in love with Lace (Kyra Sedgwick). He tries to hide from authorities while still helping the community. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":11,"title":"\'Phenomenon\' (1996)"}Ignorance leads the actions of Bob Jones (Michael Keaton) as he fails to accept his cancer diagnosis and shows little concern for his illness. He has a successful career and is immensely in love with his pregnant wife, Gail (Nicole Kidman), when an abrupt change causes Bob to realize that his time is limited. He confides to his video camera, recording his thoughts and personal moments, to leave behind a video legacy of his life. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":12,"title":"\'My Life\' (1993)"}CC Bloom (Bette Midler) dreams of becoming a singer/actress. Her best friend, Hilary (Barbara Hershey), aspires to follow her father's footsteps in becoming a lawyer. As time goes on, the childhood friends find life taking them in separate directions. However, they soon reunite as CC returns to care for Hilary, who is suffering from cancer. Death comes soon for Hilary and CC vows to take care of her daughter as she balances her time as a Broadway star. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":13,"title":"\'Beaches\' (1988)"}Friendship transforms into love as Harvard Law student Oliver Barrett IV's (Ryan O'Neal) fate crosses paths with music student Jennifer Cavilleri (Ali MacGraw). Unfortunately, Oliver's wealthy family frowns on the relationship and the two struggle to make ends meet. The situation becomes harder when Oliver discovers that Jenny has leukemia. His father denies requests for money to help with medical payments -- resulting in Jenny's death. "Love means never having to say you're sorry," says Oliver in response to his father's apology in failing to help. cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length] = {"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":14,"title":"\'Love Story\' (1970)"}HIDE CAPTIONCancer's role in Hollywood films'50/50' (2011)'Five' (2011)'My Sister's Keeper' (2009)'The Bucket List' (2007)'My Life Without Me' (2003) 'A Walk to Remember' (2002) 'Life as a House' (2001)'Sweet November' (2001)'One True Thing' (1998) 'Phenomenon' (1996)'My Life' (1993)'Beaches' (1988)'Love Story' (1970)<<<

14>>>STORY HIGHLIGHTS"50/50" is one of Hollywood's many cancer-themed films moviegoers did not rush to seeCritics praised the movie yet shunned similar ones that failed to give a sense of realnessSome cancer patients believe these movies do not accurately portray real-life cancer cases

(CNN) -- Hollywood's release of "50/50" in September received praise from top critics, but didn't do as well at the box office.

The movie, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, is screenwriter Will Reiser's humorous take on his own experiences as a cancer patient.

"Everything that we put in the movie, we wanted it to feel like it was real and honest," says Reiser in an interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Critics give credit to movies, such as "50/50," that they believe deliver a sense of authenticity and evoke an emotional response.

To patients like Pamela Cromwell, cancer-themed movies do not accurately portray the truth behind real-life cancer diagnoses.

"'50/50' was a great start, but the majority of movies reinforce the stigma that to be a 'certified' cancer patient you must appear weak, decrepit and on your death bed," says Cromwell, a breast cancer patient of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Philadelphia.

Many patients also feel that some of these movies fail to show the daily physical and mental effects of cancer.

Seth Rogen and Will Reiser on '50/50'

Seth Rogen isn't making fun of cancer

Seth Rogen's new film: 'cancer comedy'?

For Thomas Brokaw, a colon cancer patient in Alaska, "Movies tend to miss the realism of the day-to-day negative impact from having this disease or the impact the treatments have on the total body."

Although movies such as "My Sister's Keeper," "The Bucket List" and "A Walk to Remember" tried to focus on the effects of the disease, they still received lukewarm reviews.

The New York Times' A.O. Scott said "My Sister's Keeper" was "... too soft, too easy and it dissolves like a tear-soaked tissue." Meanwhile, USA Today critiqued "The Bucket List" as "...superficial, manipulative and schmaltzy."

The star power leading some of the plots may encourage viewers to watch, yet audience response overall is similar to the critics. "A Walk to Remember" grossed a modest box office total of $41,281,092 while the Chicago Tribune said it "...scrapes the bottom of the melodramatic barrel."

On the other hand, some cancer patients and survivors can relate to these movies and find them comforting in their own way.

"I think they drive the reality for those that were impacted," says Sandra J. Wing, founder and president of the Healing Therapies Foundation, a volunteer organization that provides financial assistance for cancer patients. "It reminds you of the importance of life -- the importance of every moment and not to waste it on things that aren't of value."

Some films help to deliver a greater appreciation of life. To many viewers, these movies provide a platform that brings a sense of comfort.

Reiser agrees saying, "Everyone's affected by cancer...but after screening the movie, people are much more open about sharing their own stories, and talking about the different ordeals they've gone through to one another."

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