Lunching with Lance Armstrong

A good cause, for sure. My mother died of lung cancer. Thanks for the article.

American politicans who give lip service to this cause, which ones? Lance was just in DC with Elizabeth Edwards and others talking to a committee headed by Ted Kennedy, I watched, it was on C-Span, are you saying Ted Kennedy is giving lip service to the cancer cause?

The research will teach us, but people will still be choosing poor behavior - some figuring- ‘well now that there is a cure for lung cancer - I’m not as worried about smoking,’ etc. It’s called risk homeostasis: increasing risky behavior when someone believes there is a lesser chance of suffering the full consequences - like death.

Have you all been following the alcohol-cancer connection stories?
“Alcohol boosts cancer risk by 75%.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/08/2238459.htm

“Assistant Health Minister Verity Firth says the risks of excessive drinking are well known, but the report shows even moderate drinking can be dangerous.

“What this report shows us is that it really only has to be two standard drinks a day before you increase your chances of developing breast cancer by up to 22 per cent,” she said.

“So it really is seen as linking what was previously seen as quite moderate levels of alcohol intake to severely increasing risks of cancer.”

Ms Firth says people need to reconsider their alcohol intake.”

My brother-in-law died a very horrible and painful death of bowel cancer at age 64. He drank moderately.

With out getting into the ugly story, as soon as I found out that I had to have 90% of my colon removed ( it turned into a rubber band) I have not had a single drink not even a wine cooler. My doctor warned me of alcohol hurting the bowel that I had left. At the same time my Husband has given up any kind of drinking even a beer after doing the yard work.

A member of my family died of complications from testicular cancer. Basically he would not have died if he had not been disqualified for affordable health insurance because he was a cancer survivor. I do not think we will truly conquer cancer until we have universal health care. Earl Warren [a Republican] ran on a campaign for universal health care in 1948.

I am glad Lance Armstrong is working for a cure for cancer. But even cancer that is curable is not being cured in this country. This is a disgrace.

the planets AND stars aligned for me when i got uterine cancer. medicare meant i had health insurance, and if you are going to have cancer, you may well come to ann arbor, my home, to get it treated.

unlike gilda radner, i had symptoms (postmenopausal bleeding) and therefore caught the cancer at an early stage. my friends and family all rallied around me, and the surgery was a success. (at the hospital they kept asking for my surgery history, and i kept telling them my only previous surgery was a cervical cauterization 30 years ago.)

one big reason for the success of my recovery was a robin’s nest at floor level (3rd floor) in a maple tree. i kept watching the robins tend the nest and then the young. they were my example and inspiration.

the moral of the story is: CATCH YOUR CANCER EARLY!!! then, get treatment!

elizabeth, you are SO RIGHT about our nation needing universal healthcare. and if we create a single payer system, $350 billion of expensive insurance infighting and profit taking stops becoming an expense (i know i can say it better than that: single payer eliminates $350 billion in administrative costs). per year.