President Bush Cuts Funding For Cancer Research

President George W. Bush lauded the role of medical research as he announced a breakthrough in January: U.S. cancer deaths fell in 2004 for the second-straight year, the first back-to-back decline on record.

Three weeks later, Bush asked Congress to trim $11 million from the National Cancer Institute budget, on top of $32 million in cuts over the previous two years.

After growing 80 percent from 1998 to 2003, the NCI budget is in decline, and trials on cancer drugs and therapies conducted by hospital networks are feeling the pinch. Officials at NCI, which funds half of all patient trials in the U.S., have told the networks they should trim operations, in some cases by 10 percent, say specialists who run the tests.

"There is no question that the impact of flat and declining budgets will be real and can be measured in terms of human life,'' says Allen Lichter, chief executive officer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, a physician group. "Some trials will not start. Existing trials will take longer to complete. These are devastating effects.''

Bush said in his budget message to Congress that the cuts he's proposed for NCI and some other agencies are part of a plan to balance the federal budget within five years from a current deficit of $244 billion.

The president's proposal would earmark $4.78 billion for the cancer institute in the 2008 fiscal year. The $11 million trim represents a decline of less than 1 percent. Michael Miller, an NCI spokesman, confirmed that the hospital networks, called cooperatives, are being asked to plan for percentage reductions that exceed the overall budget cut.

"We suggested they plan for up to 10 percent cuts,'' Miller says, adding that the agency didn't specify that trials specifically had to be reduced.
The cancer institute will use a portion of its budget to help fund a "roadmap'' to chart the direction for U.S. medical research in the 21st century, Miller says.
The latest cuts may be overturned by Congress, which is holding hearings today on biomedical research funding. Doctors and researchers from leading universities, including Harvard and Yale, urged lawmakers at a Senate hearing in Washington to increase the budget for the National Institutes of Health.

"Four years of flat funding have had a devastating impact on the trajectory of cancer research,'' Joan Brugge, head of the department of cell biology at Harvard Medical School, told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. "We are now damaging the research infrastructure, and this will certainly delay relief from the cancer burden.''

The accumulated reductions since 2005 already are having an impact, researchers say.

The First Ten Miles

I had my first long run on Saturday (March 17). While the rest of the world was snuggled away in their warm cozy beds I managed to drag myself away and drove out to Half Moon Bay at 7:00 in the morning. I was thanking my lucky stars driving over there that I'm part of the "fast" group. We didn't have to arrive until 7:45. The other groups arrived at 7:00 and 7:30. That extra half hour of sleep makes a difference that early in the morning.

I always manage to wear the wrong clothes on the days we have the group runs. Usually I overdress. It's warm and sunny outside and I show up in pants and a long sleeved shirt. This time I underdressed, or so I thought. The warm weather we'd been having falsely lead me to believe that it would be a bright sunny day and that shorts were the way to go. Fortunately I was smart enough to wear a long sleeved shirt and bring my jacket with me. When I pulled into the parking lot it was 50 degrees and overcast. Not exactly ideal conditions for wearing shorts.

There were just a handful of us running in the final group. Our mission was to run between 6-10 miles. We all chose to go for the full 10. We started out together, but John and Dean took off right away. We didn't see them again until they had turned around to head back to the parking lot. Eventually the rest of us split up and ran at different paces. I found a new running partner for the day - Bryan. He was pretty much the same pace as me, maybe a little faster, but I liked the challenge.

The trail was beautiful. We were able to take in all of the sights and sounds of the ocean as we ran parallel with the water. We kept up a good pace and only had to stop twice - once for the bathroom (which was surprisingly clean!) and once at the 5 mile marker to stretch and eat some GU. Remind me never to do that again! I don't know if I ingested too much at once or if it really is that disgusting. Either way I didn't enjoy it. Next time I'm going for the Jelly Belly power beans.

I'm proud to say that I set a new personal record (and secretly reveled in the glory of passing lots of people from the previous two groups who started out way earlier than us). Our time for the run (including the stops) was 1 hour 26 minutes. Woo hoo! What a great confidence booster! The best thing is that I wasn't tired after the run. I managed to go to Napa and attended a crab feed and didn't even feel the fatigue of running 10 miles. I'm really starting to like this running thing!

Connecting With the Cause

Significantly improved survival rates for many cancers, including blood cancers, have resulted in a growing population of cancer survivors:

1. Currently, there are nearly 10 million cancer survivors in the United States.

2. By 2010, it is estimated that 1 in 570 young adults will be survivors of a childhood cancer.

These facts require new strategies to provide optimal follow-up services to survivors, and advocacy to assure that these services are available to all who need them. The Society is championing efforts in both areas. And, the Society is funding survivorship research to characterize the long-term consequences of particular cancer therapies and associate these late effects with potential causes, including specific drug activities and genetic and lifestyle factors.

What's My Time?

We have track workouts every Thursday night. Last night our workout consisted of doing some short (50 m) drills and running. The drills were fun – walking on our toes and heels, skipping, walking sideways and lunges. Then came the more grueling part of the workout – running on the track. We split up into three groups based on experience and speed. I tried to go in the middle group but a certain someone convinced me to run with the fast kids.

“No way!” I said. “You guys will run circles around me.”

“Come on. You can do it. I'll even run with you." How generous for the speedy guy to run with slow girl.

That’s all it took to convince me that I belong in the fast group. I’m so easily influenced by others. Needless to say I was feeling a little intimidated by this group. These are the guys that run 7 – 8 minute miles. When I did my timed run 2 weeks ago I averaged 9:50 per mile. Talk about running with the wrong group of people! But I’m always up for a challenge so I figured I might as well try. If I couldn’t keep up I would just demote myself to the middle group.

This is how the run was set up:

1. Run 400 m (one lap on the track which is equal to ¼ mile)
2. Run 800 m (2 laps = 1/2 mile)
3. Run 1600 m (4 laps = 1 mile)
4. Run 800 m
5. Run 400 m

Never in my life have I run so fast for so long. I completed the 400 m in 1:57. The 800 m was a bit slower at just over 4 minutes. And I’m proud to say that I completed the 1600 m run in 8:33! That’s a new record for me! I don’t think I could run more than a mile or so at that pace but at least I know I can do it. That was a big boost to my self esteem. So then I got arrogant and decided that for the last 400 m run I would go all out and see how fast I could do it. A couple of girls got ahead of me early on in the run. I don’t mind being passed up by the fast guy runners but I wasn’t about to let a girl outrun me. This is where my competitive side kicks in. I called on my remaining energy and ran as fast as I possibly could. I was winded and my legs felt like Jell-o and wasn’t even sure I would be able to make it across the finish line. I had to keep telling myself that it was just one lap and then I would be done for the night. So, what was my finishing time? It was 1:37 thank you very much! I think I’m ready to start training for the Olympics!

Eat For a Cure! Fundraiser at Chevy's on March 21.

In an effort to meet my fundraising goal I'm hosting a fundraiser at Chevy's in Mountain View (2116 W. El Camino Real) on Wednesday, March 21. Everyone is welcome to attend so please tell your friends! The social starts at 6:00 and goes until we've found a cure (or when we're ready to call it a night). Festivities for the evening include a silent auction and raffle prizes.

Can't attend the fundraiser? No problem! Chevy's is donating 25% of the food sales throughout the entire day (including to go orders). Just stop in at a time that's convenient for you.

Please note that in order for your meal to be counted toward the fundraiser you must bring in a special flyer. Contact me and I'll email the flyer to you.

Thanks for your support!

What does a donation of $25, $50, or $100 buy?

* A donation of $25 provides patients and their loved ones with FREE booklets that contain up-to-date information on their disease and help them make informed decisions about their treatment options.

* A donation of $50 makes possible a Family Support group with a trained facilitator where comfort can be found and experiences can be shared among patients and family members.

* A donation of $100 helps supply laboratory researchers with supplies and materials critical to carrying out their search for cures.

* A donation of $1,000 makes possible one- on-one conversations with health care specialists who provide patients with information about their disease, treatment options, and helps prepare them with questions for their health care team.

The Official Announcement

Dear Family and Friends,

I’m writing today to let you know about an important decision I recently made. As you know, softball is one of my passions but I’m giving it up for the spring season so I can run a marathon and raise money for a worthwhile cause. I have decided to run in the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon on June 3. Running a marathon is something I have thought about doing for a long time and I decided that 2007 would be the year I make that dream a reality. The idea of running 26.2 miles seemed very daunting to me and I was worried that if I trained on my own I might not follow through, or get frustrated and quit before the big event. Then I received a flyer in the mail from Team in Training and I found the answer to my concerns.

Team in Training works with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to raise funds for blood cancer research. They are dedicated to curing leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma and improving the lives of patients and their families. The Society has raised over $360 million for blood cancer research. Research funded by the Society has led or contributed to advances such as chemotherapy, bone marrow and stem cell transplantation and new, targeted oral therapies such as Gleevec®.

In exchange for fundraising the Society will help me train for the race and provide coaching and medical guidance. More importantly, I will be running in honor of some very special people, our team honorees, who either are in remission or being treated for a blood cancer, or who lost their battle to this disease. These are the people who inspire me to run. Taking on the challenge of running 26 miles seems so trivial compared to what our honorees have been through.

Your support in my cause would be greatly appreciated. My goal is to raise a minimum of $3000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. At least 75% of your contribution goes directly towards research and patient programs. Donations are 100% tax deductible. No donation is too small, and every little bit helps get us that much closer to a cure. And of course, moral support is also encouraged and welcome!

To donate, please visit my Team In Training website to make an online contribution.

I hope that you will visit my website and this blog often. I will update it with photos and news of my progress throughout the course of my training.

Finally, if someone you know has been afflicted with a blood-related cancer I would love to run in their honor! Please let me know their names and I will be sure to add them to my jersey for the day of the big race.

Please feel free to forward this information to your friends, family, business, etc. The more people who support this worthwhile cause, the more money we’re able to raise to help fight cancer.

Thank you very much for your support!