Tag: National Cancer Institute

A Rebel with a Cause and A Death Hike

Ronan. One of my blog readers called me a rebel with a cause. I LOVE this. I am a rebel. But a nice one. Unless you fuck me over, the way cancer has…. then you don’t want to mess with me. I do have a cause. A big one. It’s to stay here and keep going for you and all the other babes out there who are suffering from childhood cancer. I see your face in every single one of them. Why is America ignoring them? Why isn’t there more of a voice for these kids who are suffering from childhood cancer? Why isn’t the government stepping up to the plate? Why aren’t the schools taking a more pro active roll on educating our kids with awareness? Isn’t it their kids, that they are “educating,” who are sick and dying? You were one of their kids. And you got cancer and died but now life just goes on. You are just a dirty little secret, a pretend little boy, who got cancer, which they quietly acknowledged, but Shhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Nobody talk about it. Forget it happened. A gold ribbon means nothing. It won’t ever happen again. Ronan who? The parties must go on! Doesn’t anybody wonder about you? Or the mommy who is home, crying because she is aware that it is the day of the schools Holiday Program and you should be there. But you’re not so I will sit at home with your Urn and pretend that you are there, singing whatever holiday song they are singing. As long as it’s not that fucking Silent Night song. I hate that song. I’ll never sing it again.

I was being obsessive today. Fuming about the lack of awareness that childhood cancer receives. I get that these things take time, but the statistics of childhood cancer, sicken me. The fact that things are not changing, is something that I am not o.k. with. I’m posting something below that is from a website that I go on frequently. It’s a foundation called Solving Kids Cancer. I’m meeting with one of the founders, Scott, in New York this January. Below are a few things about childhood cancer, that I hope makes you all mad. It makes me sick to even have to post this. But this is real people. It’s not make believe. It’s important. It makes me want to go shoot some more guns and punch a lot of things.

Pediatric Cancers:

Are not preventable and do not result from lifestyle choices
Are difficult to detect – children present with these cancers after they have already formed and often metastasized
Are the leading cause of death by disease in children
There are currently no real solutions for these deadly childhood cancers

There has not been a significant breakthrough in the deadliest childhood cancers in 30 years

One of the deadliest childhood cancers which has not seen therapeutic advancement is neuroblastoma
Is the most common cancer in infants
Because there is no system for detecting neuroblastoma, most children present at Stage 4 with metastases1
Despite aggressive treatment, the survival rate of advanced stage neuroblastoma in children >;1 year of age is only 30%2,3
Current neuroblastoma relapse survival rate: 0-10% (rates vary by institution)
Therapies being used are often adult hand-me-down agents that are overly toxic for children. These agents are also not aimed at treating the unique pathology of children’s cancers

Number of effective therapies available to all children with these deadly forms of cancer: 0
There is no standardized treatment for deadly childhood cancers — the only option children have for treatment is participation in clinical trials

Translational research transforms scientific discoveries arising from laboratory, clinical, or population studies into clinical applications to reduce cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality.

The Translational Research Working Group (TRWG), National Cancer Institute (NCI)
The status quo is unacceptable

In today’s clinical research landscape, progress is too slow and promise too rare

Average time for a therapeutic discovery to be tested in humans: 5 to 7 years
The possibility of discovering appropriate therapies can be limited by accepted research standards (eg, large scale, multicenter, single-treatment, placebo-controlled, narrow eligibility criteria)

Basic research generally receives more funding than translational or clinical research

Existing ideas need to be identified, prioritized based on viability, and progressed into therapeutic development in humans
The usual players are not in the position to solve the problem alone

Pediatric oncologists are, justifiably, focused on treating their patients, not necessarily on developing and prioritizing new therapeutic discoveries

Research scientists and academic institutions have everyday demands which prevent them from investigating many promising basic research ideas

Rewards in this field are given for scientific discoveries, not practical applications of these discoveries
Pharmaceutical and biotech companies are not incentivized financially to develop treatments in small populations such as children with cancer

Conventional nonprofit organizations are not necessarily designed to progress therapeutic development

Parents are forced to become experts in their child’s treatment

With their child’s well-being as their first priority, parents bring a valuable perspective of ethics and a sense of urgency to clinical research
Children cannot advocate for themselves like adults with deadly or debilitating diseases can

To date, there has not been a single group, institution, or research entity effectively and solely dedicated to the task of solving kids’ cancer

Children need help now

You know what else, Ro? Lots of other bad news. While progress against leukemias and lymphomas continues, five-year survival rates for almost all solid tumors in kids and teens haven’t budged over the past 10-20 years. Funding is the number one issue. The NCI’s budget is $4.8 billion, and the total for grants that have anything to do with pediatric cancer is $173 million. Want to know a dirty little secret? Drug companies don’t want to cure cancer. It’s a big money making business, baby. Drug companies want kids to die from cancer. In 20 years the FDA has initially approved only one drug for any childhood cancer • 1/2 of all chemotherapies used for children’s cancers are over 25 years old. • Research and development for new drugs from pharmaceutical companies comprises 60% of funding for adult cancer drugs and close to zero for childhood cancers. • However, the NCI spends 96% of its budget on adult cancers and only 4% of its budget on children’s cancers.

WHY IS THIS ACCEPTABLE? WHY ISN’T AMERICA ANGRY ABOUT THIS? THIS CAN HAPPEN, TO ANYONE!!!!! If I were a parent, reading this, and I had a child who was healthy as one can be, like you WERE, I would be scared to death. I would be so scared because childhood cancer can happen at any age. I would take a stand so I could be a part of making things change so that childhood cancer gets the awareness that it deserves. So that someday, the survival rates will increase and treatments will be better and not so toxic. So that kids are given a chance to overcome this shitty hand they were dealt. It should not just because they were the lucky ones. This is my rant for tonight, Ro. I’m so mad. Sad. Jaded. Scared. Disappointed. Heart-broken. Always heart-broken.

Alright. My day. I don’t remember what I did except miss you. I read a lot of articles on childhood cancer. I read up about some doctors. Treatments. Funding. Etc….. I already know most of it. But now I’m getting my fucking Ph.D in this childhood cancer thing. Do you think they will give me a cap and gown when I graduate? Can it be purple? With a star on it? That would be nice. I won’t graduate until I’m on my death-bed and I know with my entire heart and soul, that I’ve done everything I could possibly do. Whatever that means. As long as I make you proud, that’s all that matters in the end.

So, after my day at the Starbucks office, because it is too painful to be in an empty house, I came home. Your brothers had cub scouts so they were with Mimi and Papa. I decided to go on a hike up Camelback. It was later in the day than I usually go, but I was determined to do Echo Canyon today. It was about 5:00 when I started. I hauled ass up the mountain with my music blaring. I didn’t even stop for a break for water like I usually do. I was partly in a hurry, because I knew it was going to get dark soon; but I had no idea how quickly that was going to happen. As I made it to the top, I went over to my favorite tree because I brought a bunch of your bracelets like I always do, to hang all over it. The tree was empty except for I noticed one rubber black bracelet hanging on it. I took it off of the tree, curious as to what it said. In yellow letters, it read, “Believe in yourself.” Tears welled up in my eyes. Was this from you? How is it, that on the day that I decide to hike Camelback, that this bracelet was just hanging there, like it was a gift from you. I froze and closed my eyes. I put the bracelet on and continued to decorate my little tree with about 20 of your purple bracelets. I wasn’t really paying attention to how the sunlight was disappearing and how there was only one other person at the top of the mountain as I was too caught up in my tears. I headed down Camelback. It usually takes me about 25 minutes to get down. I was about half way down when through my tears, I noticed that it was almost pitch dark. Um FUCK. I didn’t have a flashlight with me. I didn’t have a head lamp on. Nobody else was around. I couldn’t even see to navigate where I was. I got lost at one point. It was the first time, since losing you that I was really scared about the situation I was in. I decided to try to stay calm. I started talking out loud to you while trying to figure out how I was going to get down this steep mountain, in the pitch black, without breaking my neck. I said things out loud to you like, “Ronan. You know I wouldn’t be in this situation, if you were still alive. I wouldn’t be doing things like this. I would be at home, with you, where I belong.” Somehow, I made it down basically a cliff, to a little less steep terrain. I used the light from my iPhone which was better than nothing. Without this, I am certain I would have seriously injured myself or died. While I was in the middle of my Hike of Death, I stopped just to take it all in. The darkness engulfed the mountains which were illuminated by the moon, stars, and city lights. It left me breathless. It was so stunningly peaceful and quiet. It was so perfect and beautiful. I felt like I was looking at the inside of my soul. Uncharted territory. Risky. Dark and dangerous, but deep down so beautiful if you just stop to look at what is really there. If you are not afraid of the dark, the beauty will find a way to shine through. I was afraid of the dark at first. But then I just decided to embrace it and trust in it. I made it down safe and sound, but I’m not sure I’ll be doing that again, anytime soon. Or ever. I walked into our house tonight and I said to your daddy, “Well that was really stupid of me.” I think he almost passed out. Not from the dangerous thing that I had just done, but from hearing those worlds out of my mouth. I laughed at his reaction. Then I got sad for laughing because it just felt wrong. I wonder if it will ever feel right again.

I got a phone call today, Ronan from that Rockstar friend of yours. Bret Michaels. A phone call that once again, had me crying because I just cannot believe how much people believe in you. A phone call that filled me with hope that people really are going to start to listen and childhood cancer is not going to be ignored anymore. Bret is going to help make sure of this and he’s doing it for all the right reasons. There is no hidden agenda. He just wants to help because he can. He can’t ignore those big blue eyes of yours. I question the person, that can. There must be something wrong with their soul. Bret is not just talking the talk. He’s walking the walk. Or rocking the rock because he is that freaking AWESOME. After I hung up, I seriously walked over to the mirror that hangs in our entry way looked at myself. I looked at my eyes. They looked different. Like they had a fire behind them. A little voice in my head said to me, “You are strong. You are not weak. You can do this. You are doing this because YOU ARE STRONG.” I’ve never heard those words before, from within myself, until today. The voice in my head sounded just like yours, because it was you. It’s always you.

So Ro. That’s my story for the day. I would like to thank you for getting me down the mountain. You and Taylor Swift. I was listening to her with my headphones on. She sang our song which made me keep going. Because the stakes are high and the waters rough. But this love is ours. I love you my spicy monkey boys. I miss you. I hope you are safe. G’nite baby doll.

Meet Mindi Finch. She has a blog. She’s feisty. She rules.

http://mindithemagnificent.posterous.com/

 

What YOU need to know about Childhood Cancer Research Funding. From the fabulous People Against Childhood Cancer (PAC2)

Mindi

~Momcologist

2010 Summary

So, where does the money go: Childhood Cancer Research Funding (2010) – People Against Childhood Cancer

Prior to Fathers Day 2007, I had not given much thought to how funding for cancer research worked. That all changed. I thought we would share some thoughts and observations based on my own experiences and our research. This only seeks to inform, raise questions and to provide a platform for discussion. Nowhere in here will we suggest what charity you should support. But, without the right amount of funds directed towards the right research, PAC2 will only continue to grow, and we really want to shut it down. Let’s just look at a few of the groups competing for your money.

Summary

  • HOSPITALS: it may be difficult to determine what percentage of a donation to a hospital would be directed towards research into childhood cancer. Donations may cover operating costs, research into other diseases, and/or childhood cancer research.
  • AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: In 2009 directed $0.007 (less than a penny) to childhood cancer research for every dollar of public support. (Total public support: $897,051,000 and total directed at childhood cancer research: $6,206,000. Source:ACS)
  • LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY: directed $0.02 to childhood cancer research for every dollar of public support. (Total public support: $287,625,000 and total directed at childhood cancer research: almost $6,000,000. Source LLS)
  • NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE: it’s your tax dollars at work. Over the past five years, it has directed between 3.6 and 4.0% of its total budget, an average of $176 million/year, to pediatric cancer. Why?


Hospitals

When a child is treated at a hospital, the hospital incurs costs and produces a bill for the treatment. The bill covers labor, drugs, supplies, new equipment, other operating costs and, if it has a facility, some is directed to research. Obviously not all hospitals have research labs, and the size and funding varies.

Many if not all hospitals have a fundraising arm. If you are at a facility that treats both adults and children, generally funds it collects support operating costs and additions the hospital may desire, and may go towards research. Research may be into treatment of any disease you can imagine. Some may go towards cancer research, both adult and childhood cancers. So, if you give to XXX Hospital, your money is directed towards many various causes, with an unknown portion related to childhood cancer research.

With hospitals, it would seem you need to ask if you can direct your donation to the cause you want to support.

Obviously, St. Jude is likely the hospital the majority of the public thinks of if and when they think of childhood cancer. Their marketing campaign is hugely successful. The post “What if….” has the actual data on St. Jude. In summary:

  • St. Jude treats less than 4% of all the kids with cancer.
  • St. Jude received $682 million in support (donations and bequest) and $82 million in grants from NCI, NIH, and, historically, organizations like CureSearch for Childhood Cancer, St. Baldrick’s Foundation, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research.
  • St. Jude spent $282 million on research on all diseases, 36% of support.
  • St. Jude fundraising expenses were $135 million. ALSAC admin and general costs were $51 million.

The American Cancer Society

The mission statement of the American Cancer Society (ACS) reads: “Founded in 1913, the American Cancer Society (ACS) is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service. With more than two million volunteers nationwide, the American Cancer Society is one of the oldest and largest voluntary health agencies in the United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the ACS has state divisions and more than 3,400 local offices.”

Many chose to become involved with the ACS fundraising events, including the “Relay for Life”. The funds collected by the ACS are used for many causes. The numbers, in millions:

Childhood Cancer Research – $6.2

Other Research – $143

Prevention – $177

Detection/Treatment – $129

Patient Support – $275

Management – $63

Fundraising – $222

Looks black and white to us. The numbers speak for themselves with regard to the funding for childhood cancer, but just to be clear, 0.6% of funds are directed towards research to cure the entire suite of childhood cancers.
Imagine you participate in a Relay-For-Life. You raise $1,000. $270 (27%) goes to admin and fundraising costs. Only $150 goes to any research, and only $6 of that $1000 you raised is targeted towards childhood cancer.

The Stats
Overall, Charity Navigator gives ACS 3 of 4 stars but only 1 of 4 stars for efficiency. John Seffrin, Chief Executive Officer earns $685,884 or 0.06% of expenses. Program expenses (what it spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver) are 72%, management 6% and fundraising expenses 22%. Total revenue in 2009 was $897,051,000.

Questions

#1 -Are there ways to “direct” the money raised toward your cause? The ACS site provides the following options for “Donation Designation”; cancer research, breast cancer research, prostate cancer research, colorectal cancer research and lung cancer research. But is there a manner to direct your funds towards childhood cancer if your amount raised is significant?
#2 – Why, when less than 1% of the funds are directed at childhood cancer, do we see so many childhood cancer victims in the ACS literature?

(We know we’ll hear the “well research into adult cancers can benefit children” argument. Well, most adult cancers do not occur in children. And simple downsizing of adult doses is where we are at now, and the long term consequences have been demonstrated time and again and again and againto be simply unacceptable. We need targeted childhood cancer research!)

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

From its website: “The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. The mission of LLS is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, LLS has invested more than $600 million for research specifically targeting blood cancers.”

We’re sure many of you have had excellent experiences with the LLS. Many chose to become involved with the LLS fundraising events, including the “Light the Night” and “Team in Training”. The funds collected by the LLS are used for many causes. The chart shows the various things supported (Year End 2009 data). The LLS has stated that almost $6 million of its $288 million in total public support is directed to childhood cancer. That equals $0.02 for every dollar of public support. The numbers, in millions:

Research – $69

Patient & Community Services – $92

Public Health Education – $43

Professional Education – $9

Management & General – $24

Fundraising – $45

Childhood Cancer – $6

So, you raise $1000 for LLS: $240 goes to LLS fundraising, general and management costs. $21 is directed to childhood cancer.

The Stats
Overall, Charity Navigator gives LLS 3 of 4 stars, and for fundraising efficiency, 2 of 4 stars. John Walter, the President, CEO earns $482,000 or 0.18% of expenses. Program expenses are 75%, admin 8% and fundraising expenses 18%. Total revenue last year was $277million.

Questions
#1 – Are there ways to “direct” the money raised toward your cause? I believe that national Light the Night teams raising over $100k may direct the funding? Anyone with experience?
#2 – As it is not readily apparent, has anyone seen the percentage of funds directed towards pediatric blood cancer research?

UPDATE – JULY 2009 – Here is a link to some information directly from LLS. Judge for yourself.

UPDATE – APRIL 2010 – We’re a little disturbed by LLS’s latest idea for fundraiser events. They’ve embarked on a Totally Baldacious campaign, where participants shave their heads. I know I’ve heard that one before….oh that’s right, St Baldricks has been doing that for many years solely in support of CHILDHOOD cancer research! Shame on you LLS…

UPDATE – AUGUST 2010 – from the LLS:

“LLS recently launched a research initiative focused on the long-term and late effects of today’s curative therapies – many of these quality-of-life limiting consequences impact pediatric patients differentially as children can live for decades after they are cured. LLS just committed more than $2 million to new projects in this research area, thanks to generous donors, and anticipate investing more than $5 million over the next 3 years, in order to make today’s cures safer.

We are also involved in the Alliance for Childhood Cancer –http://www.allianceforchildhoodcancer.org/acc/Main and the Pediatric Cancer Survivorship Legislation –http://www.capitolconnect.com/lls/contentpage.aspx?page=pediatricsurvivorship“

National Cancer Institute

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of 11 agencies that compose the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The NCI, established under the National Cancer Institute Act of 1937, is the Federal Government’s principal agency for cancer research and training.

Here is the NCI total funding and the amount directed to childhood cancer over the past five years averages $176 million/year, and ranges between 3.6 and 4%. Over that same period, average NCI breast cancer funding was 24%, prostate 5% and lung 5%. During 2009 NCI did direct an additional $49 million in ARRA funds to support TARGET Research.

A portion of that NCI funding goes to the Children’s Oncology Group, through CureSearch – to the tune of $46 million for fiscal year ending Feb 2009. CureSearch then takes that funding and distributes it back to COG hospitals (more below).

Why is Federal funding for breast cancer five times the dollars per person life year lost when compared to childhood cancer funding? Why is Federal funding for prostate cancer, with a 99% five-year survival rate, nearly five times the total amount given to all types of childhood cancer? Why?

We challenge the entire paradigm of the NCI funding for cancer research. Have you ever known scientists who could manage? Think of cancer as a sinking ship, with all of us on-board. Who do we care for first? We get the women and children to safety. And we know many grieving Mom’s who would give up their seat to any child. But what we have is first class seating, funding, for adults.

And finally, consider this from our friends at KIDS V CANCER: “DID YOU KNOW? Research and development for new drugs from pharmaceutical companies comprises 60% of funding for adult cancer drugs and close to zero for childhood cancers. However, the NCI spends 96% of its budget on adult cancers and only 4% of its budget on children’s cancers.”.

Susan G Komen

Just for comparison….Susan G. Komen for the Cure, formerly known as Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, was established in 1982 by Nancy G. Brinker. Nancy promised her dying sister Susan that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure, they have invested nearly $1 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

Overall, Charity Navigator gives SGK 4 of 4 stars, same as last year. For fundraising efficiency, SGK receives 4 of 4 stars, same as last year. Hala G. Moddelmog, COO, earns $532,000 or 0.18% of expenses. Program expenses are 83%, admin 11% and fundraising expenses 7%. Total revenue last year was $299 million. Course…that’s before they started suing….

Childhood Cancer Research Focused Fundraising

The largest federally funded (mostly) organization is CureSearch. The CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation is dedicated to raising private funds for childhood cancer research for the Children’s Oncology Group, the world’s largest cooperative cancer research organization. CureSearch Children’s Oncology Group is a network of 230 hospitals nationwide and more than 5,000 physicians, nurses, and scientists whose collaboration, research and care have turned childhood cancer from a virtually incurable disease to one with an overall 78% cure rate.

CureSearch/NCCF is the grantee for the Children’s Oncology Group from the National Cancer Institute. They receive funds from NCI and distribute them to more than 230 Children’s Oncology Group member institutions in North America and around the world in support of clinical trials. In addition, they raise private philanthropic and non-governmental funds, which they also use to support the Children’s Oncology Group.

For fiscal year ending Feb 2009, Charity Navigator gives CureSearch 4 of 4 stars. For efficiency, CureSearch receives 3 of 4 stars. Joseph Woelkers, Chairman, earns $287,00, or 0.49% of expenses. Gregroy H. Reaman, Executive Director, Scientific & Medical Affairs earns $391,000 or 0.67% of expenses. Program expenses are 95%, admin 3% and fundraising expenses 2%. Total revenue was $56 million. Revenue included $46.5 million from NCI and $13.3 million in donations, private grants and corporate grants.

Here is a map of COG hospitals, and a list of COG hospitals.

Obviously CureSearch is not the only childhood cancer charity. PAC2 has assembled a list of wonderful childhood cancer fundraising organizations here. Please consider CureSearch, St. Baldrick’s, Alex’s Lemonade Stands, The Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research and all the wonderful other organizations fighting for our kids. Here’s some great groups you can contact right here at PAC2. These guys direct money only to childhood cancer related causes, primarily research. And you’ve seen the PAC2 chevron picture…Awareness –> Funding –> Research –> CURE! you know why funding and research is needed!

Speaking from the heart, over the past 2-3 years, PAC2 has come to know, respect and believe in the great people in these organizations. We believe that they will find a cure. And we know they will work with you in virtually any capacity and are ALWAYS looking for leaders and volunteers. They will work with you directly to meet your needs. The best part is that the VAST majority (typically 80 – 90%) of any money you raise for them is directed towards cutting-edge research into childhood cancer. Period.

If we expand into other childhood cancer charities, there are so many other worthy causes that may not be research oriented but still need support; local family support organizations, the Ronald McDonald House, SuperSibs, American Childhood Cancer Organization, Make-A-Wish etc, etc. Not to mention the parent led Foundations, who may contribute to support, hospitals, or other. All needing your dollar.

Other diseases, local police, the United Way, March of Dimes, Red Cross, Save the Whales, World Wildlife Foundation, you get the idea. There are over 900,000 registered with the IRS. It must be a pretty competitive business eh?

The nature of the business is that it is a business. And we as consumers should know where our donations are going. And expect accountability. Transparency. Just like this note is attempting to be. If we’re wrong somewhere….please let us know.

In the end, it’s your call. Decide if you want $4 (ACS) or $21 (LLS) or, typically $800 (CC orgs on our list) of the $1000 you raise to go to childhood cancer research.

Research is the key to a cure.

Big Disclaimer – our thoughts, experiences and analysis of their financial data. We just wanted to inform and show the differences, raise a few questions for the community, and to say things that we think need to be said. We are NOT saying ACS or LLS is not right, they just aren’t focused on childhood cancer.