Finding A Cure Wouldn’t Mean We’ve Defeated Cancer

When President Barack Obama announced the $1 billion moonshot initiative in February, he appointed Vice President Joe Biden, whose 46-year-old son Beau died of brain cancer last year, to be the project’s steward.

“Right now, only 5 percent of cancer patients in the U.S. end up in a clinical trial,” Biden wrote in Medium in January. “The science, data, and research results are trapped in silos, preventing faster progress and greater reach to patients. It’s not just about developing game-changing treatments  —  it’s about delivering them to those who need them.”

Wednesday’s National Cancer Moonshot Summit, which harkens back to Richard Nixon’s 1971 “war on cancer,” is a national day of action led by Biden to crowdsource strategies for accelerating cancer-curing research from more than 350 scientists, oncologists, data and tech experts, patients, families and advocates across the country.

While the summit is a first step toward the moonshot’s expressed goal of doubling the current rate of progress toward a cure for cancer, there has been noticeably little discussion among politicians, advocacy groups and other stakeholders of what curing cancer actually means.

A spokeswoman for Biden said that the summit incorporated a discussion on survivorship, but declined to comment on the record about specific ways the moonshot would address the issue.

Critics called the initiative oversimplified, and emphasized that because cancer is many diseases, not just one, it’s unrealistic to push for a single cure. Others pushed back on the initiative’s meager budget.

“Let’s be honest,” Ezekiel Emanuel, oncologist and chair of the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, told STAT. “There’s not that much money in the moonshot. I just don’t think it is going to have that big an impact.”

Later in January, the vice president added, “I said I believe that we need an absolute national commitment to end cancer as we know,” he said. “I’m not naive, I didn’t think we could ‘end cancer.’ I’m not looking for a silver bullet. There is none.”

Survival is also more complicated than being cancer-free, a concern that’s rarely included in well-meaning, but oversimplified political initiatives and awareness months. Survivors’ stories, particularly those of childhood survivors who have had the longest tenure with cancer and its side effects, could help broaden the focus of the moonshot aims by highlighting their experiences of what life after cancer is like.

Read full article (huffingtonpost)

Alex Green Celebration of Life

Alexander Jack Green Celebration of Life from Sara Knight on Vimeo.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who helped celebrate our beautiful son Alex’s life Monday evening and Tuesday. As Derek and I listened to the stories, felt the warmth in each hug we were given, watched each flower so lovingly placed on his casket, and reflect back on Alex’s life – we see so much hope, perserverence, beauty, and love. Alex touched so many lives and we know that his story will continue to do so. We are honored to have been the ones chosen to be his mom and dad.
For those who were unable to join us Monday evening, here is the link to the beautiful video our sweet friend Sara helped me put together…it is perfect in every way and something our family will surely cherish forever.
Thank you to everyone who loved our sweet Alex and who came along this journey with us in every capacity imaginable. We are so blessed and we just have so much love in our hearts for our friends, family, and community.
May you find comfort through God alone and find strength through Alex’s favorite verse:
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
-Philippians 4:13

We mourn the passing of Alex J Green

Alex passed away at home on June 5th at 8:20 am.

A celebration of his life will begin on Monday, June 13, 2016 at 7:00 PM at Battlefield Baptist Church, 4361 Lee Highway, Warrenton, VA 20187 (map). The Green family would like to invite you to wear your favorite team jersey or sports attire to Alex’s Celebration of Life.

Funeral services will be held at Park Valley Church, 4500 Waverly Farm Drive, Haymarket, VA 20169 (map) at 12:00 Noon on Tuesday, June 14, 2016 with the family receiving friends from 11:00 AM until service time. Interment will take place at Stonewall Memory Gardens.

In lieu of flowers and in the spirit of who Alex was–the Green family asks that a donation is made towards a charity or cause of your choice. Every life has a purpose, we encourage you to make a difference wherever your heart and passion lies in honor of Alex.

Service Information:
http://www.piercefh.com/obituaries/Alexander-Green/

2nd Annual Driving for a Cure Photos

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This sweet 7-year-old gave his hair to cancer patients, then life took a devastating turn

Seven-year-old Vinny Desautels learned about cancer for the first time because his mother, Amanda Azevedo, was helping survivors of the disease get ready for a gala. She is a hair stylist who volunteered with a local lymphoma foundation, doing the hair of former cancer patients before they arrived at an annual benefit event.

As Azevedo was leaving one year, Vinny asked, “Hey Mom, what are you doing?”

She explained to her youngest son, as best as she could, the ruthlessness of cancer. Fighting the disease often meant losing your hair, Azevedo said, and this was a tough outcome, particularly for young women. She was just doing something small to help.

Hearing this, Vinny wanted to help, too. “Can I grow my hair out?” he asked.

For the next two years, the Roseville, Calif., kid with a toothy grin sported long brown locks that invited teasing on the playground. “He was mistaken for a girl many times,” his father, Jason Desautels, chuckled in a phone interview with The Washington Post late Monday. “He always took it like a champion.”

Read full story here.

 

Fighting Childhood Cancer Until There's a Cure!