Sacramento, U.S.A. — Tobacco interests spent a total of $4.7 million during the first year of the 2011-2012 election cycle to fight Proposition 29 and to influence legislators and policies in California, according to a recent report by the Center for Tobacco Policy & Organizing of the American Lung Association in California.

“The numbers in this report are clear, Big Tobacco continues to use its vast financial resources to oppose bills and life-saving ballot initiatives that would benefit public health,” said Jane Warner, President and CEO of the American Lung Association in California. “This fact, though disturbing, further inspires the American Lung Association and millions of Californians to stop Big Tobacco in its tracks. We are committed to preventing children from ever picking up their first cigarette, helping smokers quit and fighting the lung diseases that so often result from smoking. We will not relent until smoking is eradicated in California.”

Tobacco Money in California Politics shows that tobacco interests contributed almost $3.6 million to candidates and members of the California legislature, constitutional officers, and political committees thus far in 2011-2012. Further, the industry and its partners spent $1.1 million on lobbying during this period. This amount includes only the beginnings of the investment Big Tobacco made to defeat Proposition 29 which would have prevented the deaths of more than 100,000 Californians from smoking related illnesses had it passed.

Tobacco Money in California Politics contains full details on which bills were lobbied by tobacco interests, and lists legislators and political committees who accepted contributions from the industry. Highlights include:

• The amount spent this year is more than double the amount spent during the first year of the 2009-2010 election cycle.
• Of the 120 state legislators, tobacco interests made campaign contributions to 55 members, or 45% of the legislature, higher than in previous years.
• More than 70% of the total contributions made during the 2011-2012 election cycle were to political committees who oppose Proposition 29, which was narrowly defeated in the polls on June 5 th.

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To many, cancer remains one of the most frightening diagnoses in modern medicine. But much of this fear is a result of myths that have circulated for years in spite of the good information that is available. Indeed, many of cancer’s mysteries have been solved, and a great deal of success has been achieved in curing patients and helping them live longer and better lives.

In spite of advances in cancer treatment and prognosis, many continue to believe in myths surrounding cancer.  In particular, studies have shown that African Americans are more likely than whites to maintain some erroneous beliefs about cancer.

It is important to separate fact from fiction.  Some of the most common cancer myths not only cultivate false ideas and fears but can interfere with how people think and behave when facing cancer in themselves or in a loved one. It is important that the health messengers within the family and community have the most accurate information about cancer.

In many African American families, that is often the woman running the household. It is good for these health messengers and the people who listen to them to at least be aware of some of the most common cancer myths so that misinformation doesn’t stand in the way of getting counsel from a medical professional.

What Will Happen to Me If I Get Cancer?

Myth––Cancer is a death sentence. The fact is that more than 12 million cancer survivors are living inthe United States. Thanks to improved treatments and earlier diagnosis of some cancers, more than 3 of every 5 cancer patients are alive 5 years after their diagnosis. For children, the 5-year survival rate is 4 in 5.

Who Gets Cancer and Why

Myth––Cancer is contagious. You cannot catch cancer from someone who has it. What can spread among people are microorganisms (viruses and bacteria), and a few of these can cause cancer.

Myth––If a parent or close family member had cancer, you will inherit it. Cancer develops when genes change in certain ways, but most of these changes occur later in life and are not inherited. But some cancer-causing gene changes are inherited, so if a certain cancer seems to run in your family it is important to discuss this with a doctor.

Myth––People get cancer from . . . (just fill in the blank as to what you have heard). Scientists are continuously doing research to determine whether particular natural or manmade substances cause cancer. Research shows that the following are not likely to cause cancer: cell phones, microwaves, fluoridated water, hair dyes, deodorants, sugar, artificial sweeteners like saccharin and aspartame, and low-frequency magnetic fields produced by power lines and household electric appliances.

What You Can Do About It

Myth––You have no control over your own cancer risk. Although scientists haven’t figured out how to completely prevent cancer, there are things you can do to reduce your risk of certain cancers. For example:

• Not smoking or quitting smoking greatly reduces your risk of developing and dying from lung cancer.
• Maintaining a healthy weight and being physically active cuts your risk of several cancers.
• HPV vaccines prevent infection with the virus that causes most cervical cancers. And regular cervical cancer screening detects most cervical abnormalities so that they can be treated before they become cancer.
• Colorectal cancer screening reduces the risk of developing and dying from colorectal cancer.
• For women age 40 and older, getting regular mammograms reduces the chance of dying from breast cancer.

Myth––Your attitudes and beliefs can help you beat cancer. Unfortunately, despite many studies, this appears to be a myth. But a positive attitude may improve the quality of your life during and after treatment. Many people say that focusing on the joys in life and things that they can control helped them get through cancer treatment.

Spending time with family and friends, taking part in hobbies and activities when possible, and enjoying the little things in life may help one better manage the stresses and worries of cancer.

These are only some of the false and misleading ideas that can confuse and mislead people about the progress being made in cancer prevention, detection, and treatment. You can learn more from NCI about cancer prevention and screening.

NCI leads the National Cancer Program and the NIH effort to dramatically reduce the burden of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers.

For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI web site at www.cancer.gov or call NCI’s Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). More articles and videos in the culturally relevant Lifelines series are available at www.cancer.gov/lifelines .

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In response to the epidemic of lives lost to Lung Cancer in the U.S., and the world’s Number One Cancer Killer, Maroon 5 has joined BJALCF as an incredible Grammy-award-winning VOICE to launch a national and international Lung Cancer Awareness campaign.

This campaign encourages everyone to spread awareness and raise funding for the cancer that kills more than 1.3 million worldwide annually and 450 per day in the United States. You can continue to spread the awareness through social media, Facebook, Twitter, websites, TV stations and “desktop-to-desktop” old-fashioned email. Oh Yeah. Yeah! Share!

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/54989-maroon-5-adam-levine-bonnie-j-addario-lung-cancer-foundation-bjalcf

Bonnie J. Addario, Founder of BJALCF issued the following statement on this occasion:

“This is a major milestone in the global fight against Lung Cancer. We are thrilled and honored to have Maroon 5 –- the musical VOICE of a generation –- lending its support, celebrity and international reach to help the world recognize that Anyone Can Get Lung Cancer. We all need to work together to change that, and it starts with supporting BJALCF.

The devastation of Lung Cancer can be stopped when people rise up, get involved, raise awareness and say ‘I can make a difference. I can save a life.’ We must continue to build on this momentum and ask that all TV stations, all writers, all celebrities, and all people who can possibly lend their voice to the end of the Lung Cancer join in this initiative. Thank you Maroon 5, Universal, Career Artist Management, and thank you, in advance, to the rest of you who will step up to the plate and make Lung Cancer Matter.”

The campaign directs audiences to text LUNG to 50555 to donate $10 to BJALCF for results-oriented Lung Cancer Research and treatment. Audiences are also directed to visit www.lungcancerfoundation.org to find more information about Lung Cancer and to download the PSA and distribute for the next 52 weeks.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/trashpaintedgold/

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As the War on Cancer enters its fifth decade and the number of people being diagnosed with cancer continues to rise, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) called for more aggressive integration of advanced imaging technology and biomedical research to improve prevention, earlier detection and treatment of cancer.

“We have developed remarkable new tools for imaging and biomarker identification that can bring about enormous changes at this moment in time and drive rapid improvements in the entire continuum of care in cancer,” said Laurie Fenton-Ambrose, President and CEO of Lung Cancer Alliance.

“But imaging and biomedical research must be linked together,” she said.

In 1975, when Congress passed the National Cancer Act, dubbed the War on Cancer legislation, 400 new cases of cancer were being diagnosed each year for every 100,000 people in the population. According to the latest figures, in 2008 that number rose to 463 new cases for every 100,000 people.

Over 1.6 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year.

While the rate and number of people being diagnosed with cancer overall continues to climb, some progress has been made in reducing the percentage of people who die from cancer, primarily because of screening and better treatments. However the decline is uneven.

The drop in lung cancer death rates among men reflects the drop in the number of men smoking and being diagnosed with lung cancer, but not a reduction in the lethality of lung cancer, which continues to kill three times as many men as prostate cancer.

For women, incidence or mortality rates are still twice as high as they were in 1975 and nearly twice as many women will die of lung cancer than breast cancer.

In addition the percentage of women with lung cancer who have never smoked is twice as high as men.

“The overall numbers are staggering,” said Fenton-Ambrose.

Of the 577,000 people who will die of some form of cancer this year, one in four women and three in ten men will die of lung cancer – more than the combined total of deaths from breast, prostate, colon and pancreatic cancers.

“However, this past year has also brought us the most significant advance we have ever seen for lung cancer – the validation of CT screening as a life-saving tool that can dramatically reduce lung cancer mortality among those at high risk,” she said.

According to several national and international studies, that reduction would be at least 20% and possibly as high as 50-60%, which translates to 35,000 to 95,000 lives saved a year.

Screening can also stimulate research into precancerous conditions, genetic mutations and biomarkers that will improve risk assessment, diagnosis and treatment for all types of lung cancer, including lung cancers not associated with smoking.

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On December 19, Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) praised Senator Scott Brown for his support for the first comprehensive lung cancer legislation now pending action in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act, S. 752 and H.R. 1394, is a bicameral, bipartisan call to action on the leading cause of cancer death.  Senator John Kerry is one of the primary sponsors of the Senate bill that was introduced earlier this year. Other supporters from the Massachusetts congressional delegation include Congressman Barney Frank, Stephen Lynch, John Olver and John Tierney.

Lung Cancer Alliance’s President & CEO Laurie Fenton-Ambrose said, “We are thrilled to see this strong bi-partisan recognition of the urgent need to have a better plan of action to address all aspects of lung cancer which we hope will continue to grow and include all members of the Massachusetts delegation.”

Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, nationally and in every ethnic group. According the National Cancer Institute estimates, this year, in Massachusetts more people will die of lung cancer – 3,490 – more than the combined total of deaths due to breast cancer (760), colon cancer (980) and prostate cancer (640).

Diane Legg, LCA-New England Co-Director said, “As a seven year survivor of lung cancer, it is reassuring to know that our elected leaders have heard our stories, have become better educated about the disease and have become proponents of a call to action that would put life-saving, cost-saving, cancer reducing benefits in motion.”

Rich Monopoli, LCA-New England Co-Director said, “Sadly, the impact of lung cancer goes beyond epidemic yet few people even know that today 80% of lung cancer patients have never smoked or had already quit, often decades ago.  That is why support for a more coordinated and comprehensive plan for this disease is so important – as it will help reduce lung cancer’s stigma and reverse decades of neglect.

The Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act is win-win for all and I am hopeful that the entire Massachusettsdelegation and their New England colleagues will join our call to action.” LCA has been building a network of support for the call to action which includes leading research, veterans, and minority health and labor organizations.

The legislation, H.R. 1394 in the House and S. 752 in the Senate, calls for the Departments of Health and Human Services, Defense and Affairs to develop a coordinated research, prevention, early detection and treatment effort with the specific goal of cutting lung cancer mortality in half by the end of the decade.

Lung Cancer Alliance is the only national non-profit dedicated to providing support and advocacy for those living with or at risk for lung cancer.  LCA is committed to reversing decades of stigma and neglect by empowering those with or at risk for lung cancer, elevating awareness and changing health policy at both the federal and state level. For more information visit: www.lungcanceralliance.org.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/massgovernor/

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Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) announced that its efforts to secure continued increases in federal research funding for lung cancer achieved another victory as an additional $10.2 million was included in the Department of Defense (DOD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) which was part of the FY2012 budget compromise worked out late last night by the House and Senate.

This $1 trillion omnibus spending package includes nine appropriations measures which establish budgets for hundreds of programs across ten Cabinet agencies including the Department of Defense. The President is expected to sign the bill.

The $10.2 million in DOD research funding is in addition to $47.8 million secured to date by LCA since it first established the DOD lung cancer research pipeline three years ago which  targets research for early detection with special emphasis on high risk military bringing the total appropriated to date to $58 million.

“We are proud to share that our advocacy work to date has secured $58 million for lung cancer research funding via this new program,” said Laurie Fenton-Ambrose, President and CEO of LCA.  “Increasing the federal research pipeline for lung cancer has been – and will continue to be – LCA’s core mission.”

The omnibus spending package also includes a $30.7 billion increase in funding for research programs including lung cancer research within the National Institutes of Health – an increase strongly advocated for by LCA.

“Even in times of tight fiscal restraint,” continued Fenton-Ambrose, “we will continue these efforts for patients and survivors as well as our research community because it is essential and critical life-saving work. I thank our congressional leadership for continuing support for this program.”

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among men and women and every ethnic group and among our military who are at an increased risk in comparison to their civilian counterparts. Lung cancer has a 15% 5-year survival rate with the vast majority of cases found late stage.  In addition, nearly 80% of those diagnosed with lung cancer today are former or non-smokers.

Military personnel have a higher exposure to lung cancer carcinogens and thus are more susceptible than the general public. The FY2012 language calls for continued research focus on screening and early disease management, especially among high risk military. For more information go to www.lungcanceralliance.org.

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Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) has announced that it has received a $9.3 million contribution, from an existing partner, providing further support through its Co-Pay Relief Program (CPR) for patients suffering from nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), breast cancer, colon cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and hepatitis C who are unable to afford their medical co-payments. These funds are currently available to qualified patients.

PAF’s CPR Program provides direct financial support for pharmaceutical co-payments to insured patients, including Medicare Part D beneficiaries, who financially and medically qualify. Since the program’s inception in April 2004, CPR has distributed more than $130 million in assistance to more than 50,000 patients nationwide who were unable to afford their pharmaceutical co-payments.

“The Co-Pay Relief Program was developed after PAF recognized extreme increases each year in the number of patients seeking pharmaceutical co-pay assistance, despite the fact they were insured,” said Nancy Davenport-Ennis, Founder and CEO of PAF. “Battling any disease is difficult, particularly now with the high out-of-pocket expenses that are routinely incurred by patients.

Thanks to this extremely generous donation, we will be able to offer an even greater level of support to patients seeking help with their pharmaceutical co-payments.”

On August 1, 2011, PAF announced a new operational model for CPR that serves more patients, provides enhanced service to both providers and patients through new technology tools, and allows for many more patient approvals. CPR donations are now released in total into each disease silo immediately upon receipt, rather than dividing contributions across a twelve month period.

CPR accepts all qualified new and renewal applications on a first come first serve basis with no limit imposed on the number of approvals issued monthly. CPR also accepts and processes all expenditures on a first come, first serve basis until the available funds in the entire silo are exhausted. Eligible expenditures may be submitted by patients, providers and/or pharmacists.

“We are excited about CPR’s use of state-of-the-art technology solutions to deliver a high degree of automation and efficiency to program users.

For example, electronic signature and file upload capabilities have been integrated into both the online application and the expenditure submission processes, including the capability for a user to fax documents which use a barcode based routing system,” said Beth Patterson, President of Mission Delivery, and Fran Castellow, President of Operations.

“These technological enhancements allow the patient, provider and pharmacy communities to leverage existing Electronic Health Records (EHR) or their Health Information Technology (HIT) to increase the speed with which their expenditures and applications are processed. In addition, CPR still has secure web-based portal access 24 hours a day, online assistance capabilities and live assistance via the toll-free phone number.”

Patient Advocate Foundation and its companion organization, the National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF), were founded on the principle that health care is a basic human need and shared social responsibility.

Annually, PAF receives thousands of contacts requesting information and assistance via their toll-free hotline, as well as online, with complete direct, sustained case management services provided to patients from all fifty states free of charge.

Image Courtesy  of    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Patient-Advocate-Foundation/121863874508285

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Everything But Water, the largest women’s specialty swim and resort wear store in the United States is donating five percent of all sales from Black Friday (Nov. 25) through Cyber Monday (Nov. 28) to LUNGevity Foundation, the nation’s largest lung cancer nonprofit. The five percent donation will apply on all sales, including gift cards, throughout the retailer’s 58 stores and online.

This will be the third year Sheila Arnold, CEO and President of Everything But Water, has promoted store initiatives to benefit LUNGevity Foundation. She took on the battle against lung cancer because she believes it is important to address issues that affect women and women’s health.

Lung cancer kills more women than any other cancer – almost twice as many women die of lung cancer than breast cancer. Arnold also has a special connection to the issue because her mother died of lung cancer and her brother, Jerry Sorkin, was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in 2007. Sorkin serves as vice-chair of LUNGevity Foundation’s Board of Directors, and is a never-smoker.

“LUNGevity is grateful to Everything But Water for supporting us with a national sponsorship as we battle against the country’s number one cancer killer,” said LUNGevity Foundation President Andrea Stern Ferris. “The disease impacts thousands of families just like Jerry and Sheila’s across the nation. I encourage you to support the store in its very personal crusade to help stop this horrible disease.”

Everything But Water chose the timing of its contribution – the kickoff to holiday shopping and one of the year’s busiest shopping periods – to highlight its commitment to the cause, to help bring attention to the disease, and to capture the spirit of generosity that marks the holiday season.

Throughout the weekend, Everything But Water’s expert sales associates will help shoppers find perfect getaway looks and gorgeous gifts. Customers can also shop, and learn more about the partnership, at www.everythingbutwater.com.

“We are passionate about raising awareness for such an important issue,” said Arnold. “Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer and affects too many families, including my own. Far too many men and women are stricken with this disease. I learned about LUNGevity Foundation’s powerful work after my brother was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in 2007.

We are committed to the cause and see Black Friday weekend as an ideal opportunity for our customers to show their support while they shop.” Lung cancer takes a terrible toll on our nation. More than 200,000 Americans are diagnosed with lung cancer and more than 150,000 die from the disease each year.

Over the course of their lives, one in 14 Americans is affected by lung cancer. Lung cancer can afflict anyone regardless of age, gender, smoking history or skin color. And because there is no widely available, effective early diagnostic test for the disease, less than 16 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer survive more than five years.

About LUNGevity Foundation

The mission of LUNGevity Foundation is to have a meaningful and immediate impact on improving lung cancer survival rates, ensure a higher quality of life for lung cancer patients, and provide a community for those impacted by lung cancer.

In order to accomplish its mission, LUNGevity funds the most promising research into the early detection and successful treatment of lung cancer. LUNGevity also supports the largest national grassroots lung cancer network in the U.S., as well as the largest online support community for those affected by lung cancer.

The organization was recently awarded the coveted four-star charity ranking by Charity Navigator, America’s premier charity evaluator based on LUNGevity’s sound fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency.

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Studies have suggested that reducing casein intake can help prevent cancer, heart disease and arthritis. Casein, the protein found in animal breast milk, has been linked to prostate cancer, along with other forms of serious health problems.

The second-most-cited scientist in all of clinical medicine, Dr. Walter Willet, has conducted research studies that suggest an increase in dairy products can increase a man’s risk of prostate cancer by 30 to 50 percent. He also found that dairy consumption increases the body’s level of IGF-1(insulin-like growth factor-1), a known promoter of cancer.

A 1992 report in the New England Journal of Medicine discovered that proteins in cows’ milk can damage the production of insulin in those with a genetic predisposition to diabetes.

Over 70% of the world population is lactose-intolerant, the inability to digest and metabolize lactose. Lactose is the sugar found in milk, thus making three quarters of the world unable to digest dairy. The bestselling book, Skinny Bitch, declares “The undigested lactose and the acidic nature of pasteurized milk encourage the growth of bacteria in our intestines.

All this contributes to a greater risk of cancer because cancer cells thrive in acidic conditions.” Although the USDA pyramid advices that we should be consuming 3 dairy products daily, it has been proven in various studies that this level of casein consumption can increase the risk of several health concerns.

Health problems that have been linked to high diary intake are osteoporosis, arthritis, heat disease, irritable bowl syndrome (IBS), Type 1 diabetes, chronic constipation, ear infections, ovarian cancer, and allergies. Because dairy is a mucus producing product, the human body will often develop a cold or allergies to fight the dairy in our system.

The pyramid has been criticized by many scientists and nutritionists because some of the experts who helped create the pyramid work for the dairy industry. The Huffington Post reported that the UDSA panel of scientists admitted there is a link between dairy and prostate cancer, they also disclosed milk doesn’t have any benefit on sports performance.

Dr. T. Colin Campbell, nutrition and health researcher, conducted an extensive research project in the Philippines, in which he investigated why so many Filipino children were being diagnosed with liver cancer. The projects goal was to ensure that children were getting as much protein as possible. Dr. Campbell spoke about his findings “In this project, however, I uncovered a dark secret.

Children who ate the highest protein diets were the ones most likely to get liver cancer.” He later conducted another scientific research project along with Cornell University, Oxford University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. The study revealed that people who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease.

The study also showed that those who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic disease. Although there is popular belief that dairy intake can prevent osteoporosis, statistics show American women, whilst are the biggest consumers of calcium in the world, have one of the highest levels of osteoporosis in the world.

The Nurses’ Health Study declare that dairy may increase risk of bone fractures by 50 percent. The USDA scientists have also disclosed that there is no evidence that dairy is good for your bones or prevents osteoporosis, and has admitted the animal protein in dairy may actually help cause bone loss.

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