Excellent Scientific American issue on cancer

Hi - if anyone is into general reading on Cancer, Scientific American currently have a special issue out on latest thoughts and research into cancer. "New Answers for Cancer" Summer 08. 

It isn't specific for RCC (Sutent only gets metnioned in an article about targetted therapy for breast cancer), but it's excellent for exploring all the new possibilities when it comes to treatment (including zapping the tumours with light, of all things!)(not lasers, just light - I was amazed!)

It also told me what I had never known, that oncs now think that in any tumour it's actually only a few 'seriously bad' (!) cells that are the ringleaders - they are tumour stem cells, and without them the tumours can simply have a normal death-rate like other cells. So if the oncs can just I/D the stem cells, and find ways of tackling them specifically, then the rest of the tumour will die a natural death....

It's written in fairly 'lay' terms, though it does help if you can remember your school biology!

Julie

(If it was weak on any particular aspect, it was on mets - I felt they could have done with an article specifcally on the challenge that mets presents, and why they are such tricky little beasts to zap.)

Hi Julie, interesting read. I have heard about light treatment, there was an article over here in th UK a year ago appx which said it was an area that really did require looking at.. they use rods which are inserted into the tumour and they attract light which is somehow sent to the tumours - tumours of course live in dark environments and cant stand the light (like a mushroom??) and the light can completely kill them. Lin has got some literature on it I will ask her to research and let you all know. 

I am keen on cyberknife too, its coming to Harley Street in 2009 and its already being used in USA Washington Hospital and Spain and a few other places. I am determined to be assessed for it, might not be a sutiable candidate  but anything that helps or might help is worht looking into.

 Railwayman

I'm just amazed what they are coming up with all the time - and it just shows that we have to definitely keep on hanging in there, to catch each new wave as it rolls up from the depths of medical research.

The cyberknife sounds a real possibility, doesn't it? Glad it's coming here 'to a Harley street clinic near you'!!!!!

Please keep going strongly, as you are definitely an inspiration to us all.

Thanks - Julie