Has the Cure for Cancer Been Found?

Scientists to test if cancer cure can work in humans

Updated Sat. Jun. 28 2008 3:30 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

American researchers will soon start a human trial to determine whether a treatment that can eradicate cancer in mice will do the same in people.

The treatment will transfuse specific white blood cells, called granulocytes, into patients with advanced forms of cancer. The granulocytes will come from healthy young people with immune systems that produce cells that have high levels of anti-cancer activity.

In the animal studies, white blood cells from cancer-resistant mice cured all lab mice who had malignant tumours. The cells have also been able to kill cervical, prostate and breast cancer tumour cells in Petri dish tests.

"All the mice we treated were 100 per cent cured," lead researcher Dr. Zheng Cui told CTV News. "So that was very surprising for us."

Cui, an associate professor of pathology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, will announce the study Saturday at the Understanding Aging conference in Los Angeles.

Granulocytes account for about 60 per cent of all white blood cells in the human body. The scientists already know, via a small study of human volunteers, that granulocytes from people under the age of 50 are most effective at killing cancer cells.

The study will begin with 22 cancer patients for whom conventional treatment has been unsuccessful. The researchers say that they will know within three months if the treatment will work in humans.

Cancer researchers worldwide will be watching the tests closely.

"Certainly in the mouse, being able to do these things is quite remarkable and very exciting," said Dr. Ronan Foley of the Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton, Ont. "Oftentimes when it is translated into the human situation it doesn't work as well. But that doesn't mean it isn't going to work."

With a report from CTV medical correspondent Avis Favaro and senior producer Elizabeth St. Philip

The Experiment

When I was little, one of my homework assignments was to blindfold my Mom and cloths-pin her nose and then feed her a bite of apple and then a bite of onion to see if she could tell the difference. This was an experiment to prove that if you can’t see or smell the food then you can’t identify it.

Very cool assignment.

When my mom got home from work, I sat her down in the chair and covered her eyes and put a cloths-pin on her nose. Then I fed her a rather large bite of onion that she chewed and swallowed. Finally, not having an apple in the house, I shoved a big spoonful of margarine in her mouth.

She was not a happy lady. Between gagging fits, she explained that it’s not just smell that helps us to identify what we are eating, but also that texture plays a role (a HUGE role if my mother’s reaction was any indication) in food identification.

When I was visiting my Mom I sprinkled cornstarch all over her kitchen to kill the ants that were coming in the house, due to the unusual amounts of rain KS had been having. Yesterday I asked her if the ants were still around. She said that they are gone now, but not before the weirdest thing happened. She said that overnight there were so many ants that they could have carried away the blender to make their own Margaritas in their own anthill Tiki Bar if they had wanted to.

I sort of giggled and said, “Yeah, sorry about that. I found out it's cornmeal that kills ants, not cornstarch. I probably only gave the ants dry-mouth and helped them out with any annoying sweaty foot problems.”

Thank goodness the cleaning lady finally came and wiped off all of the counters - even behind the microwave. For all I know cornstarch makes ants reproduce 100 times faster than normal.

Yet again I gave my Mom the proverbial big ol' mouthful of butter, all in the name of science. No wonder she sleeps with one eye open when I’m in the room.

I'm Happy Damn-It.

I've started this post three times. The first start was about my 1 hour and 45 minute trip to Sears for a battery. And the 2nd was about the conversation I overheard coming out of the mall between a little girl and her mom. Both experiences were not positive and I changed my mind about retelling them. I am crabby enough the last few days without putting crabby into words.

This 3rd start is going to be positive and happy.

Grace is cute and Alan made cinnamon rolls. There. That's as happy as it's going to get.

Grocery Store Strike. (I can't be trusted)

I learned today that I can no longer go to the grocery store without a list. I don't know how it happened but I got home with Twinkies, pizza rolls, pop-tarts, brownie mix, toaster strudels and cinnamon rolls. I swear I don't remember putting ANY of that in my cart. I wonder if I got my cart mixed up with someone else's when I was looking at corn? heh.

Pictures of flooding in Cedar Rapids, IA

Downtown Cedar Rapids, IA and the surrounding neighborhoods are underwater. Despite being overwhelmed with flooding, the city is running out of potable water. Only one out of the four water towers is supplying the city.

My cousin, Corie, took these pictures on 6/13/08. She was returning home from a vacation with her kids. She said that she wasn't sure how the pictures would turn out as they were driving the speed limit and not blocking traffic by taking pictures like the many thoughtless pea-heads who were stopped on the roads and the bridge. I think the pictures are really good.

Thankfully her home, as well as the rest of my family living in Cedar Rapids, is safe. The only home damaged was Corie's Mother-in-Law's house. According to the email I received with these pictures, her Mother-in-Law lives about four blocks from the Dairy Queen pictured. Well, the Dairy Queen sign. It seems that the actual Dairy Queen is a bit swamped at the moment.

It's impossible for me to fathom the stress this situation is causing. Please keep my family, along with the many people in the state of IA that have been affected by this horrible weather pattern, in your thoughts and prayers.

~~~~~~~~UPDATE:
Corie just wrote that a 2nd water tower is now operational and the people of Cedar Rapids are again allowed to bath. She also said that the surrounding towns are helping by sharing water from their towers.

I'm such a horrible sick person.

My poor husband. I just asked him if he would maybe like to put on his headphones, or if he needs me to find him some earplugs. The sound of me choking on the green (pea soup green) crap that I've been coughing up makes ME want to throw up. Alan must have some incredible gag reflex to not be wretching in the potty right now.

Ever notice that when you're really sick you try to remember back 10 or so days to who you were around so you can curse their names. I remember two such people who were sick or just getting over sick about 10 days ago.

~~~~~~PS - Tanya, you didn't give this to me. I just hope I didn't unwittingly give it to you!

Why My Mom Should Win Hostess-of-the-Year

As you know by now I got to visit my Mom for two whole uninterrupted weeks. It was so much fun to be mommied again.

After my bath the 1st day there, I grabbed a towel, dried my face and promptly dropped it to the floor. ACK! It was mildewy smelling. Horrible! I picked up another towel and smelled it. The 2nd one was just as bad as the 1st. Gag. Bleck. Finally I just ran around in circles in the bedroom until I was dry. Mom, bet you're glad you were at work that morning!

Now I wasn't thinking poorly of my Mom. The poor woman can't smell to save her life. Well, I think she could possibly smell smoke if it was strong enough, so no calling social services for the aged. (Just kidding mommy. We all know you're not anywhere near old, yet, just olfactorily inhibited!)

I was a little peeved at her housekeeper. This lady knows my Mom can't smell. That's why the housekeeper is supposed to sniff inside the fridge when she comes to clean. She had obviously been neglectful of sniffing the towels when she washed them. They were baddddd. Gack. Icky bad. I wondered how long my Mom had been drying her body with towels that smelled like old jelly shoes?

I gently inquired to my mom if she would mind if I rewashed the towels. Of course, when asking, the gagging noises may have been a little overboard.

The towels smelled exactly the same after a 2nd wash that included vinegar. I finally gave up and admitted defeat. And that's how I learned that Pregnancy Nose is not a myth.

My sweet angel of a Mom took me to ALCO (how many of you remember ALCO's?) and we bought the detergent that I use at home. I rewashed towels for a 3rd time so that bathtime could remain vomit-free for the remainder of my visit.

Thanks Mom!

Home!

Yay home!

I'll catch up on some of my thoughts soon. There are lots. But tonight I'm going to cuddle up on the couch with Alan and Grace and watch some Lost.

A Little Catch-up

The visit with my Mom and Anton went great.

We went to a baseball game and watched the fireworks afterwards. Of course the Redbirds went into triple, quadruple overtime from hell, and I was just rooting for either team to win by the time 11:00 pm rolled around.

The concession stands closed after the 9th inning and I was starving. Alan kept checking to see that I wasn't passed out under my chair, along with the drunk guy named Ian who was sitting in front of us, from hunger.

The fireworks were worth the wait.

I am currently hanging out in the big KS with my Mom. It's so relaxing here. I made meatloaf and asparagus for supper and, um, yeah. That's about the extent of the excitement! It's a wonderful, wonderful place in this little corner of the world. If it weren't for missing Alan and Grace I would just stay forever.

Sonogram

We just got back from a fun appointment at the doctor. We got to see the baby waving its little arms and kicking its little legs. We even saw a teeny tiny hand. So cute! The nose is especially predominant. But we expected that. Alan and I both have narrow, straight noses.

The heartbeat is 168 bpm and everything is looking healthy and right on track. Oh! And we got to hear the heartbeat for the very 1st time. So cool.

Baby

The baby is now the size of an IPod Mini. How cool is that!

Veet

I found out that the little blonde hairs on your thighs, the ones that always get missed when shaving, because they are little, and blonde, actually do have a purpose. They are there to keep your legs from sticking together when you walk. I used to have SPACE that kept my legs from sticking together, but that was BP. Before Pregnancy. heh

I know now that these hairs have a purpose because I effectively removed them today with this:

The box says to leave the product on 3-6 minutes. This is the same type of stupid instruction that's on hair dye. It takes 5 minutes to apply the crap, so when are you supposed to start the timer? Both treatments are super-duper time sensitive, yet the manufacturer comes up with the most vague, useless wording. These instructions are there to prevent chemical burns and baldness! The manufacturer should be a little clearer.

I got carried away. Back to Veet.

I stuck my leg up on the counter and kept testing the same little hair waiting for this stuff to work. When it came off, I started scraping as fast as I could. I wanted to get the hair-meltie-stuff off my legs as fast as possible because I still had my girlie-bits to attend to. Yes, I applied it there at the same time. I was afraid of taking too long on my legs and cause my labia to melt off. How would I explain that to the doctor tomorrow at my appointment?

Like when I used to dye my own hair, I skipped the step that said apply a test spot 24 hrs before smearing all over your lower half - just in case a mind numbing rash breaks out. I mean in case of irritation. These directions are very low key. So far no itching, but the night is young. I just hope a rash waits to happen after I climb in bed. I love feeling freshly skinned legs on soft sheets. It's been a long time since that's happened. Poor Alan.

Necessities

I have decided to take a few household issues into my own hands. I went shopping for some pieces of furniture that we have been negligent in purchasing. Alan just does not have any sense of urgency when it comes to decorating.

He doesn't understand that a home needs furniture, that an empty house is a cold house. That furniture makes the rooms in a house make sense.

Our house has both a formal living room and a family room. When we moved in, Alan was so confused why we would ever need two rooms that both have couches. He wanted to store his bike in the front room and add some exercise equipment. When I looked at him like he had lost his mind, he quickly stated I could store my bike there, too! He's so astute sometimes.

Yeah, I won and the bikes are in the attic.

When I told him that I wanted to put a chair and table in the hallway at the top of the stairs, he said , "Why? Nobody would sit in it. It would have no purpose." I told him that the purpose would be because it would look pretty. And that sometimes pretty is a piece of furniture's purpose. He just looked at me with lost eyes and said to have at it. He said he is just not meant to understand decorating.

He was befuddled as to why we needed a kitchen table. His reasoning was that our formal dining room table is 20 feet from the kitchen. No amount of words could convince him that we will never eat in the formal dining room except for holidays or when we have company. We have been here over two years and have never eaten in that room if it's just the two of us.

I'm tired of eating on a coffee table in the family room. I'm tired of worrying that I'm going to ruin my pretty family room rug by spilling a meatball sandwich on it. And finally, it would just kill me to have to beat our child because he threw chili on my pretty family room rug. I want someplace to eat as a family when this kiddo comes. He understood that reason.

This table with four chairs and a matching buffet will be delivered Wednesday.

I also got a new light for the entryway. It's pretty. It will be delivered in 4-6 weeks. Just enough time for Alan to forget that I bought lots of stuff all in one trip.

Alan had been taking about needing someplace to sit to stare at his fish. So I got him this bench. It's very guy-like with crazy heavy steel supports with bronze finish.

In my shopping defense, the place where I went shopping is 2 hours from Memphis and I wanted to get everything at once so I didn't have to make another trip anytime soon.

Of course, there is still our bedroom to furnish... and the baby's room... and I still need that chair for the upstairs hall...

My Symptoms Part 1

1. Crying at the wedding Target commercial.

2. Thinking I can eat two Whoppers with cheese without violently vomiting immediately after.

3. Learning that brownie batter tastes remarkably similar with or without eggs. It does change the texture significantly, but not negatively enough for me to not eat it again.

I hope you can read this...

I like to listen to talk radio. This morning I am delighted to report that the morning DJ, Bobby OJ, on AM1070-WDIA Memphis said that anyone who has ever seen the books a fifth grader reads knows that a fifth grade reading level is more than adequate for an adult.

This is the article the DJ was commenting on.

Parental Illiteracy Could Be Part of MCS [Memphis City Schools] Problems

FAST FACTS:

• One in three adults in Memphis cannot read above the fifth grade level.
• Studies show that parents who don't read well are likely to raise children who don't as well.
• The Memphis Literacy Council offers free reading classes.

Theo.Travers@wreg.com

(Memphis - 5/12/2008) One of the challenges the incoming superintendent will have to face extends beyond Memphis City Schools. Studies show that a parent's reading level to a large extent determines how well their children perform in school. Illiteracy among adults in Memphis is high. Nearly one in three adults in Memphis cannot read above a fifth grade level. According to the Memphis Literacy Council, that's more than 200,000 folks who struggle with filling out job applications, medical forms, and serve little to no help for their children with school work.

Debra Hall, the director of development and marketing for the Memphis Literacy Council says, "The problems with reading are not an isolated problem with one person, it's a generational problem. If parents don't read well, children are likely to not read well. They're likely to do worse in school."

Adult literacy is the big elephant in the room when it comes to improving the way schools perform. Raising the bar in the classroom means improving the reading skills of both students and their parents. "Whoever the new superintendent is is going to have to face the fact that for many children in the city school system, their parents are unable to help them with homework," says Hall.

The Memphis Literacy Council offers free classes to anyone over 18 who wants to improve their reading. Only a small percentage of the folks who need the help are taking advantage of this resource. So far, the Memphis Literacy Council does not have a formal partnership with Memphis City Schools, but they welcome joining efforts to combat this problem of illiteracy among adults.

The Memphis Literacy Council offers morning and evening classes six days a week. If you'd like more information, their number is (901) 327-6000.

I want to repeat the DJ said that a fifth grade reading level is all anyone really needs. Nothing like high expectations.

Internet4Classrooms lets you test yourself. Try it. It's an eyeopening experience. I had to look up what alliteration means.

Things To Do While Visiting Skye

My Mom's coming to visit! Yay! I'm compiling a list of fun things to do in the outlying Memphis areas. We've exhausted Elvis and all that entails. Sorry Anton. Anton is my mom's newest exchange kid from Germany.

Of course if Anton really and truly wants to go see Graceland (oh God, please poke my eyes out now) we will, of course, take him to see Graceland (we'll drive by super-duper fast and point out the gate. "Don't blink Anton! You'll miss it!").

So far I've come across a few things I would like to do.

1. Tour the Belmont Mansion in Nashville about 3 1/2 hrs away. Click on this link and see what you think. Click on this one, too.

2. I checked the Grand Ole Opry and there aren't any shows the weekend my mom is here, but we could drive by and wave. It's in Nashville, too.

3. There's a big parthenon we could pop into while in Nashville. What a strange building to have in TN. I'm still trying to piece together what Greece has to do with this state. Of course, if it was in Memphis, well, it would be painted flipping pink. That's just the way we roll here.

4. The Pink Palace in Memphis. heh. See? Told you so.

5. Kayaking on the Mississippi River. Just kidding. How about a leisurely float down the Mississippi on a boat from a dock in downtown Memphis?

6. We could dig for diamonds at The Crater of Diamonds in Murfreesboro, AR about 5 hrs away.

7. This place looks cool. There's cave tours and panning for gems and go-carts. But if it's go-carts that gets the German kid all excited, them we can find somewhere closer than the 5 hr drive to Chattanooga, TN.

8. A mere 4hr drive to Lynchburg would get us to a tour of Jack Daniels distillery. I've heard it's a pretty cool little tour.

Or we could go shopping. I know Anton would not be opposed to going to the mall.

Or antiquing. Or we could just driving around the countryside aimlessly. I'm up for anything. Just remember I will be 13 weeks pregnant and possibly still peeing every hour and randomly puking my guts out. I'm hoping both issues will be resolved by the time my mom visits or the drive back to KS with me will be very annoying.

Back from Florida

We're finally back! It was a long trip filled with lots of naps. I just didn't feel much like vacationing. Morning sickness started full force to the point that for breakfast I could only eat a bagel with cream cheese with a side of pancakes.

I gained 6 lbs. I mostly think that's from the irregularity of bathrooming. That's code. You're going to have to figure it out for yourself. Here's a clue, first thing I did when I got home is eat a BIG bowl of shredded wheat with lots of milk.

The Idols

I admit it, I watch American Idol. Now I wouldn't generally torture you with a critique of the show but the contestants are singing songs by Neil Diamond. Neil Diamond trumps all. I love him with the fire of many suns.

***Off topic - One of my favorite memories of my mom...***

When I was 23ish and my mom was a nun, I met my parents at some festival so I could hear her perform with the other nuns. We decided my mom would ride back with me to their house. (If I was a true southern girl I would have said I carried my mom back to her house.)

We got into my car and my mom's face lit up. "Neil Diamond! I love Neil Diamond!" I looked at her like she was 1/2 cracked and told her we were listening to U2.

From that day on, every time I hear a U2 song it sounds just like Neil Diamond. Try it. Go pop Zooropa into the CD player and see if you don't hear it too.

***Back to American Idol***

David Archuleta needs to go home just on principle. That little twit managed to make the song America sound like he was performing in a bathroom. Hollow! He ruined it and aught to be beaten! I put my fingers in my ears and la-la'ed until Alan could fast forward to the end of David E's miserable rendition of one of the most heart wrenching Amway songs ever!

I listened to Jason Castro mumble through Forever in Blue Jeans because I couldn't actually hear him over my own crooning. And since the only good part about Jason is his stunningly handsome face, well, best of both world right there! Can't hear his annoying voice, I get to sing one of the best songs in the world AND eye candy. Would that be best of three worlds? Now it's getting a little Star Trekkie in here - Moving on.



Davis Cook. Oh, David Cook. You make me smile and have heart palpitations. He is so good he makes me cry. I swear he was singing All I Really Need is You he was singing just to me. Alan knows not to be jealous because David Cook loses most of his attraction without a microphone in front of his head. It's the weirdest thing. I think it's the shape of his chin. Lose the chin and Alan would have a run for his money.

And just to poke a little fun at myself, I learned today that it's not Reverend in Blue Jeans. You have to admit the song is much more interesting with a reverend in those jeans all throughout the song!

An appeal to everyone. I need assistance!

I need help. This is really important. Are you listening?

I need to find out where I can get the orange syrup that Perkins serves.

This is very important. Alan is not getting how important this is, even after I splattered him with a few drops of water from my empty cup as he was shooing me out from in front of his computer.

Now it may be tangerine or apricot and not orange.

Anyone want to go to Perkins with me for breakfast tomorrow?

Well lookie there!

We DID feel our 1st earthquake! How cool is that! Here's the report from the National Earthquake Center -

                    == PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE REPORT ==



Region:                            TENNESSEE
Geographic coordinates:            36.500N,  89.530W
Magnitude:                        1.8 Mcd
Depth:                            7 km
Universal Time (UTC):             26 Apr 2008  13:09:27
Time near the Epicenter:          26 Apr 2008  07:09:27
Local standard time in your area: 26 Apr 2008  07:09:27

Location with respect to nearby cities:
  7 km (5 miles) ESE (105 degrees) of Marston, MO
 10 km (6 miles) S (177 degrees) of New Madrid, MO
 10 km (6 miles) SE (141 degrees) of Howardville, MO
159 km (99 miles) NNE (14 degrees) of Memphis, TN
245 km (152 miles) SSE (165 degrees) of St. Louis, MO


ADDITIONAL EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
________________________________
event ID                     :  NM hwb0426a

This event has been reviewed by a seismologist
For subsequent updates, maps, and technical information, see:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/nmhwb0426a.php