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November 2006                                           NEWSLETTER

                                                                                                                                                      Howard Waage  (688-0423) ----Editor

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Where:   Our meeting will be in the Bennett & Suzy Katz Cancer Resource Center on the 1st Floor of the two-story redwood Education Building behind Santa Cruz Dominican Hospital.

 When:   Tuesday, November 28th, 2006 7:00 PM  For more information: Please call-The Bennett and Suzy Katz Cancer Resource Center at Dominican Hospital (831) 462-7770

 Please feel free to contact any of the following steering committee members if you would like to volunteer or if you have any suggestions or questions. 

 Tony &  Beverley Calvo  684-0940   Frank Schmetz  438 4781   Bill McDermott 423-8350   Howard Waage 688-0423    Julie Batz 724-2701     Lynn Dreeszen 439-8632     Tim Ryan 476-6550

Our website: http://www.scprostate.org   Doug Thornton  724-6446 (Webmaster)

 SUPPORT GROUP FOR MEN WITH ADVANCED PROSTATE CANCER

The Advanced support group is for men diagnosed with prostate cancer which has spread outside the prostate or who have experienced a recurrence after primary treatment. Our purpose is to address the special problems and issues of men with advanced prostate cancer.  This group meets every TWO months on the second Monday of the month, at the Katz Cancer Resource Center at Dominican Hospital. If you have any questions, please contact Tony Calvo at 

684-0940. Refreshments provided. 2006 MEETING DATES: MONDAY, 5 – 7PM  DECEMBER 11th

 SUPPORT GROUP FOR WIVES & PARTNERS OF MEN WITH PROSTATE CANCER

This group is for women to share information with each other, learn more about prostate cancer, and how to cope with the impact of the disease individually and within the family in a supportive, caring and confidential environment. This group meets every TWO months on the second Monday of the month. (same time as the men’s Advanced Prostate Cancer Meeting). For more info or questions, contact Julie Batz at 724-2701. 2006 MEETING DATES: MONDAY,

5 – 7PM DECEMBER 11^th. Katz Resource Center Rm. E (upstairs) - Refreshments provided.

 Fight Cancer In The Workplace Before It Starts

The American Cancer Society offers free workplace wellness programs that informs employees how to make healthy lifestyle choices that can reduce their risk of getting cancer. Cancer costs the US workforce billions in lost productivity, insurance costs and more.

 The American Cancer Society’s workplace solutions for employees compliment the on-going wellness efforts of any employer by providing many FREE supplementary health and wellness programs and services. The evidence-based wellness services include:

    Active for Life Online is a flexible 10-week program that encourages regular physical activity.

   FightCancer.org is a one-stop source for employees to learn how to improve their health and prevent cancer.

   Because We Care is an electronic newsletter loaded with articles and information.

   Get Your Screen Test is a program designed to promote the early detection of cancer.

   Meeting Well is a tool to help employees plan healthy meals and activities for meetings and events.

 The American Cancer Society staff and volunteers are ready to help any company create a customized wellness package for its employees. If you own a business or work for a company, this is an excellent program that is made available to the employer. To find out more about the free wellness programs, please check out this website: www.acsworkplacesolutions.com

 ….PROSTATE CANCER IN THE NEWS..…

Alcohol Does Not Affect Prostate Cancer Risk

 NEW YORK Oct 2, 2006 (Reuters Health) - Drinking does not appear to be associated with the overall incidence of prostate cancer, according to findings published in the International Journal of Cancer. However, men who drink alcohol may have a lower risk of having an aggressive prostate cancer and dying from this cancer.

 "Although there is little evidence to support an association between alcohol consumption and prostate cancer risk, questions remain concerning the effect on aggressive and non-aggressive tumors and the pattern and type of alcohol consumed," Dr. Graham G. Giles and colleagues from the University of Melbourne, Australia, write.

 To investigate, the researchers analyzed data on 16,872 men followed from 1994 to 2003. The participants ranged in age from 27 to 70 years at the beginning of the study, when questionnaires were used to obtain detailed information on alcohol consumption. A total of 732 cases of prostate cancer occurred, including 132 aggressive cases and 53 prostate cancer-related deaths.

 Overall, no association was observed between alcohol intake and the development of prostate cancer. Also, the pattern of drinking and type of alcohol were not significantly associated with prostate cancer risk.

 Compared with abstainers, men who consumed 1 to 19 gram per day of alcohol, (no more than about one and a half drinks per day), had a slightly reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancers (34 percent). Prostate cancer mortality was also reduced in this group (44 percent).

 According to the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines, 12 ounces of beer equals 12.9 grams of alcohol, 5 ounces of wine equals 13.5 grams, and 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits (80 proof) equals 14.0 grams of alcohol.

 If it can be confirmed that moderate alcohol consumption protects against aggressive and fatal prostate cancer, it would have a "major impact," Giles and colleagues point out, because "there are no established modifiable risk factors for this common type of cancer." SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, September 2006.  http://today.reuters.co.uk

Colorful Foods Protect Against Prostate Cancer

 10/15/2006- FAVORITE FOODS such as spaghetti sauce, ketchup and watermelon can cut the risk of prostate cancer, and so can other foods you may not have expected.

 One in every six men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives. The disease mostly strikes older men, but men can take steps at all ages to reduce their risk. It's particularly important if prostate cancer runs in your family, although the cancer can strike even people who have no family history. Some of the best foods for protecting against prostate cancer are delicious, colorful ones that have other health benefits as well.

 Lycopene, the natural red chemical that colors tomatoes, guava, red grapefruit, papaya and watermelon, is a potent prostate cancer fighter, according to many American and international studies. Fresh tomatoes are delicious, but don't despair when winter comes, because canned and tomato sauces are even richer in lycopene than fresh tomatoes.

Eating tomato sauce twice a week can cut the risk of prostate cancer by 33 percent, according to the nonprofit Prostate Cancer Foundation. They have a terrific free booklet about nutrition online at prostatecancerfoundation.org.

 Be sure to eat your tomato sauce with a little bit of fat, whether you drizzle on a teaspoon of olive oil or pour the sauce over something that contains fat, such as cheese ravioli or chicken. That's because lycopene dissolves best in fat, and it's easier for your body to absorb it if you eat a little fat at the same meal.

 Speaking of fat, the same fats that protect the heart seem to protect the prostate. Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines and herring contain healthy omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA. Men who had the highest levels of these fats in their blood had 26 percent lower rates of prostate cancer, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Scientists are not sure why, but researchers at the University of Pittsburgh showed that omega-3 fats cause prostate cancer cells to die more quickly, at least in test-tube experiments.

An estimated 232,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2006, according to the American Cancer Society. The report was released by Johns Hopkins Health Alerts, a consumer health information Web site, in conjunction with Johns Hopkins Medicine.

 Here's where you can find the 7 Keys to Treating Prostate Cancer report:  http://www.hopkinsreports.com/prostate

Source: http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2006/10/19/hscout535511.html

Dendreon Announces New Data Analyses Presented at Prostate Cancer Foundation Scientific Retreat

 PROVENGE Significantly Extends Prostate Cancer Specific Survival in Advanced Prostate Cancer

    SEATTLE, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Dendreon Corporation (Nasdaq: DNDN) today announced that Eric J. Small, M.D., professor of medicine and urology at the University of California, San Francisco presented new

exploratory analyses of the Phase 3 Study (D9901) that further support the results observed with the Company's investigational active cellular immunotherapy PROVENGE(R) (sipuleucel-T) in men with advanced androgen- independent (hormone refractory) prostate cancer. These data were presented at the Prostate Cancer Foundation's 13th

Annual Scientific Retreat held Oct. 19-21, 2006 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Company plans to complete the submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prior to the end of this year to seek approval to market PROVENGE.

      The analyses presented by Dr. Small showed:  -- The overall survival benefit does not appear to be due to any

imbalances in the treatment arms or the subsequent use and timing of chemotherapy. As published in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the Phase 3 Study (D9901) demonstrated a median overall survival of 25.9 months in the PROVENGE arm compared with 21.4 months in the placebo arm, or a 4.5 month survival difference. For these men, there was a 41 percent overall reduction in the risk of death (p-value = 0.010; HR = 1.71); and -- An analysis of prostate-cancer-specific survival showed a median survival of 35.2 months for patients randomized to PROVENGE compared to 23.5 months for patients randomized to placebo, a difference of 11.7 months and a 50 percent reduction in prostate cancer-specific mortality (p-value = 0.002; HR = 2.04).

    A link to Dr. Small's presentation will be available via Dendreon's web site at http://www.dendreon.com.

      "These and other analyses we have performed further support our BLA filing, which we intend to complete this year," said Mark Frohlich, M.D., vice president of clinical affairs at Dendreon. "We remain focused on the goal of making this active cellular immunotherapy available for the treatment of the many men with advanced prostate cancer who currently have few appealing treatment options available to them."

    PROVENGE (sipuleucel-T) is an investigational product that may represent the first in a new class of active cellular immunotherapies (ACIs) that are uniquely designed to stimulate a patient's own immune system. PROVENGE is in late-stage clinical development for the treatment of patients with early-stage and advanced prostate cancer. In clinical

studies, patients typically received three infusions over a one-month period as a complete course of therapy.

     Treatment with PROVENGE was generally well tolerated. In controlled clinical trials, the most common adverse reactions associated with PROVENGE were chills, fever, headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, vomiting and

tremor. These events were primarily low grade events, with a short duration lasting 1 to 2 days following infusion.

 The full news release is found at:

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-20-2006/0004455835&EDATE=

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Fair Use Notice: This newsletter may contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. We believe that this not-for-profit, educational use constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use any copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

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The Santa Cruz County Prostate Cancer Support Group does not endorse any provider, organization, product or individual.  All medical decisions should be made with the advice and consultation of medical professionals.

Our newsletter serves over 260 members. Many THANKS to the American Cancer Society for assisting with the printing and mailing of this newsletter and the Katz Cancer Resource Center for allowing us to use their facility.