Lazarex Cancer Foundation, 2013 Honoree, the one hundred

Cancer - Rogue Cells

 A young woman exhales cigarette smoke in Shanghai, China. The People's Republic of China is both the world's largest producer and largest consumer of tobacco, which has led to an impending cancer epidemic in the most populous country on Earth.

 Cancer is a disease that begins as a renegade human cell over which the body has lost control. In order for the body and its organs to function properly, cell growth needs to be strictly regulated. Cancer cells, however, continue to divide and multiply at their own speed, forming abnormal lumps, or tumors. An estimated 6.7 million people currently die from cancer every year.

Not all cancers are natural-born killers. Some tumors are referred to as benign because they don't spread elsewhere in the body. But cells of malignant tumors do invade other tissues and will continue to spread if left untreated, often leading to secondary cancers.
Cancers can start in almost any body cell, due to damage or defects in genes involved in cell division. Mutations build up over time, which is why people tend to develop cancer later in life. What actually triggers these cell changes remains unclear, but diet, lifestyle, viral infections, exposure to radiation or harmful chemicals, and inherited genes are among factors thought to affect a person's risk of cancer.
Lung cancer is the world's most killing cancer. It claims about 1.2 million victims a year. Most of those victims are smokers, who inhale cancer-causing substances called carcinogens with every puff. Experts say around 90 percent of lung cancer cases are due to tobacco smoking.
Breast cancer now accounts for almost one in four cancers diagnosed in women. Studies suggest the genes you inherit can affect the chances of developing the illness. A woman with an affected mother or sister is about twice as likely to develop breast cancer as a woman with no family history of the disease. Lifestyle may also have an influence, particularly in Western countries where many women are having children later. Women who first give birth after the age of 30 are thought to have a three times greater risk of breast cancer than those who became mothers in their teens.
Geographical Distinctions
There are also stark geographic differences, with incidence rates varying by as much as thirtyfold between regions. In much of Asia and South and Central America, for example, cervix cancer is the most deadly in females. However, in North America and Europe another kind of gynecological cancer, ovarian cancer, is a more serious threat.
Among males, southern and eastern Africa record the second and third highest rates of oesophageal, or gullet, cancer after China, but western and central regions of Africa have the lowest incidence in the world. Differences in diet may explain this.
Nevertheless, the reasons why many cancers develop remain elusive. Brain cancer, leukemia (blood cancer), and lymphoma (cancer of the lymph glands) are among types that still mystify scientists.
Treatments
Yet ever more people are surviving diagnosis thanks to earlier detection, better screening, and improved treatments. The three main treatment options are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Radiotherapy, also called radiation therapy, involves blasting tumors with high-energy x-rays to shrink them and destroy cancerous cells. Chemotherapy employs cancer-killing drugs.
Even so, future cancer cases are predicted to climb, since the world's population is aging. The proportion of people over age 60 is expected to more than double by 2050, rising from 10 percent to 22 percent. This will add an estimated 4.7 million to the cancer death toll by 2030.

Source: Science.nationalgeographic.com

Fighting Cancer One Step at a Time: 2,200 Miles in Less than 46 Days

Lazarex Cancer Foundation: Marathon Maniac’s Attempt to Break the World Record Hiking the Appalachian Trail to Help Cancer Patients

(Danville, Calif.) – Lazarex Cancer Foundation’s Team for Life runner, David Wingard, is proud to be a maniac. Having earned the “Marathon Maniac” designation for endurance running (31 marathons and four ultra-marathons in 2012 alone), Wingard is going the distance with Lazarex Cancer Foundation with a staggering marathon schedule in 2013 to raise funds for cancer patients and their families. Endurance running is not only Wingard’s way of fighting cancer; it’s preparing him for his biggest challenge yet. In June of 2014, David Wingard will attempt to set the fastest time for hiking the Appalachian Trail, requiring him to trek 48 miles per day for more than six weeks straight.

                                        
Wingard, a 62 year-old carpenter from South Carolina, lost his wife to Melanoma in 2009 and has teamed up with the Lazarex Cancer Foundation to raise awareness and support for cancer patients.  His campaign to break the record in hiking the Appalachian Trail begins at the San Francisco Marathon, June 16, 2013 and can be tracked at www.RunDavidRun.org.

“A marathon’s 26.2 miles or the Appalachian Trail’s roughly 2,200 miles is nothing compared to the journey a cancer patient will encounter,” says Wingard. “This trek is a way for me to give back, help others and bring awareness to what we can do as individuals to fight this disease that has touched so many of us.”

Lazarex Cancer Foundation’s Team for Life program enables athletes to participate in endurance events on an official team, or create their own fundraising event that directly supports cancer patients.  Some team members, like Wingard, run or swim, while others create jewelry to support the organization and the cancer patients they serve.

“We strive to bridge the gap for cancer patients who have been told they are out of options but who aren’t done fighting the disease,” says Lazarex President & Founder Dana Dornsife. “David’s heroic trek helps raise awareness about our mission, and the importance of clinical trials as a treatment option, while raising funds that will help [Lazarex Cancer Foundation] directly reimburse cancer patients for costs associated with their clinical trial participation.”

For information about David Wingard’s trek, donations, ways to get involved and more on Lazarex Cancer Foundation or Team for Life, visit www.RunDavidRun.org. Follow the campaign on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/OfficialDavidWingard.

About Lazarex Cancer Foundation Lazarex Cancer Foundation supports all end stage cancer patients and the cancer community by providing assistance with costs for clinical trial participation, navigation through clinical trial options, and community outreach and education. Lazarex provides resources to fill the gap that exists from the time a patient is told there is no more hope and when they are truly done with their journey in life.”