What’s InsideInspiring Women: Our 2012

Honorees ..........................2-3

What Treatments Work Best

for You?................................4

Deadly Medicines ................5

Bacteria: The Good, the Bad,

and the Ugly ........................6

5k Run for Cancer Fund ....7

THE VOICE

Issue 21 Winter 2012

For Policy, Prevention, and Treatment

Cancer Prevention

and Treatment Fund

www.stopcancerfund.org

Our Cancer Prevention andTreatment Fund helps adults and

children reduce their risk of gettingcancer and helps everyone get the

best possible treatment.CFC # 11967

The National Research Center

(NRC) for Women & Families

is dedicated to improving the healthand safety of adults and children byusing research to develop more effec-

tive treatments and policies. OurCancer Prevention and Treatment

Fund is our major program.www.center4research.org

Do Vitamins Fight Cancer?

Did you see the recent news storiessaying that multivitamins canreduce the risk of cancer? Is thisbased on science or wishful think-ing? Let’s scrutinize the researchmore carefully to see how much ishype and how much is fact.

Until now, most studies have foundthat multivitamins don’t affect ourchances of getting cancer, but a fewstudies have found lower rates anda few have found higher rates. Forexample, a study of 35,000 Swedishwomen found that women takingmultivitamins were 19% more likelyto develop breast cancer thanwomen who weren’t taking them.

Cancer takes a long time to develop,so any study of multivitamins andcancer has to last for at least 10years, preferably 15 to 20. Ideally,studies on how to prevent cancershould include many thousands ofpeople who were randomlyassigned to take vitamins or a placebo. So far, most well-designedstudies show that vitamins do notprotect against cancer. In fact, menwho took vitamins that are antioxi-dants had a slightly higher risk ofprostate cancer than the men whotook nothing. Only studies of peo-ple with very poor nutrition seem toshow that vitamins lower their riskof cancer.

Hype SellsIn the fall of 2012, the results of alarge, well-designed study werepublished in a prestigious medicaljournal, making headlines across thecountry that multivitamins prevented cancer. They studied

14,641 male doctors in the U.S. forover 11 years, and found an 8%reduction in cancer among men tak-ing multivitamins. The 8% decreasewas statistically significant, whichmeans it probably did not occur bychance.

So that means vitamins help loweryour chances of developing cancer,right? Yes, slightly, if you’re ahealthy, well-educated man, 50years or older. (Fewer than 4% ofthe men smoked, for example).

Why so much media attention forsuch a small improvement inalready healthy men? The companythat makes the multivitamins helpedpay for the study and widely publi-cized the results. The hyped-upmedia failed to mention that themen who developed cancer werejust as likely to die from it whetheror not they were taking multivita-mins. A few other facts about thedoctors and multivitamins studythat you might not have heard:

• Three out of 4 doctors in the studywere also taking daily aspirin,which lowers the risk of many typesof cancer (the doctors participated ina study of aspirin as well). We canconclude that vitamins plus aspirinwere more beneficial than aspirinalone, but we don’t know if the vita-mins alone, without the aspirin,would have had any benefit or not.

• The study found an 8% reductionin “total cancer” but no reduction inprostate cancer, colorectal cancer, orother site-specific cancers. If youlump many tiny gains together, you

continued on page 5

2966H 12/3/12 8:37 AM Page 1

AWARDS

2

The National Research Center forWomen & Families paid tribute tofour fabulous women and brokebread with their friends, family, andfans at one of our most memorableAwards Luncheons this year.

Our annual Foremother awardshonor remarkable women for theirlifetime of achievements that haveenriched the lives of all Americans.At the same luncheon, we recognizea “health policy hero,” whose workhas promoted the health and safetyof adults and children, in keepingwith our mission to use research-based information to improve healthprograms and policies.

Katherine Weymouth, CEO andPublisher of Washington PostMedia, gave opening remarks againthis year, telling us about her grand-mother, Katharine Graham, the publisher of the Washington Postbest known for her support for theWatergate investigation, and hergreat grandmother, Agnes Meyer,about whom President Trumancomplained that there wasn’t a daythat went by that he didn’t get a letter from two people: EleanorRoosevelt and “that Meyer woman.”

Ms. Weymouth explained why theForemother Awards Luncheon isone of her favorite events. “This ismy favorite ‘chick party’ of the year,because it is celebrating women whohave laid the groundwork for otherwomen behind you, and that iswhat we all are inspired by and whywe are able to do what we do --because you carved a path.”

Foremother HonoreesWe honored Joan Claybrook, whowas President of Public Citizen from1982-2009. Her most impressiveaccomplishment: mandatory airbags in all new cars, a policy that

Inspiring Women: Our 2012 Honorees

saves 3,000 lives every year in thiscountry. She also fought for cam-paign finance reform and the rightsof consumers to be adequately com-pensated for harm caused by faultyproducts or medical malpractice.

Ms. Claybrook, whose law degree isfrom Georgetown, told an inspiringstory about how she and othersbanded together to protest theunjust firing of Georgetown LawSchool’s first woman dean, includ-ing printing 1,000 “Don’t Dump theDean” buttons for the student bodyto wear and organizing a rally to gether reinstated. “We did the rightthing for Judy…we did the rightthing for the law school….and wedid the right thing for the wholeuniversity. So the moral of the storyto me is to make a fuss when yousee a wrong, and you may havemore power than you realize.”

We also honored Dr. BeatrixHamburg, a preeminent medicalresearcher whose pioneering workhas helped advance the field of childpsychiatry, and who served as pastpresident of the William T. GrantFoundation, which supports keyresearch on child development. Dr.Hamburg was the first African-American to graduate from Vassarand the first African-Americanwoman to graduate from YaleMedical School. She has been on thefaculty of the country’s most presti-

gious universities and has publishedextensively about groundbreakingtopics, such as the importance ofmentoring and peer counseling, andreducing health and mental healthdisparities.

Dr. Hamburg’s daughter, FDACommissioner Margaret Hamburg(recipient of our 2011 Health PolicyHero award), shared the podiumand highlights of her 89-year oldmother’s career, saying, “She recognized that if you really want tohelp support adolescents, thatmaybe the best people to do it arethe peers of those adolescents…Isaid, ‘Mom, it will never work,’ butshe pushed on…and now it’s reallya nationwide, worldwideapproach.” The FDA Commissionerconcluded by saying that her moth-er’s focus on having a mentor, “hav-ing someone that takes a specialinterest in you and checks in on youand follows up with you can makeall the difference, and I think thatreally has epitomized her life, hercontributions, and certainly hasmade an enormous difference in mylife and, frankly, in the lives ofeveryone who has come to knowher.”

When her daughter received ourHealth Policy Hero award last year,Dr. Beatrix Hamburg said, “I justthought, I couldn’t be happier, Icouldn’t be more proud,” but afterreceiving the Foremothers award,“Well, I am happier,” she wrylyadded.

We recognized Alice Rivlin for hermany accomplishments and contributions toward our country’sfiscal health. Dr. Rivlin is one of theforemost experts on the U.S. budgetand budgetary policies. She wasfounding director of theCongressional Budget Office,

Foremother Honorees. From left to right:Beatrix Hamburg, Alice Rivlin, Joan Claybrook

PhotobySoniaNagda

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AWARDS

3

of interesting that what goesaround, comes around, because hereI am, later in my career, working onhormones all over again.”

After a long career in research onthe health effects of environmentalpollutants and chemicals, she’s realized, “You can’t change somethings, but you can change yourenvironment. This award tells methat we’re headed in the right direc-tion.”

Thanks to Our SupportersBoard member extraordinaire,Judith Harris, made closing remarksand thanked the many nonprofitorganizations and corporate spon-sors who made the 2012Foremothers Luncheon possible:American Association for Justice,the William T. Grant Foundation,Morgan Stanley Smith Barney,Charles Schwab, Net-CentricEnterprise Solutions (NES), andComplete Document Solutions.

Special thanks to the nonprofitorganizations who also supportedour luncheon: American HumaneAssociation, Center for Science inthe Public Interest, Bipartisan PolicyCenter, National ConsumersLeague, National Business Group onHealth, National Women’s HealthNetwork, Public Citizen, PublicJustice, and U.S. Public InterestResearch Group (PIRG).

Patrons included PhyllisWiesenfelder, Susan Wood, OmegaLogan Silva, Nancy Hardt, JeromePowell, Stephen Bozzo, SusanGombert, Stephen Sheller, CatherineJoyce, Kitty Lansdale, Mimi Mager,The Honorable Constance Morella,Dr. Delores Parron-Ragland, Col.Sherman Ragland, Cindy Pearson,Marianne Smythe, Helen Darling,and Adriane Fugh-Berman.

deputy director of the WhiteHouse’s Office of Management andBudget (OMB), and became the firstwoman director of OMB in 1994.She has been credited with rescuingWashington, D.C. from bankruptcyin the late 1990s. In 2010, PresidentObama appointed her a member ofthe Commission on FiscalResponsibility and Reform (theSimpson-Bowles Commission),whose recommendations are cur-rently being considered as part ofefforts to avoid the “fiscal cliff” facing our country.

Dr. Rivlin shared two stories abouthow times have changed. Sherecalled that in the 1970s she wasinvited to attend an important dinner at the Cosmos Club (whereour Awards luncheon was held)with Senator Muskie and top educa-tors. At the time, the Cosmos Clubdid not allow women through thefront door. Colleagues snuck Ms.Rivlin in through a side door, butshe exited the event very publicly,descending the main staircase,escorted by the president ofHarvard University. She also spokeabout the chasm today between thetwo main political parties. “The twoparties have pulled apart, are nottalking to each other, let alone work-ing with each other… That’s where Ithink women can play a role.Women have some experience withsettling squabbles.” She concludedby saying that “women bring some-thing special to the table.”

Health Policy HeroDr. Linda Birnbaum is director ofthe National Institute ofEnvironmental Health Sciences(NIEHS), which is part of theNational Institutes of Health, and director of the National ToxicologyProgram. She oversees a $770 mil-lion budget that funds biomedicalresearch on how the environment

influences human health and disease. In her 32 years as a federalscientist, her own research andmuch of the research she supportshas focused on toxic chemicals inplastics and personal care products,known as endocrine disruptors,which mimic human hormones andinterfere with them. She has cham-pioned new research showing thatlow doses of these chemicals canhave bigger effects than higherdoses – findings that have turnedtoxicology on its head.

“It’s organizations like yours thatmake our research possible,” shestated. “Thank you for remindingour communities and our Membersof Congress that research must besupported if we want to cure, andprobably more importantly, prevent disease. Please don’t giveup.” Dr. Birnbaum noted, “In the8th grade, I had this really great sci-ence teacher. She was an attractiveyoung blonde, and was also thecheerleading coach. I was a cheer-leader at the time. And somehow,she made it okay for a girl to likescience. There was a lot of discrimi-nation at that time, when girlsdidn’t ‘do’ science very much. Andin 9th grade I had her again, and Ibecame interested in hormones(maybe it was because I was a 14-year-old girl!). I became interestedin the thyroid gland. I wanted toknow what happened if you had toomuch or too little thyroid. It’s kind

Health Policy Hero Dr. Linda BirnbaumPhotobySoniaNagda

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4

POLICY MATTERS

We like making choices when webuy bread or boots, but when itcomes to treatment options for cancer or other serious diseases,many patients would rather rely ontheir doctors. That’s because theydon’t think they have the informa-tion they need to make the best deci-sion.

But doctors may lack the informa-tion they need as well. The U.S. hasone of the most expensive healthsystems in the world, but theInstitute of Medicine reports thatmost medical treatments lack clear evi-dence that they are effective! Whenthere are two or more ways of pre-venting or treating the same medicalproblem, there is rarely solidresearch evidence about which oneis more effective. As a result, doc-tors and patients need better infor-mation to make the best treatment decisions.

The Affordable Care Act, also called“Obamacare,” established thePatient-Centered OutcomesResearch Institute (PCORI), which isa nonprofit organization. TheAffordable Care Act also providessupport for the Agency forHealthcare Research and Quality(AHRQ), a small government publichealth agency. Both PCORI andAHRQ are responsible for compara-tive effectiveness research studiesthat will answer the questions mostimportant to patients: which are thesafest, most effective treatments forme?

For example, every year thousandsof men and women need to decidewhether to have blocked arteries oftheir heart widened through surgery(angioplasty) or to take heart medi-cine instead. Thanks to comparativeeffectiveness research, we nowknow that taking heart drugs, com-bined with quitting smoking and

What Treatments Work Best for You?

eating healthier, is much safer andjust as effective as surgical treat-ment.

Comparative effectiveness researchalso lets us know the best way toscreen for cancer. For example, wenow know that low-dose CT scansgiven once a year for 3 years in arow are much better than chest x-rays at detecting early lung canceramong those at highest risk. Moreresearch is needed to figure outwhich former and current smokersare most likely to benefit and howoften they need to be screened tocatch cancer early enough to prolong or save their lives.

Cost ≠ QualityMany doctors and patients believethat newer, more expensive medicaltreatments are “cutting edge,” andtherefore better. In fact, many newproducts cost 5 or 10 times as muchas old ones, but are no better, andsometimes they’re worse! Forexample, most medical devices,even implanted ones like surgicalmesh and hip replacements, are notproven safe or effective in clinicaltrials of human beings before theyare sold to doctors and patients.Since it may take years before it isobvious that a newer device is betteror worse than an older model, it isoften better to use an older devicewith a proven track record.

Another example is antibiotics.New antibiotics are approved by theFDA if they are “non-inferior”---they don’t have to be as effective asolder antibiotics as long as they areno more than 15% worse than thedrug they were compared to. Thecompany can choose to comparetheir new drug to the least effectiveolder drug on the market for thesame condition. And yet, the newdrug will almost always cost much

more than the old one and be prescribed frequently.

Who Cares?Polls show that people in the U.S.are skeptical of medical guidelines,thinking that they will interfere withtheir doctors’ judgment, and fearfulthey might be aimed at savingmoney rather than helping patientslive longer. That’s not true.

Comparative effectiveness researchis designed to evaluate the qualityof different treatments, not the cost.Cost-effectiveness analysis isexcluded from the Affordable CareAct, and nothing in the law statesthat research findings should beused to require specific treatmentdecisions by doctors.

What You Can DoHere’s how you can learn moreabout the treatments that are bestfor you:

• AHRQ compares the benefits andrisks of different treatments. Visitwww.ahrq.gov and click “EffectiveHealth Care Program.”

• Ask your doctor if any researchhas been conducted to compare theeffectiveness of your treatmentoptions, or show your doctor theinformation you found onwww.ahrq.gov.

Our Center has been awarded agrant from AHRQ to host a nationalconference for 100 consumer andpublic health experts. Conferenceparticipants will develop actionplans to educate and engage theirmembers and the general publicabout the benefits of using evidence-based research to make treatmentdecisions. For more info, contact usat info@center4research.org.

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HEALTH MATTERSDo Vitamins Fight Cancer?

can sometimes come up with onestatistically significant result thatmight not mean much.

• Two very different groups of menappeared to benefit more than therest from taking multivitamins. The648 men with a previous history ofcancer (who were at higher risk)were 34% less likely to develop can-cer than men not taking vitamins.Meanwhile, the 3,000 men whoseparents hadn’t had cancer (andtherefore lower risk) were 14% lesslikely to develop cancer. These find-ings are very difficult to explain. Didthey happen by chance?

Antioxidants such as vitamins A, C,E, beta carotene, and selenium mayhelp explain the conflicting results ofdifferent studies. Although antioxi-dants help boost the immune systemand fight some of the signs of aging,they can also prevent cancer cellsfrom dying. Supplements withantioxidants that exceed the dailyrecommended allowance seem toincrease the risk of cancer for smok-ers and others who are at high riskof cancer. That is why chemo-therapy patients are often advised toavoid supplements with antioxi-dants (although foods rich in antiox-idants are considered safe for every-one). The vitamins used in the 2012multivitamin study, made byCentrum, contained several antioxi-dants, but these may not have beenharmful because they were close tothe recommended daily doses.

What Does This All Mean?• Even large studies done to thehighest standards can yield puzzlingand not very useful results.

• Even if multivitamins have a smallbenefit for preventing cancer, thereare far better ways to reduce yourcancer risk. The study’s lead author,Dr. Michael Gaziano, cautions

against people taking multivitaminsinstead of quitting smoking, eatingbetter, getting exercise, and wearingsunscreen.

• Avoid multivitamins with antioxidants if they are significantlyabove 100% of the recommendeddaily intake, or if you are alreadyconsuming high levels of antioxidants in berries, nuts, beans,and other foods. This is especiallytrue if you are undergoingchemotherapy or if you are at higherrisk for cancer because you have afamily history of cancer, havealready had cancer, smoke, or areobese.

• Remember that supplements arenot regulated by the Food and DrugAdministration. Consumer Reportsfound that the ingredients in thepills are often not the same as whatis listed on the bottle.

continued from page 1Deadly Medicines

More than 500 men and women havedeveloped fungal meningitis due tocontaminated medical injections, and36 have died. By the time you readthis, the numbers are likely to be evenhigher. Thousands of men and womenare fearful, waiting to find out if theywill get ill.

This tragedy was absolutely preventable, and follows a familiar pattern we’ve seen before. The bottomline: loopholes in the FDA law allowmedical products to be sold that arenot proven safe or effective.

Rep. Ed Markey, (D-Massachusetts)who is active on health issues, intro-duced a bill aimed at closing the loop-holes and protecting patients. Two keySenators, Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) andMike Enzi (R-Wyoming) are alsoworking on a bill. Can a bipartisan billpass during 2012, and if not, will ithave a chance in 2013, when thismeningitis outbreak is over? NRC issupporting these efforts. See www.cen-ter4research.org for more info.

Meet Our Legacy Interns

Laura Covarrubias is the Marcy Gross intern. She is responsiblefor our public policy efforts to reduce violence against womenand researching a variety of women’s health issues. She is also incharge of managing our social media presence; recently, shemobilized our social media followers to urge Congress to re-authorize the Violence Against Woman Act. Laura is currentlyusing her internship to complete her practicum at the BloombergSchool of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, where sheis focusing on reproductive, perinatal, and women’s health.

Jessica Cote is our Ros Branigan intern, working on a range ofhealth issues including prevention and treatment of lung cancer,the impact of diet on health, and the safety of medical devices. Arecent graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, shetranslates complicated science information into easy-to-under-stand information for the general public. After her internship,Jessica will travel to Chile as a Fulbright scholar to research thehealth benefits of the Chilean maqui berry.

Is there someone you would like to honor? Internships and fellowships provide training that can result in a lifetime of good work. Honor a loved one through adonation of cash or stock, a distribution from a retirement plan or life insurance policy,or a will. For more information, contact Brandel at (202) 223-4000 orbfb@center4research.org.

2966H 12/3/12 8:37 AM Page 5

HEALTH MATTERS

6

Bacteria are everywhere, includingyour entire body. The bacteria inyour body weigh as much as yourbrain--3 lbs! (You may not want totell anyone that, but it is true for allof us.) Bacteria can be harmful, butsome species of bacteria are neededto keep us healthy. The bacteria onour skin, in our airways, and in ourdigestive system are the first line ofdefense against foreign “invaders”(pathogens) that can cause infectionand other problems.

Bacteria also act as “tuning forks”for our body’s immune system,making sure it’s pitched just right.The immune system shouldn’t betoo sensitive or too sluggish: itneeds to respond quickly to aninfection but it shouldn’t overreact.(If it does overreact and attacks thebody itself, the result is an autoim-mune disease, such as rheumatoidarthritis, lupus, or MS.)

Each person has a personalized col-lection of bacteria called the micro-biome. We acquire our first bacteriawhile being born, and every day ourenvironment exposes us to more.Some of these bacteria will take upresidence inside the body and helpdevelop a robust immune system.

The GoodThe species of bacteria that colonizeour respiratory and digestive sys-tems help set up checks and bal-ances in the immune system. Whiteblood cells police the body, lookingfor infections, but they also limit theamount of bacteria that grow there.Likewise, bacteria keep white bloodcells from becoming too active.Bacteria also break down carbohy-drates and toxins, and they help usabsorb the fatty acids which cellsneed to grow. Bacteria help protectthe cells in your intestines againstinvading pathogens and also pro-mote repair of damaged tissue. Mostimportantly, by having good bacte-

ria in your body, bad bacteria don’tget a chance to grow and cause dis-ease.

The BadOf course, some species of bacteriain your body can result in diseases,such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovas-cular disease, and obesity. Usually,these diseases happen only whenour microbiome is disrupted, butthat can occur even from usingantibiotics. Antibiotics kill bacteria,and some of those will be good bac-teria that we need to protect ourhealth. When that happens, the badbacteria that normally are kept incheck have room to grow, creatingan environment ripe for disease.

Bad bacteria can exist at low levelsin your body without causing harmor can grow too much and wreakhavoc. Staphylococcus aureus (calledstaph) can cause something as sim-ple as a pimple or as serious aspneumonia or toxic shock syn-drome. P. gingivalis can cause gumdisease and has been recently linkedto pancreatic cancer (visitwww.stopcancerfund.org to find outmore). Similarly, when not sup-pressed by good bacteria, Klebsiellapneumonia can cause colitis, and sub-sequently lead to colorectal cancer.

The Ugly: Self-DestructionIn addition to allowing disease-caus-ing bacteria to flourish, the elimina-tion of good bacteria throws theimmune system out of whack. Theresult can be simple allergies or verydebilitating autoimmune diseases.Without the right balance of bacte-ria, your body might suffer fromconstant inflammation.

Inflammation is the body’s alarmsystem, which calls white blood cellsto heal a wound or to get rid ofinfection. Chronic inflammation,however, can make the body moresusceptible to autoimmune diseases

and cancer, such as causing inflam-matory bowel disease which ifuncontrolled can cause colon cancer.

The FutureResearch suggests that efforts tomake a cleaner environment, freefrom bacteria, are contributing toobesity, cancer, and heart diseasearound the world. Experts are tryingto figure out how “probiotics”(foods like yogurt with active cul-tures and dietary supplements thatcontain live bacteria) can improveour health. Research is underwayso that in the future, specific bacte-ria may be prescribed as individu-ally tailored treatments for patients.

Our immune system needs the rightcombination of bacteria so that wecan stay healthy and rely less onmedications. Antibiotics andantibacterials remain powerful toolsto keep us healthy but shouldn’t beused when they aren’t needed. Themore we learn, the more we appre-ciate the power of the bugs inside ofus—to heal and not just to harm.

Bacteria: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

We don’t accept funding from drugcompanies or device

manufacturers, so we rely on the generosity of individual donors.

Donate online at

www.stopcancerfund.org

or CFC #11967

We’re here for you so you can be there for them.

Let’s fight cancer together!

2966H 12/3/12 8:37 AM Page 6

Board of Directors

George Thomas Beall, Managing Director Global Social Marketing Practice, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

Stephen Bozzo, JD, Attorney-at-Law

Ann Braun, President, Palomar Health Foundation

Ben Gitterman, MD, Associate Professor Pediatrics and Public HealthChildren's National Medical Center

Mary G. Hager, MA, Writer

Nancy Hardt, MD, Professor and Associate Dean, University of Florida College of Medicine

Judith L. Harris, JDPartner, Reed Smith

Alan Mendelson, LLDAxion Venture Partners

Omega Logan Silva, MDFormer President, American Medical Women’s Association

Scott Parven, JDPartner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Susan F. Wood, PhDGeorge Washington University

Diana Zuckerman, PhD, PresidentNRC for Women & Families

National Advisory BoardThe Honorable Rosa DeLauro (CT)

Mark Frankel, PhD, AAAS

Pat Hendel, Commission for Women

Phyllis Katz, PhD, Institute for Research onSocial Problems

Rebecca Klemm, PhDKlemm Analysis Group

Irene S. Levine, PhD, Clinical Professor ofPsychiatry, NYU School of Medicine

Lisa Lopez, JD

Mary McDonough, Actress and Director

Shari Miles, PhD, American PsychologicalAssociation

The Honorable Olympia Snowe (ME)

Judy Woodruff, The NewsHour, PBS

7

EVENTS5k Run/Walk for the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund

Our Cancer Prevention andTreatment Fund 5k run/walk onSeptember 23 was bigger and betterthan ever, thanks to our wonderfulparticipants, supporters, and spon-sors, and our new location, alongthe scenic C&O Canal Trail in his-toric Georgetown, Washington, DC.Runners and walkers ages 5 to 64took advantage of the gorgeous fallweather.

Teams ran forcancer survivorsand loved oneslost to cancer.Team Mathiasraised $6,059 inhonor of 11-year-oldMathias

Giordano (pictured here), recentlydiagnosed with osteosarcoma, whoparticipated in the 5k in a wheelchair, wearing a smile that lit up theentire 5k. Team Olson raised $3,940in honor of Douglas Olson, who hasbeen treated for leukemia and isdoing well. Sarah Inman’s teamraised $1,050 in honor of Sarah, whowas diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’slymphoma in January 2011 and isdoing well. #TheMovement raised$2,355 in honor of Patrick Ryan,who was diagnosed with testicularcancer in June of this year.

We also ran in honor of EdithMostow, Rob Mostow, DonnaPrisnock, and Thomas Ryan and inmemory of Ruth France, ReneeHarris, Gwen Lewis, MyrnaNicholson, Raphael Prevot, EvelynReiter, Dorothy Pauline Sawyer(“Rans”), Jim Schwantes, and manyother cancer survivors and lovedones lost to cancer.

Matt Roberson crossed the finishline first, in 17 minutes 50 seconds.Amara Lewis took first prize amongwomen with a time of 22:19. Allrunners who placed in the top three

in their age category received a giftcertificate from our sponsorGeorgetown Running Company.Supporters who could not make it toGeorgetown on race day participated virtually from as far asLondon and Anchorage, Alaska,running in solidarity with us.

The 5k would not have been possi-ble without our Gold SponsorsBoConcept Urban Design and Net-Centric Enterprise Solutions (NES);Silver Sponsors North Face, PatelConsultants, and Cassidy &Associates; Bronze SponsorGeorgetown Sports Massage; andFriends of the Race Mom’s OrganicMarket and Fitness Together.North Face provided demo shoes torunners who wanted to test out theirnew line of sneakers. Trainers fromFitness Together fired up the racerswith warm-up exercises. Thanks tothe generosity of Giant, Starbucks,Brueggers Bagels, Trader Joe’s, andBethesda Bagels, participantsenjoyed snacks and coffee.

Special thanks to BoConcept UrbanDesign, where we kicked off our 5kwith a Brazilian-themed party onSeptember 13, complete with aBrazilian dance lesson as well asfood, drinks, and a silent auction.

If you were unable to make the race,you can still participate by donatingto your favorite runner or team onwww.cancer5K.com throughDecember 23. If you’d like to seeand share photos of the event, “like”our Facebook page atfacebook.com/CancerPreventionandTreatmentFund.

Kristin Olson did a fantastic job asrace coordinator, a volunteer posi-tion. The $29,000 she helped raisewill support our online cancer hot-line, which provides free informa-tion to anyone who contacts us atinfo@stopcancerfund.org.

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Cancer Prevention & Treatment Fund

National Research Center for Women & Families

1001 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 1100

Washington, DC 20036

Phone: (202) 223-4000

NONPROFITORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGEPAID

PERMIT NO. 2442

To:

We gratefully acknowledge our

President’s Circle Donors:

Dianne and Rick Ammons

George Thomas Beall

Chris Cooper

Thomas Duffy

Benjamin Gitterman

Nancy Hardt

Judy Harris

Anne Hale Johnson

Lisa Lopez

Alan Mendelson

Victoria and Roger Sant

Andrew Rothenberg

Omega Logan Silva

Sarah Stewart

Susan Wood

Anne and Leo Zuckerman

Barry and Pamela Zuckerman

In this Issue of THE VOICE

Do Vitamins Fight Cancer? Page 1

Deadly Medicine Page 5

Cancer Prevention and Treatment 5k Run/Walk Page 7

And more!

Who are the stars of our Cancer Prevention and Treatment 5k?

Read about Patrick, Mathias, and Kristin on page 7!

Address Service Requested

2966H 12/3/12 8:37 AM Page 8