Two weeks ago, I took my two daughters and their two friends to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Columbus, the city I call home. There are few sights as moving as masses of people – young, old, black, white, male, female and more – walking and running for one single cause. It’ a pretty moving experience, so if you haven’t participated, you should at walk in at least one.
Progress in Prevention
Coming off of the heels of such an amazing event, it’s awesome to hear that progress is being made in preventing breast cancer. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute have a promising new breast cancer vaccine prototype. Tested in mice, it’s very encouraging according to the study’s principal investigator, Dr. Vincent Tuohy.
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to prevent breast cancer with something as simple as a vaccine? There are vaccinations for cervical and liver cancers, but these target viruses while the one being tested at the Cleveland Clinic targets cancer formation. If any human testing proves successful, the intent would be to vaccinate women 40 and over as well as younger women with a heightened risk of breast cancer. Sign me up.
Funding, Finding and Fighting
There are many people and institutions studying cancer prevention and they rely on funding from sources like the Komen Race for the Cure, the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and many others. As my daughters have seen friends affected by the disease, they’ve chosen to take an active role in helping prevent it. My youngest sold candy bars and raised in excess of $330 for the Race. 
In a couple of weeks, they’ll be supporting the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, and celebrating a friend’s dad who has remained cancer-free several years after a life-saving bone marrow transplant.
By educating our kids about health and wellness, we can help them to understand how to take care of themselves, and we can help create a generation of health advocates. I hope that my daughter’s interest in biology leads her to develop promising discoveries like the one at the Cleveland Clinic.
PS – if you haven’t had a mammogram recently, get one. Your newblets, and your kids, will thank you.
