Cancer

The first generation to survive childhood cancers in large numbers is discovering that some of the same treatments that destroy tumors with toxic force can cause serious side effects to surface years later.As more children outlive their cancers, doctors are drawing links between curative therapies and delayed problems such as early puberty, sterility, stunted growth, learning disabilities and weakened hearts.At the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, physicians are taking a second look at cured patients to see if they are suffering long-term effects of treatment.

In an effort to catch skin cancers while they can still be cured, local hospitals will offer free screenings throughout May where dermatologists will advise people whether to seek additional care for skin blemishes, moles and discolorations.Melanoma is one of the most deadly forms of cancer -- killing 7,300 people each year in the United States -- yet most Americans don't know its warning signs. Free screenings are being offered across the country in a campaign organized by the American Academy of Dermatology.

Mark Gregory pauses as he relives the time when he nearly died. His gaze trails off into the distance and words fail him as he ponders a past he prefers to keep behind closed doors. Yet, he's willing to dredge up those painful events for a purpose. The River Hill resident is marking a huge cancer-survival milestone by throwing a party Sept. 30 at the Ellicott City VFW Post for dozens of his closest friends and business associates. But it won't be just any party. It will be a fundraiser to benefit the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge in Baltimore, a temporary residence for adults receiving outpatient cancer treatment, where he stayed decades ago. Maybe it was the realization that he's beaten incredible odds — it's been 20 years since doctors handed him a death sentence — that finally spurred him to take action.

NEW YORK -- Jim Valvano is battling a virulent form of cancer called metastatic adrenal carcinoma and it has apparently spread along his back, according to his brother, Bobby Valvano.Valvano, the former basketball coach at North Carolina State turned broadcaster, is living with relatives in New York City while he receives out-patient chemotherapy at Manhattan's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.Valvano's doctors have told him and his family just what he is dealing with. "Metastasize means that it has advanced, it has spread," said Bobby Valvano.

Is there such a thing as a cancer-prone personality? The answer is an emphatic no, according to Swedish and Danish researchers who conducted a study that was recently published online by the journal Cancer. The idea that some people might have an increased risk of cancer - perhaps those who are extroverted, emotionally contained or who have aggressive, Type A personalities - has been an insidious, blame-the-victim kind of notion for decades. And some studies have suggested a link between personality traits and cancer.

They weren't telling fortunes at the 11th annual Crystal Ball, but trying to raise one for the Greater Baltimore Medical Center's Cancer Center. The Mildred Mindell Cancer Foundation fund-raiser also honored GBMC Cancer Center director Dr. Gary Cohen, celebrating not only his work, but his 50th birthday as well.Nearly 500 people turned out at Martin's West to toast the good doctor, including his wife, Charlene; Bob Kowal, president of GBMC Healthcare; Doug Smith, GBMC Foundation president; Craig Randall, administrative director of radiation oncology at GBMC; Patti Neumann, cancer survivor and a patient of Cohen; Dr. Dolores Dixon, GBMC oncology specialist; Jewel Martin and Sylvia Shapiro, Mildred Mindell co-presidents; Marcia Glickman and Judy Frankle, event co-chairs; and Heiko Osterchrist, CEO of Metro Distributing Co. Inc.This Crystal Ball brought something good to the future of the Cancer Center -- at least $55,000 for the center's new Navigator Program, which will guide cancer patients through their medical experience.

When Dina Perouty Leone spread the word a couple of years ago that she was dying of cancer, her friends from the Dundalk High School class of 1990 rallied to help. The 37-year-old former real estate agent had reconnected with her classmates on Facebook, told them she had been diagnosed with Stage IV stomach cancer and asked for help paying for chemotherapy, some of the women recalled this week. Leone told them she did not want to leave this world without completing her "bucket list" - a summary of things she wanted to do before she died.

People who have battled cancer are invited to two events this weekend to mark National Cancer Survivors Day, which is Sunday.The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, which includes candlelight ceremonies and overnight camp-outs, begins tomorrow at 6 p.m. and lasts 24 hours.Survivors and community groups will form teams to walk or run relay-style at four locations -- Owings Mills High School, Bel Air High School, Severna Park High School and Howard Community College.On Sunday, the Greater Baltimore Alliance for Cancer Survivorship will hold a reception from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the 5th Regiment Armory in Baltimore.

Howard County will host one of more than 500 Livestrong Day events nationwide Tuesday at Lake Kittamaqundi in Columbia. The free event, sponsored by the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults, will take place from 11 a.m. to noon. It will feature a raffle of autographed Lance Armstrong memorabilia, live music from the Blue Line and a box lunch from Clyde's and the Tomato Palace. Speakers will include County Executive Ken Ulman; Vic Broccolino, president and chief executive officer of Howard County General Hospital; and local cancer survivors.

When Dave Malicki heard the pop song "If My Brother's in Trouble," he nearly started crying.The lyrics by singer-songwriter Jeffrey Osborne touched Malicki, whose younger brother and best friend, Stephen, has been fighting cancer since February.A 23-year-old graduate of Glen Burnie High School, Stephen Malicki was working as a roofer in New Jersey when he started suffering from sharp abdominal pains. He was diagnosed with cancer of the lymph nodes in his abdomen and underwent surgery to have the tumor removed inFebruary.