Category: Uncategorized

On February 4, the world comes together in the fight against cancer with World Cancer Day, a global event aimed at savings millions by raising awareness and education of the disease, while pressing the government to take action.

In the United States, 2016 kicked off with President Obama announcing that during his last year in office, Vice President Joe Biden would be heading up the cancer “moonshot” initiative. The cause is personal for the vice president, who lost his son, Beau Biden, to brain cancer in May 2015.

In a memorandum, the president pointed out that while cancer is already a leading cause of death, cancer incidence is only expected to increase in the coming decades. The moonshot initiative aims to accelerate progress toward prevention, treatment, and, eventually, a cure for cancer.

Part of the initiative is that the FDA would speed approvals of promising drug combinations. Other ideas for the moonshot: immunotherapy and increased access to clinical trials.

Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses the body’s natural defenses to fight the disease by targeting the immune system. Immuno-oncology drugs are promising and have generated impressive outcomes. The American Society of Clinical Oncology recently announced immunotherapy as the clinical cancer advance of the year.

Research in 2015 found that immunotherapies improve outcomes with reduced adverse effects for a number of cancers, including difficult-to-treat cancers and glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer.

This is not the first time the Obama administration has put the spotlight on cancer. Last year, during his State of the Union speech, the president announced his precision medicine initiative. Precision medicine is a type of customized healthcare that takes into account genes, environment and lifestyle.

Precision medicine has become important in treating cancer. Now when doctors attack the disease, they are often armed with knowledge about molecular and genetic makeup. The foundation of precision medicine is targeted therapy, which took off in the 1990s and is currently the focus of much cancer development.

Although there is still a long way to go before we find a cure for cancer, it is clear that the pace of cancer innovation has picked up speed and much progress has been made in the last decade.

It is not too late in 2015 to make a
tax-deductible donation to ICCF

The Port Washington News presented an article on the recent charitable event at the Port Washington Chabad for the Israel Children’s Cancer Foundation.

ICCF assists all of the children in Israel who are suffering from the distressing mental and physical consequences of cancer. It has been reported that one in 300 children living in Israel will be diagnosed in 2016 with the disease.

The mission of the ICCF is to enhance the level of care for cancer-stricken children. Eighty-seven cents of every dollar raised goes toward the funding of treatment in six major pediatric centers in Israel.

The Port Washington Chabad Sisterhood coordinated the event. The Sisterhood invites all Jewish women, whether members or not, to participate in events and learning. Together, it is their mission to introduce Jewish values into the homes of those in the community.

“GIFT of HOPE and LIFE”
Benefiting the Israel Children’s Cancer Foundation
Sponsored by Howard Fensterman, Esq.,
of the Abrams Fensterman Law Firm

The disease of cancer remains the leading cause of death in Israeli Children. 1 out of 300 children will be diagnosed each year. The Israel Children’s Cancer Foundation offers assistance to every child suffering from cancer in the State of Israel. Since its founding, in 1988, the Israel Children’s Cancer Foundation has worked tirelessly to cure as many children as possible.

With the love of the land of Israel and a love for the people of Israel, the Israel Children’s Cancer Foundation is committed to helping every child see their future. We can only do this with your help. Please help us make a difference in children’s lives.

It is my desire to support charitable endeavors geared towards treatment and finding cures for life threatening and debilitating diseases, especially those afflicting children. The ICCF’S substantial funding of research searching out treatments and cures for pediatric cancer makes the organization a very worthy one to support.

• Howard Fensterman

Invitation

“GIFT of HOPE and LIFE”

Featuring
NESHAMA CARLEBACH

Monday evening, December 7, 2015

Chabad of Port Washington
80 Shore Road, Port Washington, NY 11050

7:30 pm – 10:00 pm

$54 per person (women only)

Sponsorships available at: Gold/$1800 Silver/$360 Bronze/$180

For tickets, please call 516-791-1180 or Purchase on line www.israelcancer.org

Elyse Bell, Chair

Wine and Cheese reception

Sisterhood of Chabad of Port Washington, Sponsors
Seth and Andrea Bell and Family, Sponsors