July 19, 2002 

In This Issue: 
Sun and Skin, Treating Side-Effects, Complementary Medicine, Breastfeeding and Cancer, International Info In Many Languages, Esophageal Cancer Group, Head and Neck Cancer Group, Advocates vs. Pharmaceutical Companies

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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Different Breast Cancers Need Different Chemos

More Sun Equals More Skin Cancer

Cancer Patients' Pain, Depression, and Fatigue Are Under-Treated

Cancer Patients Turn to Complementary or Alternative Medicine
Longer Breastfeeding Cuts Breast Cancer Risk

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INTERNATIONAL CANCER INFO IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES
The CancerIndex.org contains almost 2000 citations covering 200 countries in many languages, including Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Web visitors can find organizations and treatment centers from Iceland to Mongolia, as well as international associations of physicians and patients. 
http://www.cancerindex.org/clinks13.htm#2


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ESOPHAGEAL CANCER
Over 13,000 men and women will be diagnosed with esophageal cancer this year. Considered a "less common" cancer, patients often have trouble finding each other to discuss experiences. The Association of Cancer Online Resources helps such people by operating discussion groups based on email systems. The esophageal cancer group has over 1,000 members who communicate through ACOR's emailing lists. The online "EC-Group" has email discussions archived and extensive search capabilities. ACOR operates over 100 such lists for all types of cancer, including the most common and the very rare. To join the esophageal group, send an e-mail to EC-GROUP-REQUEST@LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG. To join any one of their online discussion groups, visit the Association of Cancer Online Resources. www.acor.org


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HEAD AND NECK CANCERS
Support for People with Oral and Head and Neck Cancers, SPOHNC, is a patient-directed, self-help organization dedicated to meeting the needs of oral and head and neck cancer patients. SPOHNC, founded by an oral cancer survivor, addresses the broad emotional, physical and humanistic needs of this population and has about 24 local chapters. http://www.spohnc.org/index.html 


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ADVOCATES SAY DRUG COMPANIES SPENT MORE ON MARKETING THAN RESEARCH 
According to a report, compiled by the consumer health organization Families USA, nine U.S. publicly traded companies that market many of the most popular drugs to seniors spent a total of $45.4 billion on marketing, advertising, and administration and only $19.1 billion on research and development last year. Eight of the nine companies spent more than twice as much on marketing, advertising, and administration as they did on R&D, according to their analyses. Families USA indicates all of the data in the report were drawn from the companies' most recent filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 
http://www.familiesusa.org/new2001data.htm

PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION CRITICIZES FAMILIES USA 

"Families USA is using WorldCom accounting," says the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association. Their spokesman said, "Member companies spent $30.3 billion on new drug research and development (and) about $9 billion on promotion to consumers." See 'Statement by Richard Smith' at
http://www.phrma.org/press/