If you missed us in Dallas, sign up for D.C. or San Diego!

By Vinay Jain, MD

It’s been a busy spring. Just as the Spring issue went to print, the CURE staff took a trip to New York City for the National Magazine Awards. We were thrilled to have been one of five nominees for the “Ellie,” the top award in magazine journalism.

We saw our name listed along with The Atlantic Monthly, New York Magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Details in the general excellence category for magazines with a circulation of 250,000 to 500,000. You know and we know what a superb product we produce, but now that quality has been recognized by our peers.

We didn’t win (Martha Stewart Weddings took home the Ellie), but out of 1,500 entries, we were finalists and that’s the important thing. Joining us in New York was CURE’s newest staffer, Elizabeth Whittington, who does everything from writing to handling circulation issues. CURE also welcomes Eric Nadler, MD, from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as our new medical editor.

We came back to Texas to get ready for the Dallas Patient & Survivor Forum, which was a huge success. Now we are getting ready for the next forum in Washington, D.C., on July 9 and 10. We have finalized the agenda, so check out the latest at www.curetoday.com/patientmeeting. There is still time to register, so sign up now.

The D.C. forum features some special breakouts on advocacy for those ready to move into action after their cancer. Some attendees will be staying over until Monday to visit their elected officials on Capitol Hill with staff from the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. To learn more about the issue they will be addressing, see Speaking Out.

The forum will also feature breakouts on how to be a personal advocate regarding pain management, fear of recurrence, living with metastatic cancer, becoming a parent after cancer, sexuality, couples communication and a healthy death.

Speakers are among the country’s top experts. Our Saturday keynote, Dan Shapiro, PhD, who you read about in CURE (see Spring 2005) will be presenting his account of his journey with Hodgkin’s disease in “Mom’s Marijuana,” and breast cancer survivor and music therapist Deforia Lane, PhD, will close the session on Sunday with her remarkable story, “Music as Medicine.” But the best part will be getting together with others who have made the cancer journey.

If you can’t make it to D.C., consider joining us for the third forum of 2005 in San Diego on October 15 and 16. This forum, in addition to the latest medical updates we provide at every forum, will look at integrative and complementary medicine. Our opening keynote speaker will be Barrie Cassileth, PhD, chief of Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The San Diego forum will be packed with important information on complementary approaches, such as exercise, nutrition and other mind-body techniques. And don’t forget laughter. CURE’s editor-at-large Kathy LaTour will present her one-woman show called “One Mutant Cell.”

As always, this issue is packed with good information and the latest in research. Melissa Weber’s piece on radiation exposure and cancer looks at some complicated issues. CML is one of those chronic cancers for which we are finding more options, and the outlook for lung cancer improves thanks to new therapies. We also explore the effect cancer blogs are having on a patient’s ability to find information as well as explaining the how and why behind cancer metastasis. You can also download a copy of the guide at www.curetoday.com.

We hope you are having a wonderful, restful summer and that in some way we have made your cancer journey easier.