April 2016 marks the 45th year of Dr. Simonton's work!  

                     

        Yes, this is Dr. Simonton blowing the candles out on his 5th birthday  

(He got a bike)

The Health and Happiness Project

Looking for the positive... finally.

Community and support has played an important role in the teachings of the Simonton Cancer Center for nearly 50 years. We could not be more delighted with this project and the benefits it could produce for public health. Click below for info on this exciting project!

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/health-happiness/

ALERT!  We consider this a MAJOR break-through....for many reasons.

The University of Miami and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center (remember~ to be considered a comprehensive cancer center, you are required to offer some sort of support/counseling- thank you Dr. Simonton) have published a breast cancer study showing that the combination of meditation, stress management and cognitive therapy (belief work) can lower the rate of death from disease - any disease- significantly.

79%....... yes, you read that right.

75% lower risk of dying from breast cancer and (get this)

55% lower risk of recurrence.

The reason we feel this is so significant (besides the obvious...these women are living longer) is that SCC program opponents (you know who you are) have always stated that 'although research has shown there may be benefit for some of these components on their own, there is no evidence that combining them would be of benefit.' To which we've always said....."WHAT??!"  And although we certainly need to temper this with attachment to outcome, it's still something to cheer about.

Study consisted of 240 patients with a stage 0 to IIIB non-metastatic breast cancer, 2-10 weeks post surgery. Patients followed 6 months, 12 months, five years, eight years and twelve years after trial. November 2015 Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. http://med.miami.edu/news/stress-management-helps-women-survive-breast-cancer-longer

Just when you thought you knew it all.... In a stunning 2015 discovery that overturns decades of textbook teaching, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have determined that the brain is directly connected to the immune system by vessels previously thought to not exist. That such vessels could have escaped detection when the lymphatic system has been so thoroughly mapped throughout the body is surprising on it's own, but the true significance of the discovery lies in the effects it could have on the study and treatment of disease. Taken from; Neuroscience News/June 2015

The Thyroid.....the Body's Butterfly

partly due to early detection of indolent tumors (tumors too 'lazy' to develop or very slow to develop.) Even though these tumors are not considered dangerous, they are treated as aggressively as other types of thyroid cancer. A name change and re-classification is being led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, due to 'over diagnosing'. This is expected to reduce the psychological and medical consequences of a cancer diagnosis, potentially affecting thousands of people worldwide. " I hope this sets an example for other expert groups to address nomenclature of various cancer types that have indolent behavior to prevent inappropriate and costly treatment," state senior investigator Yuri Nikiforov, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pathology and director of Pitt's Division of Molecular and Genomic Pathology.