Neena Strichart
I just received an invitation via Facebook to my Uncle Ken’s birthday party taking place in Ohio later this month. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend the festivities. Logistics and budget constraints will keep me closer to home, although I would love to be there to help him celebrate his big 8-0!
Thinking about Uncle Ken’s party got me started reminiscing about the big 90th birthday party Steve and I threw for Mom back in 2009. Gosh, time flies! It’s so hard to believe that her party was nearly two years ago. Most folks only celebrate BIG birthdays— you know what I mean— the ones that end in 0 or 5. For us, every birthday of Mom’s is a big deal. As most of our readers know, Mom was diagnosed with stage-four ovarian cancer in 2008 and was only given a few months to live. Thanks to my doctor, Dr. Bitter, we were referred to Long Beach oncologist Robert Nagourney, M.D. for a second opinion.
Dr. Nagourney’s quick assessment and diagnosis, combined with a scientific approach and personalized cancer therapy, had her on the road to recovery in no time. Three years later, she still looks and feels great, has no sign of the cancer, and sings the praises of Dr. Nagourney every chance she gets.
We recently received a press release here at the office about a local conference where Dr. Nagourney will be a featured speaker. Upon reading the notice, all I could think was, “Oh, joy— now I can let our readers know where they can hear this fabulous man tell his story!” I quickly jumped on the website to check out the details, but alas, the conference is sold out. DRAT!
Although we won’t have the chance to hear Dr. Nagourney speak this time around, I still want to give you some of the information I received in that aforementioned press release.
After all, if you have need for an oncologist, or know someone who does, this information below just may save a life. I know it saved Mom’s.
During his medical oncology fellowship at Georgetown University, Dr. Nagourney confronted aggressive malignancies for which the standard therapies remained highly unsatisfactory. Responding to an unmet need, he developed personalized cancer therapy applying a laboratory platform to match patients to therapies based on their unique response profiles. An instructor of pharmacology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, he is board-certified in internal medicine, medical oncology and hematology.
“More than 1.5 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2010, and it’s estimated more than 500,000 died. This is tragic and unnecessary now that we have better tools like personalized chemotherapy,” Dr. Nagourney said. He believes that it is the physician’s responsibility to hasten the development of effective therapies for cancer. Â By using each patient’s tumor to guide the selection of cancer treatments, doctors can identify the most effective, least toxic options for each individual.
“Personalized chemotherapy methods remain underutilized and are frequently not offered to the patients in greatest need,” Dr. Nagourney offered. His laboratory tests provide valuable predictive information about how a patient will ultimately respond to treatment. The test, known as an ex vivo analysis (EVA) is conducted on living cancer cells removed directly from the patient’s body. He added that, “We can get a snapshot that can help researchers and practicing oncologists predict how tumor cells will respond to chemotherapy drugs, combinations and targeted therapies.
With this information, drug development can be accelerated. In recent years, the EVA platform has proven effective for predicting response to the newest classes of drugs known as targeted agents. Every patient has the potential to get better,” said Dr. Nagourney. “We have a responsibility to pursue every available option in the interest of our patients and to create a patient-oriented program to provide improved clinical outcomes, while reducing the toxicities and costs associated with cancer therapy.”
About Rational Therapeutics
Founded in 1995, Rational Therapeutics is a cancer research laboratory specializing in personalized cancer care and drug development. Rational Therapeutics is actively engaged in the study of the newest classes of compounds that target a variety of cellular signaling pathways. By streamlining the path from promising compound to clinically active therapy, the EVA-PCD platform has the capacity to reduce the cost of drug development and shorten the development cycle. Â More information is available at Rational Therapeutics 750 E. 29th St. or by calling (562) 989-6455. For online details see rational-t.com.
