Oak Ridge Today

ORNL, Titan helping DOE supercomputers fight cancer

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Titan Supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and its Titan supercomputer are helping the U.S. Department of Energy fight cancer. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)

 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and its Titan supercomputer are helping the U.S. Department of Energy fight cancer through a national initiative called Cancer Moonshot.

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz wrote about the use of DOE supercomputers to fight cancer in an article posted on Medium.com on Friday.

“Cancer is a worldwide public health problem, and the second-leading cause of death in the United States,” Moniz said. “Although cancer mortality has declined in recent years, there is no one who hasn’t been touched by cancer personally. So when President Obama announced that Vice President Biden would lead the Cancer Moonshot during his State of the Union address and asked for all hands on deck, I was eager to join the Cancer Moonshot Task Force and lend the support of the Department of Energy and our 17 national laboratories.”

As part of the initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy is launching three pilot projects in partnership with the National Cancer Institute, ORNL spokesperson Morgan McCorkle said. The projects will bring together nearly 100 cancer researchers, care providers, computer scientists, and engineers to apply the nation’s most advanced supercomputing capabilities to analyze data from preclinical models in cancer, cancer surveillance data, and molecular interaction data for RAS genes, McCorkle said. (About one third of all human cancers, including a high percentage of pancreatic, lung, and colorectal cancers, are driven by mutations in RAS genes, according to the National Cancer Institute.) [Read more…]

Thrive, Prevent, Celebrate: ‘Survivor Sundae’ offers cancer information for all

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Mt.-LeConte-Jug-Band-WEB

The Mt. LeConte Jug Band will once again entertain guests at Methodist’s “Survivor Sundae” celebration and cancer awareness event on Sunday, June 5. (Submitted photo)

 

Note: This story was updated at 5:25 p.m. May 30.

With improved screenings and advanced treatment, more and more people are beating cancer each year. But that doesn’t change the significance of being a cancer survivor and the hard fight to put cancer in its place.

Join Methodist Medical Center as we celebrate National Cancer Survivors’ Day on Sunday, June 5, with the third annual “Survivor Sundae.” This special ice cream social will take place from 2-4:30 p.m. at the Cheyenne Ambulatory Center, 944 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Survivor Sundae will honor cancer survivors and their families who have supported them along the way as well as provide cancer prevention and awareness information for the community. Cancer survivors can leave their mark on a special group art project supplied by Painting with a Twist, which will be displayed in the Thompson Cancer Survival Center at Methodist. [Read more…]

Relay for Life is in Oak Ridge on Friday

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Relay for Life Oak Ridge is Friday, May 20, at the Oak Ridge High School track. It’s scheduled from 6 to 11 p.m. Friday.

Here is the schedule of events for what will be a fun evening that will raise money and awareness of the awfulness of cancer, and the effects it has on so many people, a press release said. [Read more…]

Hospitality Houses welcome next generation of volunteers

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TN-Fury-team-donation-pic

The Gold TN Fury girls team donated personal and household products for use by guests of the two Hospitality Houses. Team members include Emmaline Estep, Navy Gentry, Kannon Green, Caton Harris, Cadha Kirkland, Faith McGhee, Camayah Moore, Vivian Newton, Amari Stewart, and Kylee Thompson. Team coaches are Paige Green and Aaron Green. (Photo courtesy MMC)

 

A fifth-grade basketball team recently visited the Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center to deliver items they had collected as part of their team’s service project. The Gold TN Fury girls team donated personal and household products for use by guests of the two Hospitality Houses.

Tennessee Fury is a faith-based AAU basketball organization founded to physically and spiritually impact youth in East Tennessee through competitive athletics. As part of the program, teams complete a service project. The 10 members of Gold TN Fury chose the Hospitality Houses as their project and learned a lot about the Houses and volunteering during the process.

The Hospitality Houses are offered free of charge to patients who must travel for cancer treatment or wound therapy, both of which require frequent trips to Oak Ridge for extended periods. The Houses are also open to families who have traveled to be with loved ones in the Acute Care Unit at Methodist. The houses are supported solely through charitable contributions. [Read more…]

Cancer survivors, caregivers to be honored at American Cancer Society Relay For Life

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American Cancer Society Relay for Life Logo

Local cancer survivors and their caregivers will take the celebratory first lap at the annual American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Oak Ridge event on May 20 at Oak Ridge High School Track. The survivors lap will begin at 6 p.m. Anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer may participate.

As the survivors walk, other participants will cheer them on in a demonstration of support and celebration. The five-year survival rate for all cancers has risen to 68 percent, and there are an estimated 14.5 million survivors in America, a press release said.

The Relay For Life of Oak Ridge is a community event where teams and individuals set up campsites at a school, park, or fairground, and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Last year, four million people participated in more than 6,000 events worldwide. The money raised supports groundbreaking cancer research, education and risk reduction efforts, and free information and critical services for people with cancer who need them.

If you are a cancer survivor or caregiver and would like to be part of the Relay For Life event, visit relayforlife.org or on Facebook at Relay for Life of Oak Ridge, or call the American Cancer Society at (800) 227-2345.

American Cancer Society Relay for Life is May 20

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American Cancer Society Relay for Life Logo

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Oak Ridge will take place on Friday, May 20, at Oak Ridge High School.

Relay for Life is scheduled from 6 to 11 p.m. May 20 at the ORHS Ben Martin Track.

“Join local volunteers and participants from the community and celebrate cancer survivors, remember those lost to the disease, and take action to save more lives from cancer,” a press release said.

The opening ceremony, which includes a special Survivors and Caregivers Lap, will begin at 6 p.m. A Luminaria Ceremony to honor cancer survivors and remember those lost to cancer will take place at 9:30 p.m. The closing ceremony will be at 10:30 p.m.

Visit relayforlife.org to learn more about the event or contact Kim Monroe at (865) 438-5334, Kenneth Herring at kherring@teksystems.com or (865) 310-2664, or Brittany Bostic at brittany.bostic@cancer.org.

Methodist offers a new weapon in fight against lung cancer

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Methodist Medical Center Main Entrance

Cigarettes bring together more than 50 chemicals that are known to cause cancer. In fact, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women in the United States and worldwide.

In the U.S., lung cancer is responsible for 29 percent of cancer deaths, more than those from breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer combined. Statistically, lung cancer caused by smoking is responsible for nearly 135,000 U.S. deaths per year.

Early detection [Read more…]

Candlelight prayer service Saturday for Joseph Dillman

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Joseph Dillman and Brian Bruce

Joseph Dillman, right, is battling brain cancer for the second time, and he received more than 100 pounds of mail and gifts for his 10th birthday. Above, family friend Brian Bruce helps Dillman open gifts during Joseph Dillman Day at Claxton Elementary School on Saturday, January 24, 2015. (File photo)

 

Information from WYSH Radio

A candlelight prayer service for a boy battling cancer for the second time in his young life will be held Saturday night in Clinton.

The battle against the disease by Joseph Dillman, 10, of Clinton, has inspired the community, which has embraced both him and his family as they continue the fight. He has been named an honorary Clinton police officer and led the Clinton High School football team onto the field during a home game last season, and he has received several other designations and accolades.

Just last month, the Second Annual Joseph Dillman Lawn Mower Race organized by Clinton Police Officer Jason Stokes was held. [Read more…]

Y-12 raises $13,759 for Anderson County Relay for Life

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Joe Marshall

Joe Marshall is one of Y-12’s cancer survivors who took his victory lap at the Anderson County Relay for Life. (Photo by Y-12)

Employees at Y-12 National Security Complex raised $13,759 for Anderson County Relay for Life, which raises money to help fight cancer.

Here is more information from Y-12:

Joe Marshall is one of Y-12’s cancer survivors who took his victory lap at the Anderson County Relay for Life.

What do relays, races, and regattas have in common? They’re all ways Y‑12 employees stay active and support the community.

After hours, Y‑12ers are all about staying active and supporting their communities. Here’s a roundup of the activities: [Read more…]

Appeals court rules in favor of Covenant Health, other defendants in excessive radiation lawsuit

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Methodist Medical Center Main Entrance

A three-judge appeals court panel has ruled in favor of Covenant Health and two other defendants in five lawsuits that alleged that the absence of shielding in part of the emergency department at Methodist Medical Center exposed five X-ray and radiologic technologists, including two who were pregnant, to excessive radiation.

The unanimous opinions by the three Tennessee Court of Appeals judges—D. Michael Swiney, John W. McClarty, and Thomas R. Frierson II—were filed June 9 in Knoxville. They affirmed an order by Anderson County Circuit Court Judge Donald R. Elledge granting a summary judgement in favor of the defendants: Covenant Health, Rentenbach Engineering Company, and TEG Architects LLC.

The lawsuits were filed in January 2014 by Connie Raby, Keith Gillis, Michael Phillips, Mary Ridenour on behalf of her and her child, and Micah Noelle Lewellen on behalf of her and her child.

The lawsuits alleged that the technologists were exposed to excess radiation for several years at Methodist Medical Center because some walls in and around a radiology imaging center in the new emergency department, which opened in February 2006 as part of a hospital remodel, were built without the required lead shielding, elevating the workers’ risk of health problems, including cancer. [Read more…]

ORNL: New tool on horizon for surgeons treating cancer patients

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Droplet-based Surface Sampling Probe

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s new droplet-based surface sampling probe speeds the process of analyzing a liver biopsy sample. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

Surgeons could know while their patients are still on the operating table if a tissue is cancerous, according to researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School.

In the journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, a team led by ORNL’s Vilmos Kertesz describes an automated droplet-based surface sampling probe that accomplishes in about 10 minutes what now routinely takes 20 to 30 minutes. Kertesz expects that time to be cut to four to five minutes soon. For this proof-of-concept demonstration, researchers rapidly profiled two hormones from human pituitary tissue.

“Instead of having to cut and mount tissue and wait for a trained pathologist to review the sample under a microscope, a technician might soon perform an equally conclusive test in the operating environment,” Kertesz said.

The new mass spectrometry-based technology provides an attractive alternative to the traditional method called immunohistochemistry, or IHC, which looks for specific protein biomarkers to make a diagnosis. Although the IHC approach provides a high degree of spatial recognition, it is time-consuming and limited by the quality and specificity of the antibody used to detect the protein. [Read more…]

Survivor Sundae honors cancer survivors, families, friends

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Mt. LeConte Jug Band

The Mt. LeConte Jug Band is pictured at the 2014 Survivor Sundae. (Submitted photo)

 

With improved screenings and advanced treatment, more and more people are beating cancer each year. But that doesn’t change the significance of being a cancer survivor and the hard fight to put cancer in its place.

Join Methodist Medical Center and Thompson Cancer Survival Center at Methodist as they celebrate National Cancer Survivors Day on Sunday, June 7, with Survivor Sundae. This special ice cream social will take place from 2-4:30 p.m. at the Cheyenne Ambulatory Center at 944 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Survivor Sundae will honor cancer survivors and their families who have supported them along the way. [Read more…]