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Follow us on Twitter!
A great way to keep in touch and hear about what gets us excited in the ovarian cancer community!
@ClearityFnd
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 News from the 2012 ASCO Meeting 
Clearity Founder Laura Shawver, Ph.D. and Scientific Director Deborah Zajchowski, Ph.D. recently attended the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO), considered the premier convention of oncologists and medical researchers. The results of a number of clinical studies in ovarian cancer were reported at this meeting including early-stage as well as late-stage trials. Many new targeted agents, such as inhibitors of the IGF1 receptor, polo kinase, PARP and PI3 kinase are in early development and the trial sponsors reported results from several Phase I clinical studies where the aim is to determine if a drug is safe and if it shows signs of activity. Drs. Shawver and Zajchowski were pleased to see many trials are now incorporating biomarker analysis into their design so that association of individual tumor profiles with responses can be explored early in clinical development.
Bevacizumab may aid chemotherapy in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.
The most promising late-stage study report was one with bevacizumab (Avastin�) in combination with chemotherapy in patients with platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer where interim results were reported from the Phase III AURELIA trial. In this trial, patients whose cancer had progressed within six months of taking at least four cycles of platinum were given either chemotherapy (i.e., topotecan, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin or weekly paclitaxel) alone or in combination with bevacizumab. The patients who received both bevacizumab and chemotherapy did better than those who only received chemotherapy. Their cancer progressed with a median of 6.7 months compared to 3.4 months for patients who received chemo alone ( p<0.001). There were also more adverse effects with the combination therapy, such as increased blood pressure, protein in the urine and bowel perforation, than with chemo alone. Overall survival data are not yet available.
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Racing with Team Clearity
America's Finest City Race August 19, 2012 in San Diego
This year's co-team captains are Keith Kujawa from Chicago (top money raiser of 2010 who is returning to see if he can repeat in 2012) and Laura Kuhn from Point Loma (proud participant each year in the AFC for Clearity Foundation).
Please ask your friends, colleagues and family members to join with us this year as we continue to Clear a Path to a Cure! Team Clearity had a blast last year, as is evident from the photos available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEUCWaoOEc0
Follow the links below to set up your fundraising page to register for the 5K! The half marathon is currently full.
To fundraise: http://www.razoo.com/team/Afc-2012.
To sign up for the race: http://www.afchalf.com/ |
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Post-AFC Celebration August 19, 2012 in San Diego
"More than Lady Luck" Educational Forum and Poker Tournament
Seventy-five percent of women with ovarian cancer recur, and for them, the chances of a cure are less than 15%. Those are slimmer odds than at most poker tables and the stakes are much higher. At Clearity's educational forum, participants can learn how to improve their odds - while testing their luck in Texas Hold'em.
It will be an afternoon of fun for the supporters of The Clearity Foundation on Sunday at the "More than Lady Luck" celebration, which will take place from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Southwestern Yacht Club in Point Loma and will include a Texas Hold'em tournament, blackjack, craps, a barbecue, music and a raffle.
For everyone who wants to support Clearity at this event, please contact Pat Pio at patpio@clearityfoundation.org to RSVP |
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"I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you and the entire Clearity team immenslely for your continued guidance and support. It has been a huge one, and it means the world to us. Thanks again." - Andy |
The Clearity Foundation is participating for the very first time in the Carlsbad Tri-City Medical Center Marathon & Half and we need your help in making this an annual fundraising event! Training at a discount is being offered to our registered event runners by InMotion, Inc.
Sign up to be a sponsored runner and volunteer for on-course assignments. Please contact Pat Pio at patpio@clearityfoundation.org for more information on getting involved. |
Wine Vault and Bistro Fundraiser:
September 5, 2012 in San Diego
Tucked into a cozy indoor/outdoor space on India Street, the Wine Vault & Bistro has an easily missed location, but it's a full-service restaurant with a liquor license, a couple of first-class chefs, lovingly chosen wines and some extraordinary food. Owners Chris and Mary Gluck cater to a group of fellow food-and-wine lovers who recognize a great deal when they see one. They are generously hosting a social event for Clearity to help raise money and awareness. Cost is $25.00 for wine and appetizers. There will be many great auction items to bid on. Event begins at 6:00 p.m., wraps-up at 9:00 p.m. Please RSVP to Pat Pio at (858) 459-5177. http://www.winevaultbistro.com/calendar.html |
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Sandy Oaks Olive Orchard Fundraiser:
October 13, 2012 in Texas
Sandy Winokur is winning her fight with ovarian cancer and Clearity has been in her corner. To support Clearity in helping other women, last year Sandy donated a portion of merchandise sales from her olive orchard to Clearity, and this year she is planning an event to draw her customers and friends for a Clearity fundraiser.
If you would like more information about this event, or would like to donate items for the silent auction, please contact Judy Fort judyfort1@gmail.com. |
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Clearity Event Recap
Clearity's First Annual Someone Lived Event
Clearity Board Member, Dr. Rachel Leheny, and her husband Dr. Ed Scheibler opened their Rancho Santa Fe home to fellow supporters of The Clearity Foundation. The event featured music in the gardens, wine, hors d'oeuvres and dessert. About 130 guests attended, many from San Diego's biotechnology industry. The evening celebrated survival, hope and progress in changing the odds for women with ovarian cancer. Special recognition was given to three women for their selfless contributions:
- Dr. Laura Shawver, founder of The Clearity Foundation
- Dr. Bridgette Duggan, a gynecologic oncologist treating women at her San Diego-based private practice South Coast Gynecologic Oncology; and
- Helen Gardner, an ovarian cancer survivor, was honored by The Clearity Foundation with the Circle of Compassion Award.
The money raised will provide profiling services for women with ovarian cancer. Follow this link to view photos from the event: http://www.ranchosantafereview.com/2012/05/02/someone-lived-celebration/?pid=5966 |
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"I greatly appreciate all your help! You keep me fighting when I'm down!
You give me HOPE, which is a blessed gift!" - Marti H. |
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The Clearity Foundation
Personalized Medicine in Oncology Series
By Michael Pollock,
Clearity Board Member
Personalized medicine is at the heart of the patient support that The Clearity Foundation provides for women battling ovarian cancer, so it made sense for the foundation to develop a discussion series highlighting some of the challenges of making personalized medicine a reality - The Clearity Foundation Personalized Medicine in Oncology (PMO) Series.
The first of the series, held on February 28th, was titled "Personalized medicine is failing patients: how can we make it work?" and was moderated by Clearity Board Member David Nelson, CEO Epic Sciences, to a sell-out audience. In his opening remarks, David made the point that personalized medicine should be a winning proposition for all stakeholders, but only if patients are able to gain access to appropriate technologies, which nicely set up the second in the PMO series - to explore the potential barriers to patient access and what could be done to eliminate or reduce them.
On May 22, Michael Pollock, another Clearity Board Member, moderated the second in the series, titled: "Payers and Physicians - a help or a hindrance in bringing personalized medicine to patients?" This session provided an interactive discussion of whether physicians and payers, who bridge the gap between technology developers and patients (the focus of the first session) were likely to be allies or antagonists in making personalized medicine a reality for patients. The two presenters were Bryan Dechairo, Ph.D., Senior Director Diagnostics, UBC Personalized Medicine Practice, Express Scripts, who provided a candid payer perspective on the economic realities of personalized medicine, and Bridgette Duggan, M.D., Gynecologic Oncologist, Southcoast Gynecologic Oncology Inc., who shared how she approaches the challenges of ensuring that patients get the best therapy and supportive care, for the best outcome.
In his closing remarks, Michael re-iterated some of the lively and interactive discussion, which included the insight that much of the future progress in ensuring access to personalized medicine will be up to patients and their support groups, in a similar manner to the way patient support groups in other disease areas, such as HIV, managed to influence the policy debates and significantly improve patient access to treatment and care.
A third session is being planned for September and will build on the success of these first two events.
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