How’s Our Cancer Doing?

New Therapies, Old Snake Oil, One Day at a Time

I’m assuming those Californians who are reading this post on election day have voted given how many bytes I’ve used up over the past six weeks encouraging people to do the one simple thing that can save democracy.

Today’s topic –cancer– is off my beaten path, but is a highly personal one, given that I’m now experiencing my fourth recurrence of cancer in fifteen years. There’s a bunch of new hope today in the cancer world, and I’ve tried to give readers a glimpse of what’s coming…

I saw social media posts on Monday featuring videos of hundreds of the health professionals who work with cancer patients giving a standing ovation during a presentation at the annual conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology about pancreatic tumors, perhaps the most insidious manifestation of the disease.

Standing ovations at conferences on cancer are about as rare as a unicorn balancing on the tip of a needle. While admirable advances in treatment have been made – the overall cancer death rate has dropped by 34% since its peak in 1991, averting nearly 4.8 million cancer deaths – there remains a vast field of unknown science.

Attendees were celebrating a specific advance in understanding how treatments can work in the future, one whose first application portends a new generation of drugs targeting an entire class of proteins with better results and lowered side effects for as many as half of all human cancers.

Pancreatic cancer is often asymptomatic, hard to detect, usually fatal when detected, and considered untreatable for most patients when caught in Stage 4. The five year survival rate has remained 13%, despite massive advances in treating other types of cancers.

Without going into the details*, a breakthrough in treatments has led to a doubling of survival rates in patients with pancreatic cancers, with significant reductions in the spreading of the disease.

(*) Link to thread with a dumbed down explanation for those seeking further details.

This is not a “cure” for cancer, but it opens the door for new therapies saving millions of lives down the road. New treatments will arise from this scientific advance, but given that each person’s cancer can be a little different, the precise methodologies will take time to suss out.

There is also news this week about made-to-order cancer vaccines, known as personalized neoantigen mRNA vaccines. By sequencing a patient’s tumor and identifying unique mutations, scientists engineer mRNA that instructs the body to produce specific tumor proteins. This trains the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.

A five year follow up phase two study, reported at the Journal of Clinical Oncology, shows that mRNA vaccine + Keytruda (well regarded immuno drug) reduced recurrence and death in metastatic melanoma by 49%. Past attempts with these sorts of vaccines have failed to live up to their promise as their effectiveness faded over time. Once again, this research bodes well for new therapies for other cancers.

Where new treatments for cancer are originating was also big news at the oncology conference. One in three presentations involved therapies invented in China. According to Morgan Stanley, drugs originating from China could account for more than a third of FDA approvals by 2040, up from just 5% in 2025.

Another change worth noting is the falling share of oncology trial sponsorships by pharma companies headquartered in the EU and US. Drug company sponsorships have dropped from 59% in 2014 to 28% in 2023. A mix of biotechnology companies and regional innovation hubs are now more active in global development pipelines.

All this news comes with a turd named Robert F Kennedy, Jr. floating in the punchbowl of research in the United States. He has a deep mistrust in science as it has been practiced in the past century, based on a black or white view of the relationships between the pharmaceutical industry and medical research. It goes beyond sensible skepticism to a logic framework composed of mysticism, alternative healing, and naturalism*, that rejects much of what has been accomplished.

(*) I’m not saying any of these areas should necessarily be excluded from consideration in research. I am saying that conclusions should be primarily based on scientific methodology. The reality is that such justifications have been weaponized for ideological crusades and used by snake oil peddlers to instill distrust.

Federal agencies, notably the National Institutes of Health (NIH), issued approximately 5,500 fewer research awards in 2025 compared to 2024—an 8.6% decline in grant volume and a reduction of nearly $5 billion in committed funds.

The number of new and competitive NIH awards to San Diego institutions plummeted from 571 to 467 in a single year. President Donald Trump’s federal funding cuts in 2025 targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion programming at the NIH and the National Science Foundation led UCSD to a hiring freeze, with additional layoffs and project delays connected to an estimated $150 million in funding losses.

A proposal coming from the White House will formalize the politicization of research grant considerations across the federal government for the foreseeable future. Appointed officials rather than accredited experts will soon have veto power over all federal grant proposals.

From Inside Higher Ed:

• The proposal also, according to OMB, bans “grants that push disparate impact liability theories, discriminatory event services, DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion], gender ideology” and “child sex mutilation”—the term the administration uses for gender-affirming care—while also prohibiting “agencies from excluding faith-based organizations and applicants.” The proposal also “wipes out Green New Scam grant requirements and a public sector worker preference in evaluating grant proposals,” while also forbidding “grants for voter registration campaigns, issue advocacy, or political activities.”

***

Now, about my cancer…

Getting the news that your cancer has returned is always a shock to your mental well-being. Fundamental to our species is a fight or flight reflex, and in the case of this disease, flight isn’t a viable option. Except that too many people fool themselves about what fight means.

When news of my latest setback reached my family, a well-meaning relative suggested that I should explore Ivermectin, a type of medicine commonly used for deworming farm animals.

For those of you who might not remember, this anti-parasitic veterinary drug was widely hailed by online personalities as a “cure” for COVID. In recent years, it has –as the New York Times put it– “a sort of enduring pharmacological MAGA hat: a symbol of resistance to what some in the movement describe as an elitist and corrupt cabal of politicians, scientists and medical experts.”

In 2021, RFK, Jr. filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration asking officials to de-authorize the Covid vaccine, arguing that ivermectin was safer. Nowadays, Ivermectin is being touted as a cure for cancers, lupus, neuropathy, and renal failure. Some conservative state legislators in mostly Southern states have introduced bills allowing it to be sold over the counter.

The “proof” that Ivermectin works is that it kills cancer cells in a petri dish. Every other claim being made is anecdotal. There have been no real clinical tests proving it as a treatment for anything other than river fever in humans. And the claims about this and other “cures” all have three things in common:

• A lack of understanding of the biological processes involved in cell mutations that end up as cancer. (Gasoline will probably kill cancerous cells in a test tube, but would you really inject it into your loved one?)

• An underlying premise that using this substance is in some way getting even for real or imagined injustices committed by assorted industries.

• A less than ethical individual or organization selling these substances. (It’s just as easy to Google some alleged credentialed person’s name as it is to research something anecdotally presented as wholesome.)

I didn’t bother to respond with these facts to my relative’s polite inquiry about researching dewormers. I already knew this request was coming from a person who’d mentioned 5G towers as a health/political issue. They’d bought into a belief system that rejected challenge as heresy at best, a personal attack at worse. Saying they were wrong would be the same as saying they were stupid. (Everybody knows, right?)

What I did say was that I’d been through all my previous bouts with cancer aided by a team of medical professionals at UCSD. That, despite some moments of doubt and my understanding of the weaknesses inherent in any large organization, I’d been cared for with compassion and would be long gone without their support. I have a team on my side that I believe in, warts and all.

The immunotherapy that stopped my last round of cancer in its tracks hasn’t worked this time around (same type new location), and I’m now being treated with chemotherapy every 21 days. I’ll lose my hair (not much left, anyway) soon and the side effects + the side effects meds can be overwhelming on the backside of the infusions. I’m feeding myself through a tube, which really sucks for a foodie, and taking more meds for more things than I ever thought was possible.

And here’s the thing. I might not make it. I don’t know when or how specifically, but, hey, I also know of people who’ve made it through nine rounds of cancer. A couple of decades back when I discontinued self medicating, I learned that one day at a time was a righteous path. (AA wasn’t my cup of tea, but I’m grateful for the friends of Bill who insisted I’d be happier taking life in smaller bites.)

There are millions of us who are cancer survivors. Getting to that place is a rough road, made easier by those around us who love and care for us. And I’m going to keep on keepin’ on for as long as the cosmos allows me.

I’m pissed about…

All the talking head types who will become California experts in the days following the election. The worst of the lot –even before the votes are counted– is Politico’s Alex Burns. He’s decided that the screwball candidate for Los Angeles Mayor, Spencer Pratt, portends the rise of unqualified but AI smart office seekers nationally.

Maybe he’s just being tongue in cheek. Or maybe the Republican well of policy ideas is really that dry. You decide:

• Pratt-fall? Despite his very real momentum — and the very real anger he’s harnessed over LA’s social ills and last year’s wildfires — Pratt remains a (very) outside bet to actually win a contest in one of America’s most liberal cities. But his campaign is reverberating far beyond LA. As POLITICO’s Alex Burns writes in a must-read column this morning, we’re witnessing something new here; or at least, a new phase of a familiar story.

• “Unlike other entertainer-politicians, like California’s own Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ronald Reagan, Pratt did not build a long record of activism or partisan advocacy before running for office,” Alex writes. And comparisons to Donald Trump, he notes, are both “inevitable and inadequate.” Why? Because “Trump was one of the most recognizable people alive before he ran for president,” Alex writes. Pratt, it’s fair to say, is not.

• So watch out JD: There could be big implications here for 2028. “The success of a screwball candidacy made from little besides artifice and anger” could become a theme, Alex writes. “The barriers to entering politics have fallen so low that it no longer requires Trump-sized talent to crash a big campaign. Thousands of Americans have bigger public platforms than Pratt did at the start of his race. All of them have access to the same AI hype tools his campaign uses.

Meanwhile, Dear Leader has tapped the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte, to be acting director of national intelligence, replacing Tulsi Gabbard. He earned Trump’s trust, thanks to his use of mortgage records to pursue perceived political enemies.

***

Good Trouble, Sign Waving, and Truths

Sunday, June 14: “Many Flags, One Humanity” Vigil at Otay Mesa Detention Center. Celebrate Flag Day by honoring immigrants, and especially those detained at Otay Mesa. Sponsored by a coalition of San Diego County Indivisible Groups. Sign up here.

Coming Up on June 6: D-DAY - Visibility Brigades The Visibility Brigade Movement will honor the men and women who fought fascism on the beaches of Normandy by bringing that same spirit of resistance peacefully home.

Escondido Overpass Visibility Brigade (Wednesday, June 6, 4-6pm) June 6th is D-Day, Democracy Day, that is! Join us at the Nordahl overpass at State Route 78 to send a message to Tax the Rich to Fund the Future. Bring a flag or protest sign for the passersby on the street. SIGN UP

Daily Vigil at Main gate of Camp Pendleton (3-5pm) Right Outside gate at intersection- 20250 Vandegrift Blvd- Oceanside. We will continue to gather until all National Guard and Marine units have been recalled off U.S. streets, and to declare solidarity as well with veterans and service members speaking out with dissent to the attacks of the Veterans Administration staffing and funding. SIGN UP

Feet on the Streets Wednesday Morning edition Bonita- (10-11am) Otay Lakes Road & Bonita Road. SIGN UP

Fallbrook Weekly Rally (Wednesdays, 3:15-5:15pm) Join Fallbrook Area Democrats club members, activists, and the resistance in front of Starbucks at the corner of South Mission Road and Ammunition Road in our call to action to be a voice for democracy and to stand up to tyranny. Enough is enough!

Poway! Save Our Democracy! Wednesday Evening Rallies with Blue Corner Indivisible! (Wednesdays, 4-5:30pm) Community Road & Poway Road. Some of us stand on the south-east corner, while others march around to all 4 corners as the light changes, so you can get your steps in for the day or not... It’s up to you! SIGN UP

Change Begins With ME Overpass Alliance- (Wednesdays, 4-5:30pm) Clairemont Mesa Blvd overpass at I-15 RSVP

Visibility Brigade - Weekly Bridge Banner Protest over Highway 94 (Wednesdays 7:30-9:30am) 22nd St. Bridge over Hwy 94 F Street & 22nd Street For GPS, use 2202 F St. San Diego SIGN UP

Listen to Me

My Fav Songs this morning. They are probably not new. Mostly Videos

People Watching Sam Fender (UK)
Sick The Warning (Mexico)
Little Black Submarines - The Black Keys Live (US)
AllYouFascistsBoundtoLose BetteMidler (US)

---

• Subscribing to Words & Deeds is free. Just click the green button.

Some people have decided this effort is worth money. I use those proceeds to support more than twenty independent media, like Throughline (Jill Filipovic), Progress Report, The Breakdown (Allison Gill), Ctrl Alt Right Delete Melissa Ryan), The Crucial Years (Bill McKibben), How Things Work (Hamilton Nolan), The Journal of Uncharted Blue Places, Times of San Diego, Paul Krugman, Abortion Every Day (Jessica Valenti), BIG Newsletter (Matt Stoller), North County Pipeline, The Status Kuo (Jay Kuo), The Present Age (Parker Molloy), Popular Information (Judd Legum), Spy Talk (Jeff Stein), Public Notice, Nathan Fletcher’s Substack, User Mag (Taylor Lorenz), American Freakshow (Nina Burleigh), Blood in the Machine (Brian Merchant), Men Yell At Me (Lyz Lenz), Message Box (Dan Pfeiffer).