Arm yourself with information

Cara Metz

The well-attended meeting was the sixth annual fireside conversation with Dr. Norton sponsored by the UFT Welfare Fund and SHARE, a self-help group for women with breast and ovarian cancer.

Cara Metz

Dr. Larry Norton

UFTers who came to the “Fireside Conversation with Dr. Larry Norton” on Nov. 4 at the union’s headquarters had a chance to hear about the latest breakthrough in cancer research before it hit newspaper front pages the next day. Dr. Norton, deputy physician in chief and director of breast cancer programs at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, led off with the lung cancer study that found that CT scans can cut death rates by 20 percent. It underscored the message that prevention and early detection are key to better outcomes when it comes to cancer. He discussed different clinical trials at Sloan-Kettering, noting that its latest research focuses on cancer as a problem of cell mobility rather than cell division. While the research is very underfunded, Dr. Norton said, it has opened new treatment options and put new drugs in the pipeline that address the problem of cancer cells traveling through the bloodstream to different organs. He said that the future will hold personalized drugs that are matched to individual patients, and that “if there’s anyone in the audience worried about a cancer that doesn’t respond to drugs, hold on because there are new treatments coming.” After his presentation, Dr. Norton answered wide-ranging questions from the audience. He endorsed taking a vitamin D supplement because, he said, no one living in this climate gets enough sunlight to manufacture enough vitamin D; yet, instead of taking a multivitamin, he recommends people eat fresh, natural plant-based foods, including fruits and vegetables, and avoid artificial ingredients and processed foods.