WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 /PR Newswire/ -- "Women & Cancer" is the second part of the four-part television series, Women at Risk, that examines vital health issues affecting women of all ages. Airing nationwide between September 12 and October 31st (check local listings for stations, dates and times or log onto http://www.ivillage.com/womenatrisk/), "Women & Cancer" examines the impact of cancer research and treatment on the everyday lives of women who are fighting the disease. Women with breast, cervical, colorectal and lung cancer share their compelling stories, revealing how they, their families, friends and physicians are battling and surviving cancer. The goal of the program, which is hosted by Lynn Redgrave, is to equip women with the latest medical information so that they can become effective partners in their own health care.

"We want our viewers to stop and think about their own health, to ask, 'Am I at risk? Am I getting the screening tests I really need?'" said Phyllis Greenberger, executive director of the Society for Women's Health Research, a program sponsor. "Too often women are left out of the medical loop. Even if we are vigilant about cancer screenings, as many of the women in this program were, we find that we must remain aggressive in getting ourselves into clinical trials or keeping up with cutting-edge treatments."

That was the case with Gail Farley Krug, a wife, mother of two and grade school teacher who was diagnosed with breast cancer after a routine mammogram. Krug underwent a combination treatment of chemotherapy and radiation. When her cancer returned in her liver two years later, Krug enrolled in a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The clinical trial used a combination of two cancer fighting drugs, Taxol(R) and Herceptin.

The program features an interview with renowned breast cancer expert Larry Norton, M.D., head of the Division of Solid Tumor Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Norton shares promising new information about breast cancer treatment. "We have just shown in a big multinational study that the use of Taxol and Herceptin together not only can kill more cancer cells and shrink more cancers, but actually help patients live longer with cancer," he said.

After seven months of this new combination treatment, Krug had made remarkable progress -- her liver tumor was no longer visible on her CAT scans.

"We must do more than be selectively vigilant for 'female cancers.' Let's bust the myth that women suffer primarily from breast, uterine or cervical cancers," suggested Greenberger. "By profiling colorectal and lung cancer survivors, we hope to emphasize that cancer is not gender specific. This year, an estimated 68,000 women will be diagnosed with lung cancer and more women will die from it than from breast, uterine and ovarian cancer combined."

The Society for Women's Health Research is a Washington-based advocacy group whose sole mission is to improve the health of women through research. This nonprofit organization was founded in 1990 when it brought to national attention the problem of exclusion of women from major research studies, and the resulting need for greater funding for research of conditions experienced by women.

Women and Cancer is underwritten by Bristol-Myers Squibb, a leading maker of innovative therapies for cancer.

SOURCE: Society for Women's Health Research
Web Site: http://www.ivillage.com/womenatrisk/

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