Bladder Cancer

DOCTORS WITH AIDS Would you let a doctor who has AIDS treat you? When 2,000 people nationwide were asked that question by University of California at San Francisco researchers, 85 percent said they would switch doctors if theirs had the disease. The same 85 percent thought it likely that the disease can be spread from doctor to patient - which the researchers pooh-poohed, saying it's never been known to happen. And 45 percent said doctors who have AIDS shouldn't be allowed to practice.

In a setback to the food and cosmetic industries, the government will not appeal to the Supreme Court a ruling that food and cosmetics with traces of carcinogens must be kept off the market, federal officials said yesterday. Ruling in a case involving food and cosmetic dyes known to cause cancer in animals, the Food and Drug Administration refused last year to ban the dyes, arguing that the cancer risk was so small as to be legally insignificant. But a federal appeals court threw out the FDA ruling in October, concluding that a 1958 law known as the Delaney Clause, after its principal author, required the agency to ban any food additive known to cause cancer in humans or animals.

Study is critical of medical marijuana Smoking marijuana has less medical benefit than taking the drug's active ingredient in its pure form, and neither is of much use when side effects are considered, a new study says. The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, has been shown to be medicinally useful for such things as fighting nausea after chemotherapy and restoring appetite in AIDS patients, said the study published yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. But THC is more effective when taken in its pure form, the prescription drug dronabinol, than when smoked, according to Dr. Eric A. Voth and Dr. Richard H. Schwartz, whose conclusions came from analyzing earlier studies.

The cancer rate in the township's East Riverton section, sandwiched between an industrial park and a federal Superfund site, is no different from what is expected statewide, according to a state study released yesterday. Epidemiologists from the Department of Health and Senior Services came to that conclusion after a yearlong analysis of surveys completed by residents of 276 homes in the neighborhood. State and local officials began studying East Riverton last December after longtime resident Dorothy Waxwood determined that 65 of the 102 homes in a three-block radius had residents who either had died of cancer or were battling the disease.

Richard J. Hickey (Op-ed Page, Jan. 31) challenges whether cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. His major point is temporal ambiguity: Given concomitant events, it is difficult to discern cause from effect. Hence, Mr. Hickey argues, persons predisposed to lung cancer may crave cigarettes (nicotine). One way to discern cause from effect is to order the two events in time, presuming that causes precede effects. Following 19-century Victorianism, men began smoking in record numbers.

Christine Jorgensen, who underwent the world's first sex-change operation in 1952, died yesterday in a hospital here following a two-year battle with cancer. She was 62. Jorgensen was a 26-year-old ex-soldier named George Jorgensen Jr. when she underwent pioneering surgery in Denmark, emerging as glamorous, blond Christine. She parlayed her new status into a comfortable living, achieving financial success as an entertainer and lecturer. Jorgensen died at 3:59 p.m., the hospital said.

Singer Andy Williams told the crowd at his Christmas show Saturday night that he has bladder cancer. "But that is no longer a death sentence. People with cancer are getting through this thing. They're kicking it, and they're winning more and more every year. And I'm going to be one of them. " The 83-year-old Williams appeared early in the show at the Moon River Theatre and vowed to return next year to celebrate his 75th year in show business. Williams' appearance Saturday brought a standing ovation from a nearly full house.

Arthur "Bud" Larson, 83, of Cheltenham, a retired sales engineer and custom framer, died of cancer Tuesday, Sept. 6, at Holy Redeemer Hospice in Meadowbrook. Mr. Larson grew up on farms in Minnesota. During the Korean War, he served in the Navy as a radio operator aboard the aircraft carrier Coral Sea in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. He met his future wife, Josephine Feldi, a Navy WAVE, at a dance in Norfolk, Va., where his ship was being overhauled. They married in 1954.

Edward J. Marcantonio, 90, a Philadelphia lawyer for 40 years, died Nov. 30 of bladder cancer at Rydal Park, a continuing-care facility in Montgomery County. Until retiring in 1990, Mr. Marcantonio tried civil cases as a defense lawyer. He worked for several law firms, most recently Swartz, Campbell & Detweiler, where he spent 25 years. Mr. Marcantonio was the son of immigrants from Chieti and Naples, Italy. He was born and raised in the family home on Jackson Street in South Philadelphia.

Joe Niagara, 76, known as the Rockin' Bird and one of the great Philadelphia disc jockeys from the golden age of rock and roll, died of heart failure yesterday following cancer surgery at Bryn Mawr Hospital. He had been fighting bladder cancer for the last few years. His wife, Evelyn, said he died about 3:30 a.m. Mike Bowe announced the death yesterday afternoon on WPEN-AM (950), Mr. Niagara's last station. "When people mention the great disc jockeys of Philadelphia, they always mention Joe Niagara, Hy Lit and Jerry Blavat," said Clark DeLeon, a former Inquirer columnist who is writing a biography of Lit. "Niagara transcended being a normal disc jockey.

Singer Andy Williams told the crowd at his Christmas show Saturday night that he has bladder cancer. "But that is no longer a death sentence. People with cancer are getting through this thing. They're kicking it, and they're winning more and more every year. And I'm going to be one of them. " The 83-year-old Williams appeared early in the show at the Moon River Theatre and vowed to return next year to celebrate his 75th year in show business. Williams' appearance Saturday brought a standing ovation from a nearly full house.

ACCORDING TO TMZ.com, Justin Bieber has agreed to a cheek swab when he returns to the U.S. to prove that he is not the father of Mariah Yeater 's baby. Or Mariah Carey 's babies. TMZ sources say Justin's attorney, Howard Weitzman , contacted Yeater's attorneys to confirm that Justin will take the test. They've already chosen a lab to administer the test. Justin is so confident he's not the daddy - and he probably hasn't slept with so many women that he'd already be forgetting them - that once he's cleared he plans to sue Yeater to send a message to others who seek to profit off claims of future Bieber babies.

Arthur "Bud" Larson, 83, of Cheltenham, a retired sales engineer and custom framer, died of cancer Tuesday, Sept. 6, at Holy Redeemer Hospice in Meadowbrook. Mr. Larson grew up on farms in Minnesota. During the Korean War, he served in the Navy as a radio operator aboard the aircraft carrier Coral Sea in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. He met his future wife, Josephine Feldi, a Navy WAVE, at a dance in Norfolk, Va., where his ship was being overhauled. They married in 1954.

Readers responded to Stacey Burling's April 4 articles on death and caregiving with compelling stories of their own. Here are some of their emails. Dear Stacey, I am so sorry for your loss, but your articles today (4-4) are the best thing I have ever read concerning end of life management. I lost both of my parents to cancer. As a former nurse, I thought I was pretty prepared to be a caretaker. It was a lot harder than I thought, although it was even harder for other relatives who had no experience to draw on. My father died of bladder cancer in 1997 and my mother of cervical cancer in 2005.

Charles George Parry, 74, formerly of Medford, a retired insurance executive, an avid sailor, and founder of the Rock Hall Yacht Club Sailing School, died of bladder cancer Friday, Dec. 3, at home in Chestertown, Md. Mr. Parry was with Reliance Insurance Co. for 36 years in offices in North Jersey, Detroit, New York, Haddonfield, Radnor, and Philadelphia. He became a chartered property and casualty underwriter in 1975 and retired as Reliance's senior compliance officer in Philadelphia in 2000.

Edward J. Marcantonio, 90, a Philadelphia lawyer for 40 years, died Nov. 30 of bladder cancer at Rydal Park, a continuing-care facility in Montgomery County. Until retiring in 1990, Mr. Marcantonio tried civil cases as a defense lawyer. He worked for several law firms, most recently Swartz, Campbell & Detweiler, where he spent 25 years. Mr. Marcantonio was the son of immigrants from Chieti and Naples, Italy. He was born and raised in the family home on Jackson Street in South Philadelphia.

William C. Patrick 3d, 84, who made germ weapons for the U.S. military from 1951 to 1969, then worked for nearly four decades to build defenses against them, died of bladder cancer Oct. 1 at a nursing home in Frederick, Md., said his wife, Virginia. Mr. Patrick produced tons of deadly agents, such as the microbe anthrax. He received five patents, all granted secretly. His production of these microscopic killers ended in 1969, when the Nixon administration decided that the nation could survive the Cold War without the benefit of Mr. Patrick's black art. He then devoted himself to germ defenses, working for the government and as a private consultant.

Four months after he committed suicide, defensive end Owen Thomas' presence was felt Monday as Penn's football team met with the media at Franklin Field. Senior fullback/tight end Justin Cosgrove and senior quarterback Keiffer Garton held up the late cocaptain's No. 40 jersey where he would have been sitting during the team picture. Thomas would have been seated to the right of Garton, another cocaptain. Then Thomas' jersey was held up in all of the other pictures he would have been in. Senior cocaptain Joseph D'Orazio, a St. Joseph's Prep graduate, clutched his former teammate's jersey while addressing the media.

Al Emma admits he's crazy. But maybe we should all be so crazy. The 69-year-old planned to shower at 4 a.m. today and then begin driving 2,136 miles from his home in West Chester to Montana. He figures 15 hours a day of driving, 70 miles an hour. He hopes to roll into Helena by noon Friday, no problem. His fun is just beginning. At 8 a.m. Saturday, he expects to begin a 100-mile bike ride, a "century," along the Missouri River north of Helena. This will be the 50th state in which Emma will have completed a century - his goal.

Diane Muraglia was 53 and schoolgirlishly giddy with the news that she and Ed Kelly had decided to marry. "I'm getting married. I'm getting married," she'd say to her first cousins, showing off the emerald-cut citrine engagement ring that she and Ed had picked out at a shop in Liberty Place. Diane's elation was short-lived. As she was imagining a happily-ever-after with Ed, her parents learned she had bladder cancer. Her doctors believed they could save her life, but only if she consented to removing her bladder, which would require her to use an ostomy bag, an external bag that collects urine.