Nike Stratus 6 minutes now past 11 and good morning. Welcome to midday on Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Gary. I can glad you could join us this morning University of Minnesota is joining the front ranks of cancer research in America University announced this morning that it's cancer center has been officially named a National Cancer Institute Research Center as a result. The university will be receiving millions of dollars in additional Federal research money and apparently minnesotans will have better access to cutting-edge experimental treatment programs there only 56 other centers around the nation. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester is the only other site here in the state of Minnesota joining us this hours. Dr. John Kersey the director of the University of Minnesota Cancer Center. He joined us from his office at the Masonic Cancer Research building after you and of course, we invite you to join our conversation this hour. If you have a question or comment about the use new research designation what it means for for you and for the sea. Minnesota or for that matter a question about the latest cancer research. Give us a call or Twin City area number is 227-6002 276 thousand in the Twin City area outside the Twin Cities 1 800 to +422-828-227-6000 or one 802-4228 to a cancer research in the University of Minnesota's new Frontline role that research effort. Our subject is first hour of our mid-day program my doctor graduations. This sounds like quite a big deal is it it is and we're really excited about it because we worked for a number of years painting this that designation and now it's here and we have it and we have some additional funds so we can do or think so we're pretty excited. This has been as I understand it quite a long time in coming to University first try to get this designation way back in the 1970s. All right. We we we really didn't make up a major effort though until until this past couple of years. And and in fact this past year has been extraordinary in terms of what we've been able to accomplish a work. We're really really pleased about this what changed after you that moved you up into the front ranks as an organizational change that you made the did you bring in some more top talent to look what happened. I think both of those we we we we organize ourselves in the in new ways bringing together people from different disciplines everybody from Camas to clinicians and figure it out new ways to get people to work together and Annette was immensely immensely helpful because as you might imagine cancer research is extraordinary complex and and the more you have people from different. Disciplines of the better so that was important and then secondly the the bringing in of additional Talent we recruited some really outstanding people from other parts of the country have been immensely helpful. Obviously. This is a major opportunity for the University of Minnesota. Will this affect the average Minnesotan as well. Well, if it doesn't we will be sadly disappointed because the goal of all this really is to to help people of the state of Minnesota to prevent if possible, but if not prevent to treat cancer more effectively we still have a long ways to go in terms of educating a everyone about the risks of cancer and death and what we can do in terms of better treatments and and making better treatments available. Will your folks be be focusing on any specific areas of research or kind of cancer across the board will develop new areas to give you one specific example. We we have a long-standing interest and some new faculty actually in the in the tobacco area tobacco and cancer in and we we we feel that that's an extremely important part of what we're doing both in terms of prevention and helping to work in terms of reducing teen smoking other prevent prevention activities as well as treating people who have tobacco related cancers in addition will be working in leukemias and and and breast cancer and colon cancer number number Brothers. I have to ask you are going to get any of that big tobacco settlement money. And do the best that we can in terms of seeing that that the whatever money might be available would go for health related activities throughout the state throughout all all throughout the state where I think the need is is there she is joined us this morning. He is the director of the University of Minnesota Cancer Center and the center has now been officially designated a National Cancer Institute research facility, which means a lots more Federal money. And as you heard the doctor Kersey point out that apparently lots of benefits for the entire state of Minnesota great opportunity to learn a little bit more about this development and general update today on Research into cancer. If you'd like to join our conversation, give us a call to 276 thousand years are Twin City area number to 276 thousand. If you're calling from outside the Twin Cities, you can reach us toll-free. That number is one eight hundred two for two. 2828 to 276 thousand or one 800-242-2828 Spencer go ahead. Please was interested because I know a doctor Arnold Leonard over there who is a cancer researcher and surgeon and so forth. He's been alone voice in the wilderness and has had terrific difficulty in raising funds over the years for that program. I'm wondering how your designation will affect programs such as his over there at the University. Well, that's a good a good question. We we would like to help all of the faculty be more successful in obtaining funds. You probably know that that most of the money for research these days comes from the National Cancer Institute and and yet despite the fact that there is a really Working budget only about one Grand in for is fun to three out of four are not found it. So it's very competitive. Our goal is to help people on The Faculty who are cancer center members and other University faculty be more competitive so that their grants are more likely to be to be funded not to get too bogged down in the grant making process but isn't fair political as well or or do the people who go out the money look at these applications. So pretty pretty honestly in the sense of pure science. That's a good question. Actually. The review process is really quite Fair. It's a it's a peer-reviewed process people from all around the country participate in this a review process. And and and I think the money is is quite equitably divided actually around the country based on based on Merit and that's not to say that it doesn't help to VA AA NCI designated Cancer Center because it does and if that helps to be involved in that whole process I'm curious about whether any of the focus in this study will be on environment possible environmental causes of cancer. Well, I think there's no question that we know very clearly what the number one environmental problem and cancer is and that's tobacco. Tobacco is responsible for a 30% at least of all Cancers and if we can deal with that that will be a major major accomplishment and beyond that there is quite a bit of a bunch of our Cancer Center members and their research projects in terms of looking at a whole variety of environmental agents everything from chemicals in water tube to studies of electromagnetic power lines, etc. Etc. So yes, there is there is a lot of activity this kind of research is difficult to do because you have to study a large number of people for a route to be long. Of time, but it's extremely important. Tough to generalize up I suppose but in general is cancer a genetic base or environmentally bass cab almost certainly that most cancers are actually some of both that genetic aspects are extremely important and we now know over a hundred different genes in the body that are and become abnormal and can predispose to the cancer. So the genetic component is very important and and we also know that the environmental aspect is is also important so it's not as simple either or I think it's clearly clearly both in the shower with dr. John corsi director of the University of Minnesota's Cancer Center. The center has now been officially designated to buy the National Cancer Institute as an official Research Center that will bring more money and more talent to the university and a great opportunity to learn a bit more about what's half Sing at the you and also to catch up on cancer research in general. If you'd like to join our conversation this morning. Give us a call Twin City area number is 227-6002 276 thousand. I'll try the Twin Cities 1 800 to +422-828-227-6004 1 800-242-2828 back to the issue of just how this is going to affect the university. Dr. It was not so long ago when really the mail and the university were I think I'm going night and Nationwide as really preeminent Medical Center's University's reputation seems to have slipped a little bit over the years. Is this going to restore the last year at the you? Well, we certainly hope that that this designation and this grant will will be important in terms of Ice being recognized for outstanding research outstanding education and inpatient care and and hope that this this this is this is helpful clearly our goal in all of this is to really provide the best that we can nationally in terms of of cancer research education and and patient care. There are people who argue that even though it was what 27 years ago and Richard Nixon Nixon officially declared the war on cancer. Now, they are getting really not all that much has changed in the last 27 years that you still have essentially the same treatments as you had back then is that true long long ways to go but but I can tell you in the area that I know best which is in Childhood Cancer in those 20 some years we've gone from from 10% of Children being cured with cancer to now over 70% being cured. So it's hard to say that there is not been in progress. I think there's been really significant progress now is 70% enough. We need 100% And we still need lots of progress in the number of the other answers. I think that the basic problem is a cancer is not one disease but many diseases and that the causes are complicated and we're just now really at the threshold of beginning to understand those various causes and I think the next 20 years just going to see a real explosion of information. I've already beginning to see that in the in the new stories that come out on cancer more and more of them and they're more and more important. Are we on the verge of a cure for cancer, but I think my own approach to that is not to think of a single care Gary. I think what we know now. How is the cancer is a hundred or more different diseases and each one is going to have its own unique causation, and probably it's on it's on treatment. So it won't be a single Carol be a whole variety of different yours and even better. It'll be a whole variety of different prevention's lots of callers on the line with questions for dr. John corsi director, the University of Minnesota Cancer Center. If you'd like to join them, give us a call to 276 thousand in the Twin City area to 276 thousand outside the Twin Cities one 800-242-2828. Will your question, please thank you for mentioning chemist. I was born in a one-room Log Cabin by 1 minute for the only one to get a doctorate in chemistry from that nice little Community Indiana University. And then I worked on her doctor good at the Water Club Heart Hospital and my doctor offices. That was the first one to lighten black and white the molecular genetic variability and the light and heavy kinds of viruses bacteria and some cancers and I have the Good Fortune of going over to Finland and I have every now and then spoken with a MD doctor and he'll think he who has been eradicated completely killing horses of cancer Maya taking the cancer cells for mowers mixing them with some argument or whatever and really injecting this material and Loan. Sometimes a huge cancerous growth in a horse to researchers are beginning to look at this here in America. He's been doing this for over 10 years, but the problem with a lot of these people who are way ahead of time their letter secret because they are looked upon as being somewhat full and it's a tragedy some people are way ahead of others and we don't want to believe their research that is really at the Forefront cutting-edge. So my question is this and I do have another question will the University of Minnesota be looking at possible. Give me the logical ways of trying to control orc hear some cancers girls and poo. I have a PSA of 4. But I have a very small free PSA of 0.1 and my doctor and I've also tells me that it's great that you're for under but it can be worrisome. If you have a free picture of such low value. Well, I'm sorry you're losing you're losing the audience here. I don't think dr. Kersey is out here to it to diagnose your specific problems. But let's see. First of all of these in a logical approach has a Dr. Curseen my training under Decker rabbit good when he was here, so we have something in common and an interesting ly at the immune therapy of cancer is one of the areas We have a major major interest in dr. Jeff Miller here. Dr. Phil mcclave. Dr. Norma Ramsey number of people here. Bruce Blazer have been working on immunologic therapies for cancer week. We think that's going to be a very important part of of the successful therapy of cancer. It's not going to be simple because the immune system is extraordinary complex and Envy in finding ways to cure cancer with with immune based therapies is not going to be easy. I guess. The other point that I would make is that it's very important than animals be done at the studies be done in animals like horses and mice and so on but one has to be very cautious that because you cure a Cancer and a mouse or a horse doesn't mean they're necessarily it's going to work in Inhumans. We hope that it does but you can't necessarily be sure. What about the other part of Will Smith observation that it is it true that Oh, I don't know the research establishment is sometimes too slow in in taking a look at some of the the more unusual approaches to dealing with Gary one could say that that's that's the case. Although these days. There's so much interest in cancer and so much interested in treatments that are potentially going to be better than what we have that I don't think anyone on purpose avoids looking at new treatments. It does evaluate a nutrient is extraordinary complex and involves multiple years and often attends and even hundreds of millions of dollars to evaluate whether a new treatment really works by being designated as a National Cancer Institute Research Center. Does that mean that the minnesotans will more likely be involved in Trials of one sort or another? Also Gary, I think one of the things that it in a way is a sad commentary on American society. Is that really only about one to two percent of Americans who have cancer are on a clinical trial and and clearly we could make more progress in terms of understanding how better to defeat cancer. If a higher percentage of patients work. We're on clinical trials in East clinical trials can be conducted in a place like the University or they can be conducted in Community Hospitals by by well-trained oncologist. So what are the goals actually of our cancer center and this designation and the NCI is to get more people involved in clinical trials Cindy your question, please I wanted to know about exciting new therapies and he answered that with the immunological information. So I have my second question. How does a common person access things? Clinical trials and how will a common person benefit from the new studies at the University of Minnesota and I'm talking like brass tacks Common Sense information on how to do this. I've been fighting breast cancer for a year and actually was a part of one clinical trial but it comes up in my support group. How do we find out about these things a good question on how do you find out about these things? Well, they're there are several ways one is that increasingly there more and more information on the on the web on the internet and one can access the the website at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center or the American Cancer Society or the National Cancer Institute. And so that is a is quite readily available. The second thing one can do is to directly call the University of Minnesota Cancer Center and to talk to someone Or talk to one of the Physicians who are involved in in in cancer research and treatment and the third thing they want to do is just to talk to your local physician your your own physician and say you're potentially interested in in either experimental therapy or being on a clinical trial and do you have this available? And and how can I make myself accessible to the clinical trial and asking questions in general is the best way to approach this in general. Do you think the most doctors are are well-informed and up-to-date on in terms of what trials are available What treatments are available or do they do patients really have to do a fair amount of research themselves that if one wants to be a a patient that is it is the best advocate for his or herself. It always is a good idea to ask a lot of questions ask a lot of questions. Doctor asked a lot of questions of people who are knowledgeable because medicine is complex cancer is complex and and nobody knows all the answers. We have many more questions than we do answers and and and it's a good idea to keep asking questions particularly and Cancers where where for example this the woman that we just spoke to I was concerned about breast cancer while breast cancer is a unfortunate disease that in many cases still is not curable and a we need to be testing new treatments to try to make breast cancer more curable. What do we know about those two new drug user with the two drugs that they been experimenting with on breast cancer. They seem to indicate that they would reduce the incidence quite a bit and I guess yes, that's it. That's a very interesting approach by the use of tamoxifen. For example, he is a drug that the that looks very encouraged. In terms of prevention and at the same time having said that it is still a lot more research that needs to be done with tamoxifen and related compounds that exciting era. We're actually we're going to be increasingly using using chemicals and drugs to actually prevent rather than treat cancer before we take a break here one more question along these lines when people see stories in the newspapers about the drug breakthroughs. What should they were treatment breakthroughs? What should they make of those story? Should they believe what they read should they take that to their doctor and see what do you make of this or just dismiss it as nonsense thing is that if there is a an article that it looks interesting or report. It looks interesting cut it out and bring it to your doctor and say what about this? Is this what? Is this mostly hype or is this is there a lot of Hope in here or as often happens? Is this something that that is at the stage where it's very exciting and in animal studies but not yet even available for human studies and then off on your doctor or we at the Cancer Center and can help with that doctor. John Kersey is our guest the sour he is the director of the University of Minnesota's cancer center. And in case you missed the announcement that the university announced this morning that the National Cancer Institute has now officially named the university as an official Research Center bringing limit lots of extra Federal money and top scientists and the rest great opportunity to find out more about what this means to the average person here in the state of Minnesota and catch up on cancer research and general. Give us a call if you'd like to join our conversation to 276 thousand. 276 thousand outside the Twin Cities one 800-242-2828 and we'll get this more callers in just a moment. Minnesota Public Radio takes you there to a cool deep lake in northern Minnesota. I'm only the Third Kind of mysterious because it hard to catch that entry music that in chance. Talk the challenges Minnesota Public Radio takes you there. Become a member call one 800-227-2811. Programming on Minnesota Public Radio is supported by standard heating and air conditioning the Twin Cities Home Comfort Experts for 68 years featuring York Heating and Cooling products invitation to join us over the noon hour today if all goes as planned if the satellite Gods cooperate or going off to the National Press Club today at noon or Alive broadcast, Julian Bond a long time. So right activist new chairman of the n-double-acp is speaking at the Press Club to snow in about the is a hopes and aspirations for that organization and will be broadcasting that speech why the weather forecast for the state of Minnesota calls for a partly cloudy Sky across the state there is a chance for thin some thunderstorms with highs today mid-70s in the Northeast to the mid-80s in the Southwest. Hot off the press we have the new Twin City forecast and it calls for a partly cloudy sky this afternoon 30% chance for a thunderstorm and a high temperature near 80 by the way good chance for thunderstorms all across the state tonight and probably some more thunderstorms tomorrow as well at least in northern Minnesota right now in the Twin Cities partly cloudy and it's 72 degrees back to the phones now. Dr. John corsi is with us. He is the director of the University of Minnesota Cancer Center joined us to talk this morning about the National Cancer Institute special designation of the University as one of the institute's research centers, one of only 57 all together Across the Nation Mayo Clinic in Rochester being the only other such site in the state of Minnesota Carol your question, please I'm Carol Johnson with the women's Cancer Resource Center. And at the time we invited you to be a speaker at our conference looking at environmental links to cancer one of the shining stars of your coming to the University was that you were going to look at prevention of cancer. I have had experience with breast cancer knowing that only 5 to 10% of the breast cancer cases are caused by genes passed from mother to child I'd liked and I know that damn to 20% is other risk factors. So there's an unknown factor of 70% and I'd like to know how much research with the new grants will be done to look at. Prevention of Cancer all you cited cigarettes as an example of environmental links to cancer and that has received a lot of attention a lot of money how much of this money that you'll be receiving will go to prevention research in the long-run prevention. Is it where we should be putting at the tremendous amount of our our energy because cancer is difficult to treat and if we can prevent it it certainly is going to be a lot better and end. So a lot of our energy is going in the prevention and and specifically I going into prevention of breast cancer lung cancer prostate cancer and colon cancer. And the reason for it for those particular cancer is being Focus of prevention is that those are the kind of cancers that we think take a number of years to develop and actually undergo a number of different changes sort of subtle changes one after another so it's a multiple step process of developing those cancer over number of years and knowing that one can probably do something significant in terms of prevention. So there's there's lots of our our recruitment of new faculty has gone into prevention and in conjunction with with dr. Les Robinson, and dr. Steven Hecht and dr. Gene Forrester and many of our people who are cancer epidemiologist. I we're putting a major major emphasis on eye cancer prevention is inevitable doctor that has the population ages even with all the advances in cancer. Treatment Center as cancer research is it inevitable that the cancer incidence of cancer will actually increased because people are just older. In fact that that seems to be true that we are we're still seeing because people are aging but people are living longer not dying from heart disease that that there to the cancer incidence is going up in older people. We've always known the cancer is related to aging and every decade that you'll live. You have a greater chance of developing cancer. So I yes we are we're going to see more and more of this in people as we get into the 60s and 70s and 80s and 90s and hundreds an age. Where is this going to be more cancer that we're going to have to deal with? Bernie your question place I'd like to know if if it's been any correlation between the household here my friend Childhood Cancer and I don't feel pregnant women, I'm sorry household what and around the the the country and around the world. We have one of the world's experts here in the cancer center, dr. Les Robinson and and I think this conclusion which is similar to that of most people around the world in that is it probably there's little if any evidence that EMF is important in in in Childhood Cancer. What is still under study for talking to shower with Dr. John curci director of the University of Minnesota Cancer Center now an official National Cancer Institute Research Center if you'd like to join our conversation yet. Call 227-6023 area number 2276 thousand out side the Twin Cities 1 800 to +422-828-227-6000 or one 802-422-2828 Suzanne. You're up next to head place. Focus on prevention is one important area and I want to be sure that you're aware of the work that Elizabeth you let that's g u i l l e t t c h and has done. She's a research scientist at the University of Arizona and a professor and cultural medical anthropology at the University of Florida. And I heard her speak at the turning the tide sponsored by the Women's Resource Center here in Minneapolis. I felt she gave very compelling evidence of the impact of herbicides and pesticides both on cancer and reproductive organs problems out of wildlife in the Everglades of Florida. And then she found a group of Native American people in Mexico who she studied for a. Of time and found it. They lived a very simple life. I think it was slash-and-burn Agriculture and the Mexican Government wanted to help them to improve, you know, the production of food and soda. Introduced pesticides and herbicides and other you know, tractors things like that and some percentage of those people moved away and didn't want to do that that percentage had a very low can't read or perhaps it was nuts. But those who stayed where the Mexican Government that helped them in the valley developed quite a high rate of cancer. And so since I'm at myself in a high-risk group, my mother and grandmother had breast cancer. I just feel that there are many ways that we can follow to help us and prevent cancer. And are you aware of her research Suzanne? I'm not specifically aware of her research, but certainly am aware of the whole general area. There is lots of Interest around the country in terms of herbicides and pesticides and lot of concern doctor ripped in some Gary at here at the at the University and in the department of health is as a major interest in this within the state of Minnesota. Other investigators here do as well. So I think it's an ongoing concern and ongoing problem. I still think we need to learn a lot more about herbicides and pesticides but I think we should be we should be concerned nice. I entirely agree doctor. How is it that the researchers decide like at the EpiCentre there? How do you decide what it is that you're going to focus on to the exclusion of something else? What how do you set your priorities are always trying to do is to get real answers to questions. In other words to be able to definitively answer something one way or another and and that's not as easy as one might imagine trying to figure out whether electromagnetic fields are important or not important. So what the investigators the scientists I do this is basically trying to develop methods that will result in answers that are clear-cut and in a lot of the decisions as to what's going to be done is based on on questions that the answers to the which can be found. Give us an inside if you can until the end of the process itself. I suppose most of the work that gets done kind of bills. Everybody bills on somebody else's work. How often does it occur? When how to often does it happen when somebody comes up with a what appears to be kind of a harebrained idea goes off and and makes a significant Discovery question. It is not unusual for that that to happen for someone to be in working on something and and something new comes up to it was completely unexpected or was felt to have a low risk of a low chance of being successful. And in fact some of the new the new treatments that are available for example tax all the drug. That's now pretty widely used which got comes from a yew tree was one that it was suspected to be a value by some of the indigenous be But that wasn't tested for a long time and there was about to be low chance of being useful and now it's turned out to be a very important drug and even went with in the laboratory. She hear things happen every day that are unexpected and experiments turn out in with unexpected results and hopefully if we have a prepared mind, we're ready for them and and move on into that new the new directions so that in a way it's kind of fun because there are lots of surprises on your next place. How do you do you speak up just a little bit, please? I'm concerned about the Gerson diet which has cured cancer. I personally have helped someone to be cured of having that person not to eat anything from an animal with a milk cheese meat and only concentrate on fruits and vegetables that person had to tumors shrink and then it disappeared. That's the exact birth. Which diet Germany. Doctor, you know anything about that. I don't know anything about that particular diet, but let me say something about fruits and fruits and vegetables and cancer there there actually is is evidence that that you can reduce the chance of getting certain kinds of cancer particular colon cancer, but but possibly also other cancers like breast cancer by by eating a diet that's that's rich and fruits and vegetables. It's a it's a very very interesting a process but fruits and vegetables do probably contain some important chemicals that actually are helpful in preventing a eye cancer. There are chemicals in in broccoli there chemicals in Watercress and another vegetables that that investigators here at at our institution. Dr. Wattenberg doctor. I hacked and others have shown to be important in reducing the chance of cancer. So Despite what the President Bush said eat your broccoli, but that gets us back to to a question. We were talking about earlier and that is trying to sort through some of the information that you get through the news media about about things like nutrition and diet and so on so forth. It seems like you have a story one day saying broccoli is great for you and it'll do this that the other thing and then you know, six months down the road sure is a devil. Somebody will say while it's there be another story which is why I don't know we were wrong about that after all again. How do you how do you weigh that's information. They just suppose that the first response is use common sense not to not to eat the broccoli to the exclusion of anything else or water grass to the exclusion of everything else use good common sense and and and try to follow what the what the literature Sing but but I think the fruit and vegetable story is pretty convincing and and in fact that some of the researchers are now going one step further and actually extracting the chemical from those fruits and vegetables that can be used as chemicals for saying I have to ask you what we've been talking about possible new advances and emphasis on prevention in the rest of the meanwhile are there any is there any progress being made on dealing with the side effects of existing treatments of the chemotherapy and radiation which is often. So yes, there is there is there is some some progress and being made using various approaches to try to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy it is it is difficult to do however because Radiation therapy and chemotherapy which Beyond surgery already the major treatments that we have a do have a tendency to affect normal cells as well as cancer cells. Dorothy your question, please About the effects on and causes of cancer by all the synthetics in our environment and what we ingest because you know, they full the senses and the endocrine system into there's I have you identified all the endocrine destructors that confused are normal natural function. We aren't really designed to be constituted to deal with all these sort of alien substances in food additives and insecticides and herbicides. We don't know but there's so many factors. I don't see how you can narrow it down. I mean nature itself is still a mystery and in large part, but I sometimes wonder about the adrenalin exhaustion in and in the other endocrine upsets is causative factors. exhausted dopamine exhausted other We've been such a pleasure speaking hysteria state for so long things to me. There might be some things that haven't been explored for say Dexter is certainly is plenty of evidence that the endocrine system is important in in producing and treating and preventing cancer. This is particularly true of of example breast cancer and prostate cancer the number for the cancer. So yes, the endocrine system is is it is very important. I think they are still alive. Still a lot of uncertainties about about about diet but one of the things that that is interesting is that that one of the cancers that was the most common cancer a 30 years ago was stomach cancer stomach cancer as his almost disappeared and and they're the senses that this has to do with something that has improved in our diet. So we're not all are dietary things are not going the wrong way if some things are going the right way and and that's a good example of the most popular notion. Is it probably relates to the fact that we re refrigerate our food's better. And so we don't get any many broken down chemicals or bacteria as we used to in our diet. I bet that this is an interesting area if we as a nation spent a whole lot more money on cancer research would we make significantly more progress? I think we would I think we would make more progress mostly because as I said earlier in the program Gary that we we still don't know very much about a cancer. We don't know very much about all the cellular and molecular processes that are important in in cancer. And that's why the University of Minnesota Cancer Center and the and the initiative of the university to expand the molecular and cellular biology is very important. We're going to we're going to need to understand body mechanisms better before we're going to be able to prevent cancer and treat cancer more effectively and that's going to require time and money how much how much more I don't know time-wise. I think we were we're probably 20-30 years maybe away from from being where we want to be. I think the proposals in the Congress to increase support for cancer at other research are good idea because there's so much more that needs to be done in could be done is the government doing its part here. Is it the flexible enough to give you fellows men and women late the opportunity to to do your research to get the experiments underway or do you have to go through too much red tape? Well, I think it's not so much the red tape as it is the fact that that three-quarters of the proposal for funding for research. I still turn down because there isn't sufficient money to do them. I think I think additional resources will be helpful in terms of of this to the research is important. Also the education is important. I think if education of everyone related to the risk of cancer things such as importance of mammography the importance Outside a regular examinations including prostate examinations Examination for colon cancer in people above the age of 50. All of these things are extremely important educational activities which shirt a complementary to the research changing a field of Medical Care Health Care how to say managed care approach and so on. Is that going to help or was it does that have any impact on minnesotans ability to access what you folks are doing initiative text David rothenberger in his colleagues here at the Cancer Center are working throughout the community in terms of developing with Managed Care a plan to reduce the chances and death from colon cancer. How we know that going cancer is largely preventable with with proper a regular? Examinations with proper diet and so on. So a lot of this becomes a matter of Education of of patients and and education of Physicians and education of managed care and everyone working together. So this Minnesota colorectal cancer initiative is an important step in that direction. Thanks so much for joining us and a congratulations. Once again, thank you very much. Appreciate it. You're John Kersey who is the director of the University of Minnesota's Cancer Center. If you missed the announcement, the National Cancer Institute has officially designated the university as an official lie and i c e n c i a research center and among other things. So good deal more money will be going to the university for cancer research. Like to thank all of you who've been with us this hour, especially those of you who called in or tried to call in with your questions and comments will continue with midday in just a moment. I'm Ray Suarez Joanne Jordan and student to the job training program read the letter of thanks to her teachers at graduation machine tooling had he had any idea what it was now I can sit up and thread on the lace even meth can't hold me back. We'll talk about vocational education whether it opens doors or Narrows opportunities on the next Talk of the Nation from NPR news. Documentation begins at 1 here on Minnesota Public Radio over the noon hour. Today. We're going off to the National Press Club, Julian Bond note chairman of the n-double-acp will be speaking at the Press Club today on what he hopes to accomplish in his new position right now. It's time for The Writer's Almanac.