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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2018
SELF-HELP GROUPS
Al-Anon (Astoria) — 7 p.m. Tuesday, Peace Lutheran Church, 565
12th St.; 12 p.m. Wednesday, First United Methodist Church, 1076 Frank-
lin Ave. For information, call 503-325-1087; 7 p.m. Thursday, Crossroads
Community Church, 40618 Old Highway 30, Svensen. For information,
call 503-458-6467.
Al-Anon (Clatskanie) — 8 p.m. Monday, Faith Lutheran Church, 1010
N.E. Fifth St., Clatskanie. For information, call 503-728-3351.
Al-Anon (Nehalem) — 7 p.m. Monday, Riverbend Room, North Coun-
ty Recreation District, 36155 Ninth St. For information, call 503-368-8255.
Al-Anon (Seaside) — 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Seaside Public Library,
1131 Broadway, call 503-810-5196 for information.
Al-Anon (Tillamook) — 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, St. Albans Episcopal
Church, 2102 Sixth St., call 503-842-5094 for information; noon Friday,
5012 Third St., call 503-730-5863 for information.
Al-Anon Family Groups information, Oregon Area Al-Anon website.
oregonal-anon.org
Alateen (Tillamook) — 6:30 p.m. Thursday, 5012 Third St. For infor-
mation, call 503-730-5863.
Alcoholics Anonymous — To find a meeting in Clatsop County, call
971-601-9220, in Tillamook County, call 503-739-4856, or go to aa-ore-
gon.org
Celebrate Recovery — 6 p.m. Thursday, The Table Church, 852
Broadway, Seaside. Faith-based 12-step program designed to help any-
one struggling with hurts, habits and hangups, including drugs and alco-
hol, anger, co-dependence, domestic abuse or sex, food or pornography
addictions. Being religious not required. Free dinner and child care provid-
ed. For information, call D.B. Lewis at 503-741-5977.
Eating Disorders Anonymous — 1:10 to 2:10 p.m. Wednesdays,
River Zen Yoga, 399 31st St. A 12-Step program. For information, call Su-
san Williams at 510-417-5553.
Kick Butts Group Meets (Nicotine Anonymous) — 6:30 to 7:30
p.m. Wednesday, Seaside Public Library, 1131 Broadway.
Men’s Sexual Purity Recovery Group — Tuesday nights. Part of the
Pure Life Alliance (purelifealliance.org) in Portland. For information, call
the confidential voice mail at 503-750-0817 and leave a message.
Narcotics Anonymous — The Northwest Oregon Area of Narcotics
Anonymous (NWONA) holds meetings in Clatsop County. For full sched-
ule details, as well as upcoming special events, call the Helpline at 503-
717-3702, or go to nworegonna.org
Overeaters Anonymous Women’s Meeting — noon to 1 p.m. Thurs-
day, 1218 Avenue A., Seaside.
TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) (Astoria) — 5 p.m. weigh-in, 5:30
p.m. meeting Tuesday, First Lutheran Church, 725 33rd St. For informa-
tion, call Trisha Hayrynen at 503-298-9058.
TOPS (Seaside) — 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. meeting Tuesday, North Coast
Family Fellowship Church, 2245 N. Wahanna Road. All are welcome. For
information, call 509-910-0354.
TOPS (Warrenton) — 9 to 9:45 a.m. weigh-in, 10 a.m. meeting
Wednesday, First Baptist Church, 30 N.E. First St. For information, call
Marilyn Barnard 503-861-2918 or Jeannie Pike 503-861-1404.
Blood test to detect cancers
early gives promising results
By MARILYNN
MARCHIONE
Associated Press
Scientists are reporting
progress on a blood test to
detect many types of cancer at
an early stage, including some
of the most deadly ones that
lack screening tools now.
Many groups are working
on liquid biopsy tests, which
look for DNA and other things
that tumors shed into blood,
to try to find cancer before it
spreads, when chances of cure
are best.
In a study Thursday in the
journal Science, Johns Hop-
kins University scientists
looked to see how well their
experimental test detected
cancer in people already
known to have the disease.
The blood tests found about
70 percent of eight com-
mon types of cancer in the
1,005 patients. The rates var-
ied depending on the type —
lower for breast tumors but
high for ovarian, liver and
pancreatic ones.
In many cases, the test nar-
rowed the possible origin of
the cancer to one or two places,
such as colon or lung, import-
ant for limiting how much fol-
low-up testing a patient might
need. It gave only seven false
alarms when tried on 812 oth-
ers without cancer.
The test is nowhere near
ready for use yet; it needs to
be validated in a larger study
already underway in a general
population, rather than can-
cer patients, to see if it truly
works and helps save lives —
the best measure of a screen-
ing test’s value.
‘We have a long way
to go to demonstrate
its effectiveness as a
screening test.’
Dr. Len Lichtenfeld
deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society
“We’re very, very excited
and see this as a first step,”
said Nickolas Papadopoulos,
one of the Hopkins study lead-
ers. “But we don’t want peo-
ple calling up” and asking for
the test now, because it’s not
available, he said.
Some independent experts
saw great promise.
“It’s such a good first set of
results” that it gives hope this
approach will pan out, said
Dr. Peter Bach, a health pol-
icy expert at Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center who
consults for a gene testing
company. “Anything close
to 50 percent or 40 percent
detection is pretty exciting
stuff,” and this one did better
than that, he said.
Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, dep-
uty chief medical officer of
the American Cancer Society,
was encouraged that the test
did well on cancers that lack
screening tests now. If a blood
test could find 98 percent of
ovarian cancers at an early
stage, as these early results
suggest, “that would be a sig-
nificant advance,” he said.
But he cautioned: “We
have a long way to go to
demonstrate its effectiveness
as a screening test.”
The test detects mutations
in 16 genes tied to cancer and
measures eight proteins that
often are elevated when can-
cer is present.
It covers breast, colon and
lung and five kinds that don’t
have screening tests for peo-
ple at average risk: ovarian,
liver, stomach, pancreatic and
esophageal. Prostate cancer
is not included. A blood test
already is widely used — the
PSA test — but its value for
screening is controversial.
Researchers tried the new
test on people whose cancers
were still confined to where
it started or had spread a little
but not widely throughout the
body. It detected 33 percent
of breast cancers, about 60
percent of colon or lung can-
cers and nearly all of the ovar-
ian and liver ones. It did bet-
ter when tumors were larger or
had spread. It did less well at
the very earliest stage.
The test probably will not
work as well when tested in a
general population rather than
those already known to have
cancer, researchers say. Hop-
kins and Geisinger Health
System in Pennsylvania have
started a study of it in 10,000
Geisinger patients who will be
tracked for at least five years.
The work was financed by
many foundations, the Mayo
Clinic, the National Institutes
of Health and Howard Hughes
Medical Institute, which pro-
vides The Associated Press
with funding for health and
science coverage. Many study
leaders have financial ties to
gene testing companies, and
some get royalties for patents
on cancer detection methods.
Researchers say the test
could cost around $500 based
on current materials and meth-
ods, but the ultimate goal is
to commercialize it, so what
a company would charge is
unknown.
Also this week, Tai-
wan-based CellMax Life gave
results on its liquid biopsy
test, which looks for whole
tumor cells shed into blood, at
an American Society of Clini-
cal Oncology conference.
Researchers tested 620
people getting colonoscopies
or with confirmed colon can-
cer at a hospital in Taiwan.
The company said its test had
an overall accuracy of 84 to
88 percent for detecting can-
cer or precancerous growths
and a false alarm rate around
3 percent.
The company’s chief exec-
utive, Atul Sharan, said U.S.
studies should start this year.
The test is sold now in Tai-
wan for $500, but should cost
around $150 in the U.S., he
said.
Dr. Richard Schilsky, chief
medical officer of the oncol-
ogy society, said results are
encouraging, but the test needs
more study, especially to see if
it gives too many false alarms.
“The last thing you’d
want is a test that tells you
you might have cancer if you
don’t,” he said.
MORE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Clatsop Community Action
Regional Food Bank — Volun-
teers needed to help hand out
fruits and vegetables at the weekly
app solutely
we have you covered
produce pantries for two hours on
Thursdays, from April to October,
in Seaside and Warrenton. Ware-
house attendants are needed for
food packing or processing, pick-
ing orders for agencies, light jan-
itorial and housekeeping, or lawn
and grounds maintenance. Three
to four-hour shifts are available
Monday through Friday. To volun-
teer, call 503-861-3663.
Clatsop Community College
Outreach Literacy — Needs
volunteer literacy tutors to work
with adults, native and non-native
speakers. Training available. For
information, call 503-338-2557.
Clatsop County Public Works
— 1101 Olney Ave. Adopt-A-Road
volunteers needed to remove litter
two times (minimum) per year for
two years. Safety equipment and
supplies provided. Volunteers must
receive safety orientation. For in-
formation, call 503-325-8631.
Clatsop Cruise Hosts —
Looking for volunteers to meet and
greet cruise ship passengers and
crew, provide information and an-
swer questions about the Clatsop
County area. Ships arrive in the
spring and fall, about 20 ships each
year. Work all the ships or part of
them. For information, go to clat-
sopcruisehosts.org
Coast Community Radio —
Volunteers needed for a variety
of opportunities and time com-
mitments including weekday front
desk, music library digital conver-
sion, graphic and sign making,
booths at farmers markets and
special events, landscaping, and
mailing parties. For information,
email janet@coastradio.org or call
503-325-0010.
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EVERYWHERE
YOU ARE!
Columbia Memorial Hospital
— Needs volunteers to provide
assistance to patients, visitors and
hospital staff. Training provided.
For information, go to columbiam-
emorial.org. To schedule an inter-
view, call 503-325-4321.
Columbia River Maritime
Museum — 1792 Marine Drive.
Volunteer opportunities for those
with an interest in maritime history.
For information, call the volunteer
coordinator weekdays at 503-325-
2323.
Columbia Senior Diners
— 1111 Exchange St., Astoria Se-
nior Center. Volunteers needed
weekdays to serve tables and for
kitchen help. To volunteer, call 503-
325-9693.
Community Emergency Re-
sponse Team — CERT volunteers
needed for community events and
disaster response with local police,
fire and emergency medical service
agencies. Training includes fire
safety, first aid, traffic and crowd
control, communications, damage
survey, disaster planning and civic
events within city limits. For infor-
mation, contact CERT coordinator
Kenny Hansen at khansen@as-
toria.or.us or leave a voicemail at
503-325-4411.
Friends of Seaside Library
— 1131 Broadway, Seaside. Vol-
unteers needed to staff the fund-
raising store. For information, call
503-738-6742 or stop by the library.
Haystack Rock Awareness
Program — Needs volunteers
for general office assistance and
to assist lead interpreters on the
beach with signage, ropes and
set up during low tides and talking
to visitors about the rock and the
local flora and fauna. Must pass
a basic background test. Children
are always welcome; must be
supervised by a parent. For in-
Knappa Rural Fire Protec-
tion District — Needs volunteer
firefighters. Training provided. For
information, contact any of the ac-
tive personnel or call Chief Paul
Olheiser at 503-458-6610.
Long-Term Care Ombudsman
— Certified ombudsman volun-
teers advocate for the rights, care
and dignity of the elderly and dis-
abled living in licensed long-term
care facilities. Many residents have
no one to watch out or speak up for
when things go wrong. Volunteer
Ombudsmen talk to the residents,
investigate complaints, and work to
resolve problems. Flexible sched-
ule, four hours a week, mileage re-
imbursement available. Training is
provided. For information, call 800-
522-2602 or go to oregon.gov/ltco
Lunch Buddy Mentoring Pro-
gram — Adults needed to mentor
elementary and middle school stu-
dents once a week during lunch.
For information, call Mary Jackson
at 503-440-0368 or email lunch-
buddies.mp@gmail.com
NorthWest Senior & Disabili-
ty Services — Needs dishwash-
ers and volunteers to serve and
clean up weekdays at a meal site,
and drivers for Meals on Wheels.
For information, contact Candy
Foster at 503-738-9323.
Providence Seaside Hospi-
tal — Needs volunteer drivers for
Community Connections, a free
program that transports people
to services and appointments re-
lated to health and well-being in
the Portland-Metro area. Mileage
reimbursement available. For infor-
mation, call 503-717-7171 or email
Alana.Kujala@providence.org
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formation, contact Lisa Habecker
at 503-436-8064 or habecker@
ci.cannon-beach.or.us
101 Forest Drive, Seaside, Oregon
Call Heather to schedule a
tour today! 503-738-0307
www.suzanneelise.com