• How Baylor researchers (and students) are fighting breast cancer

    Fighting cancer at Baylor

    Seeing a lot of pink lately? That’s probably because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and many organizations take this to mean they should turn their product pink for 31 days. Here at Baylor, however, we prefer a more direct approach.

    Thanks to a $900,000 grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, Baylor researchers Kevin Pinney and Mary Lynn Trawick will soon begin testing a new treatment that targets breast cancer tumors while protecting healthy cells. If successful, it could mean an end to chemotherapy’s side effects (such as hair loss and weakened bones), symptoms caused when healthy cells are affected by the treatment.

    The work by Drs. Pinney and Trawick is just one of many projects at Baylor dedicating to detecting and fighting cancer and its symptoms. (In the last year alone, we’ve profiled this undergrad’s work with a natural cancer-fighter and this professor’s efforts toward screening children for a deadly eye cancer.)

    And while this particular grant comes from a state agency, it’s worth noting that a sizable percentage of cancer research funds nationwide come from foundations and individual gifts. Here at Baylor, a new on-campus group, Bears Against Breast Cancer, has formed to raise awareness and funds specifically for breast cancer research. It recently held its first event, a field day-style relay race called the “Bear Cub Games,” which collected more than $500. The group also has in the works a bake sale and a blanket drive (as patients undergoing chemo often feel constantly chilly).

    Sic ’em, Bears fighting cancer!

    [We learned of part of this story from a Bear who shared his Baylor pride. Do you know of an inspiring story, news item, or just a fun link that makes you proud of Baylor and the Baylor family? Let us know! Click here to submit your point of pride!]