Feb. 14, 2023

Lawrence Davis, a U. S. Airforce veteran, credits prostate cancer treatment at Hampton University, an HBCU, for saving his life after the Veteran's Administration refused to pay for the therapy.

 

By Hazel Trice Edney

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The benefits of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are well known by those who enroll in them, support them or otherwise associate with them.

Among the top five benefits, according to the United Negro College Fund, HBCUs meet the needs of low-income students; they serve first-generation Black students; they narrow the racial wealth gap; they address the nation’s unemployment and underemployment crisis and they foster success with their Black cultural climate.

But, in the opinion of Lawrence Davis, a master mechanic who was diagnosed with prostate cancer nine years ago, an HBCU actually provided for him a service that was equal to or even greater than any one of these benefits. Davis credits Hampton University for literally saving his life after the Veteran’s Administration declined to pay for his chosen cancer treatment – Proton Beam at Hampton University.

“I’ll tell anybody!” Davis declared during an interview. “Hampton University’s Proton Therapy Cancer Institute saved my life. It’s like the best kept secret in the world that we have right here in Virginia. And it is the largest stand-alone and most advanced one in the world – not just in Virginia, but in the world.”

But, that 2014 victory did not come without a fight. The fight was not as much against the cancer per se as it was with a least expected opposition.  Despite the fact that Davis is an honorably discharged veteran of the U. S. Air Force, he recalls how the Veteran’s Administration (VA) refused to cover the cost of the proton beam therapy, thereby putting his life in jeopardy.

“‘We’ll cut it out, we’ll give you radiation, we’ll freeze it, but oh no – proton? – uh uh. We can’t give you that,’” he recounted his perception of the response from the VA.

But, his mind was made up. Therefore, the fight was on.

He reached out to Bill Thomas, associate vice president for Governmental Relations of the Proton Therapy Institute and other Hampton University leadership. They, in turn, started going around back and forth with the Veteran’s Administration, he said.

“Bill Thomas has gone out and handed them everything that we can hand them. And they still turned it down,” said Davis.

They also reached out to members of the U. S. Congress; including Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine; Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Bobby Scott.

“And still the VA said, ‘No we’re not going to do that.’ They wouldn’t even look at it to be able to do it as a clinical trial,” Davis said.

Thomas recalls the frustration that was all too familiar.

During a meeting led by Scott, “I literally asked the VA, “Why are you letting this man die? Why are you not giving him what he needs to live? And they just looked at me and said, ‘It can’t be approved.’”

Turns out, Thomas said, “They were using the wrong set of guidelines…The qualifying agency that made the determination of whether or not you could use proton therapy was using 15-year-old data to turn people down.”

Due to medical confidentiality, the Veteran’s Administration could not specifically comment on Davis’ case. In a response to questions from the Trice Edney News Wire, VA spokesman David Hodge said the VA is currently researching the status of its proton beam therapy coverage and policies pertaining to it. He did not get back to this reporter with details by deadline as he waited for the information.

Meanwhile, the questions and criticism from Davis and Thomas appear even more relevant given the proximity of Hampton University to people who might need the therapy. According to Thomas, the city of Portsmouth has the highest African-American cancer death rate in the entire state. That includes the city of Petersburg, which leads the nation with Black men dying from prostate cancer. Both Portsmouth and Petersburg are less than an hour from Hampton University.

Thomas describes how Black veterans – often with other illnesses such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease - have to travel lengthy distances to other hospitals in the state for treatments that they did not prefer.

“And less than 10 minutes away was Hampton University Proton Therapy. To me that’s an ungodly unbreakable sin. It almost makes me want to cry from time to time,” he said. “I’ve had veterans, for example, a Marine veteran from North Carolina who served in Vietnam; the man broke down and cried. And that’s why you hear me yelling and screaming about this.”

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a federal government agency, "For African American men, the risk of dying from low-grade  prostate cancer is double that of men of other races."

ZEROCANCER.ORG reports, "One in six Black men will develop prostate cancer in his lifetime. Overall, Black men are 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with—and 2.1 times more likely to die from—prostate cancer than white men. Black men are also slightly more likely than white men to be diagnosed with advanced disease."

In a nutshell, the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute (HUPTI) uses proton therapy, which is a "clinically proven advanced radiation technology," according to its website.

On News.Hampton.U.edu, the procedure is described: "Protons safely and precisely target your cancer while effectively promoting less damage to healthy tissue, reduced side effects and improved quality of life during and after treatment."

The website continues, "Through advocacy, education and state-of-the-art precision medicine, HUPTI has been treating breast, lung, prostate, head and neck, ocular, GI, brain and spine and pediatric cancers since" its inception in 2010.

Despite what appears to be puzzling resistance to proton therapy, even the NCI says the proton beam procedure appears to be just as safe and effective as other cancer radiation.

NCI reports that a study led two years ago by Brian Baumann, M.D., of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Pennsylvania, gave no reason for the resistance. According to the NCI report:

“He and his colleagues analyzed data from nearly 1,500 adults with 11 different types of cancer. All participants had received simultaneous chemotherapy plus radiation at the University of Pennsylvania Health System between 2011 and 2016 and had been followed to track side effects and cancer outcomes, including survival. Almost 400 had received proton therapy and the rest received traditional radiation.”

The results:

• “Those who received proton therapy experienced far fewer serious side effects than those who received traditional radiation, the researchers found. Within 90 days of starting treatment, 45 patients (12%) in the proton therapy group and 301 patients (28%) in the traditional radiation group experienced a severe side effect—that is, an effect severe enough to warrant hospitalization.

• “Proton therapy didn’t affect people’s abilities to perform routine activities like housework as much as traditional radiation. Over the course of treatment,  performance status scores were half as likely to decline for patients treated with proton therapy as for those who received traditional radiation.”

• “Proton therapy appeared to work as well as traditional radiation therapy to treat cancer and preserve life. After 3 years, 46% of patients in the proton therapy group and 49% of those in the traditional radiation therapy group were cancer free. Fifty-six percent of people who received proton therapy and 58% of those who received traditional radiation were still alive after 3 years.”

With help from a benefit gala, held by the university, Davis was able to obtain the necessary funds for the therapy. Now, in addition to his regular day job, he now travels around the nation, educating especially Black men about prostate cancer and giving presentations on cancer and proton beam.

“Most men don’t even know what a prostate is,” said Davis, whose father died of prostate cancer. Davis is the father of a 54-year-old son and a 25-year-old grandson, who he also encourages about their health.

Medical experts agree that everyone’s medical condition is unique. Therefore, not all outcomes will be the same.

But, Davis said after the proton beam treatment, he had no sexual dysfunctions.

“It relieves stress and sorrow and somebody’s just playing these games with it,” he said, concluding, “Proton beam from the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute, I believe it has saved my life. I really do. And it has been an enjoyable time for me to continue to live my life. The cancer is gone. And it happened at an HBCU... That boosted my pride.”

Nov. 30, 2022

(TriceEdneyWire.com/GIN) - Every year, on the 1st of December, the world commemorates World AIDS Day. People worldwide unite to show support for those living with HIV and remember those who have passed on from AIDS-related illnesses.

Ten years ago, HIV had infected at least 10 percent of the population in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Some 50,000 infections were reported in the U.S. per year over the same time period.

In response, African AIDS-activists took to the streets and to the halls of the government to demand prevention programs - such as the Use a Condom campaign, free HIV testing and the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation's outreach programs.

The programs have seen a measure of success. AIDS-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa in 2011 were 33 percent less than the number in 2005. New HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa in 2011 showed a 25 percent decrease from 2001.

New HIV infections in the U.S. declined 8% between 2015 and 2019. Higher rates are found for people of color, Latinos and people of mixed ethnicities.

In 1990, to address the early HIV numbers, Abdurrazack “Zackie” Achmat of South Africa stepped up to become one of the iconic AIDS crusaders and the backbone of movements advocating for the rights of gay and lesbian South Africans, as well for millions of underprivileged people living with AIDS.

His activist group - the Treatment Action Campaign - fought for crucial drugs for low-income South Africans while fighting a government which denied the existence of the AIDS epidemic and the pharmaceutical companies that profited off the lack of intervention.

South Africa now runs the world's largest HIV treatment program. Of the 5.4-million people on antiretroviral treatments as of June, roughly 60% are already on dolutegravir - a drug that is freely available, and has raised life expectance from 49 to 60 years old.

Of the many AIDS activists across the continent and in the U.S., these are some of the many activists in each region:

Inviolata Mbwavi: the first CEO of the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV in Kenya. At the time of her death in 2020 she was National Coordinator of the International Community of Women Living with HIV that addressed the needs of women and girls, gay men and transgender people.

Robinah Babirye: an advocate for young people of Uganda living with HIV and passionate about the issues affecting the Girl Child.

Emma Touny Waundjua Tuhepha: the first Namibian woman to state publicly that she was HIV positive. Along with 130 HIV-positive activists, she declared their status in the border town of Rundu, insisting it is AIDS, not the border war with Unita rebels that was the real threat to their survival.

Mizé of Lubango in southern Angola: Helping to transform the lives of women living with HIV. Diagnosed with HIV at an early age, Mizé took her status in stride, culminating in her key role in the formation of PRAZEDOR, a support group whose meetings are attended by 15 to 20 women at a time.

A small selection of U.S. AIDS activists include: California Rep. Barbara Lee, Phil Wilson, Peter Staley, DeeDee Chamblee, Antwan Matthews, and Katrina Haslip.

GLOBAL INFORMATION NETWORK creates and distributes news and feature articles on current affairs in Africa to media outlets, scholars, students and activists in the U.S. and Canada. Our goal is to introduce important new voices on topics relevant to Americans, to increase the perspectives available to readers in North America and to bring into their view information about global issues that are overlooked or under-reported by mainstream media.

Feb. 15, 2021

COVID-19 Vaccines and How We’ll Get There
By Glenn Ellis

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Even though the speed of the COVID -19 vaccination campaign has improved somewhat lately, there are still millions and millions more doses yet to be administered if we are to ever get past COVID-19.

According to the CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only 37.1 million people, out of 328 million in this country, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine; including about 13.1 million people who have been fully vaccinated. The 48.9 million doses administered, nationally to date, represent only 11 percent of the total population. As you can see, we’ve got a long way to go to get to herd immunity.

What is this herd immunity, and why is it important? Well, measles is a good example. Measles is a highly contagious infectious, viral disease for which we have very effective vaccines. If 93-95% of the population is immune to measles, with the available vaccine, then that will protect the entire population. That’s herd immunity.

The COVID-19 vaccines are designed to offer the same public health protection. That’s why folks are so anxious for as many of us to get the vaccine as possible.

Sure, of course you’re going to get individual protection for yourself with a vaccine; but you gotta understand that you are never safe from infection as long as the virus is circulating. Viruses, especially this particular coronavirus, have only two purposes: to survive and to replicate. Nothing else matters. However, there is only one requirement; they must have a host to “conduct” their business. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, we’re the host. All that being said, if they have no host, they don’t live. So now you see why herd immunity is so important to this whole fight to stop COVID.

Vaccines cause the immune system to develop little soldiers (antibodies) that will be on guard, prepared to attack and destroy the COIVD-19 virus if it ever shows its’ ugly face anywhere inside your body. Without the antibodies, the odds of the virus winning the battle of getting inside your body and infecting you are greatly increased. With the vaccine, those odds are diminished; in the case of Pfizer and Moderna, as much as 95%.

Public health experts have estimated that herd immunity would require around 80-90% of the population to have COVID-19 immunity, either through prior infection or vaccination. This means that it’s going to take a combination of those of us who have been already infected with COIVD-19 (having formed antibodies) and those who receive the vaccine. If the two groups make up 80-90% of the population, then the entire population would be protected.

This is because the protection from the antibodies has cut off any opportunity for the virus to find a “host”. No host, no survival or replication for the virus. It truly dies a natural death. There’s no two ways about it, unless, and /or until, the virus tires or “burns" itself out, herd immunity is the only light at the end of the tunnel that’s not a train coming.

Many of us are only stuck on making their decision on getting a vaccine on the confusion around the number of vaccines available. Based on the best estimates from the available data, more than 60 vaccines are still going through a three-stage clinical trial. We already have several currently available, including Pfizer; Moderna; Astra-Zeneca; Johnson & Johnson, among others. The Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines require two shots. After the initial vaccine dose, a second shot is given 3 to 4 weeks later. You need both COVID-19 vaccine doses to reach full immunity; the level of protection increases dramatically (from 52% to 95%) after the second shot. Researchers are also unclear whether the lower level of immunity from just one shot would last long. Bottom line…all vaccines work by exposing the human body to substances that trigger an immune response, creating protection from future infection.

Regardless of which vaccine you get, you won’t get the full protection until two weeks after your second or final dose. That’s about how long it takes your immune system to mount an antibody response to the vaccine.

Oh, a word for those who think getting a vaccination is a ticket to freedom from “COVID-19 jail”. Whether you’re vaccinated or not, your life won’t change right now. To protect the people around you, it is important to continue the same safety precautions such as mask-wearing and avoiding gatherings for a little while longer. While we know that the vaccines are expected to be great at protecting the person who received them from getting COVID-19, we don’t know how good they are at preventing that person from contracting and passing the virus. The vaccine is a really important tool, but it’s just one of a combination of tools needed to control and end the pandemic.

A final note to those 5-20 percent of you who will benefit from herd immunity because the other 80-95% of everyone else gets the vaccination. Obviously, you’re right - you don’t have to get the vaccine to get the protection and benefit of herd immunity; but at least be honest with yourself about the real reason you aren’t getting a vaccine. As always, “Information is the best medicine”…

Remember, I’m not a doctor. I just sound like one!

Take good care of yourself and live the best life possible!

The information included in this column is for educational purposes only. I do not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a replacement form of treatment for physical, mental or medical problems by your doctor either directly or indirectly.  Glenn Ellis, MPH is a Visiting Scholar at The National Bioethics Center at Tuskegee University and a Harvard Medical School Bioethics Fellow. He is author of Which Doctor? and Information is the Best Medicine. Ellis is an active media contributor on Health Equity and Medical Ethics. For more good health information visit: www.glennellis.com

Feb. 1, 2021

Should You Worry About COVID-19 Mutations?
By Glenn Ellis

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The newest mutations of the COIVD-19 showing up in the United States will bring with it, over the next three or four weeks, the most difficult days of the pandemic we have seen so far. Studies in laboratories show that a mutation makes a person’s antibodies less effective at killing the virus. Viral mutations help a virus to disguise parts of its recognizable traits, so the pathogen might have an easier time slipping past immune protection. These mutations can also tell us what we don’t know…what lies ahead, in terms of other mutations and/or future pandemics.

The job for all of us now is to, first and foremost, survive; stay alive; and be as healthy as possible. Our second “job” is to learn and educate ourselves as much as we can; empowering ourselves with better understandings on how to ask the “right” questions; where to go for credible; factual information that you can trust; and to “personalize” the pandemic, by learning exactly what is necessary for you and your family to be safe and protected during this, and future pandemics…rest assured, there will be others. None of the experts can predict when; but they all agree that it’s not if, but when. Among the many options this pandemic is providing for us to “learn”, we are being introduced to a range of new questions, as a result of the introductions of mutant variants.

Mutations in viruses -including COVID-19 - are not new nor were they unexpected. All RNA viruses mutate over time, some more than others. We are all familiar with the how flu viruses change often, which is why you get a new flu vaccine every year. When viruses mutate, generally, they either kill the virus (a type of “virus-suicide”) or they can have no effect whatsoever on the normal behavior of the virus. To date, we are seeing variants (or mutant strains) from the United Kingdom; South Africa; and Brazil all hitting the United States at the same time, while we’re battling furiously against the rage of the initial version of COVID-19. Now, that there technically four different strains of a deadly virus circulating.

Scientists initially felt there was no cause for concern about the vaccines being distributed not being effective against emerging mutations, after hearing of a mutant strain being reported in United Kingdom. South African officials noticed that their mutant strain not only appeared to make the virus more able to spread (or transmit), and more capable of evading the immune system’s response; alarms bells sounded when the antibodies produced in people who had previously recovered from COVID did not completely neutralize a variant. This mutation phenomena became even more concerning when, contrary to all prior global clinical experience with the virus to date, this month researchers reported, for the first time that the mutant strain shows initial indications that it has the ability to evade the vaccine.

News of this has caused mixed reactions from different stakeholders.

You see, when this thing first made its’ appearance, public health experts and scientist knew it would bad, but they felt that at least it would be stable. As it turns out they were only half right; it is bad, but it is anything but stable.

Pfizer and Moderna, have been reluctant to support any changes to their respective vaccination schedules. The drug makers on grounds that the vaccines weren’t tested and so their efficacy is unknown. On the face of it, this position seems sensible; yet under current circumstances, it is dangerously overcautious. Some researchers and scientists think more lives would be saved by providing just one dose of the vaccine as soon as possible, or as others think, maybe we should provide just one dose of the vaccine to all people who face the highest risk of dying from Covid-19, whoever they are, for whatever the reason.

With all of the uncertainty surrounding mutations of COVID-19, the last thing we need to do is to minimize the potential of the vaccines to control this pandemic. We don’t have to worry that the mutation will make the existing vaccines available useless. The vaccines available now have what’s known as a polyclonal response, causing armies of antibodies to attack different parts of the virus. When the virus starts to mutate, causing changes to any of those target sites this increases the potential for the vaccine to be less effective, or not work at all.

There is growing concern among scientists who think the coronavirus could eventually change so much that the vaccines could reach a pint of providing no immunity. The more that people are protected from the virus - either through vaccination or infection – the more evolutionary pressure that puts on the virus to survive by mutating. Even though it would take years to reach that point of evolutionary mutation, could take years, the vaccine makers are confident that can modify their formulas to match a newer variant in only take weeks.

In the spirit of empowering the community with adequate information to make informed decisions, keep in mind that we are not helpless, we could wipe COIVD-19 out, if everyone wore a mask for 4 weeks.

Remember, I’m not a doctor. I just sound like one! Take good care of yourself and live the best life possible!

The information included in this column is for educational purposes only. I do not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a replacement form of treatment for physical, mental or medical problems by your doctor either directly or indirectly. Glenn Ellis, MPH is a Visiting Scholar at The National Bioethics Center at Tuskegee University and a Harvard Medical School Bioethics Fellow. He is author of Which Doctor? and Information is the Best Medicine. Ellis is an active media contributor on Health Equity and Medical Ethics. For more good health information visit: www.glennellis.com