A joint meeting of Man to Man (M2M) and Side by Side
(SXS), the prostate cancer (PCa) support and education
groups sponsored by the American Cancer
Society was held September 4, 2003 in the Central
Hudson Electric Company Auditorium-, Rt. 9,
Poughkeepsie, NY. There were 85 in attendance
including 6 new M2M members and 18 SXS. Several
of the new members were given our NEWBIE BOOK.

PLEASE NOTE Poughkeepsie M2M has back
issues of our newsletters & information on PCa.

go to 

www. geocities. com/ charl1ep/ Cancer/
or http:// www. boodrow. com

Guest Speakers at the Sept 4, 2003 Meeting

Dr. Debra Bemis

Dr. Aaron Katz

Columbia Presbyterian Hospital

It was a much welcomed surprise that Dr. Katz
accompanied Dr. Bemis and took the time from his
very busy schedule to discuss his new exciting
work with the supplements described Dr. Bemis is
a molecular biologist and Dr. Katz is a urologist
dedicated to studying alternative techniques that
will be effective in treating PCa. They both work at
Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in NYC. Dr. Bemis
presented a slide lecture that described her latest
laboratory studies in prostate cancer and Dr. Katz
summarized trials that his department is undertaking.

Dr. Bemis covered 3 areas, namely: Cox-2
inhibitors, GCP and herbs from S. America and
Africa. She explained that Cox-2 causes inflammation
in the body and that quelling that inflammation
with a Cox 2 inhibitor seems to lower the
tumor burden by enhancing apoptosis (cell death).
The drugs most commonly used are Celebrex and
Viox. These are mainly used for arthritis but they
will also inhibit Cox-2 in other parts of the body
including the prostate. These do have unwanted
side effects, therefore an herbal combination was

tested as an alternative. The tests involved using
in-vitro techniques (lab dishes) where prostate
cancer cells were placed in dishes then the
herbal extract was added in different amounts
and the cell death was recorded. The herb
named Zyflamend is a mixture of 10 herbs which
are: turmeric, ginger, holy basil, scutellaria
baicalensis, green tea, barberry, oregano, hu
zhang, rosemary, and Chinese goldthread. At a
large dosage level, plots versus time showed significant
cell death. The next step will be with lab
mice and then with humans. Humans are using
this herb now but the results are purely anecdotal
and must be confirmed with a controlled trial.

The next experiment covered GCP (Genestein
Concentrated Polysaccharide). The results here
showed similar cell death when using large doses.

Next, two herbs, Pao from a tree in S. America
(actual name of the tree is Pao pereira the extract
is derived from the bark and Rauwolfia (The full
name of the African shrub is Rauwolfia vomitoria.).
Both of these have been previously studied
by the famous molecular scientist, Dr Beljanski,
and have shown very strong anti-cancer effects
in his work. In the work presented here there
seemed to be inhibition of cancer cells and more
work is in progress.

Dr. Katz then spoke of some of his trials. One
trial uses men with no PCa but high PIN. PIN is
a precursor to PCa. The PIN trial that Dr. Katz
discussed is with Zyflamend. These trials are just
starting to build a patient population.

He also spoke of the trial completed a while back
where GCP was given to men with PCa for 6
weeks before they had surgery. These men had
already elected to have surgery. The prostates,
when removed, were sliced and tested for cell
death. There was a very high cell death rate. It
may even have been higher if the men were
dosed for 12 or 16 weeks prior to surgery. One
man with confirmed PCa. (all men were con-firmed
with biopsy to have PCa) showed zero

cancer in the prostate after surgery.

Dr. Katz had an open Q& A on any PCa subject
and the response from the floor was quite active.
Several questions asked of Dr. Katz were related
to the creditability and quality control of Amino
Up Corporation (AUC), the lab and the company
that both discovered and manufactures GCP and
AHCC. Dr. Katz stated that he is fully satisfied
with AUC and their creditability, the lab techniques
they use and their high standard of quality
control. He is very comfortable in recom-mending
both GCP and AHCC. He does recommend
these herbal supplements to some of his
patients.

We also were fortunate to have a company rep
.from Maypro Industries the company that distributes
GCP& AHCC. Ms. Maccy Franze spoke
briefly about the distriubution and availability of
these two supplements. She supplied us with
written material pertaining to GCP & AHCC.

Check your back issues of our newsletter for reference
information on the Testimonial Trial that
was held with forty men for one year. Most of
these men were recruited from M2M groups
across the nation. The informatoin gathered from
this Testimonial Trial was that GCP & AHCC
helped at least 30% of the men on the trial.

For further information and pricing information
go to <GCPAHCC@ AOL. COM>
or 845-297-7841.

Newcomers & PCa. 101
1) His PSA is 5. His doctor has recommended a
biopsy. He is getting a second opinion.

2) His PSA is 5.9 A biopsy is scheduled for next week.

3) He has been diagnosed with advanced

prostate cancer. He has begun the protocol with
Lupron & Casodex.

4) His age is early 40's. His PSA is 2.9. A biopsy
showed a GG of 3+ 3. RP has been scheduled.

5) He underwent a RP at a local hospital. He
states that his PSA is now "minimal".

Dendreon's phase 3 Trial of Provenge
Chicago, Ill. (June 2, 2003)

The first placebo controlled study of
Provenge, to confirm the product's mechanism
of action is consistent with clinical
response.

Dendreon announced that new data from its
completed phase 3 clinical trial of its investigational
therapeutic vaccine and lead product candidate,
Provenge, confirms that the underlying
mechanism of action, a T-cell immune response,
is consistent with the positive clinical response
seen in patients with advanced, metastatic
prostate cancer. The results were presented by
Eric Small, M. D., the principal investigator of the
study and professor of medicine and urology at
the University of California San Francisco, during
an oral presentation in the Grand Ballroom at the
American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting
in Chicago, Ill.

Dr. Small presented for the first time the immune
response data collected from the double blind,
placebo controlled trial, D9901, in men with
androgen independent prostate cancer. The
results show that Provenge treatment induced a
highly significant T-cell mediated immune
response compared to placebo (p= 0.0003).
Provenge treated patients demonstrating an
eight-fold increase in T-cell proliferation com-pared
to the placebo. In addition, among men
treated with Provenge, those whose tumors were
graded with a Gleason score of 7 or less devel-

oped a median change in T-cell mediated
immune response seven-fold greater than the T-cell
mediated immune response seen in
Provenge-treated men whose tumors were grad-ed
a Gleason score of 8 and higher (p= 0.0065).
These results are consistent with, and support
the biologic rationale of, previously announced
data from the D9901 Phase 3 trial that demonstrated
a significant delay in both time to disease
progression and time to the onset of cancer-related
pain for men with Gleason 7 or less
tumors following treatment with Provenge.

"Provenge has demonstrated immune effects
that parallel the clinical findings that indicate it
may delay disease progression & the development
of disease-related pain in men with androgen
independent prostate cancer," said Dr. Small.
"These data provide compelling biologic support
of the mechanism of action of this vaccine and
reveal why men with a Gleason score of 7 and
below respond better to Provenge therapy."

"We have confirmed that Provenge induces a
very strong immune response and that this
immune response correlates to those who benefit
most from treatment," said David Urdal, Ph. D.,
president and chief scientific officer of Dendreon.
"This correlation is powerful evidence in support
of Provenge and the clinical response noted in
men with Gleason scores of 7 or less, and we
look forward to progressing in our efforts to make
Provenge available to the many prostate cancer
patients who may benefit from this therapy."

Previous Clinical Results
Previously announced results of the D9901 trial
demonstrated significant benefit from Provenge
treatment for men with a Gleason score of 7 or
less. For these patients, there was a more than
two-fold (2.2) delay in time to disease progression
versus those patients who received placebo.
In patients with a Gleason score of 7 or less,
the placebo group had a median time to disease
progression of 9.0 weeks, compared to 16.0
weeks in the Provenge-treated group, with a

highly significant p-value of 0.002 and a treatment
effect of 78 percent. In addition, the
patients receiving Provenge, whose disease had
not progressed six months after randomization,
had a greater than eight-fold advantage in progression-
free survival compared to patients who
received placebo (34.7% of Provenge patients
versus 4% of placebo patients). In contrast, no
apparent benefit from Provenge therapy was
observed among patients with Gleason scores of
8 or higher.

Additionally, patients with a Gleason score of 7
or less receiving treatment with Provenge
remained pain free significantly longer than
those receiving placebo (p= 0.019). For patients
with a Gleason score of 7 or less treated with
Provenge, there was a more than two-fold (2.6)
delay in time to the development of disease-related
pain versus those patients who received placebo.

About Gleason Score
The Gleason score is the most commonly used
prostate cancer scoring system and is considered
one of the most important prognostic indicators
for prostate cancer. The score is based on
tissue findings throughout the prostate that correlate
with the aggressiveness of a tumor. High
Gleason scores are indicative of aggressive cancers
and are not associated with a favorable
prognosis. In the androgen independent patient
population approximately 75 percent of the
patients have a Gleason score of 7 or less.

About Provenge
Provenge is an investigational therapeutic cancer
vaccine designed to stimulate a person's own
immune system against prostate cancer. It is
developed through Dendreon's proprietary
Antigen Delivery Cassette( TM) technology,
which utilizes a recombinant form of an antigen
found in 95 percent of prostate cancers, prostatic
acid phosphatase (PAP).

Dendreon Corporation is a biotechnology company
developing targeted therapies for cancer.

In addition to its therapeutic vaccines in clinical
and pre-clinical development for a variety of cancers,
Dendreon's product pipeline includes monoclonal
antibody and small molecule product
candidates. Dendreon has established important
research and development alliances with industry
leaders Genentech, Inc. and Kirin Brewery
Co., Ltd. For more information about the company
and its programs, visit www. dendreon. com.

Dendreon receives binding agreement from
FDA that pivotal Phase 3 trial (D9902B) will
serve as basis for Provenge( R) approval

Seattle, WA (June 11, 2003) -Dendreon
Corporation (NASDAQ: DNDN) today
announced that the company has received a
Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) from the
U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicating
that its pivotal Phase 3 trial, D9902B, will
serve as the basis for a Biologics License
Application for its lead investigational cancer
vaccine, Provenge( R), for the treatment of
androgen independent prostate cancer.

The SPA is a binding written agreement that pro-vides
for sponsors to receive official FDA evaluation
on pivotal trials that will form the basis of
final approval. Through this process, Dendreon
worked closely with the FDA to ensure that the
trial's design and planned analysis adequately
addresses the clinical, statistical and regulatory
objectives.

"This is a significant achievement and confirms
that the D9902B trial will serve as the basis for
approval of our lead product Provenge," said
Mitchell H. Gold, M. D., chief executive officer of
Dendreon. "We look forward to continuing our
efforts to make Provenge available as soon as
possible to the prostate cancer patients who may
benefit from this therapy."

"A treatment like Provenge offers hope to the
hundreds of thousands of men fighting prostate

cancer," said John Page, president and CEO of
Us Too! International, the world's oldest and
largest prostate cancer advocacy organization.
"There are few, if any, treatment options avail-able
for men with androgen independent
prostate cancer."

"The SPA provision and binding agreement we
now have with the FDA solidifies our regulatory
pathway toward approval of Provenge," added
Elizabeth Smith, Dendreon's vice president of
regulatory affairs.

About D9902B Phase 3 trial

The double blind, placebo controlled Phase 3
trial of Provenge is underway and will enroll
approximately 275 patients at more than 60 medical
centers throughout the United States. The
current protocol for the Phase 3 trial was amend-ed
following analysis of Dendreon's first completed
Phase 3 trial of Provenge, trial D9901. In that
completed trial, patients with a Gleason score of
7 or below were shown to benefit most from
Provenge treatment.

To be eligible for the study, patients must have
metastatic prostate cancer that has progressed
following hormone therapy and have a Gleason
Score of 7 or lower. Patients must also be free
of cancer-related pain. Patients will receive a
total of three immunotherapy treatments over 30
days. Each treatment consists of an apheresis
procedure to collect blood cells, followed two
days later by an infusion of dendritic cells containing
vaccine. Patients who receive placebo
will have the option of receiving the immunotherapy
if their disease progresses during the study.

For information on participating in the Provenge
trial, please call 1-866-4-PROSTATE (1-866-
477-6782). Information on Dendreon's clinical
trials is also available at www. dendreon. com.

Previous Clinical Results

Previously announced results of the D9901 trial
demonstrated significant benefit from Provenge
treatment for men with a GG of 7 or less. For
these patients, there was a more than two-fold
(2.2) delay in time to disease progression versus
those patients who received placebo (p value=
0.002). In addition, the patients receiving
Provenge whose disease had not progressed six
months after randomization had a greater than
eight-fold advantage in progression-free survival
compared to patients who received placebo.

For patients with a Gleason score of 7 or less
treated with Provenge, there was a more than
two-fold (2.6) delay in time to the development of
disease-related pain versus those patients who
received placebo (p value = .019). Provenge
treatment also induced a highly significant T-cell
mediated immune response compared to placebo
(p= 0.0003), with Provenge treated patients
demonstrating an eight-fold increase in T-cell
proliferation compared to placebo. In addition,
among men treated with Provenge, those whose
tumors were graded with a Gleason score of 7 or
less developed a median change in T-cell mediated
immune response seven-fold greater than
the T-cell mediated immune response seen in
Provenge-treated men whose tumors were grad-ed
a Gleason score of 8 and higher (p= 0.0065).

About Provenge

Provenge is an investigational therapeutic cancer
vaccine designed to stimulate a person's own
immune system against prostate cancer. It is
developed through Dendreon's proprietary
Antigen Delivery Cassette( TM) technology,
which utilizes a recombinant form of an antigen
found in 95 percent of prostate cancers, prostatic
acid phosphatase (PAP).

Julie Rathbun
Communications/ Investor Relations
Dendreon Corporation
(206) 829-1500
pr@ dendreon. com

Is Organic Healthier?

This is a report on the first study to show a correlation
between the techniques of growing pro-duce
and phytochemicals. Phytochemicals, as
you no doubt know from reading this newsletter,
are compounds that have antioxidant properties
associated with a reduced risk for cancer, stroke,
heart disease and other illnesses.

It was found that foods grown without pesticides
contain substantially higher concentrations of
antioxidants and other health promoting com-pounds
than crops produced with pesticides -this,
according to a new study from the University
of California at Davis.

Researchers tested corn, strawberries and marionberries
(a type of rasberry) at the same
Oregon farm under three different conditions: 1)
Organic (no synthetic pesticides or fertilizers), 2)
Sustainable (reduced or no synthetic pesticides)
and 3) Conventional conditions.

Sustainable and organically grown corn and marionberries
contained about 57% more phenolics
(the good guys) than the conventionally grown
crops. For strawberries, 19% more phenolics
were found in the sustainable than in the conventional
growing methods (Organic results were
not available for strawberries).

The lead author noted that since lots of the pesticides
and fertilizers are synthesized to protect
the plants from insects and disease they are "not
going to waste the energy to produce them (protective
mechanisms)." On the other hand, organically
and sustainable grown crops, raised with
little or no pesticides, must rely on their own
defenses. Further studies are in the offing.

Bottom line: This study confirms the long-held
suspicion among some nutritionists and agricultural
scientists that heavy use of pesticides and
chemical fertilizers in modern agriculture can disrupt
the ability of crops to synthesize certain phytochemicals.

These findings may make it more attractive to
cultivate homegrown crops, buy produce from a
health conscious local farmer or from a health
food store.

Mike Kulla M2M Poughkeepsie

______________________________

HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL SPEAKS

I decided to take out a trial subscription to the
Harvard Men's Health Watch, a newsletter put
out by Harvard Medical School. As an inducement
to subscribe they sent me a brochure on
detecting and treating prostate cancer.

While the brochure had some good material, it
seemed dated and thus somewhat narrow in its
approach. But who am I to say this? I unreservedly
admit that I am not a physician, but I
have taken a broad brush approach to educate
myself for my own PCa survival.

I was comfortable with their observation that the
degree of PSA elevation indicates how likely cancer
is to exist. Then the paper shifts into the confirmation
of the diagnosis beyond the elevated
PSA and the DRE that reveals a lump. It sug-gests
that a transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS)
is standard procedure to identify suspicious
areas of the prostate that should be biopsied. But
according to Charles Myers, MD, up to half the
patients given radical prostatectomies have cancer
in the lymph nodes that was missed by the
TRUS.

If the biopsy reveals cancer, the men's health letter
recommends a cat scan and an MRI which
"can show whether malignant cells are present in
surrounding tissues, including the lymph nodes.
Yet CT and MRI scans identify lymph node
metastasis a mere 20% of the time, according to
Myers, who offers more current techniques to fulfill
the task of diagnosis.

As to the bone scan, the Harvard paper states
that it can "pinpoint areas of bone that contain

cancer." But if the PSA is less than 20 and the
Gleason is 6 or lower, there is less than a 1%
chance the bone scan will be positive. Bone scan
results are best calibrated to advance cancer. To
the Harvard paper's credit, they say that not
every man will need these tests.

Radical prostatectomy is unequivocally offered
as the gold standard. We know that this highly
contested by prostate specialists, especially on
the west coast. Cryosurgery is discounted as not
been proven. Hormone blockade is briefly and
tangentially mentioned as slowing the cancer
progression in metastatic situations. There is no
consideration given to its application with con-fined
PCa or as an adjunct to a prostatectomy or
radiation. Intermittent hormone therapy is not
mentioned.

All the more reason, we conclude, for us to elect
broad horizons as information gatherers; prestige
has its place but it does not guarantee infallibility.

Mike Kulla-M2M Poughkeepsie

______________________________

Dr. Fred Lee Update

Dr. Fred Lee is known for his doppler color TRUS
guided scan and /or biopsy, if necessary. Fred is
back in Rochester Hills again, in practice with Dr.
Bedaleaman in a professional building attached
to Crittenton Hospital. Phone: 248-650-4699.

_________________________________

Prostate Cancer Test Set Too High

Cherie Berkley, MS
WebMD Medical News
July 23, 2003

A new study suggests lowering the threshold of
a test for prostate cancer --particularly in

younger men --could help catch the disease ear-lier
in more men. The study appears in the July
24 issue of The New England Journal of
Medicine.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein
released by the prostate gland. A PSA screening
test checks for cancer by measuring the amount
of prostate-specific antigen in the blood. The test
is controversial because it is not a sure-fire test
for just cancer. An elevated PSA test level may
indicate prostate cancer or an enlargement or
infection of the prostate. Because other conditions
can cause a high PSA test level, a prostate
biopsy is also needed to confirm that cancer is
present. General guidelines show levels above 4
ng/ ml require a biopsy to check for cancer.

However, at this present PSA threshold level,
many men with prostate cancer may be missed,
the researchers say. A lower PSA Threshold
Could Save Lives. Researchers, say under the
current guidelines, if a PSA test level of greater
than 4.1 was used to determine who underwent
a biopsy, 82% of cancers in younger men and
65% of cancers in older men would be missed.
They recommend lowering the threshold to 2.6
ng/ ml in younger men.

To test their theory, researchers enrolled more
than 6,000 men who were at least 50 years old.
Some men were included who were at high risk
for PCa and at least 40 were included. Men with
prior histories of prostate cancer and biopsies or
those who had a urinary tract infection or prostatitis
were excluded from the study.

The results showed that lowering the PSA
threshold for biopsy to 2.6 ng/ mL in men younger
than 60 would double the cancer-detection rate
from 18% to 36%. Early detection may increase
the chance of catching prostate cancer before it
spreads.

The American Cancer Society recommends
prostate screening if you are a high-risk man
over age 45, if you are African American or have

a family history of prostate cancer. Otherwise,
some suggest that annual screening start at age
50.

Generally, the risks of treating prostate cancer
are weighed against the benefits. Experts say
that prostate cancer often grows slowly without
causing any major problems. However, detecting
it early and treating it could prevent some cancer-
related health problems. The downside is
some of the treatments can cause complications,
such as the inability to control urination (incontinence)
or the inability to have an erection (impotence,
or erectile dysfunction).

SOURCE: The New England Journal of
Medicine, July 24, 2003.

Comments from a reader!
Concerning the item from Australia which
claimed huge benefit from daily
sex or masturbation:

Firstly, let me congratulate anyone who has had
sex once a day since puberty. Quite a guy. Or
even let me congratulate anyone who has had
sex once a day during the last 20 years during
which the prostate tumor has been growing. Or
even guys who have had sex once a day during
the last year. I can usually spot them because
their wives look all worn out and haggard. I
understand that these wives have now formed an
organization: Men who properly flush their
prostates and their crippled wives who love
them.

Your report says that the study was done over 4
years. If you can find this guy who had sex continuously
every day for only 4 years could you
invite him to your meeting? I want to see what he
looks like. If he masturbated every day for 4
years, I think that it's likely that he destroyed his
penis, and you can then invite a urologist to talk

about penile reconstruction.

The other memorable article was about laparoscopic
surgery. This surgeon killed one man in
80. Dr. Catalona has had no deaths with 3500
surgeries, using RRP techniques. If he had killed
men at a rate of one in 80 then he would, by now,
have killed 44 men. That's a minor side effect to
consider. In addition, the article cites an average
operating time of about 3 1/ 2 hours. As I recall
the study, his longest patient was worked on for
about 7 hours. That's probably why he experienced
such a high complication rate.

Dr. Walsh's challenge to this approach is that the
urologist uses both vision and touch to evaluate
the situation and do the surgery. Laparoscopic
surgery takes away the touch . That's a big loss.
For example, the quality of the connection to the
bladder is determined, I'm told, in part by how it
feels to the surgeon when he gently tugs on the
anastemosis. That always struck me as being
reasonable since I check a lot of things by feel as
well. Looking is not the same as touching--at
least that's what I tell my wife when I look at other
women.

Be well my friend,
You should be proud of your chapter and
your newsletter, Warmly,
Jules Riechel Syracuse M2M

_______________________________

Kingston Man to Man now called
Prostate Cancer 101

"Some of you may have heard that the Kingston
Man to Man group has made the decision to separate
from the American Cancer Society. We
suspect there may be questions why this decision
was made. The American Cancer Society
has some very basic guidelines that they ask all
groups who associate with them, and to whom
they offer their support, to follow. Our
Poughkeepsie Man to Man group and M2M

groups in the Eastern Division, have been aware
of and have always comfortably incorporated
these guidelines. In return, they along with many
other M2M groups, have received administrative
and financial support from our local ACS offices.
The Kingston group, however, did not wish to
abide by several of these guidelines and has
made the decision in late July to offer their group,
now named "PCa 101", without the support of the
American Cancer Society."

Jennifer Ringwood, ACS Kingston.

_____________________________

Grape Seed Extract

Grape Seed Extract is a concentration of the
pure oligomeric proanthocyanidins found in
grape seeds and skins. The extraction method
used to obtain Grape Seed Extract also ensures
that it is free from solvent residues. Grape Seed
Extract contains powerful, natural, hypoallergenic
free radical scavengers and bioflavonoid
complexes which are rapidly absorbed and distributed
throughout the body. In vitro, the antioxidant
power of Grape Seed Extract is 50 times
greater than vitamin E and 20 times greater than
vitamin C.

http:// www. lef. org/ prod_ hp/ prod00222. html

Life Extension Weekly Update
August 26 2003

________________________________

WHY MEDS COST SO MUCH

Last month I explained why Canadian drugs are
so cheap. This article sketches out why US drugs
are so expensive.

Prescription drug use is sharply on the rise. New
drugs with hefty price tags are continually being
put on the market. Many Americans are forced
to dig deeper into their pockets to pay the tab or
are denied the therapeutic benefits of the drug
when the cost becomes prohibitive. What fuels

these high costs? Consider that the amount we
spend on drugs has increased by 15% a year for
the past several years, 5 times the rate of inflation,
but were not seeing commensurate
improvement in our health. Americans spend
nearly $5000 per person on primary health care,
far more than any other nation, and our life span
is not the longest compared to other countries;
we rank 25th.

Prescription drugs are the fastest rising part of
health care expenses. Yet for the same medication,
the French pay 55% less than us, the
Italians 58% less and the Canadians 62% less.
As described in a previous article, prices in the
US are secretly negotiated and the outcome is
based largely on the bargaining power of a particular
country or health plan. As a result, prices
in this country vary from very low to very high.
Americans without health insurance are often
charged the most.

Drug companies spend billions on research and
development, but they spend much more on
marketing, not only to doctors but to consumers.
Not to feel sorry for these behemoths who are
raking in big profits. Boston University School of
Public Health says that 11% of drug company's'
revenues go to R & D and significantly more to
marketing.

Little known is that drug manufacturers use expiration
dates for marketing purposes by minimizing
the actual shelf life of their drugs. The FDA
conducted tests on more than 100 prescriptions
and over-the-counter drugs. The results showed
that about 90% of them were safe and effective
far beyond their labeled expiration dates.

A National Institute of Health study in 2002 found
that only 15% of drugs approved by the FDA
between 1989 and 2000 were sited as providing
significant clinical advantage to their users.
Therefore, the majority of R & D spent on devel-oping
drugs end up competing with existing
drugs which have little to do with increasing our
health but much to do with increasing industries'

profits.

Another component of the rising use of drugs is
that many people take several prescriptions just
to treat the side effects of their initial drug treatment.
One would think that people would be get-ting
healthier as they increase their use of meds.
This is not the case though. Instead we are faced
with a growing number of chronic disease epidemics,
diabetes, heart disease, cancer and
obesity to name a few, despite all the new modern
drugs.

What many people don't appreciate is that we
have our own natural defense system, the
immune system. Opting for a nutritious diet and
an active life style is the best way to keep health
care expenses down.

Mike Kulla-M2M Poughkeepsie

___________________________

Joke Du Jour

These electricity outages are really getting on my
nerves. The other night I had a young lady up to
my apartment. We were hugging and kissing
and just about to get to some serious love-making
when the lights flickered and began to dim.
She said "Herm, I think you're losing power."

Herm London-M2M Poughkeepsie

_______________________________

TO ALL RECIPIENTS OF OUR
NEWSLETTER.

If you are experiencing any problems with receiving
the newsletter, possibly your name, address
or zip code are wrong, or if you are receiving
duplicate or triplicate issues, or if you know of
any other members who are experiencing
mailing problems, contact Peter & Teresa Hardin,
phone: 845-897-9667, e-mail: <hardin. pt@ verizon.
net>, or regular ground mail: Peter Hardin,
12 Penn Street, Fishkill, NY 12524

Meetings and speakers for 2003
Oct.------2 Regular meeting
Nov------6 To be announced
Dec------4 To be announced

___________________________________

Attention:
We always meet the first THURS-DAY OF THE MONTH UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED
Next meeting Thurs,
October 2, 2003 at 6pm held at
Central Hudson Auditorium Rt 9
in Poughkeepsie--

SXS Joins us. For Directions 
Call 452-2932 press 3 and then 10 to
reach local receptionist

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Volunteer drivers are always needed by the American Cancer Society to transport patients for treatment.  This is a good cause. As little as an hour a week will make a huge difference in someone's life. Contact Byllye at our local ACS office at 452-2932 press #3 and then #10 mention M2M. Side by Siders are welcome to volunteer.

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