Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 18

C2 KCDAt OCTOBER 16, 2000 NATIONWORLD BREAST CANCER GET REAL GIRLS New action dolls show it's not just a "Barbie world Discovery could improve prediction of recurrence Head to the Web By TbtHssxaattd Press ould it be that perennially fashionable -Barbie is behind the times? Get Real Girl: www.getrealgiri.com SmarteeLwww.smartees.com Get Set Club: www.getsetclub.com Barbie: www.barbie.com If But for some unknown reason about 20 percent of women whose nodes are clear still relapse, Hoekman said. "For this group of patients, we are looking for biological markers," he said. Ferrucci's study builds on information only recently discovered about maspin. Scientists had already found that maspin seems to frustrate tumor growth once breast cancer has established itself, possibly by inhibiting the growth of blood vessels needed to feed the cancer cells. Low levels also have been linked to the development of the disease in the first place.

Recurrences are rarely new cancers but the final appearance of microscopic tumors that existed all along but escaped detection and treatment the first time around. It seems maspin might block the ability of these tiny tumors to develop further and become a problem. Ferrucci's study involved 48 breast cancer patients considered at high risk of developing the disease in their other breast. They had had surgery and aggressive chemotherapy. Bone marrow tests revealed they all had microscopic tumors still lurking.

The maspin effect was particularly strong in women whose cancer was severe, where 20 or more lymph nodes were invaded. Of the 10 women in that category, eight had maspin in their bone marrow and two had none. Two years after diagnosis, none of the eight relapsed, while both the others did. One developed liver cancer, the other lung cancer. "With further evaluation, this has the possibility of becoming a test that could routinely help doctors identify at least some of the women more at risk of relapse so that they can be given more appropriate care and treatment," Ferrucci said.

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) Italian scientists have made a discovery that could help more women survive breast cancer by making it easier to identify who is most likely to suffer a relapse. Relapses occur in more than half of women treated for advanced breast cancer. And doctors often cannot accurately predict in which women the cancer will returrif The disease still recurs in one-fifth of women deemed by current tests to be at low risk. Research presented Sunday by Dr. Pier Francesco Ferrucci, a cancer specialist at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy, was a step toward a more accurate gauge.

His preliminary results suggest that a key to recognizing women whose cancer is most likely to recur might be a protein called maspin, produced by cells in the breast. He found that women who have high levels of maspin in their bone marrow tended to remain disease-free for two years, while thosewith low concentrations were more likely to have a recurrence. Ferrucci presented his findings Sunday at the European Society of Medical Oncology in Hamburg. The research could result in a new test to add to doctors' arsenal when they try to predict relapses, said Dr. Klaus Hoekman, a professor of medical oncology at the Free University Hospital in Amsterdam, who was not connected with the research.

Doctors use a combination of measures to categorize breast cancer patients according to who is most likely to suffer a recurrence. Those women are given the most aggressive therapy available. The current measures, though, are not perfect. The most powerful predictor at the moment is whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. A bevy of new dolls with the ambition of high-tech entrepreneurs and the vigor of gung-ho athletes aim to make 41-year-old Barbie look like a relic.

Their makers want to inspire girls to compete against Ken than, date him. "We want to.teach girls to get off the sidelines and get into the game," said Julz Chavez, chief creative offi- cer of San Francisco- based Get Real Girl, "Wfi think which introduced its line of sports-action dolls ear- tnese Other tier this month. i "Boys have so many new dODineS alternatives when they are choosing from action areVerj figures and dolls. Why Avn4m anil does it seem like there is aim only one kind of doll for vta.as CKEffiSS! a compliment. wav?" Chavez isn't the only It SllOWS that one challenging Barbie's throne, gin power IS A year ago, partners Jennifer Fine and realty Coming Jennifer Hamlin launched Los Angeles-based Wage.

Smartees which sells career-oriented doll char-Mattel acters like Emily the spokeswoman Entrepreneur, Destiny the Doctor and Vicky the Veterinarian. They entered the doll business after Hamlin, a corporate attorney, -went shopping for a birthday gift and couldn't find much beyond Barbie and her array of accessories. "Barbie really hasn't changed in the last 20 years despite how much women's role in society has changed during that time' Fine said. "Barbie is still all about fashion and beauty. When you get right down to it, she is really just a supermodel." Barbie's maker, Mattel disagrees with the notion that Barbie hasn't evolved since Ruth Handler conceived her in 1959.

Although Barbie began as a teen fashion model, Mattel has pushed her into more than 80 different professions, ranging from aero- casting molds made to create the physiques, of different ethnic groups. Get Set also emphasizes its dolls' career goals and activities because "we want to teach girls that they should be valued based on who they are, not on what they look like," said Jennifer Baker, the company's presi- dent and founder. None of the upstarts expect to put a seri: ous dent in Barbie's 80 percent share of the market for fashion dolls and accessories. In 1999, Barbie generated $1.5 billion in worldwide sales for Mattel, which estimates that two Barbie dolls are purchased every second of the day But there are some signs that Barbie may be vulnerable. Sales fell by about 10 percent, in 1999.

Jensen said sales have picked up again this year, but wouldn't provide specific figures. The new doll lines are starting modestly. Smartees, which sell its dolls online and through major retailers like Toys 'R Us, is shooting for $2 million in sales this year. Get Real Girl is manufacturing 210,000 dolls with a listed retail price of $19.99 as it introduces its new line in selected Target stores and at several online toy e-tailers. Ib3 line consists of six different girl athletes who participate in surfing, soccer, scuba diving, backpacking, snowboarding and basketball Get Real Girl also plans dolls based on real woman sports stars.

Track-and-field staf Jackie Joyner-Kersee, chairman of Get Real's advisory council, will be the first ath- lete to get dolled up. The primary force behind Get Real Girl is a pair of toy industry veterans. Chavez, 38, a second cousin of the late farm labor leader Cesar Chavez, formerly worked as a developer at Mattel and Lewis Galoob before becoming creative director for. Sega of America's toy division. Get Real's chairman, Michael Cookson, formerly ra Wham-0 and Wild Planet Toys.

"We really aren't trying to knock off any other 11.5-inch doll out there," said Chavez. "We just think it's time for something different. There is no reason that there can't be a new, alternative aisle of dolls in the toy store." ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Julz Chavez) chief executive officer of San Francisco-based Get Real Girl, poses with two sports-action "Get Real Girts" Oct. 7 In Chicago. A bevy of new dolls with the ambition of high-tech entrepreneurs and the vigor of gung-ho athletes aim to make 41-year-old Barbie look like a relic.

Their makers want to inspire girl to become more interested in competing against Ken than dating him. space to paleontology. This year, Barbie is even running for president. "Barbie has been popular in so many roles," said Mattel spokeswoman Julia Jensen. "We think these other new doll lines are very exciting and view them as a compliment.

It shows that girl power is really coming of age." The new doll lines also tweak Barbie's starlet looks. All the upstarts have tried to configure their H.5 inch dolls the same height as Barbie with bodies less voluptuous than Barbie's famous hourglass figure. Get Real Girl describes the physiques of its six athletic dolls as more "healthy looking" than Barbie. Philadelphia-based Get Set Club, maker of the G-Five doll line, even had Favors to farmers include ri i 7i lpS'W A'Jl If -Hi return of honey subsidies f'tl'l i cm i "WASHINGTON (AF) One of President Clinton's first to cut the size of government was to eliminate subsidies for honey. In one of his last acts in office, he will sign a bill that brings them back.

An agricultural spending bill Al i i a That's how many newspapers have been supplied to our area schools through the limes Courier Journal Gazette's Newspaper in Education (ME) Program. These newspapers are being distributed thanks to the generosity of me following husinP.SSPS find nrcrnn iyntmr i wvi rriAkCV I nj ThnnbVmi! Arkwright I ThpRanlr First Mid-Illinois Bank Trust First National Bank of Lerna First National Bank in Toledo Mooney Ford of Charleston Papa Johns 'Charleston Papa Johns 'Mattoon Pap'R-Products 1 The Pharmacie Shoppe R.R. Donnelley Sons Bennett Gram Co. Carl Sandburg P.T.0. Charleston Carruther'sIGA Casey National Bank Central Illinois Physical Therapy Greenup National Bank House of Wu Hunan Restaurant the agricultural spending bUl.

"We have record, wool prices in the U.S.," said Peter Orwick, executive director of the American Sheep Industry Association. "Most growers are not getting even their cost of shearing their sheep back out of their wool sales." Other farm favors in the spending bill include $20 million for direct payments to cranberry producers and $30 million for government purchases of the surplus fruit. Cranberry prices plunged in the late 1990s because growers sharply expanded production earlier in the decade. Also, $7.2 million is set aside for a Hawaii cooperative that ships sugar to the U.S. mainland for the state's sugar producers.

For emu and ostrich ranchers, a provision inserted by George Nethercutt, requires the Agriculture Department to start paying the cost of inspecting their meat. Growers estimate that would cut the per-pound price of the meat by $1 to $2 and boost sales. Nethercutt is a member of the House agricultural appropriations subcommit-tee. North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan, a Democrat on the Senate's agricultural appropriations subcommittee, won a provision for wheat fanners that will allow them to claim disaster payments for grain they sold at discounted prices -because it was damaged by disease or insects.

Agriculture Department officials expressed -concern about the proposal before it was put into the bill, suggesting the program would be difficult to enforce, and say they still do not know how they will administer it. For avocado producers, California lawmakers inserted a provision that will require foreign avocado producers to help pay for promoting sale of the fruit in the United States. The avocado program would be funded by a mandatory fee on domestic producers and on importers of avocados from Chile, Mexico and elsewhere. In addition to the farm assistance, the $78 billjqn bill also will pay for operations of the Agriculture Department and Food and Drug Administration for the 2001 budget yearthat started Oct 1. Additional provisions will allow food sales to Cuba for the first time in four decades and permit the import of U.S.-made drugs that are sold more cheaply abroad.

Rennels TV Appliance Charleston Federal Savings Loan Illinois Consolidated Telephone Co. Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center me oeuaie is expecieu 10 approve this week includes $20 million in subsidies for beekeepers. It is part of a $3.6 billion package for drought assistance and other needs that the legislation deems emergencies. Clinton has agreed to sign the measure. The bill provides special assistance, both large and small, for a wide range of commodities, from avocados and cranberries to wool, sugar, tobacco, wheat, cotton and milk.

Direct government payments to farmers already were projected to reach a record $23 billion this year, $1.5 billion more than last year, and triple what they were in -1996. "Any sense of fiscal discipline has broken down completely," said Bob Bixby, executive director of the Concord Coalition, a group that advocates fiscal conservatism. "Now the emphasis is on increasing entitlements, giving more money. That can be a very dangerous thing down the road." Congress voted in 1993 to phase out the honey subsidies long the butt of jokes on Capitol Hill and fulfilled a campaign pledge Clinton made at a time when federal budget deficits were running at $300 billion a year. Most of the subsidies went to a few hundred large producers heavily concentrated in the upper Midwest, California and Florida.

rr Now, the government is running a surplus and beekeepers say they need federal help because the expiration of tariffs on imports of Chinese honey is threatening livelihood. "We're the dumping ground for their honey yet we have no place to sell our honey except in the U.S.," said Jay Miller, an Idaho beekeeper. "We were the whipping boys for Bill Clinton," he added. "We Were such a small industry that tfyey can kick our teeth in and we're too small a voice to be heard." Wool subsidies also are back. They were phased out along with the honey program.

But lawmakers provided $10 million for sheep producers in a crop insurance bill that passed earlier this year, and then put an $20 million more in w3 Lnarieston Moose Lodge Citizens National Banking Centers of Charleston Oakland The Checkley Agency Community Banks of Shelby Trailmobile, Inc. Vesuvius USA Walker's Super Saver Foods Charleston Warren Grain Inc. What's Cookin' Jefferson Elementary P.T.O. Charleston KalKan Ken Diepholz Chevrolet, Cadillac Geo Mattoon Chamber of Commerce McCrocklin Realty Countv Windsor Fflfilirv Corn Belt Shrine Club Neff Plumbing Heating Mercer's Pharmacy Because of these donations many area students are able to have one of the most up-to-date learning resources available. ff'.

yh So please accept this heartfelt "Thank You" from the Times Courier Journal Qazette and from the thousands of students who benefit from your commitment to education. Iyour busiriess or organization would like to become a sponsor of 'the Times CourierJournal Qazette's Newspaper in Education Program, to- varJW contact lony Moreno at 345'7085 IT.