Red Letter Days

I have two causes for celebration today. First, this blog has now had over 50,000 pageviews!

Pageviews today

48

Pageviews yesterday

43

Pageviews last month

1,836

Pageviews all time history

50,000

Of course, those views span more than four years of time, while blogs of most celebrities achieve many times that number per day. But it still sounds like a pretty big number to me, and I am amazed to think that all of you have clicked on that link more than 50,000 times and are still clicking!

Second, Barry and his colleagues have recently learned that they have been awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue to move forward on a project that has been the core of Barry’s research work for the last twenty years, namely, to develop a test to identify individuals who have genetic alterations that place them at higher than average risk for developing complications following radiation treatment for prostate cancer. Such a test would be helpful for men diagnosed with prostate cancer as this will help guide them in reaching a decision on whether to undergo surgical removal of the prostate, radiotherapy, or active surveillance. The purpose of this funding is to move the basic research that Barry and his colleagues have been doing into the clinic so that this test can be used on a routine basis. This represents something new for Barry as he will be working with the Food and Drug Administration to determine what is necessary to gain their approval for use of this genetic predictive test.

For me this news is especially rewarding. It confirms the importance of the work to which Barry has long devoted himself. And as someone who has reaped significant personal benefit from years of NIH-funded research in cancer and pulmonary disease, it is reassuring to know that our country still sees fit to continue to support these endeavors.

Love,

Rebecca