Bravo’s Andy Cohen gives a shoutout to his pal, “Real Housewives of New York” star, Jill Zarin, who’s spearheading Noshes for Nurses. “She’s feeding our hospital heroes with great nosh!” says Cohen, who recovered from his own bout with COVID-19 last week.
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Cohen featured a photo of the nurses at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Hospital, who are working at the epicenter of the outbreak: “I love this picture … Jill Zarin sent it to me; and I also love her initiative @noshesfornurses.” RELATED: 'Beds Are Maxing Out, Staff Shortages Will Be a Problem' The Excruciating Decisions at Cancer Centers Grappling With Coronavirus
"Since last Saturday we have fed over 1,000 meals to nurses and hospital support staff," Zarin told Page Six. The food has gone to Boca Regional Hospital and, in New York, to RELATED: Bravo's Andy Cohen, Skin-Cancer Survivor, Gives Health Update After Testing Positive For COVID-19: 'Stay Home! Be Smart!'
Mount Sinai West, Monterfoire in the Bronx, NYU Langone, Lenox Health Greenwich Village and others. "We hope this meal shows our frontliners that they are not alone and that the community has not forgotten them."
Two weeks ago, Cohen announced, “I have tested positive for Coronavirus,” on Instagram. He recovered in isolation at home, saying the worst part was being separated from his young son.
Andy Cohen's Melanoma Diagnosis
Cohen revealed his skin cancer diagnosis while co-hosting "Live with Kelly" in November of 2016. "I had this black dot on my bottom lip,” he said. Ripa noticed it at a party and hounded him until he finally saw a
RELATED: More Men Are Dying From Melanoma Across Globe, While More Women are Surviving
doctor. “ I'm like, 'Oh no, I'm sure it's nothing. It's just a black dot.' And she kept on me and kept on me." When Cohen finally saw a dermatologist, he was grateful to Ripa’s prodding:
Dr. Jim Allison, 2018 Nobel Prize winner, tells SurvivorNet that the next big wave of cancer research will likely involve combining immunotherapy with targeted drugs.
"It was melanoma. And they removed it, you know, the whole thing," he shared. "And I just want to thank you because you were so dogmatic. And it's all fine, but that's a good friend," he told the audience, with Ripa by his side.
The Good News About Melanoma
Amid all the genuinely terrible news right now, melanomas treatment is seeing genuinely encouraging developments. A new study shows an 18 percent drop in deaths from metastatic melanoma the most aggressive form of skin cancer between 2013 and 2016, among white Americans. The study analyzed data from nearly a million patients and appeared in the American Journal of Public Health.
"No other cancer has had this large of a drop in this short time," says Dr. David Polsky, of NYU's Perlmutter Cancer Center and the study's co-senior author. "Most advances in cancer happen gradually." The drop is also remarkable because it follows a 7.4 percent climb in stage 4 melanoma deaths, which took place between 1986 and 2013 despite widespread messaging about using sunscreen and avoiding tanning beds.
Who Do We Thank?
Doctors credit ten new therapies for melanoma, which emerged in the last decade. These treatments either harness the body's immune system to fight the disease immunotherapy or directly target melanoma cells that reveal specific gene mutation targeted therapy.
RELATED VIDEO: Targeted Medicines for Melanoma Are Effective in Targeting a Specific Mutation
The study highlights the enormous role of these new drugs in helping Americans survive melanoma, says Dr. Polsky.
An estimated 100,000 new melanoma cases are diagnosed every year. The newer therapies are far more effective and less toxic than standard chemotherapy, but are much more expensive, the investigators say.
The drugs fall into two broad categories: those that target the BRAF gene and immune checkpoint inhibitors, which prevent melanoma tumors from tricking the immune system into ignoring the cancer.
While the specific causes of melanoma are unclear, genetics and exposure to UV radiation in sunlight and tanning beds are known to increase risk, particularly among fairer-skinned people.
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