Cancer

Marilyn Edwards Zumberge, 83, widow of former USC President James H. Zumberge, died of cancer Sunday at her home in Pasadena, the university announced. Born Feb. 24, 1925, in Oak Park, Ill., she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at what is now Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. After marrying in 1947, she accompanied her husband in his academic career. He was a geologist and Antarctic expert who became president of USC in 1980. He resigned in 1990 and died of brain cancer two years later.

In an effort to crack down on fraudulent remedies being sold over the Internet, the government has warned 25 companies to stop selling purported cancer cures that federal health officials say could disrupt legitimate treatment and even harm unsuspecting patients.

Gastric bypass surgery -- a treatment for obesity that is already known to reduce heart disease and diabetes -- decreases the incidence of cancer by 80% over the five years following the procedure, Canadian researchers reported Wednesday. The incidence of two of the most common tumors, breast and colon, was reduced by 85% and 70%, respectively, Dr. Nicolas Christou of McGill University in Montreal said.

LUBBOCK, Texas -- True to her name, Patience Knight showed poise when things were good -- and bad. Two years ago, the Texas Tech thrower's life was going smoothly. She was a 19-year-old freshman who earned straight As and had qualified for a national meet. Maybe she wouldn't have predicted cancer scares for herself and her dad, or that her treatment would be complicated when a piece of tubing infiltrated her heart, but the aspiring Olympian found herself bracing for bad news before it came.

CALIFORNIANS who use hands-free cellular devices while driving may be doing themselves a favor in the long run. That's because scientists still can't say with certainty that placing a cellphone against the head is completely safe, especially for heavy users and people who began using the devices as children. They point to lingering questions over the potential health effects from the energy emitted by the phones, specifically the long-debated risk of developing brain cancer.

One of the odder couplings of the press tour came Thursday when Phoenix Suns star Steve Nash and New York Knicks fan Spike Lee shared a stage to promote their upcoming projects for ESPN Films. Lee directed a documentary, "Game Day With Kobe," that is slated to air in the fall. The director, who struck up a friendship with Lakers star Kobe Bryant while shooting a commercial in Rome, used 30 cameras for his portrait, which centers on a playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs. Meanwhile, Nash, a longtime film enthusiast, is making his directorial debut for an ESPN documentary about Terry Fox, a young athlete who died of cancer in 1981.

Conservative columnist Robert Novak, a fixture on the Washington scene since the administration of John F. Kennedy, announced Monday that he has a brain tumor and will begin treatment soon. In the meantime, he said, "I will be suspending my journalistic work for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period." Novak, 77, became ill Sunday while he and his wife were visiting their daughter on Cape Cod.

The upside down and backward "fight against cancer" involves spending hundreds of billions of dollars on the search for ridiculously profitable lifetime treatments. ("Worries stick to food packing," Consumer Confidential, July 30.) There are fundraisers and donation campaigns, government-funded research, all to funnel huge sums into a for-profit pharmaceutical machine that charges what the market will bear for another six months of life when you get cancer. Rational adults would demand that any chemical introduced into their environment and their children's bodies be proved safe before it is used in the public domain.