October 17, 2011
10/18/11 While the world mourned the passing of Apple creator and visionary Steve Jobs to cancer, his death had an added significance to Plymouth’s Mark Neidig.
“I was at a fundraising event when I heard the news,” he said. “I couldn’t help but think if we had worked a little harder, if we were further along in the research we might have been able to save him.”
Neidig is the Executive Director of the Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation that is working on a ground breaking non-invasive cure for cancer using radio waves. The technique has had very encouraging early success at treating pancreatic cancer – the type that Jobs and the creator of the treatment John Kanzius fought against.
“I’ve worked for a lot of great causes in my life,” said Neidig. “But cancer hits us all. It’s what wakes you up and gets you working in the morning, realizing that it’s still not enough, people are depending on you and you have to keep working harder to help them.”
Research continues to bring the treatment to a point where it can be tested in humans. Early research has been very positive, but the process is a painstaking one. Every variable must be accounted for in the lab before it can be used in public.
“The greatest news is that we have had literally no obstacles in the tests and we’ve seen very consistent results in the data,” said Neidig. “We learn something new every day and we get closer every day but we have to be 100 percent certain that every part the treatment is documented to be safe before we ask the FDA for approval to begin trials in humans.”
The PHS grad has had a whirlwind year, bouncing around the country tirelessly “spreading the wave” for Kanzius Foundation research. He has had the opportunity to meet with top ranking political and community leaders, celebrities and others to gain support for the exciting research being done for the treatment.
“We’ve had a record year in fundraising and that enables us to increase the number of research projects that we can support,” said Neidig. “People who support us know they are a part of history. We really can change the world and we are able to give tremendous hope to people for a cure.”
More information on the Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation is available at http://www.kanziuscancerresearch.org/
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Rusty Nixon Correspondent