Friday, the “Stand Up to Cancer” telethon, aimed at raising money to fund research that is necessary to develop experimental therapies for cancer patients, aired simultaneously on ABC, CBS and NBC, the three major United States television networks.
The campaign, which started on May 28, has managed to raise more than $100 million since then.

Averaging a number of 10.3 million viewers, the telethon featured about 100 celebrities from music, sports, TV and film, including Jack Black, Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Keanu Reeves and also the two presidential nominees, John McCain and Barack Obama. Moreover, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban and Monica Mancini gave musical performances during the hour-long show.

According to the American Cancer Society, a number of 7.6 million people worldwide died of cancer in the year 2007. Overall, malignant neoplasm (the medical term for this class of diseases) causes 13% of deaths.

Currently, the various treatments for cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy and monoclonal antibody therapy, depending on the tumour’s location and on the stage the disease has reached. Research for cancer ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to clinical trials aimed at comparing the effects of different types of treatment. Nowadays, it mainly focuses on immunotherapy and gene therapy.

 Lisa Paulsen, head of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the charitable organization responsible for Stand Up to Cancer, said that all the money that was raised since May came solely from donations. Furthermore, the amount is expected to help researchers bring the grueling battle with the second leading cause of death-after heart disease- to an end, she added.