Colorectal cancer is still one of "those" cancers, one that isn’t talked about all that often. After all, who wants to talk about bathroom troubles, right? Sadly, that is right. So, we need to raise awareness of the issue and having a month dedicated to it is one way to start.

A few years ago, the Colossal Colon visited the Montreal area. My youngest son was in high school and studying biology that year, so his class went for a field trip to check it out. It’s a great way to raise awareness, but his teacher took it one step farther. He said that if a student could get a parent to go for a colonoscopy, they’d get an extra mark on their grades. I thought that was pretty cool.

So, this month, I’ll be trying to find anything and everything I can on colorectal cancer. And maybe I can convince some people to get screened, if they haven’t already.

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Tags: colon cancer, colorectal cancer, colorectal cancer awareness month, colossal colon, colonoscopy, cancer blog

Post from: Blisstree

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Studies that look at African Americans and whites who have equal access to health care do not have a higher rate of colon cancer. In fact, if both groups have equal health insurance, equal medical care access and treatment, then their detection, treatment and recovery rates are similar.

However, if you look at the differences in access to health care and treatments, that’s when things change. It’s a known fact that people without health insurance or who are underinsured have a lower rate of disease prevention screening. They also have a lower rate of seeing a doctor when they experience signs or symptoms of an illness. Therefore, when they finally do see a doctor, their disease is usually farther along and more difficult to treat.

Statistics from the US government show that African Americans often fall into the uninsured group. Almost 20% of African Americans who are under 65 years old don’t have any health insurance.

Is there a genetic component? It’s definitely a possibility because of the type of cancer many African Americans are diagnosed with. Right-sided polyps and cancer is more common among African Americans than in whites.

More studies are being done and more efforts are being made to encourage lower income and uninsured people to be screened for colon cancer. It’s so much less expensive and life changing to have colon cancer detected early, when it has an over 90% cure rate.

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Tags: cancer blog, colon cancer, african americans colon cancer

Post from: Blisstree

Are African Americans really at higher risk of colon cancer?

According to a press release issued by the American Cancer Society, New report says racial gap growing in colorectal cancer, colorectal cancer is the "third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the United States."

It’s estimated that almost 150,000 people in the US will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer; almost 50,000 will die. The sad thing is that most of these cancers and deaths could likely have been prevented by following cancer prevention tests. 

What are the screening recommendations?

Routine screening for colorectal cancer usually begins when people reach 50 years old but this is if they have nothing in their history indicate that they may be at higher risk of developing the disease. If there are risk factors, screening should begin earlier. These risk factors include having:

• had colorectal cancer in the past
• a polyps
• ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease
• a family history of colon cancer
• a high-fat, low-fiber diet

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Tags: cancer blog, colorectal cancer, colorectal cancer screaning. colon cancer screaming, colorectal cancer rates

Post from: Blisstree

Race still affects colorectal cancer rates in the US

You’d think by now that this has been settled. After all, how many studies have been done on screening and its effect on detecting cancer? And screening doesn’t necessarily mean having colonoscopies. It could be as simple as having your stool checked for hidden blood or occult blood.

Yet another study, this time published in the most recent issue of Journal of the National Cancer Institute, says the same thing. According to researchers, a district in Italy experienced a 13% decline in colorectal cancer since establishing an occult blood screening program in the early 1980s.

You can read more about this in the article Screening for Colorectal Cancer Saves Lives.

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Tags: cancer blog, colorectal cancer, colorectal cancer screening, occult blood, colonoscopies

Post from: Blisstree

It’s been said before and it’s being said again…

"We have typically assumed that one of the best ways to motivate individuals is to point out disparities in health, but we may be having negative unintended consequences," said Robert Nicholson, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and Psychiatry at the St. Louis University School of Public Health. "Instead of motivating people who would be less likely to get these services in the first place, we may be driving them away."

As a result, "...constantly emphasizing the negative consequences of a lack of cancer screening among minorities can actually make them less likely to go for screening."

This finding was the result of a study involving 300 African-American adults. Researchers asked the study subjects to read one of four articles about colon cancer. The subjects were then asked some questions about what they felt the likelihood was of them getting screened for colon cancer.

The first article emphasized that colon cancer was an important problem for African-Americans. The second emphasized that outcomes for blacks with colon cancer were worse than for whites, while a third said that although outcomes for African-Americans were improving the improvement was less than seen among whites. Finally, a fourth article discussed how outcomes for blacks with colon cancer were improving over time.

If African-Americans read the article that said outcomes for blacks were improving over time, they were more likely to have a positive emotional response than if they read any of the other three articles. The article most likely to cause a negative response was the one that simply stated the problem.

Similarly, those that read the article about African-Americans making progress in outcomes for colon cancer were far more likely to want to be screened than those who read any of the other three articles.

Information like this is very important in disease research. Early detection of certain diseases, like colon cancer, means the difference between a cure and death in many cases. So, by understanding how information is processed in different ethnic groups, doctors and nurses can tailor their approaches in order to get the most positive responses.

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Tags: cancer blog, disease prevention, cancer screening, colon cancer, screening for colon cancer

Post from: Blisstree

Minority patients discouraged from cancer screening by negative messages

ERBITUX(R) (cetuximab) has received marketing authorization in Japan for use in treating patients with advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Specifically, this approval allows for the use of ERBITUX to treat patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive, curatively unresectable (inoperable), advanced or recurrent CRC, and allows the use of ERBITUX plus irinotecan in second and further lines of mCRC.

With this approval, ERBITUX is the first ever EGFR-targeted monoclonal antibody to be submitted for and receive marketing authorization in Japan.

ERBITUX (cetuximab) is a monoclonal antibody (IgG1 Mab) designed to inhibit the function of a molecular structure expressed on the surface of normal and tumor cells called the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR, HER1, c-ErbB-1) — a novel cancer drug developed by ImClone.

Read more from ImClone press release.

Post from: Blisstree

ImClone’s Erbitux: Approved in Japan For Colorectal Cancer Use

President George W. Bush recalls Snow with fondness:

“He had a wonderful sense of humor. He loved to laugh. He loved his country. And he loved his family.

I just hope they understand that Tony was loved here in the White House.”

Full report from AP,  LA Times and The Washington Post.

Post from: Blisstree

White House Aid Tony Snow Lost Battle With Cancer

Findings were published in this month’s Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention:

Analysis of data from a randomised dietary intervention trial showed that the overall class of flavonoid compounds was not associated with a risk reduction, but flavonols – a sub-group of flavonoids, did significantly reduce risk.

The study adds to a growing body of science linking increased consumption of flavonol-rich foods, such as fruit and vegetables, to risk reductions for a range of cancers, including lung, pancreatic, and breast cancer.

Flavonols, a sub-group of flavonoids. Sometimes I get confuse myself too. But bottomline is, fruits and vegetable intake should be increased and I guess should be started really early in life. I know, that is most of the time easier said than done.

Read more from NutraIngredients.

Post from: Blisstree

Flavonols Against Colorectal Cancer

According to the European Medicines Agency:

Erbitux can be given as the first drug in colon-cancer treatment in patients who carry an unmutated kras gene, restricting its use to about 65 percent of patients.

Erbitux is the first monoclonal antibody approved by the US FDA for the treatment of advanced colon cancer that has spread to the other parts of the body — either alone or in combination with other treatments.

Read more about the EU backing on Erbitux from Bloomberg.

Post from: Blisstree

Erbitux Received EU Backing As First-Line Colon Cancer Treatment

According to CDC :

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. In 2004, a total of 145,083 cases of colorectal cancer were diagnosed in U.S. adults, and 53,580 adults died from this disease (1).

Although regular colorectal cancer screening can reduce the incidence of and mortality from this disease, (2) approximately 40% of U.S. residents who should be screened for colorectal cancer have not been screened in accordance with national guidelines (3).

Source: CDC press release.

Post from: Blisstree

March 2008: National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month