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CCR News, Issue #072 -- Survival Rates For Colon Cancer Remarably Improved December 14, 2011 |
Christine Traxler, MD, Editor
SURVIVAL RATES FOR COLON CANCER REMARKABLY IMPROVEDSurprisingly with colon cancer it is now far easier to live a long life now when compared to only 40 years ago. At that time, the average life expectancy was only about 7 months. Now that number has increased for at least ten years. This remarkable change is most likely related to improved chemotherapy and increased rate of detection. Certain other cancers, such as pancreatic cancer and lung cancer do not have the same improvement in survival rate.
UK WON'T BACK AVASTIN, URBITUX AND VECTIVIXDoctors are coming up with new and more expensive chemotherapy drugs leading people to start using them in the hopes that it will save their lives. In addition is the inevitable decline for the product among cost conscious places like the UK. Does this mean the drugs don’t work? Or does it instead mean that the UK is too cheap to pay for medicine that doesn’t have a long track record? Most likely, it is the latter that is the truth.
THICK WAISTS AND EXCESS FAT INCREASES COLON CANCER RISKIt turns out that older women and men with thick waists also carry with them a risk of getting colon cancer. The study looked at more than 120,000 Dutch people and followed their measurements. Colon cancer risk were assessed. The men with the biggest waists had a 63 percent chance of getting cancer when compared to men with thin waists. Women showed similar findings with the exception that the abdominal fat had to be associated low physical activity level. Abdominal obesity is associated with other diseases, like heart disease and type II diabetes.
MEN AT HIGHER RISK OF COLON CANCERA recent study out of Saudi Arabia spoke definitively that there is a greater risk of colon cancer in men when compared to women. The exact cause for this difference is not known, although things such as hormonal differences between men and women, and lifestyle changes between men and women have been implicated. In one study, there were 73 percent more cancerous polyps found in men when compared to women.
RED MEAT STILL FELT RISKY FOR COLON CANCERA recent study has confirmed the belief that eating a lot of meat in one’s diet puts that person at a greater risk of colon cancer. Eating habits and cancer incidence were looked at in 80,000 individuals. While beef was found to be the worst you could eat, the study recommended backing down on pork and chicken. The relationship between chicken and pork was found to be primarily among men as opposed to women.
HERMAN CAIN ON SURVIVING CANCERHerman Cain, Republican Presidential Candidate, was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer in 2006. One of his greatest wishes was that his doctor, D. Abdallah, was a Christian. He was. The outspoken politician has come under great fire of late for his negative comments about Muslims. He was happy to learn that his doctor was a Christian man from Lebanon. Regardless of who treated his cancer, he is happy to report that hE is cancer-free six years after his initial diagnosis.
The faces of colon cancer are looking younger and younger. The United States Preventative Services Task Force and the American Cancer Society recommend colon cancer screening at the age of 50. Yet, dying of colon cancer at the age of 40 is no longer an exception nor is it a rare phenomenon. There is an increasingly compelling evidence that the incidence of colon cancer among people in their thirties and forties is rising at an alarming rate. Please join me on my quest to get the American Cancer Society and the United States Preventative Task Force to review and change their colon cancer screening guidelines to start colon cancer screening at age 40 for the general population and at 35 for people who have compelling risk factors such as a family history of colon cancer.Effective cancer treatment is nowhere in the horizon, so early detection is the key to survival. One more life needlessly lost to colon cancer is one life too many. The purpose of changing the guidelines as mentioned above is to pave the road to get insurance companies to pay for screening colonoscopies at the ages of 35 and 40. Please sign the petition make sure to forward it to your friends.Your collaboration is greatly appreciated. The Quest to Change the Colon Cance Screening Check out the eBook Store! We've written several e-books in plain english that you may find helpful in your battle against cancer.
DO YOU HAVE A PERSONAL STORY ABOUT COLON CANCER?It is our heartfelt desire that you become a part of the Colon Cancer Resource website and contribute your personal experience and stories regarding colon cancer so that others may benefit. Your story may help inspire someone in their fight against colon cancer. Your tips, experiences and advice are all welcome and will be published here. You can remain anonymous if you choose. It's easy to contribute. After you post your story, other visitors can comment and contribute to your story and if you choose, you will be notified by email when this happens. You can submit your own story and read about other peoples experience by selecting one of the following links:
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