Colorectal Cancer News in Brief: November 29

Briefly

Swedish researchers have found a drug that inhibits a dangerous cell pathway while leaving a protective one intact pointing the way to preventing colon polyps from becoming cancerous.  In a large study, 8 out of 10 chemotherapy patients experienced symptoms of insomnia or outright insomnia after their first cycle of chemo.

A work team from the United Kingdom will help restore an elementary school in South Africa while simultaneously raising money for colon cancer research.

Connect to a poem by Elspeth Murray asking doctors to communicate clearly but with empathy and to an article about coping with cancer during the holidays. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on November 29th, 2009
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: coping with cancer, imatinib, insomnia

KRAS Made No Difference in Stage III Outcome

Patients with stage III colon cancer didn’t do better or worse if their tumor had mutated KRAS.

Studying KRAS in the tumors of about half the patients in a large clinical trial of chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer, researchers found no differences in disease-free, recurrence-free, or overall survival.  This remained true no matter which chemotherapy the patients received. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on November 27th, 2009
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: KRAS, stage III colon cancer, survival benefit

Talk to Your Family During the Holidays

When the family is gathered on Thanksgiving or during the upcoming holidays, have a difficult — but critical — talk together.

You can save anguish and conflict when a family member is close to death by knowing what their wishes are.  You can help your family know what you want, as well.  The Engage with Grace slide helps to start the conversation

You can  download one slide from Engage with Grace to start your family’s discussion. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on November 26th, 2009
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | 1 Comment »
Tags: end-of-life, Kate's Thoughts

Can Coffee Protect Against Colon Cancer?

Recent data suggest that a compound in coffee has been found to possibly protect against colon cancer.

We have known for a long time that estrogen can protect against colon cancer and that women who take hormone replacement can also prevent polyps and cancer development. We also have recently seen that women do better than men when younger than 45 years old. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on November 26th, 2009
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | 5 Comments »
Tags: coffee, estrogen, Preventing Colorectal Cancer

Food Tips for Thanksgiving from the NFCR

Dr. Lenz

I wanted to come up with some recommendations on diet over this Thanksgiving holiday. Searching the web and looking for advice to give you,  I came across a wonderful website  — TOP TEN FOOD tips by the National Foundation for Cancer Research — I wanted to share with you.

Here’s what they said. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on November 25th, 2009
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | No Comments »
Tags: diet, Preventing Colorectal Cancer