A treatment for chronic constipation that is now available over-the-counter was more effective that a drug that needs a doctor’s prescription in a review of ten studies comparing the two.

Both polyethylene glycol, which is marketed as Miralax®, and prescription lactulose, sold under a number of brand names including Cholac Syrup®, Kristalose®, and Enulose®, work by drawing water into the colon and softening stools making them easier to pass.

The two osmotic laxatives can help patients whose intestinal activity is slow because of illness or medicines.  Cancer patients who take opiate pain relievers often have problems with this kind of constipation. Read the rest of this entry »

One out of three Americans who needs colorectal cancer screening hasn’t gotten it.

There are 22 million men and women in the US who haven’t had a life-saving test than can prevent colorectal cancer.

But the good news is that screening rates are going up.  In 2000, half of people who should have been screened reported a current test.  Now almost two-thirds have colorectal cancer screening up-to-date

The bad news is that screening rates for the uninsured are almost half those for people with insurance.  Read the rest of this entry »

Some colorectal cancer patients whose tumors had gotten worse on all standard treatments benefited from a combination of Afinitor® (everolimus) and Avastin® (bevacizumab) during a small trial reported at the 2010 ASCO Annual meeting in Chicago.

While no tumors got smaller on the treatment, about half of patients in the Phase II trial had their cancer remain stable for six months or more.  Three patients have had stable disease for more than a year.

Seven out of ten patients in the trial had at least one serious side effect.  The most common was hypertension, but there were several bowel abscesses or fistulas and one case of bowel perforation.  There was one death due to treatment infection.

Read the rest of this entry »

Media ads for prescription drugs prompted 7.5 percent of people in a recent survey to ask their doctor about a prescription.

But the doctors only agreed about a third of the time.

They were more likely to go ahead and write a prescription when the person asking was over 65.  Almost half of seniors (46.4 percent) were given a prescription for a medicine that they saw advertised and asked their doctor about.

In the same survey, 6 out of 10 people said that ads for nutritional supplements weren’t trustworthy, but 12 percent bought the supplements based on the ads anyway. Read the rest of this entry »

Are you a woman with cancer who wants to work but you worry that your resume needs to be tuned up or your makeup fine-tuned?

Spend an evening with Cancer and Careers starting at 6 pm on July 14th at the W Hotel in Washington and get

• Resume makeovers, interview tips and career coaching from Cancer and Careers
• Self-instruction on facial massage and makeup application techniques with Shiseido beauty experts
• Relaxation and wellness tips from SELF Magazine Read the rest of this entry »