If doctors ask  healthy people simple questions about cancers in their families, they can find people who are at increased risk for Lynch syndrome, an inherited condition that greatly increases risk for colorectal and uterine cancer.

Doctors can use a simple set of screening questions available online to pinpoint an individual’s risk before that person ever gets cancer.   The online tool takes less than two minutes to complete.

If family history shows an individual to be at higher risk, genetic testing not only saves lives but is cost-effective.

Once Lynch syndrome is diagnosed, active steps can be taken to prevent Lynch-associated cancers or diagnose them early when they can be cured. Read the rest of this entry »

In a computer simulation, FIT — fecal immunochemical testing — done every year saved more lives and cost the least of any colorectal cancer screening method, including colonoscopy.

The computer model looked at 100,000 average risk people and compared screening methods results for

• number of colorectal cancer cases
• number of colorectal cancer deaths
• cost of screening and treating colorectal cancer for each screened person

Compared to not screening at all, annual FIT  could save 3 out of 4 deaths from colorectal cancer. For every 100,000 people between 50 and 75, nearly 3,500 people wouldn’t get colorectal cancer, and over 1,300 wouldn’t die.

Not only did FIT screening save the most lives, it was the most cost effective.  It saved about $70 (Canadian) in screening and cancer treatment expenses for each person screened, better than any other method. Read the rest of this entry »

dendritic immune cell

Doctors at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire have built personalized cancer vaccines that use the patient’s own immune system to fight colorectal cancer.

The key to success was first removing bulky liver tumors and then using the vaccine to kill any tiny cancers remaining in the body.

Five years after getting the vaccine, two-thirds of patients whose systems produced an immune response to the vaccine were alive and cancer free. Read the rest of this entry »

Happy Thanksgiving.

Many of us face this day with some misgivings.  Our health is a challenge or our loved ones are struggling with cancer.  Medical bills pile up.  We don’t have the time or energy or money for all the things we want.

Some of us have lost family members or friends since last Thanksgiving.

But facing the holidays with gratitude and purposely practicing it makes a difference in health.  Researchers have found that focusing on what we are grateful for improves both physical and emotional health.

And expressing gratitude — by writing in down or talking about it — enhances those health effects.  So, today I am grateful. Read the rest of this entry »

Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals has withdrawn Darvon®, Darvon-N®, and Darvocet® from the US market at the request of the FDA.

Even in recommended doses, Darvon (propoxyphene) can cause changes in heart activity which can be seen on an electrocardiogram (ECG) adding to the risk of serious changes in heart rhythm.

On November 19, 2010, The FDA recommended that health professionals stop prescribing any propoxyphene immediately and that patients who are using it contact their doctor about the right way to stop.

If your doctor has prescribed a drug that contains Darvon for you, the doctor should contact you to discuss other ways of managing pain and safely discontinuing its use. Read the rest of this entry »