From the Desk of Dr. Lenz

Diet, Exercise, and Obesity

Patients always ask what they can do. Well, there is a lot they can do to reduce the risk for tumor recurring after successful surgeries.

Recent studies have clearly shown that diet is directly associated with the risk of tumor recurrence. People who eat primarily a Western diet are significantly at higher risk than those patients whose diet has less red meat, processed sugar, desserts, and French fries. You can change your diet and reduce your risk of tumor recurrence. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on January 23rd, 2009
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | 20 Comments »
Tags: diet, exercise, Preventing Colorectal Cancer, recurrence

Virtual Colonoscopy or Colonoscopy

One of the discussions at GI Symposium was whether virtual colonoscopy is ready for prime time. What is that? Well, it is a CT scan which evaluates the colon for polyps and other changes instead of using a scope to enter the colon and look directly.

It is often misunderstood that the preparation for these two procedures are different. They are not. You need a clean colon whether you get a CT colonoscopy or a real one. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on January 22nd, 2009
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | 5 Comments »
Tags: colonoscopy, CT colonography, Preventing Colorectal Cancer

What is New from the Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium

I am sitting at the Oakland airport waiting for my flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles going home from the Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium. This is the only GI symposium in the United States which brings together all the experts dealing with patients with GI cancer, including surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, gastroenterologists, and scientists.

We all realize that it takes a team to provide the best care, particularly with novel developments in technologies such as virtual colonoscopies, new drugs, new surgical techniques and new insights on cancer risk and prevention strategies. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on January 20th, 2009
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Tags: GI Symposium, Understanding Genetics

Avoid Western Diet

The typical Western diet increases the risk of tumor recurrence for patients with colon cancer.

Patients who ate the most red and processed meats, refined grains, fats, and sugars were about three times as likely to die or have their cancers recur as patients who ate these foods the least. While there is no shortage of evidence linking the so-called Western diet to an increased risk for developing colon cancer, the study by the group at Harvard is among the first to examine the impact of such a diet on survival among patients treated for the disease. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on January 16th, 2009
Posted in: From the Desk of Dr. Lenz | 1 Comment »
Tags: diet, Preventing Colorectal Cancer, recurrence

Clinical Trials: Hope and Future

Last Thursday we saw a 32 year old female with metastatic rectal cancer who had received all the best therapies so far but her oncologist was running out of treatment options.

The patient was not ready to give up and was looking for other options from clinical trials. She contacted our center to get more information on a number of clinical trials. We met with her and her parents to discuss potential treatment possibilities for her. Continue reading…

Posted by Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD on January 14th, 2009
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Tags: clinical trials, Knowing About Clinical Trials