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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »