Believe it or not, using 5-FU in the fight against colorectal cancer goes back to the 1950s when the chemo drug was first used for advanced disease.

Today 5-FU remains a mainstay against colon and rectal cancer, but it has been joined by new drugs, targeted biological agents like Avastin, radiation, and greatly improved surgery.

Along with improved treatment, routine colorectal cancer screening has reduced death from colorectal cancer by 40% since 1975.

ASCO has a new interactive graphic that shows progress against cancer, including colorectal cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

No more than 18 ounces of red meat a week and no processed meat at all!

That’s the recommendation of the World Cancer  Research Fund’s Continuous Update Project  for 2011.

Based on new evidence, the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research’s Continuous Update Project  (CUP) report also upgraded evidence for dietary fiber decreasing colorectal cancer risk from probable to convincing.

The CUP  found convincing evidence that physical activity reduces risk of getting colorectal cancer.  Research is also convincing that alcoholic drinks for men, fat carried around the waist,  and overall fatness increase risk.

Probably garlic, milk, and calcium supplements protect against colorectal cancer, while alcoholic drinks for women increase risk. Read the rest of this entry »

ASCO’s almost here!

The annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology begins on June 3 in Chicago.  Fight Colorectal Cancer staff will be there, both in the Exhibit Hall with information about our work and attending scientific sessions to learn about the latest advances in colorectal cancer prevention and treatment.

ASCO Abstracts are available online for browsing.  We’ve been looking through them, hunting for the ones we think are important to find out more about at the meeting.  Here’s what we’re watching: Read the rest of this entry »

A patient navigator who speaks the patient’s language and has time to spend answering questions and removing barriers makes a difference in whether that patient will get colorectal screening.

A study in Boston randomly assigned community patient navigators to half of a diverse group of low-income patients who were behind in colorectal cancer screening.  Compared to patients who received usual health care, patients who got help from a patient navigator were more likely to complete screening, have a colonoscopy, and have polyps detected and removed. Read the rest of this entry »

When I was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1983, less than half of patients lived more than five years.  Today two out of three can expect to be alive and cancer-free for many years.

We are where we are today because of thousands of cancer researchers spent millions of hours in their labs, often frustrated, sometimes led up blind alleys, but always persistent.  Their work has led to understanding how cancer works and how we can stop it. Read the rest of this entry »