Capsule Colonoscopy Has Low Sensitivity

A swallowed capsule equipped with a video camera didn’t find as many polyps as conventional colonoscopy and missed 5 of 19 cancers. Sensitivity improved with a well-cleaned colon.

Doctors in Europe examined 328 patients who either had colon disease or were suspected of having it with both a capsule colonoscopy and traditional optical colonoscopy.  The capsule contained  tiny video cameras at both ends that transmitted images wirelessly from the upper GI tract and the colon. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on July 16th, 2009
Posted in: Research & Treatment News, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags: capsule colonoscopy, PillCam, screening

Fun and Footsore at ASCO

When I finally got on the big bus yesterday from my hotel to the Orange County Convention Center where the ASCO meeting is being held, I realized how excited I was, how much this annual event is looked forward to by doctors and patients alike.

Will there be a blockbuster new drug this year for colorectal cancer?  A big biomarker like KRAS was last year?  New directions in surgery? Radiation? Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on May 30th, 2009
Posted in: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Tags: ASCO 2009, Kate's Thoughts

Colorectal Cancer News in Brief: May 23

Research this week finds that people with severe cancer weight loss get less benefit from fentanyl pain patches and explores why people with Down Syndrome have less cancer.

In other headlines, shut-down of a Canadian nuclear reactor threatens the supply of medical isotopes used in many cancer tests.  Free drug samples may do more harm than good, and CT colonography finds cancers and other serious conditions outside the colon in about 2 or 3 out of 100 tests.  Finally, we provide a link to a Cancer.Net podcast with information about what to expect from your colonoscopy. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on May 24th, 2009
Posted in: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tags: cachexia, CT colonography, Down Syndrome, free drug samples, medical isotopes

Colorado Colorectal Screening Program

The Colorado Colorectal Screening Program began in 2004 screening uninsured people by linking community primary care clinics to endoscopists. Funding comes from an additional tax on tobacco.  Since its beginning in 2004, CCSP has screened 6,850 people.

The program estimates that it has prevented 180 cases of colorectal cancer and 80 deaths.

Primary focus is on the uninsured 50 to 64, but colonoscopies are also offered to high-risk people under 50.  Program participants need to have incomes below 250 percent of poverty. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on March 23rd, 2009
Posted in: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags: screening

This Week’s Colorectal Cancer News in Brief: March 20

This week we’re reporting on a cement that eases pain from bone mets, a successful smoking cessation program before surgery, and survival rates for diabetics with colorectal cancer.

Baylor College of Medicine is making it easier for people to schedule colonoscopies, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical School is testing a vaccine to prevent colon cancer.

During Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month there are many community screening programs being promoted, including some with free colonoscopies.  If you’ve waited . . . now’s the time to schedule that screening and protect yourself from colorectal cancer.  Screening prevents colorectal cancer as well as finding it early when it can be most easily cured.

Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on March 20th, 2009
Posted in: Uncategorized | No Comments »