Latest News & Updates

Victory in the Senate

On March 16, the Senate voted to support the Specter-Harkin amendment to the Senate budget resolution. What does that mean? Well, the President’s Budget cut spending on health and education, including a $40 million cut at NCI. The goal of the Specter-Harkin amendment is to restore funding to the health and education programs.

The amendment (which passed on a 73-27 vote) proposes an increase of $7 billion in funding for education and health programs, much of which will go to funding critical health and cancer-specific programs at the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The House still needs to act and final funding decisions won’t be made until the fall. It is safe to say that while there are no guarantees in this business, we do know that there would have been no hope of increased funding this year without passage of this critical amendment,” says Dan Smith, VP of the American Cancer Society and Chair of One Voice Against Cancer.

How did your senator vote? Check it out!

Posted by Nancy Roach on March 16th, 2006
Posted in: Policy & Advocacy News | No Comments »

Today Show features colon cancer survivors

All week, March 13-17, the Today Show will be featuring stories Confronting Colon Cancer.

On Wednesday, March 13th, Suzanne Lindley, Buddy Coordinator for the Colon Cancer Alliance, will talk about finding support from others online. Lindley has survived metastatic colon cancer for more than seven years. She credits part of her long survival to the support she received from friends she met via email. She has been a member of the Association for Cancer Online Resources (ACOR) Colon Discussion List since her diagnosis.

As CCA Buddy Program Coordinator, Suzanne makes literally hundreds of telephone calls each week to other colorectal cancer survivors and their families, connecting them to others and encouraging them in their struggle.

Robb Kerr, who also has advanced colon cancer, will be on the show on Friday, March 17th, to discuss clinical trials. Robb has been enrolled in several cancer clinical trials at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, TN. Robb was diagnosed in March of 2002 and has been on four different clinical trials since then.

Kerr now mentors other cancer patients who are considering or taking part in clinical trials at Vanderbilt. Robb is a research advocate with the Colorectal Cancer Coalition, and his story is on the C3 site.

Suzanne Lindley Robb Kerr CCA Buddy Program

Posted by Kate Murphy on March 15th, 2006
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »

Maggie Inouye, wife of US Senator from Hawaii, dies of colon cancer

Maggie Inouye, wife of US Senator Daniel Inouye, died of colon cancer Monday, March 13, 2006 in Washington according to reports from Honolulu.

Mrs. Inouye was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2004 and had been receiving chemotherapy before a recent hospitalization at Walter Reed Medical Center.

Senator Inouye said of his wife,

It was a most special blessing to have had Maggie in my life for 58 years. She was my inspiration, and all that I have accomplished could not have been done without her at my side. We were a team. She always supported me, listened to my ideas, and many times offered invaluable suggestions that always proved she was capable of achieving as much on her own right, given her intelligence and education. Instead, she chose to join me on a special journey that took us to Washington, and gave us the privilege of serving the people of Hawaii.

Maggie Inouye

Posted by Kate Murphy on March 14th, 2006
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »

Colorectal cancer diagnosed at a younger age in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including chronic ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease have an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Currently guidelines call for them to have colonoscopy every 1 or 2 years along with biopsies after their IBD is diagnosed.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic reviewed medical records for nearly 300 colorectal cancer patients who also had IBD and compared them a similar group of patients with sporadic colorectal cancer.

They found that IBD patients were diagnosed at a median age of 48, younger than the average age for colorectal cancer diagnosis which is in the mid-sixties. A smaller percentage of their cancers were located distally (near the end of the colon) — 55% were distal compared to 78% distal tumors in the sporadic group.

However, there was no difference in survival rates between the two groups with 54% of the IBD group surviving 5 years past diagnosis, compared to 53% of those cancer patients without IBD.

In an article in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, March 2006, the Mayo team concluded:

CUC-related CRC is diagnosed at a relatively young age, and IBD-related tumors tend to be distributed more evenly across the colorectum than sporadic tumors. The survival rates for IBD-associated and sporadic CRC were similar.

inflammatory bowel disease Crohn’s Disease ulcerative colitis

Posted by Kate Murphy on March 14th, 2006
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »

Wife of South Carolina governor attends community conference planned by two colon cancer survivors

National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Jo-Ellen DeLuca and Kenneth Tillerson have joined forces to build a future where no one else needs to face colorectal cancer. Both cancer survivors, they planned a conference, Cancer in Black and White, that met on Monday, March 13th, in South Carolina to begin conversations about the silent — but preventable — killer.

Among those attending was Jenny Stanford, South Carolina first lady.

DeLuca, who was told she had colon cancer in 2001, and Tillerson, who was diagnosed in 1999, are committed to building awareness of colorectal cancer and screening in their community. They sponsor a support group for survivors and families that meets in Jo-Ellen’s home and have distributed more than 5,000 brochures. They frequently speak to local groups and church congregations.

Says Deluca,