When researchers reviewed medical records for Medicaid-insured people over 50, they found that only about half had colorectal cancer screening recommended to them by their doctors. But only 28 percent actually received screening.
Having an on-going relationship with a doctor (medical home) made a difference. People who had been seeing their primary care doctor for more than five years were two and a half times more likely to have been screened. Read the rest of this entry »
Twelve percent of people with advanced colorectal cancer spent more than $25,000 of their own money for cancer treatment, according to a new survey done by Thomson Reuters.
The study also found that one in eight late-stage cancer patients had turned down recommended treatment because of costs. Among patients with incomes less than $40,000 a year, one in four didn’t go ahead with care due to its expense. Read the rest of this entry »
Are we making progress in treating colon and pancreatic cancer? An audio webcast with Dr. David Mahvi, surgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, will help answer that question.
Some frozen chicken dishes are not precooked and can cause illness if not prepared properly. Food-borne illness is of particular concern to people with cancer whose immune systems may be lowered by treatment.
The United States Department of Agriculture has issued a public health alert to remind consumers to cook frozen chicken dishes according to package instructions and to use a meat thermometer to be sure that internal temperatures reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Read the rest of this entry »
People with a combination of three common medical conditions together known as metabolic syndrome have a greatly increased risk of colorectal cancer. The three are hypertension, diabetes and elevated cholesterol.
Reviewing answers the the National Health Interview Survey, researchers found that people who reported metabolic syndrome conditions were almost twice as likely to have colorectal cancer. Nearly 58,000 people were interviewed by the NHIS in 2002-2003. Of those 1,200 had metabolic syndrome and 350 had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Read the rest of this entry »
