This Week’s Colorectal Cancer News in Brief: February 27

This weeks reports find calcium reduces colorectal cancer risk and gaps remain in colorectal cancer screening between whites Medicare beneficiaries and other races, despite coverage of screening.

We found a heartwarming story of children with cancer who watch their names being spray-painted on the construction beams at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  In-depth information about colonoscopy and help for people who are losing health insurance was covered by the media, and we link to those stories.

Brief Research Reports

• Calcium intake, whether in food or supplements, reduces colorectal cancer risk by 20 percent for men and almost one-third (28 percent) for women. Following nearly half a million men and women over seven years, the National Institutes of Health–AARP Diet and Health Study found that overall cancer was reduced in women who reported the highest levels of calcium but not in men. But both digestive tract and, particularly colorectal cancers, were significantly lower in both sexes. Calcium intake didn’t affect either breast cancer or prostate cancer. Yikyung Park, ScD  in Archives of Internal Medicine, February 23, 2009.
• Although colorectal cancer screening is increasing for Medicare beneficiaries, gaps remain between white enrollees and all other racial groups.  Between 1995 and 2003, up-to-date screening increased 39 percent to 47 percent for whites, 33 percent to 42 percent for Asians and Pacific Islanders, 29 percent to 38 percent for blacks. Hispanics had the lowest screening rates of any group growing from 24 percent to only 33 percent. Although white versus nonwhite disparities widened for colonoscopy, more FOBT and sigmoidoscopy screenings for nonwhites balanced the colonoscopy gaps. News from UC Davis Health System. and Joshua Fenton MD, MPH in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, published online January 21, 2009.
  

Other Headlines

• Children with cancer being treated at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute tape up their names on the windows of the walkway where they are spotted by ironworkers building the new Yancey Center for Cancer Care.  The workers spray paint the names in bright colors on the beams of the new building, honoring the courage of the children and adding strength to the building’s structure.   More than 100 children have seen their names lifted by a giant crane and put in place with another eight stories to go.  Story by Michael Levinson and video by John Tlumacki of the Boston Globe.
• Lost a job or can’t get health insurance? Empowered Patient on CNN Health has lots of links to help you cope including six important steps to take:  get good advice, search for affordable insurance, enroll your child in SCHIP, get help with prescription drugs, look for financial assistance for your particular disease, and seek out free clinics.  A seventh step is to look for a part-time job with an employer who provides insurance for parttimers.  Elizabeth Cohen on CNN Health, February 12, 2009.
• Dr. Douglas K. Rex, professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine and past president of the American College of Gastroenterology, expertly answers questions you should be asking about colonoscopy. He provides information about getting a good bowel prep, finding the best endoscopist, reducing your risk for complications, and when to have your next exam. He also looks at sedation, whether you should try colonoscopy without it, and if an anesthesiologist is needed. Douglas K. Rex, M.D., 10 Questions You Need to Ask About Colonoscopy, New York Times, February 25, 2009.