More evidence has emerged that strong laxatives before bowel surgery don’t reduce complications after surgery, nor do they improve survival.

Traditionally, doctors prescribed laxatives to completely remove all feces from the colon before surgery, a process known as mechanical bowel preparation.

However, a study in Scotland that looked at 1,730 colon cancer surgeries performed between 2000 and 2005 found no differences in surgical complications 30 days after surgery whether patients got mechanical bowel preps or not. In addition, during 3 to 5 years of follow-up there was no difference in survival.

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Screening all new colon and rectal cancer tumors for markers that might indicate Lynch syndrome not only saves future lives, it is cost effective according to a new study.

In order for tumor screening to be cost-effective, not only should new tumors be tested, but family members need to follow through with genetic testing after a new Lynch mutation is found.  Finally people with Lynch syndrome mutations need to follow surveillance guidelines to prevent cancer or find it early,

Testing both tumors and at least three to four family members could cost as little of $36,000 per life year saved — well within the value of preventive health strategies. Read the rest of this entry »

Nearly one in three people with cancer, both with those with active cancer and cancer survivors, report  having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much.

Pain and emotional distress were often associated with sleep problems. Read the rest of this entry »

Colorectal screening rates are linked to changing colorectal cancer death rates, with death rates going down fastest in US states with the highest screening rates.

Between 1990 and 2007, the highest colorectal cancer death rates have moved from the Northeastern states to the South, particularly along the Appalachian mountain corridor.

Although death rates are declining in all states except Mississippi and Wyoming, drops range from 9 percent in Alabama to more than 33 percent in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Alaska. Read the rest of this entry »

This afternoon, by a vote of 336-87, the House passed the Fiscal Year 2012 Department of Defense Appropriations bill (H.R. 2219). The bill includes funding for critical national security needs while also providing essential funding for health and quality of life programs for the men and women of the Armed Services and their families.

The final bill includes more than $223 million for cancer research, including $12.8 million for the Department of Defense’s Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) that funds colorectal cancer research.

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