A new network of ostomy support groups — the United Ostomy Associations of America — has been formed to provide information, support, and advocacy for people with bowel and urinary diversion and the local groups that work with them. UOAA began operations on October 1, 2005 and has opened a website as part of their initial efforts. Members of UOAA will not be individuals, but organizations that serve and support people with ostomies.

The United Ostomy Associations of America, Inc. describes itself:

UOAA is a national network for bowel and urinary diversion support groups in the United States. Its goal is to provide a nonprofit association that will serve to unify and strengthen its member support groups, which are organized for the benefit of people who have, or will have intestinal or urinary diversions and their caregivers.

People with ostomies or concerns about a potential ostomy can find a nearby support groupamong the affiliate members on the UOAA website.

The new website has an active Discussion Board where people can ask questions and receive help. Since October 1, there have been nearly 2,400 posts made to its forums by almost 500 participants.

Future plans call for a magazine The Phoenix and an annual conference as well as providing support and information for local associations.

When the United Ostomy Association ceased operations on September 30, 2005 local support organizations were left without support of their own. Local groups provide support and education for people with ostomies and their caregivers. Some hold regular group meetings, some have provided hospital visitors or supportive phone calls to newly diagnosed patients. However, dwindling membership, reduced funding and increased costs of operation made continuing UOA impossible. UOA closed after 43 years of service.

An ostomy is a surgically created opening in the skin to divert either urine or feces from their normal route in the body.

*People Living with Cancer* will sponsor a live online chat wtih Lidia Schapira, MD on December 8, 2005 from 2 – 3 pm (EST).

[Dr. Shapiro](http://www.massgeneral.org/cancer/locator/search_clinician.asp?id=219) is a medical oncologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. Topics to be covered during the chat include:

+ Seeking professional and community support
+ Coping with changes in relationships with family, friends, and co-workers
+ Coping with change: sexuality, body image, and self image
+ Coping with fear of recurrence
+ Coping differences among different ages and populations

To join the chat, go to People Living with Cancer 10 minutes before or anytime during the chat,
click the “JOIN NOW” link on the home page, and follow the instructions. PLWC
chats are free of charge, anonymous, and preregistration is not required.

*PLWC — People Living with Cancer* is the patient education website of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

**People Living with Cancer** sponsors an *Ask the Experts* series where patients, caregivers, and friends can submit questions for answers in an online forum

November’s questions are about [complementary and alternative medicine and its role in cancer](http://www.plwc.org/plwc/MainConstructor/1,1744,_12-001079,00.asp). Experts answering questions are Patrick Mansky, MD and Barrie Cassileth, PhD. Dr. Mansky is a medical oncologist and researcher at the [National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine](http://nccam.nih.gov/). [Dr. Cassileth](http://www.mskcc.org/prg/mrg/bios/525.cfm) is Chief of Integrative Services at [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center](http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/1979.cfm) in New York.

Each week’s emailed questions are [posted and answered](http://www.plwc.org/plwc/MainConstructor/1,1744,_12-001175-00_14-00Transcripts-00_17-001029-00_18-0043025-00_19-0043026-00_20-001-00_21-008,00.asp)
online.

To ask a question email [PLWC](chats@plwc.org) and put *Question for PLWC Chat: CAM and Cancer* in the subject line.

[*People Living with Cancer*](http://www.plwc.org/plwc/Home/1,1743,_12-001029-00_21-008,00.html) is the patient information website of the American Society of Oncology (ASCO).

A [Harris Interactive survey of oncologists](http://www.agingresearch.org/colon_cancer.cfm) found that colon cancer patients over 65 experience better outcomes when a caregiver is involved in their treatment. The physicians often depended on the caregiver in communicating with the patient. They saw the primary roles of the caregiver as providing emotional support, participating in doctor visits, helping with decisions about managing the disease, and transporting the patient to medical care.

Among the [key survey findings](http://www.agingresearch.org/brochures/coloncancer/KeySurveyFindings.pdf) were:

+ 6 out of 10 (62.9%) of colon cancer patients are 65 or older.
+ Only about 64% of patients over 65 have an involved caregiver.
+ 77% of oncologists agreed that patients had better outcomes when there was an involved caregiver due to increased communications.
+ 64% of interviewed oncologists strongly or somewhat agreed that older patients had a more difficult time managing their disease than younger ones.
+ 41% strongly or somewhat agreed that patients over 65 do not ask the most relevant questions about their disease and how to manage it.
+ 81% said that they depended on caregivers a great deal or somewhat to act as an intermediary between themselves and their patient.
+ 90% felt that the caregiver has a moderate to major impact on the decisions made in managing treatment
+ 92% of the time the caregiver is a spouse or partner.

One hundred percent of the interviewed oncologists perceived the caregiver as part of the team involved in managing the care of elderly patients. Almost all (97%) saw caregivers as allies.

Although 65% surveyed disagreed strongly or somewhat that patients over 65 can handle aggressive chemotherapy, 70% said that they take the patient’s age into consideration when recommending treatment.

The [Alliance for Aging Research](http://www.agingresearch.org/index.cfm) commissioned the online survey, conducted by [Harris Interactive](http://www.harrisinteractive.com/) from September 7-20, 2005. 104 oncologists, sampled and weighted to represent the oncologist population in the United States,were interviewed.

Based on the study, the Alliance for Aging Research has a [Tip Sheet](http://www.agingresearch.org/brochures/coloncancer/tipsheet.pdf) for patients and caregivers.

Additional information is available in a [news release](http://www.agingresearch.org/press/111405.html) from the Alliance for Aging Research.

A [meta-analysis](http://jncicancerspectrum.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/jnci%3b97/22/1679) of 15 published research studies on the potential link between colorectal cancer and diabetes found about a 30% increase in the risk for colorectal cancer in those people who had also been diagnosed with diabetes. More than a total of 2,500,000 people were included across all the studies.

There was no significant different in risk between men and women, between Europe or the United States, or between cancers in the colon or in the rectum.

Susanna C. Larsson and colleagues at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm reported their data in the November 16, 2005 issue of the [*Journal of the National Cancer Institute*](http://jncicancerspectrum.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/jnci%3b97/22/1679). They concluded:

Our findings strongly support a relationship between diabetes and increased risk of colon and rectal cancer in both women and men.

For a discussion of the study read [an article in *Reuters Health*](http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2005-11-17T152520Z_01_FLE755450_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-COLONCANCER-DIABETES-DC.XML)