[Eddie Leigh](http://www.edwardleigh.com/default.cfm), motivational speaker and colon cancer survivor, will speak with patients, survivors, and their loved ones about coping successfully with colorectal cancer during two upcoming **Trauma to Triumph** programs in Cincinnati and Philadelphia.

A professional motivational speaker, Leigh now incorporates colon cancer awareness messages in much of his work reminding his listeners of the importance of colorectal cancer screening. Since his diagnosis with colon cancer, Eddie has used humor to cope with his own cancer and to encourage others in dealing with their own. He says,

“Just because cancer enters our lives does not mean joy has to exit”.

**Trauma to Triumph** is scheduled for Cincinnati

+ Date: Thursday, November 10, 2005
+ Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
+ Location: [Vontz Center for Molecular Studies](http://vontz.uc.edu/)
+ 3235 Eden Ave, Cincinnati, OH
+ Treatment information and questions answered by Dr. Syed Ahmad, Dr. Malek Safa, and
Debbie Saldono
+ Register by calling 513-558-8624

[Download and print](http://c-three.org/pdf/Pfizer-FinalOHflyer.pdf) complete information about the Cincinnati program on November 10.

**Philadelphia**

+ Date: Wednesday, November 16, 2005
+ Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
+ Location: [Loews Philadelphia Hotel](http://www.loewshotels.com/hotels/philadelphia/default.asp)
+ 1200 Market Street, Washington Room
+ Philadelphia, PA 19107
+ Treatment information and questions answered by Dr. Edith Mitchell
+ Register by calling 800-281-7560

[Download and print](http://c-three.org/pdf/Pfizer-FinalPAflyer.pdf) complete information about the Philadelphia program on November 16.

Light refreshments and educational materials will be available at both programs.

Eddie Leigh’s programs are co-sponsored by the [Colon Cancer Alliance](http://ccalliance.org/), [Pfizer Oncology](http://www.pfizeroncology.com/default.aspx), [University of Cincinnati Cancer Center](http://uccancerprograms.uc.edu/), and the Medical Society of Eastern Pennsylvania.

Curt Pesman, author of *The Colon Cancer Survivor’s Guide* will share his struggle with stage III colon cancer and its aftermath onThursday evening, October 27th in Kansas City, Kansas. Colorectal cancer patients and survivors and their families are invited to attend the free program.

Pesman is a health journalist and magazine writer for such publications as *Esquire* and *Self*. After his diagnosis of colon cancer four years ago, he wrote *The Colon Cancer Survivor’s Guide* to help others facing the disease.

+ Date: Thursday, October 27, 2005
+ Time: 6:00p.m – 8:30p.m.
+ Location: [Holiday Inn](http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hd/mkcm)
+ 7420 Shawnee Mission Parkway
+ Overland Park, KS 66202 (just outside of Kansas City)
+ Dr. Chung-Tsen Hsueh, medical oncologist with The University of Kansas Hospital will discuss the latest medical treatments and answer questions.
+ Register by calling 913-588-1227

You can [download and print a flyer](http://c-three.org/pdf/Pfizer-FinalKSflyer.pdf) with complete information about the program.

The program is co-sponsored by the [Colon Cancer Alliance](http://ccalliance.org/), [Pfizer Oncology](http://www.pfizeroncology.com/default.aspx), and the [University of Kansas Hospital](http://www.kumc.edu/).

NCI has awarded $54 million in grants to four centers to explore the interaction between obesity and cancer. The new initiative will studythe integration of diet, exercise, and weight and its impact on the development of cancer.

In an [news release](http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/pressreleases/TREC) on October 11, 2005, NCI announced the grants as part of Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC). Robert Croyle, director of NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, explained,

TREC will bring together outstanding scientists from many disciplines. Together these experts will answer critical questions that will help guide our nation’s public health efforts. NCI is determined to help avoid an increase in cancer deaths in the 21st century due to obesity like the one caused by tobacco in the 20th century.

Funded centers include

+ **Case WesternReserve University** in Cleveland will concentrate on cellular mechanisms and clinical research focusing on obesity, metabolic dysfunction, and colorectal cancer.
+ **Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center** in Seattle will explore diet and exercise and their impact on breast and colorectal cancer.
+ **University of Minnesota** in Minneapolis will study causes of obesity and its prevention in youth and families.
+ **University of Southern California** in Los Angeles will study physiologic, metabolic, genetic, behavioral, and environmental influences on obesity and cancer risk in minority children.

The Fred Hutchinson Center Center will serve as the coordinating center for the initiative providing communication, data-sharing, and collaboration among the projects.

Chewing gum a few times a day reduces the time it takes for bowel function to return after laproscopic colectomy, allowing patients to leave the hospital sooner. Patients who chewed a stick of gum four times a day had bowel activity return sooner and went home on average almost a day earlier than patients who were restricted to sips of water after surgery.

During surgery to treat colon cancer by removing all or part of the colon, rhythmic bowel activity stops, a condition known as *postoperative ileus*. Eating or drinking during this time can lead to bloating, abdominal pain, and vomiting. Until normal bowel motility returns, patients have been limited to ice chips or very small sips of clear liquids. They cannot leave the hospital until they can eat and drink normally and have had at least one bowel movement.

Surgeons at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; Western Pennsylvania Hospital, Pittsburgh; and Presbyterian Hospital, Dallas randomized 102 patients undergoing both traditional open colectomy and laparoscopic colectomy to chew a stick of gum four times a day or be in a control group that was not given gum. Their research was discussed at the American College of Surgeons 2005 Clinical Congress in San Francisco.

For those who had laparoscopic surgery, bowel function returned for gum chewers an average of 2.9 days after surgery compared to 3.5 days for the control group. They left the hospital 4.4 days post-surgery compared to 5.2 days for the group that did not chew gum.

However, there was no similar difference for patients who had open colectomy. Both gum chewers and the control group had bowel function return at 3.6 days. Gum chewers went home at 5.9 days compared to 5.3 days for controls.

Harry Papaconstantinou, MD, who led the study explained that

There are multiple stimuli that can affect the gut motility after surgery, and some of these are manipulation of the bowel during surgery, the type of anesthetic used, any inflammation that might be caused by the surgery, as well as alterations in the autonomic [peripheral] nervous system, the release of neurotransmitters [chemical substances that influence the transfer of nerve impulses to muscle] and gut hormones. When patients undergo colectomy, all of these factors can be significant stimuli that results in postoperative ileus.

He estimated that each day in the hospital costs an average of $500 to $750 and that the small cost of several packs of gum could have a major impact on medical costs after laparoscopic surgery.

[Xilinx](http://www.xilinx.com/), a maker of programmable chips, has joined other Santa Clara County companies in creating a *Colon Cancer Free Zone*. The company is providing seminar and internal website information to help their workers learn about the risks, tests, and treatments for colorectal cancer.

In addition, the company insurance coverage has been expanded to cover the full range of screening tests for colorectal cancer, including the more expensive colonoscopy.

According to an article in the October 21, 2005 issue of the [San Jose Mercury-News](http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/12959457.htm) Xilinx Vice-President Steve Haynes and other company executives had themselves screened for colorectal cancer and made the results public. `We declared ourselves *colon cancer free* to lead the way,” Haynes told the *Mercury News.*

Earlier this year Xilinx joined several other [Silicon Valley companies](http://www.embeddedstar.com/press/content/2005/8/embedded18726.html) to support the American Cancer Society effort to promote colorectal cancer awareness in [Santa Clara County](http://www.lizkniss.org/proclamations/2004/ColonCancer.html),

In 2003 oncologist Dr. Richard Androuny, author of [Understanding Colorectal Cancer,](http://www.upress.state.ms.us/catalog/spring2002/understanding_colon_cancer.html) urged the California city of Monte Serano in Santa Clara County to become a colon cancer free zone and raise awareness of colorectal cancer and its prevention.