Depression Can Hasten Cancer Death

Depressed patients with advanced cancer die sooner than those who are not depressed.  The more serious the depression, the more likely they are to die prematurely.

Researchers in the United Kingdom screened cancer patients for depression using tests that were originally designed to diagnose depression in women after childbirth.  They looked at feelings of worthlessness and sadness and thoughts of suicide, as well as measuring pain and cancer symptoms.  They found a little less than one-third (29 percent) of advanced cancer patients were depressed.  Six months later half of those identified patients who were still alive remained depressed. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on August 10th, 2008
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: depression, palliative care, survival

Perceived Discrimination Reduces Screening Rates

When minority men and women felt that they were being discriminated against by their health care providers, they were less likely to be screened for breast or colorectal cancer. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on August 9th, 2008
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: colorectal cancer prevention, disparities, screening

Emergency Room Wait Times Increasing

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the average patient will wait nearly an hour to see a doctor, up from 38 minutes ten years ago.

The reason?  Fewer emergency departments and more visits to them.  Emergency room visits increased by almost 1/3 (32 percent) between 1996 and 2006 with 119 million visits in 2006.  At the same time there were 300 fewer emergency departments to handle the need.  In addition, ED beds fill up with patients who are waiting for a bed to free up so they can be admitted to the hospital. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on August 8th, 2008
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: CDC, emergency room

Adjuvant Treatment Does Not Have Negative Impact on Elderly Quality of Life

Colon and rectal cancer patients 75 years old and older who are treated with chemotherapy or radiation don’t report any poorer quality of life than older patients who don’t have such therapy.  Patients who had chemotherapy said that their physical functioning was better than that reported by those who didn’t receive chemo. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on August 5th, 2008
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | 2 Comments »
Tags: adjuvant chemotherapy, elderly, quality of life, radiotherapy

Allergic Reactions to X-Ray Contrast Can Be Treated without Long Term Problems

Occasionally people having CT scans or other imaging exams will have an allergic-type reaction to the iodine contrast, but research has found that they can be treated safely without long term effects. In fact, almost all reactions are mild and more han 99 percent patients with them will get better within a day.

Radiologists at the University of Michigan hospitals in Ann Arbor studied nearly 85,000 intravenous injections of nonionic iodinated contrast media looking for allergic-type reactions.  They analyzed both how the reactions were treated and whether there were any long term problems after a reaction. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on August 4th, 2008
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | 1 Comment »
Tags: diagnosis, side effects