Pam McAllister attended the 2010 GI Cancers Symposium in Orlando on a C3 scholarship.

Pam is one of the original colorectal cancer research advocates and has been involved with research advocacy activities for well over a decade. She serves on numerous research panels and has co-authored many articles including the 2008 American Cancer Society Screening Guidelines and the ASCO Clinical Opinion on Testing for KRAS Mutations.

Here is the first of three articles she has written for C3’s Research  and Treatment News about what she learned at the Orlando meeting.

Last year we learned that Avastin® (bevacizumab) was not effective in increasing disease free survival in stage III colon cancer except for a possible small transient benefit that disappeared soon after the drug was discontinued. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a second article from C3 research advocate, Pam McAllister, based on information she learned at the 2010 GI Cancers Symposium in Orlando.

Pam’s experience with colorectal cancer research advocacy goes back more than a decade.  She has been a patient advocate with several cancer cooperative groups and now chairs the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) Patient Advocacy Committee.

While most patients with stage II colon cancer are at low risk of recurrence, there are patients in this group who are at increased risk and who may need chemotherapy to reduce their risk. Read the rest of this entry »