Carlea Bauman, President of Fight Colorectal Cancer

I am deeply disappointed that President Obama’s fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget would strip nearly $4 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Colorectal Cancer Control Program. The CDC estimates that the loss of funding will mean at least five fewer programs (out of the current 29) working to prevent colorectal cancer.

The president’s budget assumes that less federal funding is needed for direct screenings, such as colorectal, breast, and cervical screenings, because most health plans are required to cover these screenings without co-pays or deductibles, and because, starting in 2014, the Affordable Care Act ensures that no one can be denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition.

However, a number of barriers contribute to low colorectal cancer screening rates, such as lack of awareness and misinformation about screening – not just lack of health coverage. A well-funded colorectal cancer control program is needed to support important awareness and education initiatives across the country.

The hopeful news is that Congress does not have to accept the President’s budget. I urge colorectal cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and physicians to let their members of Congress know that a cut to the colorectal cancer control programs at the CDC is unacceptable.

On a positive note, the President’s budget would increase research funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $471 million (a 1.5 percent increase) over FY 2012 amounts. The NIH estimates this will result in 351 more research project grants in FY 2014.

I recognize that the President and Congress are budgeting in a difficult economic environment, but our country needs dynamic thinking from our policymakers when it comes to budget decisions. Preventing colorectal cancer and targeted treatment reduce downstream costs to our health care system and to our federal government. That makes good budget sense to me.

Can drugs used to help lower cholesterol also keep colon cancer from returning? 

Researchers at the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) are seeking patients for a one-year clinical trial to determine if cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins) might help prevent the growth of precancerous (adenomatous) polyps and/or recurrent colorectal cancer.

The NSABP trial is sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and has recently expanded to include patients with stage 0, I, II or III colon cancer at diagnosis. Patients can enter the study up to one year after their initial diagnosis.

In 2011, Fight Colorectal Cancer’s late Director of Research Communications Kate Murphy wrote about the trial and its efforts to study whether patients taking statins also saw a side benefit of colorectal cancer prevention.

In her post, Murphy noted that research studies of statins and colorectal cancer showed some conflict. Researchers looking at cell processes have found that statins block a protein that is important in cell growth. Blocking its action may prevent colon cancer from spreading or polyps from developing.

NSABP Protocol Chair Dr. Bruce Boman said that although “some retrospective observational studies suggest that statins prevent colorectal cancer, others do not.” Writing in the NCI Cancer Bulletin, Boman also said that longer term, prospective studies on tumor development were needed to determine the efficacy of statins.

Patients who are already on a statin drug to treat high cholesterol are not eligible for the study. For more information about the trial, patients can email Coloncancer.prevention@nsabp.org or call 1-855-NSABPCA  (1-855-672-2722).  The trial organizers have also posted a detailed video overview of the P-5 Colon Cancer Prevention study.

Making those New Year’s Resolutions?

You can do a lot to prevent colon and rectal cancer this year . . . and in the future.

Number One Resolution — Be screened for colorectal cancer if you are 50 or over, earlier if you are at higher risk. Read the rest of this entry »

Colorectal Cancer News in a Nutshell

Summer’s over. The black squirrels in the front yard are scurrying around hunting acorns and my inbox is full of neat nuggets of colorectal cancer news — and I don’t want to leave them buried all winter.

So here they are in brief.  You can check the links for more details.

Mixed Results Using Acupuncture for Radiation Nausea

The good news is that almost all patients felt they had less nausea after either real or sham acupuncture to manage nausea and vomiting during radiation therapy.  Nine out of ten wanted more treatments. Read the rest of this entry »

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 »