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 NutshellSummer’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 »
Are you done — or almost done — with your treatment for colon cancer?
Will you help answer a question about how to help colon cancer survivors increase their physical activity?
You’ll learn more about colon cancer and may be randomly assigned to a special interactive program that is designed to help recovering colon cancer patients develop a healthy lifestyle.
The Survivorship Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (CHESS) study is available in centers in Wisconsin, Texas, North Carolina, and Connecticut. To be part of the research, you need to have completed treatment for stage I, II, or III colon cancer within the past 12 months. Read the rest of this entry »
Think twice about that second holiday cookie
Just in time for holiday indulging, a Danish study of 55,000 middle-aged men and women monitored for an average of 10 years showed a clear association between healthy lifestyle and a lower risk of developing colorectal cancer, according to a study published in a recent British Medical Journal.
“Colorectal cancer is predominantly a disease of Westernized countries, indicating that components of a Western lifestyle may contribute to risk,” researchers wrote in the journal. Yet only three prospective studies had been done—in which people without cancer were monitored over a period of time to see who developed colorectal cancer, and how lifestyle actions compared in those who did and didn’t develop it. And the three previous studies used different lifestyle factors. This study was one of the first to study the impact of five basic healthy behaviors, rather than just one. Read the rest of this entry »
Traditionally, people getting cancer treatments were told to rest and avoid exertion, to save their strength during treatment. But more experts now say that the best way to get through treatment, and possibly the best way to beat cancer, is to stay as physically active as possible.
The American College of Sports Medicine has revised its national recommendations, saying that cancer patients and survivors should strive for the same goal as everyone–about 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic exercise, along with resistance training and stretching.
The panel does caution that workout plans must be adapted to each person’s condition and treatment. For example, some cancer treatments make bones more brittle, which will require exercise that place less stress on them. And immunosuppressed patients must avoid exercise in groups of people.
