Briefly: The elderly are much more likely to have their colons perforated during colonoscopy, and inflammatory bowel disease patients who are part of a colonoscopy surveillance program before a diagnosis of colorectal cancer are diagnosed at an earlier stage and have much better survival than patients who don’t have colonoscopies before diagnosis.

There is help online for seniors and their caregivers who are having surgery and cancer survivors who are coping with “chemobrain”.  The FDA is cracking down on the unapproved marketing of some codeine drugs. Read the rest of this entry »

Briefly: In research this week, human embryonic stem cells produced an immune response in mice with colon cancer, and discussing strong pain medicines with cancer patients reduces their pain by about 20 percent.

The Food and Drug Administration has found many dietary supplements contaminated with prescription drugs not listed on the label, some at several times higher than the recommended dose.  In other FDA news, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals was unable to get FDA approval for use of Fusilev® for metastatic colorectal cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

In an effort to broaden and clarify access by individual patients to experimental medicines that have not yet obtained FDA approval or haven’t been approved for a new use, the Food and Drug Administration issued two new rules on August 12, 2009.

• The Expanded Access rule establishes how seriously ill individual patients or groups of patients can obtain investigational medicines while at the same time preserving the clinical trials process.
• The Charging rule clarifies when a manufacturer of an investigational drug may charge for it and what costs can be recovered in those charges.

In addition, the FDA established a website for consumers to explain access to investigational drugs through clinical trials or through the expanded access process. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite recommendations from two of its advisory committees for a phased withdrawal of propoxyphene-containing products, the Food and Drug Administration won’t be taking them off the market.  Instead they’ll require a black box warning on the label and a medication guide for patients letting them know of the serious risks of death from effects on the heart or overdose.

Best known by brand names Darvon® and Darvocet®, the pain medicines have a high risk for fatal overdose when not used as prescribed.  Opiates, they are prescribed for mild to moderate pain.  However, the FDA says that benefits of the medicines when taken at recommended doses outweigh risks at this time. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by Anna Knott

Research shows how lemon and lavender ease stress by acting on the immune system and gene expression. In colon cancer, patients with lots of immune-system cells in their tumors have better survival, and men and younger people risk more severe Erbitux rash.

In other headlines, FDA warns about toxic chemicals in electronic cigarettes.  Save  August 29th to walk across the Big Dam in Little Rock, Arkansas with the Colon Club. Read the rest of this entry »