MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'colon cancer screening'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:36:36 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600538&cid=t_104821_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fcolon-cancer-screening-guideline-truths-and-myths%2F2011.03.16 Colon cancer screening has a particular personal interest for me — one of my colleagues in residency training had her father die of colon cancer when she was a teenager. No one should lose a loved one to a disease that, when caught early, is often treatable. But for both men and women, colon cancer is the third most common cancer behind lung cancer and prostate cancer in men, and behind lung cancer and breast cancer in women, it’s the second most lethal. The problem is that patients are often confused about which test is the right one. Is it simply a stool test? Flexible sigmoidoscopy? Colonoscopy? Virtual colonoscopy? Isn’t there just a blood test that can be done? (No.) In simple terms, this is what you need to know: All men and women age 50 and older should be scr... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600538 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:00:00 +0100 4600538 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3935798&cid=t_104821_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Frectal-cancer-becoming-more-common-in-younger-people%2F2010.09.05 Rates of rectal cancer in those younger than 40 have been increasing, the LA Times reported recently. Researchers studied data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Registry and looked at the change in rectal and colon cancer incidence in those under 40 from 1973 to 2005. Overall rates were low, but while colon cancer incidence remained constant, rectal cancer incidence increased by an average of 3.8 percent annually, the authors reported in the journal Cancer. The authors didn’t advocate routine screening in those under 40, but did recommend that physicians be more alert to the possibility of rectal cancer in those presenting with symptoms such as rectal bleeding, according to the Times. (LA Times) *This blog post was originally published at ACP Internist* ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3935798 Sun, 05 Sep 2010 18:00:00 +0100 3935798 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3933088&cid=t_104821_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdr-ozs-first-colonoscopy-finds-pre-cancerous-polyp-what-can-this-teach-us%2F2010.09.03 By Dr. Jon LaPook, CBS Doc Dot Com (CBS) Dr. Mehmet Oz just might be the last person on earth people would expect to get a colon polyp. He’s physically fit (he left me in the dust the last time we ran together), he eats a healthy diet, he doesn’t smoke, and he has no family history of colorectal cancer or colon polyps. But several weeks ago, when Mehmet had his first screening colonoscopy at age 50, I removed a small adenomatous polyp that had the potential to turn into cancer over time. Statistically, most small polyps like his don’t become cancer. But almost all colon cancers begin as benign polyps that gradually become malignant over about 10 to 15 years. Since there’s no way of knowing which polyps will turn bad, we take them all out. The good news is there&#8... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3933088 Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:00:50 +0100 3933088 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2290614&cid=t_104821_117_f&fid=36026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Fzimney-health-and-medical-news-you-can-use%2Fpreventing-and-detecting-colon-cancer%2F March is National Colon Cancer Awareness Month and as it’s such an important issue I’d like to bring it up today.  I’ve written on this topic several times before but according to the American Cancer Society it is the third most common cancer found in men and women, and the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States so I think it warrants attention. If you are over the age of 50 (or over 40 with risk factors), you should be screened for colon cancer on a regular basis. The schedule for the various screening methods is shown here (discuss this with your physician and decide which one is best for you): Tests that find pre-cancer and cancer: • Colonoscopy every 10 years • Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years • Virtual colonoscopy every 5 years • Double-contra... Dr. Z's Medical Report blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2290614 Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:57:27 +0100 2290614 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1806604&cid=t_104821_117_f&fid=36026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fzimney%2Fvirtual-colonoscopy-ready-for-prime-time%2F Virtual colonoscopy is an x-ray examination of the colon used to screen for cancer. It is also called CT colonography because the x-ray test used is a CT scan (also called computed tomography or CAT scan for computed axial tomography). Virtual colonoscopy is in the news because of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) that compared the x-ray test to traditional colonoscopy and found comparable results in terms of identifying abnormal growths. But while the headlines will tout the positive findings, there are a few things you should know before undergoing one of these procedures. First off let me say that screening for colon cancer is an extremely important and life-saving yet underutilized undertaking that I’ve written about before, and which you should unde... Dr. Z's Medical Report blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1806604 Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:29:44 +0100 1806604 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1779892&cid=t_104821_117_f&fid=36026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fzimney%2Fmany-colon-cancer-patients-dont-get-proper-follow-up%2F After surgery for colon cancer, you are still at risk, both for cancer recurrence and for development of another new colon cancer. Because of this it’s important for colon cancer survivors to be followed closely and monitored carefully. But new research has found that many such survivors aren’t getting the proper follow-up care. And it looks as though the fault lies more with the doctors than it does with the patients. If you or someone you love is a colon cancer survivor, it’s important to know the guidelines for follow-up in order to ensure you’re getting the right tests. In the study, published online in the journal Cancer on September 8, 2008 - only 40 percent of colon cancer survivors who were followed for three years had all the right doctor visits and tests. But since 92 per... Dr. Z's Medical Report blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1779892 Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:05:55 +0100 1779892 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1275002&cid=t_104821_136_f&fid=36051&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FCancerCommentary%2F%7E3%2F244900625%2F Amidst last week’s frenzy, I might have overlooked some important stuff involving cancer. The following are still in my week-old (!!) notes: Smokers Might Benefit From Earlier Colon Cancer Screening New evidence suggests screening for colorectal cancer, which is now recommended to begin at age 50 for most people, should start five to 10 years earlier for individuals with a significant lifetime exposure to tobacco smoke, a University of Rochester Medical Center study said. An examination of 3,450 cases found that current smokers were diagnosed with colon cancer approximately seven years earlier than people who never smoked. The study is also one of the first to link exposure to second-hand smoke, especially early in life, with a younger age for colon cancer onset. What’s Good F... Cancer Commentary blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1275002 Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:24:31 +0100 1275002 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1091575&cid=t_104821_117_f&fid=36026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fzimney%2Fcolon-cancer-screening-important-yet-underutilized%2F Colorectal cancer, which is a cancer of the large intestine (also called the colon or bowel) or the rectum, is, unfortunately, both common and deadly. According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer found in men and women, and the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States. The good news is that most colon cancers develop slowly over many years and there are a variety of screening tests that allow early detection, before symptoms are present, and when the cancer is at an early, treatable stage. The bad news, however, is that screening for colon cancer is underperformed. A recently published study found the shocking fact that the vast majority of Americans in Medicare aren’t getting proper screening, even though it is a covere... Dr. Z's Medical Report blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1091575 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:14:50 +0100 1091575 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=486515&cid=t_104821_131_f&fid=34996&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftalk.genesanddrugs.com%2F2006%2F12%2F15%2Fcolon-cancer-screening-in-a-conservative-town%2F Many years ago Uncle Sam sent me to Rockford Illinois to repay my National Health Service Corps scholarship by providing medical services to the medically indigent population of Winnebago County. Rockford population about 150,000 was the second largest city in Illinois and, to this California boy, rather provincial. At the time I arrived, the HIV epidemic was raging. In Rockford, most of the victims were iv drug users, their partners, and their children. HIV wasn’t really a gay thing in Rockford because when a gay Rockfordian was old enough to leave town, he did—usually for Chicago. Faced with the epidemic, I asked my Rockford colleagues why no one had started a needle exchange program. “Oh,” I was told, “we can’t do that here. Rockford is a conservative town…” But I digres... Genes & Drugs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=486515 Sat, 16 Dec 2006 01:55:26 +0100 486515