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February 27, 2008
How to Beat One of the Deadliest Cancers
March Is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
FARMINGTON, CONN. – Long before early detection and treatment, we
can take steps to reduce colon cancer with lifestyle choices,
according to physicians in the University of Connecticut Health
Center’s Colon Cancer Prevention Program.
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that obesity and smoking are
significant risk factors,” says
Joseph Anderson, M.D., a UConn Health Center gastroenterologist
and expert in colon cancer screening and prevention. Last fall at
the American College of Gastroenterology’s annual scientific
meeting, Anderson presented data from his clinical research that
showed obesity and smoking outweigh family history as risk factors
for colon cancer in women.
According to the
American
Cancer Society, colon or colorectal cancer is the second leading
cause of cancer-related death in the United States. The death rate
has been falling since the mid-90s, as more Americans have been
getting regular screenings and as treatments have been improving.
When colon cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, the five-year
survival rate is greater than 90 percent. Many of these patients
live much longer than five years after the diagnosis; five-year
survival rate is a standard benchmark for prognosis.
“I can’t emphasize enough the importance of regular screenings,”
Anderson says. “With early detection, colon cancer is highly
curable. Screenings also reveal polyps, which we can remove before
they become cancerous, thereby helping prevent colon cancer in the
first place. And at UConn, we’re using the latest techniques
available to detect as many of these precancerous lesions as
possible.”
UConn’s
Colon Cancer Prevention Program also offers a detailed
assessment of a patient’s family and personal medical histories to
determine his or her individual risk factors and come up with a
personalized cancer prevention plan.
“Catching it early is the key,”
says
Bruce Brenner, M.D., a surgical oncologist with specialized
training in the treatment of colon cancer. “While a screening may
give you news you don’t want to hear, there’s so much more we can do
for you if your cancer is found in an early stage. But once it
spreads, the prognosis is much less favorable.”
Congress Designated March National Colorectal Cancer Awareness
Month in 2000.
On March 25, Brenner and Anderson are speaking at a free program
titled “Women and Colon Cancer” at the
Henry Low Learning Center in the
Health Center’s main building, from 6 to 7:15 p.m. The talk is
presented by Celebrate Women, the free women’s health membership
program of the UConn Health Center. Registration is required; call
866-433-6253 or 860-679-8899. More information and registration is
also available at www.celebrate.uchc.edu.
To schedule an appointment with the Colon Cancer Prevention
Program, call 860-679-7692 or 800-535-6232. More information about
the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center is available at
http://cancer.uchc.edu.
The University of Connecticut Health Center includes the schools of
medicine and dental medicine, the UConn Medical Group, University
Dentists, and John Dempsey Hospital, a Solucient Top 100 Hospital®
2006. Founded in 1961, the Health Center pursues a mission of
providing outstanding health care education in an environment of
exemplary patient care, research and public service. To learn more about
the UConn Health Center, visit our website at
www.uchc.edu.
Note: News professionals are invited to visit the Office of
Communications homepage at
www.uchc.edu/ocomm/ for archived news releases and other
information.
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