Early Detection is Key in Eliminating Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancers develop slowly in the lower portions of the digestive tract, affecting the colon and rectum. An “equal opportunity” disease, colorectal cancer can strike people of any race, age, or gender, and men and women over 50 are equally at risk. But, it is not a death sentence, especially when patients have access to good information and screening early on. March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness month, but the word that needs to get out is that this disease can be prevented by screening — and that awareness needs to happen every month of the year.

According to the Colon Cancer Alliance, over 90 percent of people will survive more than five years if colon cancer is detected while still localized. Unfortunately, less than 40 percent of the population is routinely screened for colorectal cancer, and only 37 percent of cases are detected while still localized. Fact: More than one-third of Americans diagnosed could survive with proper screening.

Carol Ann Larson, a colon cancer survivor, is the author of the new book, Positive Options for Colorectal Cancer: Self-Help and Treatment, which hits bookstores nationwide this month. It brings hope and information to patients, loved ones, and caregivers. “No one wants to talk about or be tested for this disease since it afflicts a very personal part of the body,” says Larson. ...MORE NEXT PAGE

She adds, “Patients may be hindered by their discomfort in discussing the disease freely and openly, and are less likely to be screened.“

The ABC’s of Negotiating Colorectal Cancer

Endorsed by Advocates for Colorectal Education (ACE), Positive Options for Colorectal Cancer helps patients feel comfortable talking about their disease. A clear and supportive guide that focuses on practical considerations, it contains everything patients need to know, from early testing and diagnosis to treatment choices and self-care.

Notes Larson, “It was essential to me that the book be packed with helpful suggestions, vivid descriptions, and applicable stories from other colorectal cancer survivors, as well as questions answered by medical experts, including colorectal surgeons, oncologists, enterostomal nurses, and genetic counselors.”

Larson explains how to cope with the disease and obtain the best treatments. She discusses:

· The warning signs of colorectal cancer

· Screening tests, including the latest information on virtual colonoscopy

· Myths and other misinformation about colorectal cancer

· The main treatment options: surgery, chemotherapy and radiation

· How to communicate with doctors and other medical professionals

· Prevention techniques and alternative methods of healing

· Finding support and using all available resources

· The importance of a positive outlook and positive actions

· Life after colorectal cancer

Medical Credibility Combines with Survivor Accounts

Good information accessed early is key in preventing and treating colorectal cancer. To address readers’ widest concerns, Larson, a leading member of Advocates for Colorectal Education (ACE), sought input from both colorectal cancer survivors and the medical community. The result is a book rich with survivors’ voices and cutting edge information. Eleven personal accounts describe individual pathways through the disease, and each chapter concludes with a re-cap list of suggestions and reminders. Leading experts fact-checked the book, and an eminent professor of oncology wrote the Foreword.

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The book is also full of unique features, like the Q&A section in Chapter 3 in which doctors answer questions about colorectal cancer. “I compiled questions that I and fellow patients wished we had asked our doctors when going through our experiences with the disease. Doctors from the Minnesota Colon and Rectal Foundation and from the Minnesota Oncology/Hematology Professional Association volunteered to answer these questions frankly, and without pulling any punches.”

Comments Larson, “This is a book about using positive options for overcoming our difficulties, being transformed through the experience, and coping with colorectal cancer. The only way to prepare for the future is to be open to change.” She adds, “This book will give you positive and practical options for health and strength as you negotiate diagnosis, treatment, recovery and the years beyond.”

Positive Options for Colorectal Cancer is the eighth book in the popular Hunter House Positive Options for Health series.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carol Ann Larson, educator and health writer, is a leading member and board member of Advocates for Colorectal Education (ACE) and editor of their newsletter, The Advocate. She is also president of the Minneapolis Chapter of the United Ostomy Association. When the Trip Changes, a book about her experiences with colorectal cancer, was Carol Larson's first book. She lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota with her husband.

Kathleen Ogle, M.D., Foreword contributor, is a medical oncologist at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and a professor in the Division of Hematology at the University of Minnesota. She lives in Minneapolis.

POSITIVE OPTIONS FOR COLORECTAL CANCER

Self-Help and Treatment

Carol Ann Larson

Category: Health / Chronic Illness / Cancer

Publication Date: February 2005

ISBN 0-89793-446-6/ Paperback $12.95

5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches / 168 Pages

This book is available in bookstores nationwide or may be ordered by calling 1-800-266-5592

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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The Author’s Story:

A Journey to Empowerment, Self-Advocacy — and a Book

One December evening in 1998, Carol Larson was on her way to a party. Noticing some rectal bleeding, she asked her husband to stop at Urgent Care. Eventually, she was diagnosed with Stage III colorectal cancer. The cancer had already traveled to three of her lymph nodes.

Newly diagnosed, and feeling scared and alone, Larson pored through bookstores and libraries seeking guidance on coping with the disease. She found nothing. A school teacher with a passionate belief in the value of being informed, she began to educate herself to better confront the medical challenges ahead. She surveyed resources, and read books, articles, and research from juried medical journals. This process taught her the importance of self-advocacy and led to her book.

Shortly after, Larson joined Advocates for Colorectal Cancer (ACE). Despite their different backgrounds (members came from all walks of life and included men and women aged 30 to 70), all were familiar with how fear held them back from getting help. Eventually, they focused on the silence surrounding colorectal cancer as a challenge that had to be overcome. “Most of us started out vowing we would only tell a select few about our diagnosis,” Larson recalls. “But we reversed this decision and turned it into a mission to bring our experiences out in the open. There were invaluable lessons we learned as we struggled to regain our health and we were convinced that others would benefit from what we learned.”

Adds Larson, “Positive Options for Colorectal Cancer is the kind of book I wish I could have read when I was diagnosed.”

Today, Larson is editor of ACE’s newsletter, The Advocate, distributed to all hospitals in the State of Minnesota. It has been six years since she underwent surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, and ended up with a permanent ostomy (patients are considered “cured” once they make it to five years with no reoccurrences). Thanks to good information and wise treatment choices, Larson is alive and well and living a full life with her husband in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Her daughters and their families — including three beautiful grandchildren — live close by. Go Carol!

© 2005 HealthNewsDigest.com