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relevant to their business expertise. The Applaud Women website is also a resource center for local women including the most comprehensive
listings of Restaurants, Weddings, Female doctors and Hotels. It also includes a number of informational pages with links, articles and RSS feeds
to both local and national websites of interest to women in NH & n. MA.
applaud local women. The core of the magazine is our inspirational women's articles, most of which feature local women but occasionally we are
able to interview national women who we feel provide a unique inspiration for our readers. Our other articles cover topics of interest such as food
recipes, home, garden, beauty, health, fashion, dating, parenting, seniors, finance, business, hair care, skin care, advice, real estate, insurance,
weddings etc. Each issue has a feature section as well. Many of our articles are written by local business people who provide information
relevant to their business expertise. The Applaud Women website is also a resource center for local women including the most comprehensive
listings of Restaurants, Weddings, Female doctors and Hotels. It also includes a number of informational pages with links, articles and RSS feeds
to both local and national websites of interest to women in NH & n. MA.
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| Colon Cancer Screenings Can Save Your Life By Dr. Bridget Seymour |
Colon and rectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States (second only to lung cancer). Colon cancer
deaths are more frequent than death from breast cancer. So why aren’t women being given life-saving screenings? The risk of being diagnosed
with colon cancer in one’s lifetime approaches 5% and one in three people diagnosed with the disease will die from it. Although colon cancer can
have devastating effects on one’s life expectancy, it also potentially requires painful surgery, arduous chemotherapy, necessity of a fecal bag, or
loss of fecal continence. It is perhaps related to these facts that patients, particularly women, are reluctant to undergo necessary and
preventative screening procedures.
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately only half of all patients eligible for screening (i.e., over age 50) are actually utilizing
screening methods. Amongst women, a study from the American Journal of Gastroenterology in 2003 suggests one of the largest barriers to
screening is embarrassment over undergoing a colonoscopy, and diminished access to female physicians with whom they’d feel more
comfortable. The surveys administered from the group at Brigham and Women’s Hospital also disclose that women most likely to undergo
screening tests were those who received a recommendation from their primary doctors. Despite these sobering statistics, we do know that deaths
from colon cancer are declining and new diagnoses are on the rise. Experts believe this relates to colon cancer screening programs, leading to
an increase in disease diagnosis at earlier stages of the illness.
Despite declines in cancer deaths, the fact remains that the five-year survival for colon cancer diagnosed at an early stage during screening and
removed during colonoscopy is 93%. Diagnosis at an early stage also often prevents the need for embarrassing surgical scars or fecal bags.
These statistics are in sharp contrast to the 8% five-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with advanced disease which has already spread
from the colon (Stage IV).
So who should be screened and what does it entail? Any patient over the age of 50 (and African Americans over 45) should speak to their
physician about colon cancer screening. Certainly any bowel symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, or rectal bleeding should
prompt an evaluation by your physician sooner. Over 90% of colon and rectal cancers occur in men and women over 50, however 10% can
present earlier. Identifying these patients can occur with better patient education and more vigilant screening of patients’ family history. Patients
who develop cancer at an earlier age are often those with a significant family cancer history. Patients and physicians both need to recognize that
all family cancers are potentially important when determining one’s colon cancer risk. There are a multitude of hereditary cancer syndromes that
can cause cancer of the colon, uterus, bladder, pancreas, etc. Patients need to take control of their own health by talking with family members to
get accurate cancer histories and then communicate these to their physicians. If a family history is noted, colonoscopy is warranted prior to age
50.
There are a variety of ways to screen for colon cancer. At the very least, this includes examining the stool for traces of blood with lab testing and
a flexible sigmoidoscopy (an examination through the rectum of the last one-third of the colon). Unfortunately, this precludes direct examination of
the remaining two thirds and relies on the expectation that a colon cancer in that site would produce bleeding and be recognized. That would then
lead to a complete exam of the colon using colonoscopy. Colonoscopy, which is the gold standard for colon cancer screening, involves the
ingestion of a laxative the evening before the procedure, which most patients complain is “the worst part.” The following morning, patients arrive
at either a hospital or office where the procedure is commonly performed. Sedation is provided (often by an anesthesiologist) so that patients are
asleep, and the procedure which takes about 30 minutes involves the examination of the inside of the colon for the presence of polyps. Polyps
are pre-cancerous tissues that over a period of approximately ten years can become cancer. This process is more rapid in some patients. Most
polyps can be removed at the time of colonoscopy. Because the incidence of colon cancer continues to increase with advancing age, patients
must have repeated colonoscopies (or equivalent screening modalities) at regular intervals. These intervals are determined by your doctor
depending on the findings at your last colonoscopy, the degree of cleanliness of the colon, and your family history of colon or other cancers.
Although other screening methods exist (Barium enema and CT colonography/”virtual colonoscopy”), they also require a colon laxative, can be
uncomfortable because they are not performed under sedation, and ultimately require a colonoscopy if any polyp or abnormality is identified.
So what are you waiting for? Colonoscopy, although briefly inconvenient, can provide piece of mind and potentially be life-saving. Identifying a
lesion which is small can also save a lot of suffering, as well as the need for surgeries and chemotherapy. The procedure is covered by insurers,
including Medicare and Medicaid as the recommended screening test. If women feel more comfortable undergoing the procedure with a woman,
FIND a female gastroenterologist in your community. They are out there. No excuses; grab a friend or loved one today and do it together!
Bridget Seymour, MD is a gastroenterologist with Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill, MA. Her address is 62 Brown St Suite 207 (978-420-
6508) and she is accepting new patients.
deaths are more frequent than death from breast cancer. So why aren’t women being given life-saving screenings? The risk of being diagnosed
with colon cancer in one’s lifetime approaches 5% and one in three people diagnosed with the disease will die from it. Although colon cancer can
have devastating effects on one’s life expectancy, it also potentially requires painful surgery, arduous chemotherapy, necessity of a fecal bag, or
loss of fecal continence. It is perhaps related to these facts that patients, particularly women, are reluctant to undergo necessary and
preventative screening procedures.
According to the American Cancer Society, approximately only half of all patients eligible for screening (i.e., over age 50) are actually utilizing
screening methods. Amongst women, a study from the American Journal of Gastroenterology in 2003 suggests one of the largest barriers to
screening is embarrassment over undergoing a colonoscopy, and diminished access to female physicians with whom they’d feel more
comfortable. The surveys administered from the group at Brigham and Women’s Hospital also disclose that women most likely to undergo
screening tests were those who received a recommendation from their primary doctors. Despite these sobering statistics, we do know that deaths
from colon cancer are declining and new diagnoses are on the rise. Experts believe this relates to colon cancer screening programs, leading to
an increase in disease diagnosis at earlier stages of the illness.
Despite declines in cancer deaths, the fact remains that the five-year survival for colon cancer diagnosed at an early stage during screening and
removed during colonoscopy is 93%. Diagnosis at an early stage also often prevents the need for embarrassing surgical scars or fecal bags.
These statistics are in sharp contrast to the 8% five-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with advanced disease which has already spread
from the colon (Stage IV).
So who should be screened and what does it entail? Any patient over the age of 50 (and African Americans over 45) should speak to their
physician about colon cancer screening. Certainly any bowel symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, or rectal bleeding should
prompt an evaluation by your physician sooner. Over 90% of colon and rectal cancers occur in men and women over 50, however 10% can
present earlier. Identifying these patients can occur with better patient education and more vigilant screening of patients’ family history. Patients
who develop cancer at an earlier age are often those with a significant family cancer history. Patients and physicians both need to recognize that
all family cancers are potentially important when determining one’s colon cancer risk. There are a multitude of hereditary cancer syndromes that
can cause cancer of the colon, uterus, bladder, pancreas, etc. Patients need to take control of their own health by talking with family members to
get accurate cancer histories and then communicate these to their physicians. If a family history is noted, colonoscopy is warranted prior to age
50.
There are a variety of ways to screen for colon cancer. At the very least, this includes examining the stool for traces of blood with lab testing and
a flexible sigmoidoscopy (an examination through the rectum of the last one-third of the colon). Unfortunately, this precludes direct examination of
the remaining two thirds and relies on the expectation that a colon cancer in that site would produce bleeding and be recognized. That would then
lead to a complete exam of the colon using colonoscopy. Colonoscopy, which is the gold standard for colon cancer screening, involves the
ingestion of a laxative the evening before the procedure, which most patients complain is “the worst part.” The following morning, patients arrive
at either a hospital or office where the procedure is commonly performed. Sedation is provided (often by an anesthesiologist) so that patients are
asleep, and the procedure which takes about 30 minutes involves the examination of the inside of the colon for the presence of polyps. Polyps
are pre-cancerous tissues that over a period of approximately ten years can become cancer. This process is more rapid in some patients. Most
polyps can be removed at the time of colonoscopy. Because the incidence of colon cancer continues to increase with advancing age, patients
must have repeated colonoscopies (or equivalent screening modalities) at regular intervals. These intervals are determined by your doctor
depending on the findings at your last colonoscopy, the degree of cleanliness of the colon, and your family history of colon or other cancers.
Although other screening methods exist (Barium enema and CT colonography/”virtual colonoscopy”), they also require a colon laxative, can be
uncomfortable because they are not performed under sedation, and ultimately require a colonoscopy if any polyp or abnormality is identified.
So what are you waiting for? Colonoscopy, although briefly inconvenient, can provide piece of mind and potentially be life-saving. Identifying a
lesion which is small can also save a lot of suffering, as well as the need for surgeries and chemotherapy. The procedure is covered by insurers,
including Medicare and Medicaid as the recommended screening test. If women feel more comfortable undergoing the procedure with a woman,
FIND a female gastroenterologist in your community. They are out there. No excuses; grab a friend or loved one today and do it together!
Bridget Seymour, MD is a gastroenterologist with Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill, MA. Her address is 62 Brown St Suite 207 (978-420-
6508) and she is accepting new patients.