Our group interviewed one of our member's aunts, who had recently been told that she was in remission from colon cancer.
Q: How were you diagnosed?
A: I went in for an Ob-Gyn appointment and they did some blood work because I was having clotting and becoming heavily anemic. I had another test done, which takes about six months to get the results back from. After one month my iron count was at 8.4 (normal is 12-16), so I talk my doctor that I did not want to wait for the test results. I went to a hemotologist who gave me some iron and also told me that I was a poor iron absorber. I then went to a gastroenterologist and got a colonoscopy. It was during the colonoscopy that they found the cancer.
Q: How advanced was your cancer when you found out about it?
A: There are four different stages, the worst being stage four. Within stage three, there are four different stages, A, B, C, and D. Mine was a 3B. It had gone through the colon wall and three of the four lymph nodes that they tested. The more they test, the better chance of survival. Now they say that you should test a minimum of 20.
Q: How was your cancer treated?
A: First I had surgery. The doctor tood out my ascending colon and stapled and sewed the small intestine to the remaining portion of the large intestine. Then I started chemotherapy. They hooked me up on Wednesday to steroids and anti-nausea medicine. They gave me two bags, oxaliplatin and 5-fu. For my third chemotherapy, they gave me a portable pump that would pump for 46 hours. On Fridays I would go in and get unhooked and I did this every other week for six months. After this, I had my blood tested often because chemotherapy attacks all rapid growing cells in the body. I also received a shot to stimulate my bone marrow to make more white blood cells. I took medicine to make my red blood cell count go up. I also took iron to raise my iron count. Since I still had nausea after I was off, I took oral anti-nausea medicne. I also had scans to make sure the cancer did not spread.
Q: Do you have any idea about the cause of your cancer?
A: I don't know the specific cause. I do know that my cancer was not the genetic kind of colon cancer. Some triggers are stress, red meat, smoking, and alcohol.
Q: What was the most difficult symptom you had to battle?
A: Physically it was the nausea. Emotionally it was the hair loss. I also still have neuropathy to the point that sometimes it is hard for me to button things.
Q: Did you have any significant signs prior to diagnosis?
A: No.
Q: Do you have any advice for other people worried about colon cancer?
A: Don't wait to get your colonoscopy. Also, diet and exercise can decrease the chance of recurrence by 60%.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
An Overview of Colon Cancer
Our group has chosen to focus specifically on colon cancer for our project, mainly because one of our group members has a relative who has recently had it, and we will be interviewing her later in the project.
Cancer in general can be defined as a disease in which abnormal cells infiltrate different systems within the body, while replicating uncontrollably. Cancer can affect any area within the body and can also spread through the whole body.
Colon cancer is cancer which afflicts the large intestine, or colon. It is often seen in conjunction with rectal cancer, which occurs when the last six inches of the colon are infected. Generally, colon cancer begins when smaller polyps develop in the colon and these polyps eventually turn into colon cancer. These polyps often do not show symptoms, so screening is very important before these turn into cancer. Some symptoms of colon cancer include blood in the stool, abdominal pain, gas, bowel habit changes, and cramping. One of the biggest risk factors for colon cancer is age. A very large majority of people who are diagnosed with colon cancer are over the age of 50. Often, at this age, doctors will recommend colonoscopies or some other tests, which can help catch polyps before they develop into cancer. Another big risk factor is a family history of colon cancer. This disease is often thought to be genetic, so those with a parent or other close relative who have had the disease should be aware of their risk.
To treat colon cancer, doctors will generally have three main options. These are chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. Surgery is often what is tried first, and doctors will perform a colectomy to remove the part of the colon that has been affected. Depending on the stage of cancer and how spread it is, chemotherapy and radiation may be used as well. If the cancer has spread beyond the colon to the nearby lymph nodes or has breached the wall of the colon, chemotherapy may be used to destroy these remaining cancer cells left after surgery. If colon cancer is more advanced and has metastasized, radiation therapy can be used to make the tumors in the rest of the body smaller before an operation is done. There are also several drugs available for people with advanced stages of colon cancer to prevent new tumors from developing.
Information obtained from www.mayoclinic.com
Cancer in general can be defined as a disease in which abnormal cells infiltrate different systems within the body, while replicating uncontrollably. Cancer can affect any area within the body and can also spread through the whole body.
Colon cancer is cancer which afflicts the large intestine, or colon. It is often seen in conjunction with rectal cancer, which occurs when the last six inches of the colon are infected. Generally, colon cancer begins when smaller polyps develop in the colon and these polyps eventually turn into colon cancer. These polyps often do not show symptoms, so screening is very important before these turn into cancer. Some symptoms of colon cancer include blood in the stool, abdominal pain, gas, bowel habit changes, and cramping. One of the biggest risk factors for colon cancer is age. A very large majority of people who are diagnosed with colon cancer are over the age of 50. Often, at this age, doctors will recommend colonoscopies or some other tests, which can help catch polyps before they develop into cancer. Another big risk factor is a family history of colon cancer. This disease is often thought to be genetic, so those with a parent or other close relative who have had the disease should be aware of their risk.
To treat colon cancer, doctors will generally have three main options. These are chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. Surgery is often what is tried first, and doctors will perform a colectomy to remove the part of the colon that has been affected. Depending on the stage of cancer and how spread it is, chemotherapy and radiation may be used as well. If the cancer has spread beyond the colon to the nearby lymph nodes or has breached the wall of the colon, chemotherapy may be used to destroy these remaining cancer cells left after surgery. If colon cancer is more advanced and has metastasized, radiation therapy can be used to make the tumors in the rest of the body smaller before an operation is done. There are also several drugs available for people with advanced stages of colon cancer to prevent new tumors from developing.
Information obtained from www.mayoclinic.com
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Introduction to Grid-Computing
Service learning is an important part of our Rockhurst education. This semester in our Evolution class, we are fulfilling this component by participating in a grid-computing project. Grid-computing works by connecting the personal computers of volunteers and running algorithms in the background. The network of computers is able to accomplish more research results than multiple supercomputers. The advantage that makes this technology so worthwhile is that it’s incredibly efficient. Grid-computing uses computer space that otherwise would be being wasted. Furthermore, research is broken down in to smaller pieces. Because of this, money and time spent on research drops significantly. The processing power generated by grid-computing allows projects that may have taken years to have results with in months.
We selected our grid-computing project from World Community Grid. Our specific project is called Help Conquer Cancer. This project works to improve the results obtained from protein X-ray crystallography. X-ray crystallography is important to cancer research because it allows scientists to understand the structure of proteins involved in the detection, initiation, and progression of cancer. More information on our project can be found at the Help Conquer Cancer website.
We selected our grid-computing project from World Community Grid. Our specific project is called Help Conquer Cancer. This project works to improve the results obtained from protein X-ray crystallography. X-ray crystallography is important to cancer research because it allows scientists to understand the structure of proteins involved in the detection, initiation, and progression of cancer. More information on our project can be found at the Help Conquer Cancer website.
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