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Archive for the ‘colon cancer’ Category

March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month

Monday, March 4, 2013 by:Amanda Cuda
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March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, the Connecticut Department of Public Health is urging residents to take advantage of the many no-cost colorectal cancer screenings available to qualifying individuals at facilities throughout the state.

Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Connecticut. Health officials project that over 1,600 Connecticut residents will be diagnosed this year, and over 400 will die from the disease. Risk factors for colorectal cancer include being over the age of 50, a family history of colorectal cancer, a high fat diet, heavy use of alcohol, obesity, and smoking.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends colorectal cancer screening for men and women aged 50 to 75 using high-sensitivity fecal occult blood testing (FOBT), sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy. The decision to be screened after age 75 should be made on an individual basis. If you are older than 75, ask your doctor if you should be screened.
Health officials claim that a declining rate of colorectal cancer death over the years has been attributed to an increase in colorectal cancer screening. However, a quarter of Connecticut residents over the age of 50 have never been screened for this disease. Black men have the highest rate of dying from colorectal cancer. Lack of access to screening and quality treatment may contribute to this disparity.

The DPH Colorectal Cancer Control Program aims to encourage more colorectal cancer screenings among  persons 50 years and older and others at high risk. To raise awareness about the effort, DPH has conducted statewide and targeted education campaigns, including an ongoing campaign in greater Bridgeport and the city of Derby. For more information on the DPH’s programs, visit www.StayInTheGameCT.com.

For more information on colorectal cancer and screenings, visit www.ct.gov/dph/colorectal or call (860) 509-7804.

State gets nearly $1 million for biomedical research

Friday, January 6, 2012 by:Amanda Cuda
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Senator Joseph Crisco (D-Woodbridge) and the Department of Public Health (DPH) today announced the recipients of $934,004 in state funding for biomedical research into diseases associated with tobacco use and other chronic illnesses.The money is being doled out as follows:

University of Connecticut, Bradley Bolling, PhD, $417,076: Money will go to evaluate whether chokeberry extract containing antioxidant polyphenols will have cardio-protective effects in former smokers who are susceptible to atherosclerosis development due to previous exposure of smoking-induced oxidative stress.

Yale University, Kevan Herold, MD , $169,678: Money will go to he development and testing of a novel approach to measure beta cell death in vivo, which is not now possible but would have important implications for treatment of diabetes. UConn Health Center, Daniel Rosenberg, PhD,  $356,250: Money will go to help detect specific smoking-induced changes in the colon.

To see learn more about the grants, see the press release from DPH is below:

Hartford —Senator Joseph Crisco (D-Woodbridge) and the Department of Public Health (DPH) today announced the recipients of state funding for biomedical research into diseases associated with tobacco use and other chronic illnesses.

A total of $943,004 was awarded this year by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) from the state’s Biomedical Research Trust Fund. These funds will support three research projects conducted by researchers from the University of Connecticut, UCONN Health Center, and Yale University (see last page for summary of award recipients).

Governor Dannel P. Malloy spearheaded initiatives designed to spur the state’s biomedical research with his Bioscience Connecticut proposal last session. Yesterday, the Governor signed an agreement with Jackson Laboratory to bring a $1.2 billion dollar personalized medicine project to Connecticut. A PriceWaterhouseCoopers study estimates that the personalized medicine industry is worth $284 billion in U.S. sales annually. The institutions receiving the DPH awards are part of Connecticut’s new research triangle.

“These grants awarded today – part of an annual program to help underwrite cutting edge, health-related research – are consistent with what seems to be a growing and accelerating emphasis on comparable projects in Connecticut,” Senator Crisco said. “We have recently agreed to invest in an overhaul of the UConn Health Center and provide economic development funding for Jackson Labs – it’s gratifying to know Connecticut plans to continue setting the pace in health-related research throughout the foreseeable future.”

“These projects were selected from a field of highly competitive applications received in response to a Request for Proposals issued by the department last Spring,” stated DPH Deputy Commissioner Lisa Davis. “The funds made available through the Biomedical Research Trust Fund represent an investment in Connecticut-based research that is providing new insight into how to treat and prevent leading causes of death and disability.”

With this seventh round of proposals funded by DPH, over eleven million dollars have been awarded to Connecticut research institutions for the purpose of funding biomedical research into tobacco-related diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.

In 2000, the Biomedical Research Trust Fund was established by the Connecticut General Assembly to fund biomedical research into tobacco-related illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. The trust fund may accept transfers from the Tobacco Settlement Fund. Non-profit, tax-exempt academic institutions of higher education or hospitals that conduct biomedical research are eligible to apply for these funds. In 2010, P.A. 10-136 expanded the scope of research funded by the trust fund to include Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes research.

According to state health officials, tobacco is the single most preventable cause of mortality and morbidity in our society. In Connecticut, tobacco use is associated with over 5,000 deaths per year. These deaths are primarily caused by cancer, heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

An estimated 6.9% of the Connecticut adult population or approximately 186,000 adults age 18 years and older have been diagnosed with diabetes. An additional 93,000 Connecticut adults are estimated to have undiagnosed diabetes.

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the top ten leading causes of death in the United States. It is the 6th leading cause of death among American adults, and the 5th leading cause of death for adults aged 65 years and older.


Happy Great American Smokeout day!

Thursday, November 17, 2011 by:Amanda Cuda
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Today is the Great American Smokeout, the American Cancer Society-sponsored event that encourages all smokers to kick their habit and aim for better health. You can read a story linked to the smokeout (about a possible anti-smoking vaccine in the works) in today’s Connecticut Post (or by clicking here). Also, here are a few no-so-fun facts about smoking and its various health risks, courtesy of the American Cancer Society.

  • Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United Staes.
  • Each year, smoking results in an estimated 443,000 premature deaths, of which about 49,400 are in non-smokers  as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke.
  • In the United States, tobacco use is responsible for nearly 1 in 5 deaths.
  • Nearly 47 million Americans still smoke.
  • Smoking accounts for $193 billion in health care expenditures and productivity losses.
  • Tobacco use accounts for at least 30 percent of all cancer deaths and 87 percent of lung cancer deaths.
  • Tobacco use increases the risk of cancers of the lung, mouth, nasal cavities, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, colorectum, liver, pancreas, kidney, bladder, uterine, cervix,over and myloid leukemia.
  • Cigarette use has had a dramatic decline since the release of the first U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health in 1964. Even so, about 24 percent of men and 18 percent of women still smoked cigarettes in 2009, with almost 80 percent of these people smoking daily.
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