Smoking and Colorectal Surgery

A new study published by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center shows that smoking boosts the risk of complications and death following some of the most common colorectal procedures, including surgery for colon cancer, diverticulitis, or inflammatory bowel disease.

After accounting for patient age, body mass index, alcohol use and other health conditions, the team’s analysis showed that current smokers still had an estimated 30 percent increased risk of dying or developing complications following colorectal surgery compared with never-smokers.

Love Your Butt

Shake your money-maker on over to the doctor's office for colon cancer awareness month.


Source: Love Your Butt Campaign

Screen My Colon

Did your grandparents have colon cancer? Have any of your relatives ever had polyps?

Knowing the answers to questions like these could tell you if you are at an increased risk for colon cancer. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death in the U.S.

Take the time to learn your health history by filling out a family health tree (pdf). You may need to tell your doctor to "Screen my colon!" (TM) earlier than you thought.


Source: CCA: Screen My Colon

Beating Bowel Cancer

Bowel cancer affects 1 in 18 people and kills 50 people every single day. But with early diagnosis it can be beaten. Check out Louise's story of how she beat bowel cancer and help us spread the word.

No Excuses

According to the CDC, of cancers affecting both men and women, colorectal cancer (cancer of the colon and rectum) is the second leading cancer killer in the United States. In the United States in 2008, 142,950 people were diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and 52,857 people died from it.

Don't keep trying to find an excuse to put it off any longer. If you're 50 years of age or older, you should be screened for colorectal cancer.


Source: CDC: Colorectal (colon) Cancer

Generation Rx

They're prescription drugs, so they have to be safe right? Dr. Megan Thompson, along with students from the UNM College of Pharmacy, are heading to schools and across Albuquerque and other parts of New Mexico to warn young people of the dangers of prescription drug misuse and abuse.


UNM College of Pharmacy Teaches Generation Rx from UNM Health Sciences Center on Vimeo.

March Is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Among cancers that affect both men and women, colorectal cancer — cancer of the colon or rectum — is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Colorectal cancer also is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in America.

Approximately 140,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed every year and another 56,000 people die annually of this disease. But colorectal cancer is a disease that can be prevented and cured if detected and treated early.

The risk of developing colorectal cancer increases with advancing age. More than 90% of cases occur in people aged 50 or older.

According to the CDC -

It is estimated that as many as 60% of colorectal cancer deaths could be prevented if all men and women aged 50 years or older were screened routinely. In most cases, colorectal cancer develops from precancerous polyps (abnormal growths) in the colon or rectum. Screening tests can find precancerous polyps, so that they can be removed before they turn into cancer. Screening tests also can find colorectal cancer early, when treatment works best.

So, in recognition of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month ask yourself - is it worth the risk of getting cancer when it's only a minor inconvenience to undergo a colonoscopy? Don't put it off any longer. Avoid the unnecessary heartbreak of a colon cancer diagnosis and schedule your screening today.

Early Detection Saves Lives

Although I consider myself to be a huge football fan, I was an even bigger one during my high school years. Living in an Atlanta suburb during those years, the Atlanta Falcons were my favorite team, and their star quarterback was Steve Bartkowski. His skils and leadership at quarterback helped turn the team around, led the Falcons up from the conference cellar, and made us all proud to be Falcons fans.

The first overall selection in the 1975 NFL draft, Steve Bartkowski was also voted the 1975 NFL Rookie of the Year, and spent the first 11 seasons of his career etching his name in the Falcons' history books. He led the NFL in passer rating in 1983, and became one of only six quarterbacks in league history to post consecutive 30-touchdown passing seasons. He also led Atlanta to divisional championships in 1980 and 1982, setting several franchise records in the process.

A lot of time has passed since. In June 2005, then 53-year-old Bartkowski was at a backyard barbecue when a friend mentioned he didn’t look well. Bartkowski explained that he had not been himself lately and that he had noticed some blood in his stool.

Here's what happened next -


Source: HealthWatchMD

As Steve has shown both professionally and personally, a "passing" game won't always win it for you. To succeed, every once and a while you're going to have to clear a hole, and run it up the middle. Don't wait until the fourth quarter to make your comeback, win the game before the second-half even starts. Enough football ANALogies? How about this then -

Take Steve's advice. Schedule your colonoscopy earlier in life. Early detection saves lives.

Is Your Colon Really Cool?

If you're over fifty-years of age, don't just leave your ass hanging out and blowing in the wind. Quit procrASStinating and get it checked out. Colonoscopies are groovy. They save lives.

But, don't just take my word for it.

Have You Scheduled Your Colonoscopy Yet?

Look, medical experts aren't exactly sure how polyps develop, or why some people get them while others do not. What we do know is that the key to preventing colon cancer is a diet high in fiber, regular check-ups, and surgical removal any existing polyps. Don't believe all of the infomercial hype, there is no magic pill.

Don't wait until it's too late, schedule your colonoscopy today.

Ensure A Successful Probe

Each year more than 145,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer, often referred to as colon cancer, in the U.S. and almost 50,000 people die from it annually. The disease, however, is largely preventable with regular screening and is treatable with early detection.

But, a recent study reports that colonoscopies done with suboptimal bowel preparation are associated with relatively high adenoma miss rates, suggesting that suboptimal bowel preparation substantially decreases colonoscopy effectiveness and may mandate an early follow-up examination.

In English, this means you're putting yourself at unnecessary risk by not taking your bowel-prep medications correctly or by not following the doctor's directions to fully clean out your system "before" the examination.

The effectiveness of any colorectal cancer screening program is critically dependent on adequate bowel preparation. Adequate preparation ensures that the colon is thoroughly cleaned before the exam so that the physician can clearly see the entire colon to look for abnormalities, such as colon polyps, during the procedure.

Cleansing the colon before a colonoscopy is called bowel preparation, or "prep." It involves taking medication that causes diarrhea, emptying the colon and making it easier to find cancerous polyps. While you may find it difficult or burdensome to take your medications as directed, your life may depend upon it.

Quit being a pussy. It's difficult enough to see through the shit of everyday life, let alone what you're leaving in your colon. Buck up and do what your health care providers tell you. They're not doing it just to seem important, they're doing it to ensure success.

Image Source: Linglie at Worth1000.com

VAMC Inpatient Formulary

I've heard that this has been added to the local VAMC formulary.
Can anyone confirm this rumor?

Source: carlosnumbertwo at Worth 10000.com

Patience is a Virtue

I keep a bottle of these at the drop off window. Make sure to breath deeply and help yourself to one capsule before you start talking to me.

Didn't your momma tell you that patience is a virtue, or that good things come to those who wait? What I do is not an inconvenience.

I don't care if your husband is a cardiologist. I don't care if you have a cab waiting, are late for an appointment, need to catch a flight, or any other bullshit reason why I should rush your prescription. It's going to take as long as I tell you it will take to fill it correctly.

Believe me, I know that you'll be the first one to call the news station and hang my ass out to dry if I fill your prescription wrong.

Schedule Your Colonoscopy ASAP

There are some things in life you should be anal about.


CCS - Anal from Patrick Hachey on Vimeo.

The risk of getting colon or rectal cancer in your lifetime is 1 in 18.

This risk seems to be decreasing slightly as time passes. However, colon cancer is a risk for every individual. The risk of males and females is about equal. Similarly, the risk does not vary substantially among different ethnic groups in the United States. The risk of this disease does vary around the world, and it is felt that this is most likely due to difference in life style and, to some degree, genetic pre-dispositions. When foreign groups move to the United States, the life style and dietary changes tend to make the risks similar to that of other ethnic groups in the United States.

The greatest risk for developing cancer is after the age of 60. However, about 5% of colon and rectal cancers occur under the age of 40. Twenty percent of patients who develop colon and rectal cancer will have a family history of colon cancer. About 1% have an identified predisposition to colon cancer called familial polyposis or chronic ulcerative colitis.

The chance that a person will die of a colon and rectal cancer is about 1/3 the chance of getting the cancer. Increasingly, as tumors are identified at an earlier stage and phase, then we are able to cure these cancers. Colon cancer is the cause of death in about 3% of individuals who die each year in the United States. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

Stay Out Of The System

You've abused your body or you've poisoned your mind beyond repair, or both.

All those years of overeating, couch surfing, smoking, drinking, drug abuse, laziness and stupidity have taken it's toll on you. Your life has now become FUBAR.

You didn't listen to those who told you how to live a long and fruitful life. So let me repeat it.

The first rule of longevity is to never become part of any "system". But you didn't think that rule applied to you and have now foolishly gotten yourself incorporated into the "healthcare" system, and now you can't escape!

So, now you come to me looking for help and advice.

Well, if you want it, you'd better appreciate it. The second rule of longevity is - I'm not your burger-flipping flunky acting upon your every whim. I'll be glad to help you through what little good life you have left if you show me some respect and consideration. Sit down, shut up, take your head out of your ass, and LISTEN UP.

Follow rule number two, and you won't have to experience rule number three.