Health TO YOUR
Mid-Valley Mi id Newspapers
February 2014
A guide to wellness and healthy living in the Mid-Willamette Valley
STAT Quick reads about health topics in the news
Bullied seniors Schoolyard thugs who prey on weaker or vulnerable classmates may grow up, but they don’t go away — even when their hair turns gray, experts say. An increasing number of senior citizens are being victimized by other seniors, they say. The bullying varies but includes bossing others around, verbal putdowns, spreading rumors and sometimes physical violence. According to one estimate, 10 to 20 percent of residents of senior facilities and those who regularly visit senior centers have endured some form of bullying. — The Kansas City Star
Strokes and women
Colon cancer survivor Danielle Ripley-Burgess, of Lee's Summit, Mo., supports an organization that takes an educational traveling exhibit about the disease. It features a 40-foot-long model of a colon that young and old can crawl through, as seen in December 2013 at New Summit Church. FRED BLOCHER | KANSAS CITY STAR, MCT
Raising awareness of colon cancer Being afraid to talk about what happens in the bathroom could kill you By LISA GUTIERREZ, KANSES CITY STAR ANSAS CITY, Mo. — She couldn’t tell her mom that something was wrong because it was way too embarrassing. She didn’t even like to walk down the toilet paper aisle at the grocery store. So when Danielle RipleyBurgess, 30, of Lee’s Summit, Mo., was in junior high school and began finding blood in the toilet after going to the bathroom, “I didn’t say anything about it for a long, long time. I was mortified.” When she finally did, she and her mom, at first, did their own research on the Internet and figured that because Danielle was so young, the problem had to be something benign, like hemorrhoids. Wrong. Just a few weeks after her 17th birthday in 2001, she was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer, going from prom plans to hospital stays in the blink of an eye. Today, at 30, she’s a wife and mother running a marketing firm — Semicolon Communications, wink, wink — and doing what she can to get people talking about what she once feared. She’s not above using props, either. Big ones. In early December she arranged to have a 40-foot crawl-through model of a colon trucked into town. The message? Being afraid to talk about what happens in the bathroom could kill you. Colorectal cancer is the secondmost deadly cancer, but the majority of cases are preventable with the use of a common screening procedure called a colonoscopy. Precancerous growths found during a colonoscopy — recommended every 10 years beginning at 50 — can be removed on the spot. That’s important because those growths, or polyps, can stick around in your colon for years and become full-blown cancer. “This is the only situation in all of medicine where the test used to screen for a cancer is also the method for preventing that same cancer,” said Larry Geier, a genetics oncologist at the University of Kansas Cancer Center and one of Ripley-Burgess’ doctors. “In all other situations — mammogram, Pap smear — the screening test may be effective for early detection but provides no ability
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A game of throne: Navigating the before, during and after of a colonoscopy You’ve heard the horror stories about colon cancer, now play the game and put (some) fun into this common screening procedure. “They’re going to do what?!” During a colonoscopy, a long, flexible tube is inserted into the rectum. A tiny video camera at the tip of the tube lets the doctor see the inside of the entire colon. Takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Move forward two spaces. “I can’t afford this.” Under the new health care law, Medicare and private insurers are required to cover most types of colorectal cancer screening, including colonoscopies. Skip ahead one. “Will I miss work? Schedule two days of me-time: One for the prep — you have to empty out your colon so the doctor can get a clear view — and one for the outpatient procedure itself. Fail at the prep and you might have to do it all over again. Roll again. “I’m scared.” Visit TheGreatBowelMovement.org for preparation tips and advice. Your innards will thank you for it. Jump ahead two. “What if they find something?” Precancerous growths found during the procedure can be removed immediately; small amounts of tissue can be removed for later biopsy. Skip ahead two. “No way I’m doing this!” About half of Americans age 50 and older get any kind of screening for colorectal cancer, colonoscopy or otherwise. Nearly 20,000 lives could be saved each year if that rate rose to 90, 95 percent. Skip a screening, shame on you. Lose a turn. “Can I eat?” For about 24 hours before the procedure you’ll follow a clearliquid diet — no dairy, nothing with red dyes — and drink up to a gallon of a laxative solution typically mixed with lemon-lime Gatorade. The bright side? Your insides will be squeaky clean. Move forward one space. “Bottoms up!” That Gatorade cocktail will go down a lot easier if you chill it in the freezer for about 45 minutes. Ask your doctor if you can spice it up with Crystal Light — no red or purple flavors, though. Check natural-foods markets for other flavored drinks that don’t contain red dyes. Roll again. “I’m gagging here.” That prep stuff doesn’t go down easy. If it makes you sick, wait 30 minutes before drinking more and take small sips. If you can’t keep it down, tell your doctor. Gulp, and move forward two. “I’m . so . hungry!” Carbonated drinks sodas and frozen desserts without dairy — ice pops popsicles and Italian ice — can trick your empty stomach into feeling full while you fast. Ask your doctor which ones you can have. “Liquid diet” doesn’t mean you have to stick with chicken broth, either. Try flavorful miso soup; just strain out the noodles and dried seaweed. Move forward one space. “Feelin’ the burn now.” Yes, your fanny will pay a price. There’s no avoiding it. Skip the toilet paper and soothe your bum with disposable wet wipes you’ve chilled in the fridge. Ahhhhh. Vaseline, Desitin and Calmoseptine ointment, used for diaper rash, can soothe the sting, too. Double ahhhhh. Move forward two. “Bowels. Moving.” Schedule a movie marathon (skip the popcorn), catch up on your favorite TV show on Netflix, snuggle with the dog. You can play Words With Friends or online trivia games such as Sporcle in the bathroom. (No one will know.) Move forward one space. “I’m so done with this.” OK, OK. Your colon is clean now. Time for the procedure. Move ahead one. “This wasn’t so hard.” A colonoscopy is typically done under general anesthesia. Afterward, you might feel some cramping or the sensation of having gas, but it won’t last long. Move ahead one. “Driver, the car!” You did it. And if you were smart, you took someone with you to drive you home. Spoil yourself with a nap, but make sure a family member or loved one is with you in case complications arise.
Sources: Mayo Clinic, American Cancer Society, Cleveland Clinic, FightColorectalCancer.org. and TheGreatBowelMovement.org. to prevent the cancer itself.” And yet, people fear the colonoscopy. Statistics show that only half of Americans older than 50 have ever had one, or any other type of colorectal cancer screening process. The ick factor is high. Here are the excuses patients give Geier. • “I don’t like the idea of a doc-
tor sticking a scope up my rectum. I am too modest for that.” • “I hear the preparation for the test is very difficult, and I don’t want to do that.” • “I am not having any symptoms, so I don’t have cancer.” • “I just don’t have time for that.” “I have heard each of these reasons too many times over the years,
COLON CANCER WARNING SIGNS • Blood in the stool (frequently not visible to the naked eye), a change in stool habits, a gradual decrease in the size of the stool, increasing abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss • Those symptoms are much more likely to occur when the tumor is in the rectum or the very last part of the colon. Cancers that are higher up in the colon frequently don’t signal their presence with these symptoms until the tumor is quite large. That’s why screening for the cancer when there are no symptoms is critical. • Anyone with one or more of these symptoms should tell their doctor.
Source: Larry Geier, genetics oncologist at the University of Kansas Cancer Center. and none of them are worth taking the chance, or what I consider to be playing ‘Russian roulette’ with your colon,” Geier said. Only 10 percent of all people diagnosed with the disease are younger than 50. But while cases of colon cancer among adults 50 and older are falling, rates among younger adults like Ripley-Burgess are rising, according to the Colon Cancer Alliance. “There is a trend toward younger age at the time of diagnosis of colon cancer over the last two decades,” Geier said. “Changes in diet, better screening and more awareness of early symptoms may each have a role but still don’t provide adequate explanation.” What happened to RipleyBurgess was rare. She was diagnosed with colon cancer at 17 and again at 25, when all but a foot of her large intestine had to be removed. “I have to be kind of careful with what I eat, when I eat.” No big chili dogs for lunch, for example. “It’s normal for me now.”
The good news: More people survive stroke now than 10 years ago due to improved treatment and prevention. The bad news: Women who survive stroke have a worse quality of life than men, according to a study published in the Feb. 7 online issue of the journal Neurology. Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center compared the quality of life in men and women who had a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). The patients’ quality of life was measured at three months and one year after a stroke or TIA using a formula that assesses mobility, selfcare, everyday activities, depression/anxiety and pain. “We found that women had a worse quality of life than men up to 12 months following a stroke, even after considering differences in important sociodemographic variables, stroke severity and disability,” said Cheryl Bushnell, M.D., senior author of the study. — Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Autism diagnosis The number of children diagnosed with autism will likely decline in the coming years, according to researchers who have reassessed population data and found a slight drop in prevalence based on new diagnostic criteria. Definitions of autism changed last May in a volume published by the American Psychiatric Association. The “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition,” is best known by its abbreviated title, the DSM-5. Now, researchers at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities have taken a new mathematical look at populations of children previously diagnosed with autism and found a slight but notable percentage would not be so diagnosed under the revised criteria. Researchers looked at 2006 through 2008 data involving 6,577 autistic children in 14 states diagnosed using the earlier criteria. They found that when applying the new guidelines, 81 percent of the children, or 5,339, would be diagnosed as autistic. The reassessment is published in the current edition of the journal JAMA Psychiatry. — Newsday
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Tuesday, February 11, 2014
To Your Health