Colorectal Cancer News in Brief: November 16

Briefly: African Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer at later stages and have surgery less often which contributes to their poorer survival.  Women have a greater risk of a missed or early colorectal cancer after a negative colonoscopy.

If you can’t have a loved one with you during a painful procedure, just looking at your partner’s picture may make it hurt less.

The American Society for Radiation Oncology has a new website for patients, and open enrollment for Medicare plan coverage begins on November 15 and extends through the end of the year. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on November 16th, 2009
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | 2 Comments »
Tags: disparities, Medicare, pain, radiation oncology

FDA Publishes Consumer Guide to Safe Use of Pain Medicine

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a guide for patients to help them understand pain medicines and use them safely.

The guide includes information about over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription pain medicine.  It includes some of the problems that can occur when acetaminophen, NSAIDS, or opiates are not used as directed.  Knowing the active ingredients in a pain reliever is important so that patients won’t use several different medicines with the same ingredient at the same time. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on February 23rd, 2009
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: opioid drugs, pain

Clinical Trial Testing Ultrasound System for Painful Bone Mets

Cancer that has spread to the bone can be excruciatingly painful.  Currently radiation treatment or opiate drugs are used to manage pain, but these are not always successful.

A system that combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with ultrasound treatment to destroy bone tumors and treat pain is being evaluated in a randomized Phase III clinical trial at a number of centers in the United States, Canada, and Israel.

BM004: A Pivotal Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness and Safety of ExAblate Treatment of Metastatic Bone Tumors for the Palliation of Pain in Patients Who are not Candidates for Radiation Therapy is sponsored by InSightec Ltd. Continue reading…

Posted by Kate Murphy on July 25th, 2008
Posted in: Research & Treatment News | No Comments »
Tags: bone metastases, clinical trials, pain