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Tuesday, March 03, 2009
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Medicare not stopping Virtual Colonoscopy Popularity
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Even though the new Medicare health care reform has ended the coverage of virtual colonoscopies the scans are still considered by many physicians and patients as vital to preventing colon cancer. A Daytona Beach, Florida digestive health clinic is hoping to make colonoscopies easier to stomach for their patients. While traditional methods have always been used at the clinic, this scan will be the first of its kind in the area.
The local paper reported about the new services, "DSI invested $2 million to install the virtual colonoscopy machine at its new Springboro ambulatory center at 77 W. Eleanor Drive: $1 million for the machine itself, software and set-up; and another $1 million to house it. DSI currently does about 20 such procedures each month."
Digestive Specialists Inc (DSI) will be charging a special of $799 this month for patients in honor of colon cancer awareness month. The following months the rate will increase to the normal fixture of $1200.
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Monday, March 02, 2009
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Grants and Awareness for Colon Cancer
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In a recent wave of awareness for colorectal cancer and preventive screening, the University of Rochester has been given a grant for colon cancer research. The scientist at the University will begin cutting edge research and experiments on forms of prevention and early diagnosis. This also comes on the wake of a recent blow to the virtual colonoscopy industry, with Medicare forgoing paying for the scans.
MSNBC reported on the recent influx of awareness surrounding colon cancer, "Scientists will study how certain bacteria cause tumors to grow. The money was raised by the cancer society's "Relay for Life." dozens of volunteers were there today to see their hard work pay off."
With increased funding and popularity colon cancer is emerging onto the spotlight of physicians and people. Colon cancer is one of the most common cancer causing deaths, which is why getting grants and educating the public is key to catching the disease early enough to treat it.
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Friday, February 27, 2009
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Women and Heart Disease
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Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States, which is why females are trying to bring awareness into the headlines. Unfortunately many women are unaware of their risks or symptoms – which is why heart disease tends to kill women without any notification. Similarly because many women live longer than their male counterparts they are more likely to develop heart disease during their lifetime.
Dr. Mathew Budoff a veteran cardiologist told VOA News, "The first step toward fighting the disease among women, Budoff says, is dispelling the misconceptions about it - such as that heart disease only affects men. 'The heart attack rate actually now is higher in women than in men in the United States,' he says. 'More women die of heart attack, more women die of stroke, and more women die of heart failure than men every year in the United States. It's really a female-predominant disease at this point."
Budoff goes on to say that women clearly get checked once a year for a mammogram to prevent breast cancer, they should also get their heart checked with virtual EBT heart scans once a year. Early detection is key to preventing heart attacks. The focus really needs to start going on women and better prevention methods, education, and awareness.
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Friday, February 27, 2009
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Calcium and Colon Cancer
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The AFP has reported that consumption of calcium may decrease chances of developing colon cancer or tumors in the digestive system. Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, so early detection is key to survival. If you couple prevention virtual colonoscopy screening with at-home prevention methods like consuming daily doses of calcium, your chances of developing colon cancer are significantly decreased.
The AFP said, "In both men and women, dairy food and calcium intakes were inversely associated with cancers of the digestive system,' the authors of the study in the Archives of Internal Medicine wrote, 'Women who consumed the most calcium, some 1,881 milligrammes a day, cut their cancer risk by 23 percent over those who had the lowest calcium intake of around 494 milligrammes a day."
The study was shown to be consistent amongst men and women. It has long been known that women should continuously and regularly take calcium for their bone density, so by taking calcium daily both colon cancer and osteoporosis may be prevented.
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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Police and Heart Scans
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The police department in Illinois will be having heart scans for the entire division in honor of a lost Sergeant. Sgt. Daniel Higgins died of heart disease, and the foundation for Daniel Higgins will be giving his former police force heart scans as a form of prevention, detection, and awareness. His foundation has received a $20,000 grant from the Kane County DUI task force to do so.
The Courier News reported, "Eighty officers from Elgin, St. Charles, Batavia and Sleepy Hollow are using this grant to 'prevent the death of a law enforcement officer' and 'know the risks to their profession,' said Craig Figgins, brother of the fallen officer and executive director of the foundation."
Sgt Higgins passed away at a young age and had family history for heart disease, which made him a prime candidate for a heart attack and heart disease. He like many other people who fall victim to heart disease do not know they have the ailment. Which is why heart scans can aid in preventing deaths like Sgt. Higgins.
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Friday, February 20, 2009
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Colon Cancer Awareness Soars
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There has been much buzz circulating around colon cancer, especially with the recent Medicare pull-out. The awareness is spreading nationwide, in Kalamazoo, Michigan a Colorectal Cancer Awareness Health Fair is being held to promote and promulgate the importance of early detection, prevention tips, symptoms, and treatments. Educating people is key to better awareness which is why health fairs like this are so vital to better living.
A local Kalamazoo paper said, "The event, hosted by Gastroenterology of Southwest Michigan, will feature the Super Colon, an inflatable, interactive colon that teaches people about the risks, symptoms and detection of colon cancer; a mock colonoscopy room where guests can view a virtual colonoscopy; and insurance providers who can talk about coverage options."
The event is free and will hopefully be one of a series of health fairs done around the nation.
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009
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Obama or Medicare?
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The new Medicare legislation which was passed late last week is causing a bit of stir among economic pundits and politicians. Some conservative leaders and supporters are saying these new laws are just the beginning of Obama's reformation of the healthcare system. But is that such a bad thing? In the field of virtual colonoscopies yes it may be, because physicians and researchers have found that virtual colonoscopies are the way of the future and aid in early detection of colorectal cancer. So why is Medicare opting out of paying for them?
Matthew Harper of Forbes says about this new law, "We've reported before how General Electric's health care arm is struggling as doctors and hospitals cut back on purchases of expensive imaging machines. As reimbursement rates for MRIs, CT scans and other imaging studies have slid, sales have slowed. To offset these cuts, GE needs to find new applications for its devices. One is the virtual colonoscopy, in which images from a CT Scan replace an actual probe taking pictures inside the body."
As time goes on and President Obama puts in place his new healthcare funding ideas, we'll see if this was a good decision or not.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
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Heart Disease and the Elderly
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Many Americans over the age of 75 are falling victim to cardiovascular issues post-heart attack, most of which are induced by cardiogenic shock. CS occurs when the heart stops feeding blood to the organs of the body and it causes the body to go into shock. Sadly, many elderly patients are not given invasive treatments to mend the issue, but recent research shows invasive procedures should be used.
US News and World Report said, "Elderly patients who are admitted to the hospital with massive heart attacks may still benefit from emergency coronary artery balloon angioplasty with stenting, despite their advanced age. Although mortality occurs in roughly half of patients in these high risk situations, without this aggressive treatment, the prospect of survival is very poor," study senior author David Clark, an interventional radiologist at Austin Hospital in Melbourne, said in an American College of Cardiology news release."
Though this treatment is aggressive, it is important that people over the age of 50 take regular care of their heart and arteries, for heart attack chances are decreased with yearly virtual heart scans.
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Monday, February 16, 2009
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Medicare Slams Virtual Colonoscopies
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On Thursday of last week, Medicare came out punching saying they have decided not to pay for virtual colonoscopy procedures. This could potentially be a serious setback for a booming industry, especially on the wake of good publicity as doctors had been preaching to people to undergo this non-invasive treatment which is the wisest option for colon cancer screening.
The New York Times reported on Friday that skeptics are denouncing this decision, "It seems to defy logic," said Dr. Perry J. Pickhardt, associate professor of radiology at the University of Wisconsin, who has consulted for some makers of software used to analyze the CT scans. Dr. Pickhardt said the virtual colonoscopy was "better, safer, faster, cheaper" than conventional colonoscopy. Dr. Durado Brooks, director for colorectal and prostate cancer at the American Cancer Society, said the decision would reduce the choices available. "There are certainly some patients who may opt not to be screened because they don't want to have a colonoscopy," Dr. Brooks said."
This may ultimately end up being a bad decision because the best way to prevent colorectal cancer is early detection, and many patients hate the idea of the invasive traditional colonoscopy – which not only requires anesthesia, but also fasting and discomfort.
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Thursday, February 12, 2009
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Promising New Heart Medication
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Sanofi Aventis a prescription drug company has said there are promising results about their new drug that targets anti fibrillations. Anti fibrillations are irregular heartbeats, which can result in more serious ailments like palpitations, weakened valves, faintness or chest pain. Today's New York Times Health section was focusing on this research, they said, "The study, which was sponsored by Sanofi, indicated that the medicine could reduce hospitalizations and deaths for people with atrial fibrillation, which afflicts more than two million Americans and four million Europeans."
Patients with such heart conditions should consider getting virtual heart scans regularly as precaution and prevention for more serious diseases like coronary artery disease. If this new medication can alleviate the pain and dangers, it would be a great push for the heart awareness month!
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