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Monday, January 19, 2009
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The Many Benefits of Colonoscopy
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Virtual colonoscopies have recently been considered the wise avenue to take for colon cancer screening. However a recent case in Tampa, Florida may show that these virtual scans that aid in detecting colon cancer early, may also help doctors find osteopersosis in patients.
ABC News interviewed Dr. Lori Slezak a physician who researches and uses virtual colonoscopies. Dr. Slezak said to ABC, "As CT colonography becomes more popular, those patients can certainly request, if they are 50 or older, to have those images reformatted and their risk assessed for osteoporosis. If their bone density looks to be low, their primary care physician would follow that test up with DEXA scan to determine your actual risk of osteoporosis and recommend a type of treatment."
With these added benefits of virtual colonoscopy, there is likely to be an increase of patients opting for the non-invasive route as opposed to traditional methods of colon cancer screening.
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Sunday, January 18, 2009
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Colonoscopy Study Investing in Health and Education
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Early detection of colon cancer, one of the world's leading cancer related killers, is key to fighting and attempting to cure the disease. In recent years, virtual colonoscopies have become the popular method for preventative screening.
"This is why the state Department of Public Health is conducting a $951,379 pilot study on the effectiveness of colonoscopy among 600 uninsured or underinsured men and women at eight of Connecticut's 13 community health centers."
This study is designed by the University of Connecticut to project and decide whether virtual colonoscopies are the appropriate screening method for preventing colon cancer. The virtual colonoscopy is the ideal screening tool, however not all people in the US have the economic or healthcare means to use it, which is why this study hopes to discover exact figures and how to best rectify this issue.
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Friday, January 09, 2009
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National Lung Cancer Screening
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The United Kingdom is taking steps towards developing a nationwide lung cancer screening program. This government backed program is being led by Liverpool University researchers, they are hoping to test potential patients with virtual CT scans in order to detect lung cancer at it's early more treatable stages.
The Liverpool researchers said to BBC News, "Lung cancer kills 33,500 people a year in the UK and a screening trial of thousands of individuals is "urgently" needed to save lives, say researchers. Around a 100 people a day are diagnosed with the condition but many already have late stage disease and have little chance of survival."
These screenings will be done on patients who are at high risk of developing lung cancer a few years down the road. Which is why the physicians are hoping early detection CT scans can help prevent lung cancer related deaths.
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Wednesday, January 07, 2009
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Economy and Virtual Colonoscopies
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Many of our living expenses have been drastically cut in lieu of the economic crisis. However, your health is something that you cannot afford to cut. From baby boomers to retirees it is important to adjust your budgeting to accommodate to preventative health scans, more specifically virtual colonoscopies. Colon cancer is a leading killer among Americans. It is vital to your health to get yearly scans, especially if you are over the age of 50. Unfortunately a large number of people never realize they have colon cancer till it is too far along.
So start cutting back your expenses in other ways and leave some extra money available to maintain your good health. Virtual colonoscopies are not only efficient, but far less time consuming and invasive.
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Tuesday, January 06, 2009
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Medicare Increasing Cancer Screening Coverage
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US Health Officials have reported to Reuters they are proposing to pay for increased use of PET Scans nationwide. The Center of Medicare and Medicaid said the reason being is to aid physicians in deciding which type of cancer treatment is necessary for patients. It will allot more time and added information for doctors to treat the cancer.
The Medicare and Medicaid Services announced, "In a draft proposal, the agency said it would partially lift such requirements and allow most Medicare patients to undergo one positron emission tomography (PET) scan, though the changes would not apply to breast cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma."
Under such potential new laws patients could undergo scans without the hassle of registry, making it simpler and easier for doctors to scan patients.
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Thursday, December 18, 2008
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Benefits of Virtual Colonoscopies
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If you're debating about whether you should get a virtual colonoscopy or a traditional one, you may want to consider all the perks and benefits of the first option. You can actually get your yearly virtual colonoscopy scan while also getting a bone-density scan. This may be a wise choice for women in their middle ages as a large majority of women struggle with bone-density issues.
WebMD has reported, "Speaking at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), he noted that colorectal cancer and osteoporosis generally affect adults over age 50."
Getting both procedures done at once under the same machine can save you time, especially during the busy winter season.
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
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Spreading the Word
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In true Holiday spirit this December cherish your heart and family. Although we tend to overindulge in food and wine over these coming weeks, maintaining heart health is vital to living well. While visiting loved ones and partaking in celebrations make an effort to eat properly and moderately, exercise regularly and get a preventative heart scan as a present to yourself and your family. Heart health awareness is also an important idea to advertise to those you love this season, thousands of families are torn ravaged by heart disease and heart attack, in order help prevent such pain seek out and promote a healthy eating, exercise and check-up regimen.
Make getting a heart scan a group or community effort; get involved in a big group for a good cause and healthy heart and arteries. Detecting heart disease at early stages can significantly increase chances of survival and successful treatment.
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Monday, December 15, 2008
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Heart Scans Gaining Publicity
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The New York Times is publicising the dilemma with virtual heart scans. The idea of preventative heart scans, virtual colonoscopies and full body scans have been debated for years now by physicians. Many of these scans are becoming mainstream techniques for lung and colon cancer screening and prevention; however some old-school doctors have yet to convert to scanning-aficionados.
According to the NYT the longstanding debate is, "CT scans are faster and less invasive than conventional angiograms, the gold standard for diagnosis and identification of blockages, but they expose patients to higher doses of radiation, which may increase the risk of cancer."
Though there are some sceptics many cardiologists have been quick to instil preventative scanning yearly for their patients. Although the scans are not widely adored by all cardiologists, the results stand positive for yearly check-ups for high risk candidates.
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008
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NFL Gets Involved in Heart Scans
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From Heisman Trophy winners to Hall of Famers, they all lined up to get heart scans. The NFL Player Care Foundation has launched a new program to promote comprehensive heart screening for players. 33 former and current NFL stars underwent scans earlier this month. Players have long denounced against the NFL's poor health watch, so many were thrilled to see this new program. Former Kansas City Chiefs running back Ted Mcknight excitedly said, "This has been needed for a long time. This can help catch things in guys who have had issues who probably would have let it skate by. It's important to have an idea of where we are physically. We know we are beat up … but to know internally where we are … you're curious to know."
The players had nearly $3,000 worth of testing done to them: heart and artery imaging, cholesterol testing, blood pressure testing, body fat and a 64 Slice CT Scan. Hopefully this new awareness towards heart scans and heart disease will influence other athletes and organizations to take steps towards prevention.
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008
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The Thanksgiving Blues
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With Thanksgiving dinner approaching in the next few days, binge drink and excessive overeating us inevitable. Researchers may have found that the link between binge drinking and clogged arteries. The research attempts to correlate drinking patterns with cardiovascular disease as opposed to the total amount of alcohol consumed over long periods of time. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that, "Many studies suggest that an irregular pattern of heavy drinking brings about a two-fold increase in risk for a fatal heart attack, even as moderate drinking has been shown to reduce risk (the red wine effect). About 65 percent of Americans drink alcohol, with 15 percent reporting binge patterns in a national survey of problem drinkers."
The study says that a certain type of immune cell is developed during drinking that attaches to the walls of the artery more easily which then promotes and initiates cardiovascular disease. Hopefully with such research people who are aware of their drinking habits will take action and get yearly heart scans as a means of prevention.
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