Doctors urge screenings during cancer awareness month
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and while many may hear about the disease, people are still reluctant to screen themselves to prevent colon cancer.
Dr. Tom Deas, a senior partner with Gastroenterology Associates of North Texas and medical director of the Fort Worth Endoscopy Center, said only about 25 percent of Medicare patients have undergone a colonoscopy to screen for colon cancer. Some who havenÂ’t undergone the procedure may have had barium X-rays or occult blood stool tests, but the fact remains that many arenÂ’t getting screened for polyps or lesions that can turn into cancer. Unfortunately, with colon cancer, by the time there are symptoms, the disease often is advanced.
The American Cancer Society recommends regular screenings for colon cancer start for everyone at age 50. Colon cancer is the second most frequent cause of cancer death and most people run a 5 percent to 6 percent chance of developing the disease, although that chance can be higher if the cancer runs in a family, Deas said.
“That’s a big number. That’s a scary number,” Deas said.
A colonoscopy, a procedure that runs a probe through the colon to check for polyps, lesions and other pre-cancerous growths, is the most effective way to screen for colon cancer because growths can be removed during the procedure, Deas said. While many physicians may offer the screening, Deas said studies indicate that specialists who go through lengthy training and do many of the procedures — such as gastroenterologists — have a better rate of finding pre-cancerous growths and a lower rate of complications.
Family physicians, who may be managing various conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol in a single patient, may not ask if a patient has ever been screened for colon cancer. Deas said patients should themselves broach the topic with their physicians in order to start planning screening procedures, even though “when you’re 50, you’re not thinking about getting cancer.”
Nursing school awarded grant
The Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Texas Christian University was awarded a $280,000 state grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for its 2008 retention and graduation rates.
The grant, which came from the Nursing Shortage Reduction Program, was in response to the school’s 196 graduates in 2008, up from 158 students in 2007. The grant can be used to hire new faculty, preceptors, and give salary supplements. The nursing school — which was awarded the same grant in 2005, 2006 and 2008 for increasing its number of graduates — has not yet decided how the money will be used.
UNT HSC to host forum on asthma
The UNT Health Science Center will be hosting a health forum on asthma in children April 2 and 3 at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will start with a 6 p.m. keynote address on April 2 from Noreen Clark of the University of Michigan. Clark is the Wegman Distinguished University Professor of Public Health and director of the Center for Managing Chronic Disease at the university and serves as the national program director for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Allies Against Asthma. Workshops will run from 8 a.m. to noon April 3 with a focus on preventing and controlling asthma as well as improving outcomes for patients.
To register for the event, visit www.RegisterWithUNT.com.
Nurse receives innovation award
Donna Bertram, vice president and chief nursing officer of Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, will be honored with the Organizational Innovation Award for Nurse Executives by the American Organization of Nurse Executives at its national conference in April.
Bertram, who has a 44-year nursing career and joined the hospital in her current position in 2005, is being recognized for starting positive changes within her organization. Since joining the hospital, she’s established a healing arts committee, put in place a Nursing Knowledge Expo and started the hospital’s efforts toward gaining a “magnet” designation, the highest award for nursing excellence, among other initiatives.
The American Organization of Nurse Executives is a national group for advancing nursing practice and patient care, promoting nursing leadership excellence and shaping public policy for health care.
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