Healthy Lifestyles

  Higher Incidence of Colorectal Cancer in African Americans

Colorectal cancer in African Americans has an increased incidence and mortality relative to Whites. The mean age of CRC development in African Americans is younger than that of Whites. There is also evidence for a more proximal colonic distribution of cancers and adenomas in African Americans.

African Americans are less likely to have undergone diagnostic testing and screening for colorectal cancer. Special efforts are needed to improve colorectal cancer screening participation rates in African Americans.
Click here to read the entire story. (pdf document)

  Colorectal Cancer in African Americans

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and affects all racial and ethnic groups.1 However, African Americans have the highest incidence of colorectal cancer of any racial or ethnic group,2–6 and survival from colorectal cancer in African Americans is lower than in whites.7–14 Much of the literature describing differences in colorectal cancer among racial and ethnic groups is epidemiologic in nature and is published in cancer or epidemiology journals. Click here to read the entire story. (pdf document)

  Colorectal Cancer Screening

Colorectal cancer will be diagnosed in approximately 131,000 Americans this year, and about 55,000 will die of the disease,1 making this cancer the second leading cause of death from cancer in this country. Colorectal cancer screening allows the detection of asymptomatic cancers that are more amenable to curative therapy, and also allows the removal of adenomas that could subsequently develop into invasive cancer.
Click here to read the entire story. (pdf document)

  Cancer: Test Blacks Sooner (washingtonpost.com)

African Americans should be screened for colorectal cancer beginning at age 45 -- five years earlier than other people, according to new guidelines issued by the American College of Gastroenterology.

The advice is in response to previous findings that African Americans have earlier onset of the disease and higher incidence and mortality rates than whites. Experts suspect that the increased mortality rates may be due, at least in part, to inadequate access to health care and lack of proper screening, which allows doctors to detect and remove polyps that could become cancerous. Click here to read the entire story.

  Healthy Bodies: Foods that pack a nutritional punch (CNN.com)

Eating well is one of the keys to living a healthy life, and some foods can be the go-to sources for particular nutrients. Use this chart to remind you of foods with the highest content in a variety of nutrients, or
print a version (pdf document) to keep handy.

  Five Medical Tests Worth Paying For

It is important to get routine exams and screenings. Based on your age, health history, lifestyle, and other important issues, you and your doctor can determine how often you need to be examined and screened for certain diseases and conditions. These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases, and cancers of the skin, cervix, breast, and colon. When problems are found early, your chances for treatment and cure are better. Routine exams and screenings can help save lives.

There are other, less standard, screenings that also are important to consider. Insurance usually doesn’t cover them, so you may have to pay for them out of your own pocket. Ranging in price from $60 to $500, the tests involve calculated risk that in the end could end up saving your life. Click here to read the entire story. (pdf document)

  Creating the Holidays You Want

If the approaching holidays fill you with fear and trepidation, begin now to reshape your expectation of what is to come. It’s a proven way to avoid an ordeal and, instead, summon holiday joy into your life.

What kind of a holiday do you want? To be relaxed? To bask in good feelings? It is easy to plan for these things as well. Click here to read the entire story.

  Meditation Enhances Immune System

Sitting still and doing nothing doesn’t come easy to Americans. But clinical studies over the last two decades have shown that meditation can affect both our minds and our bodies. In one study that demonstrated the effects of meditation to the immune system, mindfulness practitioners produced more antibodies in response to a flu shot. Another study showed that psoriasis patients undergoing ultraviolet light therapy healed four times faster if they listened to meditation tapes.

Regular meditation can actually change the way our brains work, increasing the amount of activity in the left prefrontal cortex, which is associated with positive emotions such as happiness and optimism. People who practice medication report improvement in their health problems, including chronic pain, eating disorders, cancer, stress, headaches, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, and anxiety attacks. They have more energy, an increased ability to focus and concentrate, and a greater sense of control, plus their relationships with family members, friends and colleagues frequently improve.