Fall 2005 - Memorial Hospital of South Bend

Living with
Thanks to early detection and
treatment advances, a cancer diagnosis
is no longer what it once was
Cancer
Not long ago, a cancer diagnosis implied an uncertain future
at best. But thanks to advancements in treatment and early
detection, many cancers can now be conquered and, in some
cases, prevented entirely.
SCREENING
SAVERS
For a list of recommended
annual cancer
screenings, visit the American
Cancer Society’s Web site,
cancer.org, and click on
“Cancer Detection Guidelines.”
!
“Cancer is the leading cause of death
up to age 85, but that is declining more
rapidly because of strategies we have for
detecting cancers earlier, as well as the
success we’ve had in treating cancers,” said
Rafat Ansari, M.D., FACP, Director of
Oncology Services at Memorial Hospital.
Catching It Early
According to Dr. Ansari, screening
tests and noninvasive procedures performed
on patients who have no symptoms
are the best means of catching cancers
at an early stage.
Tests available for some forms of cancer
include an FOBT (fecal occult blood test)
for colorectal cancer. “This is a simple,
inexpensive test done at home,” Dr. Ansari
said. Patients place stool samples on a
cardboard sheet and send it back to their
physician for analysis. Colonoscopy is
another means of determining colorectal
cancer. A long tube is inserted into the
rectum and large intestine to look for
polyps. Both tests are recommended for
men and women beginning at age 50,
or earlier if there is a family history of
colon cancer.
Mammograms are the best means
of detecting breast cancer at an early
stage and are recommended annually
for women over 40. “There has been a
35 percent decrease in mortality from
breast cancer [thanks to early detection],”
Dr. Ansari said.
For early detection of prostate cancer,
a digital rectal examination (DRE)
combined with a prostate-specific antigen
(PSA) blood test should be performed
for men after age 50. If the patient is at
a high risk for prostate cancer, including
those men with a family history of
the disease or those who are African
American, testing is recommended as
early as age 40.
Treatment Options
When cancer is detected at an early
stage, treatment has proven to be highly
successful. “Because we have wonderful
advances in treatment, there are 10 million
cancer survivors living with us today,”
Dr. Ansari said. “That’s proof that early
detection is key.”
For breast cancer patients, a lumpectomy—the
removal of the tumor and not
the entire breast—has proven to be very
successful. “Ninety-seven percent of
patients are alive and free of the disease 15
years after the procedure,” Dr. Ansari said.
If a patient learns he or she has colorectal
cancer after undergoing a colonoscopy,
and if the cancer is localized to the polyp
only, nothing further needs to be done,
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