TalkNew DNA Test for Colon Cancer Screening
A visit with an old friend this weekend underscored my hope that the work we do today will change the lives of our children tomorrow. My friend is 36, the same age his father was when he was diagnosed with and died from colon cancer. My friend has a daughter who is 7, the same age his sister was when their father died.
Anniversaries and hallmarks like this have a way of reminding us of our risks and motivating us to do something about them. (I just reached the age at which my mother had her second breast cancer. Hello again, mammogram.)
From a very young age, my friend has done all the right things to prevent colon cancer, including having a recommended colonoscopy 10 years earlier than the age of his father’s diagnosis. (Colon cancer is slow growing, and it’s highly curable if nipped in the bud. That’s why high-riskers start screening early.)
This visit, I was excited to compare notes with my friend about PreGen-Plus, a DNA stool test for early detection. Since my company now offers this test, he wanted the inside scoop. As an interim screening between his regular colonoscopies (every 10 years), PreGen-Plus can reassure my friend (who is a worrier), that he’s on top of his insides. Should anything develop, PreGen-Plus is an extra step to make sure he catches it asap. That goes a long way toward prevention - and peace of mind, too.
Here’s everything you need to know about colon cancer, from the American Cancer Society: Colorectal Cancer Facts & Figures, Special Report 2005
If you think you don’t need to know about this, Katie Couric and Morgan Freeman will explain why you do.
Technorati Tags: colon cancer, risks, prevention, colonoscopy, PreGen-Plus, DNA stool test, colorectal cancer, Katie Couric, Morgan Freeman
June 28th, 2006 at 3:34 pm
[…] NB: Lisa at DNA Direct Talk has more about PreGen-Plus, a DNA stool test for early detection of colon cancer. […]
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Great to know you are available to test for colon cancer . Do you have a test for diabetics?
October 4th, 2006 at 9:45 am
Unfortunately, at this time there isn’t a genetic test for diabetics. Diabetes is usually caught through regular screening of blood sugar levels (say during an annual physical) or because someone has gone to their doctor with signs and symptoms of diabetes.
Earlier this year there was news about gene discoveries in relation to Type 1 Diabetes, but no test is clinically available yet. You can be sure, however, that as soon as there is one, we’ll be talking about it here
December 26th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Question: My mother just passed away from colon cancer. She had a colonoscopy that was completely “clear” 18 months prior to her diagnoses of Stage IV Colon Cancer w/mets to the liver. I’m told this isn’t possible and something was missed….should I check into this?
January 8th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Candy, I’m so sorry to hear of your loss. What a difficult time you must be going through.
I am not a physician nor a cancer expert, so I can’t speak to the “clear” colonoscopy and 18-month-later cancer with mets diagnosis other than to say this: My layperson understanding of colon cancer is that it tends to be slow-growing, especially in older people. This is why the guidelines for colonoscopy recommend that it’s done every 10 years — that’s the time considered adequate, for people at general risk, between a clear screening and catching something you’d want to remove.
As the daughter of a cancer patient, I’ve often managed (and questioned) my mother’s medical care. If my mother had had a “clean” screen and a stage IV diagnosis 18 months later, I’d have serious questions too. I would ask for the reports of both her original “clean” colonoscopy and the diagnosing colo. I would ask for any additional reports from her diagnosing and treating physicians. Those physicians can best tell you how long the tumor had been growing and whether/why it might have been missed on the “clean” colo. In addition, I would consider any other signs or symptoms my mother had leading up to her “clean” screen, and whether and how they were addressed by her physician(s) before the cancer diagnosis. Again, this is just my personal reaction, how I consider things as an information seeker. Everyone is different and many people might feel differently.
April 21st, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Colon cancer can become fatal if the cancer has spread through the lymphatic system or the bloodstream to other areas of the body. This cancer has become known as “the silent killer”, since quite often symptoms do not seem to show up until after the cancer has far spread. We should all get tested more frequently throughout our lives!