Department of Surgery
And while October focuses on mammograms for breast cancer, this translates just as well to other key tests for colon, lung, cervical and prostate cancers. As we begin our annual move toward fall and more normal routines of work, school and family, it can be a great time to make sure that all of us are […]
Getting too little sleep or too much sleep disrupts the circadian rhythm – our natural ‘body clock’ – which leads to many unfavorable responses in the body Dr. Yikyung Park It’s that time of year when it can be pretty easy to lose a couple hours of good sleep. Even if we’re usually pretty good […]
The basics are pretty simple: Find shade, use sunscreen and wear sun-safe clothes. But some extra tips can really help us put these into practice. If all the picnics, barbeques and trips to the park didn’t give it away, summer is now officially in full swing, and for many of us that means getting outside […]
A new brief from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) adds further momentum to movements recommending a single dose of the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine. Originally recommended as a three-dose series when first approved and made widely available, the CDC currently recommends two doses of the HPV vaccine for 9 – 14 year […]
A scientific paper recently looked at the links between the time of year and how physically active we are, finding that spring is a season when many people are most active. Summer does very well, too, of course. But in some studies, spring took the top spot outright. It’s pretty easy to see why – there’s […]
“Taking action now to prevent cancer and other serious illnesses will help keep you much safer and healthier in the long run.” Dr. Jean Wang Last March was a blur. The COVID-19 outbreak was officially classified as a pandemic, much of the nation went into some level of safety lockdown, and the healthcare system had […]
With Thanksgiving and the winter holidays just around corner, division chief Dr. Graham Colditz‘s latest For Your Health column discusses ways we can help keep our friends, family, and ourselves healthy as we celebrate during the ongoing pandemic. With insight from Dr. Bettina Drake, he covers COVID-related safety and health, of course, but also broader […]
The results are not really a surprise, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t important. In what is the first large study to directly look at HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination and risk of cervical cancer – rather than risk of cervical pre-cancers – researchers found that vaccination substantially lowered cancer risk. And vaccination at younger ages, […]
February feels like a long, long time ago. The coronavirus outbreak was starting to take hold, but life in the United States was still pretty much normal. Things would soon change, and now nine months or so into our efforts to curb the pandemic, it can be refreshing and a little strange to look back […]
With the surprise and tragic news that the actor Chadwick Boseman had passed away of colon cancer at age 43, there’s been a spotlight on the disease as people look for information and answers. While colon cancer is a disease that many people have heard of, they may not know a great deal about it. […]
Even though smoking is an important cause of multiple cancers, women who smoke are less likely to get recommended cancer screening tests than those who don’t smoke. That’s the finding from a new study of the large Women’s Health Initiative. Published yesterday in the journal, BMJ Open, the study followed 89,000 U.S. women for just […]
In his latest For Your Health column, Division Chief, Dr. Graham Colditz, discusses why time may feel a bit distorted lately and how this can relate to staying safely socially connected as the coronavirus pandemic stretches on. Read the full column.
By Ashley Housten, OTD, MSCI, OTR/L Women have a decision to make. Most know they need a mammogram every 1-2 years, but determining when to start and how often to be screened can be tricky. Siteman Cancer Center radiologists recommend that every woman begin yearly screening at age 40. But you may be hearing different […]
As hard as it can feel at times, winter workouts can be pretty easy to fit in with a bit of planning. by Hank Dart Winter is a special time of year. It’s a season of festive holidays and long, cozy evenings spent with friends and family. Unfortunately, many of the same things that make […]
The holidays are here, and that means a calendar filled with family, friends and festivities. And as wonderful as that can be, it can also make it challenging to stick to the regular routines that help keep us healthy. To help you have the physical and mental freshness to fully enjoy the season, try […]
Originally appeared in: TOGETHER – Every Woman’s Guide to Preventing Breast Cancer. Health is a strange thing. It is something that is both very personal and very communal. As individuals, of course, we ultimately have control over the choices we make when it comes to what we eat, how much TV we watch, and how much […]
Dr. Graham Colditz’s latest For Your Health column talks about ways we can all help make our communities healthier. And, it turns out, we don’t need to be public health superheroes to make a real and lasting difference. As he writes: Big efforts can have an impact. Smaller efforts can, too. Together, they can all […]
Originally appeared in: TOGETHER – Every Woman’s Guide to Preventing Breast Cancer. Although the modern version of the Internet has been around for close to twenty years, it still functions a lot like the Wild West. This is especially so when it comes to health information. Although there has always been unreliable and outright dangerous […]
By Dr. Graham A. Colditz You’ve likely heard of the HPV vaccine, but what you may be surprised to hear is that it is one of the most important advances in the field of cancer in the last 20 years. And while it may not be on the list of required vaccines at your child’s […]
By Graham A. Colditz We have a love affair with sugary drinks in the U.S. And it may, quite literally, be killing us. About 25,000 deaths each year are linked to drinking beverages like full-sugar sodas, sports drinks and energy drinks. It’s a startling number, especially for something so common that we often don’t give […]
A new study further confirms the health benefits of lacing up your shoes and heading out for a walk. The study, published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, followed over 16,000 older women for an average of five years and compared recorded step counts with deaths that occurred in the group over that time. The researchers […]
by Dr. Graham A. Colditz Among scary diseases, lung cancer can be one of the scariest. It is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the nation, and in both Missouri and Illinois. And for smokers and many ex-smokers who are at increased risk of lung cancer, it can feel especially scary. But there is […]
by Dr. Graham A. Colditz Part of being a teenager is feeling a sense of youthful invincibility. The health concerns of middle age are just that – concerns of middle age – and are so far away that it’s hard for teens to even think about them, let alone want to take steps to avoid […]
By this time in March, you may have heard that it’s Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. And with spring in the air and other health awareness promotions competing for your attention, it’s easy to lose the significance of that. But colon cancer is really important. It’s the third most common cancer in the United States and the third […]
by Dr. Graham A. Colditz It can feel like a real victory when we discover those little tricks that make daily life a bit easier. Whether it’s a quicker way to finish chores or a simple dish that tastes like it took hours to make, it’s hard to beat the satisfaction of getting more done […]
A large new study has found that regularly eating whole grains may significantly lower the risk of liver cancer. The study, published online in JAMA Oncology, followed 125,000 men and women for an average of 24 years, gathering information on participants’ diet at regular intervals over that time. The researchers found that those who ate […]
The holidays are here, and that means a calendar filled with family, friends and festivities. And as wonderful as that can be, it can also make it challenging to stick to the regular routines that help keep us healthy. To help you have the physical and mental freshness to fully enjoy the season, try these […]
A new analysis out this week found that people with type 2 diabetes who eat a largely plant-based diet can experience a boost in quality of life and well being, in addition to improvements in other diabetes-related factors. The analysis, which appears in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care, reviewed the results of 11 separate dietary […]
Take a quick video tour of the latest from our 8IGHT WAYS series: 8IGHT WAYS to a Healthier Weight – and Lower Risk of Cancer. Whether you’re looking to maintain your weight or lose a few pounds, this new guide is filled with simple, useful, and brief tips to help you on your way. Find it, […]
A new study has found that a large majority of the public may be unaware that lack of physical activity can increase the risk of cancer. The study, out of Washington University in St. Louis and published Wednesday in the Journal of Health Communication, included a diverse sample of participants who were asked to list […]
Excerpted from TOGETHER – Every Woman’s Guide to Preventing Breast Cancer Breastfeeding for a total of one year or more (combined for all children) lowers the risk of breast cancer. It also has great health benefits for the child. Unfortunately, as natural a thing as breastfeeding is, it doesn’t always naturally fit into today’s modern […]
Recently released numbers from a national survey show that many high school-aged youth in the United States put themselves at risk for lifelong addiction by using tobacco or electronic cigarettes. The 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System report found that 16 percent of girls and 24 percent of boys had vaped, used smokeless tobacco, or […]
Even in today’s frenetic media landscape, health news can still grab the headlines. It is a real testament to the priority we place on good health and well being – how important they can be not only to ourselves but also to our family, friends, and communities. In the first part of 2018, we posted pieces on a wide variety of […]
Time is hard to come by. If you’re a woman in today’s world, that’s more than likely one of the constants in your life. Between work, home, school, and family obligations, the days just fill themselves, leaving little extra. And, though that time-crunch is certainly evident to you – and those around you […]
By Hank Dart An important new report further confirms that the HPV vaccine is both safe and extremely effective at preventing cervical pre-cancers that could develop into cervical cancer. The report, published Wednesday in the Cochrane Library, reviewed the results of 26 HPV vaccine clinical trials that included over 73,000 girls and women ages 15 […]
Stop. Read this. Now read this slowly. S l o w l y. Now take a slow deep breath in and count “one.” Take a slow breath out and count “two.” Now repeat that three times. S l o w l y. You’ve just had a mindful moment. It’s a real rarity in today’s busy, […]
It’s World Physical Activity Day – a great reminder that there really is nothing quite like regular activity when it comes to both individual and population health. Among other benefits, physical activity helps prevent many serious diseases – from stroke to diabetes to cancer – and also improves quality of life and boosts mental mood. […]
A new federal analysis shows that the adult obesity epidemic in the United States keeps on getting worse. Between 2007 and 2016, the percentage of the adult population that was obese increased from an already very high 33.7 percent to a staggering 39.6 percent. And the rate of those severely obese increased from just under […]
On top of all the other wonderful things about spring, it can also be a great time to work on improving your health. Don’t groan. While working on your health goals may not be as fun as watching spring training or walking through a blossom-filled park, your health is important. Very important. And not only […]
It’s March, which means it’s both National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and National Nutrition Month. And that’s an apt combination. A number of healthy diet tips can help lower the risk of colon cancer. And they’re all pretty straightforward. Eat whole grainsWhole grains are filled with fiber and other healthy nutrients. And eating more of […]
A recently published clinical trial out of Stanford University found that high-quality low-fat and high-quality low-carbohydrate diets could be equally effective for weight loss. It was a positive finding from a well-designed study. Many news headlines about the study, however, focused on something else entirely: that calories don’t matter for weight loss. Some examples: The […]
by Hank Dart A new study out of France highlights another possible reason to avoid eating too many highly processed foods: They may increase the risk of cancer. The paper, published yesterday in the British Medical Journal, followed close to 105,000 adults for an average of 5 years. Along the way, participants were asked to regularly […]
by Hank Dart In my many years of writing about and promoting healthy behaviors, I’m happy to say that I’ve at least tried to put into practice just about everything I’ve espoused. Of course, like many people, my success at doing so can be uneven. Some behaviors I do pretty well with – like exercise, […]
by Dr. Lindsay Kuroki Parents grow up wanting their kids to be healthy and happy. And taking control of your child’s health may be easier than you think with evolving research. We know that with healthy eating, encouraging exercise, staying safe in the sun, and getting scheduled vaccinations your child is on the right path […]
As we’ve written about before on Cancer News in Context, good evidence points to the important role that behaviors in youth and young adulthood can have on cancer risk later in life. Health habits started in youth not only have a longer time to impact risk, but they can also have unique and important interactions with the […]
Two years ago during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we posted over nine days excerpts from our, then, new book TOGETHER: Every Woman’s Guide to Preventing Breast Cancer. Each of the nine days focussed on a single practical step that could help lower the risk of the disease. With each of the steps still relevant and […]
Ever wonder how you’re state stacks up compared to others when it comes to important health risk factors? If so, a tool from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (below) can help you do just that. And while it can be fun to click through and explore the data from different states and for […]
At today’s annual symposium of the Boston Nutrition Obesity Research Center (BNORC), CNiC’s Dr. Graham Colditz delivered a plenary session talk reviewing BNOCR’s 25-year contribution to the science on obesity and cancer. A past associate director of the Center, Colditz also paid tribute to groundbreaking nutrition researcher, George Blackburn, who passed away in February 2017 […]
By Hank Dart Differences in life expectancy in the United States can vary greatly depending on the county in which you live. That’s the finding of a new analysis out of the University of Washington and published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. Using data from the Human Mortality Database, National Center for Health Statistics, and […]