Inside the fall of 2003, Bridget Beranek, a 44-year-old wife and mother of two young girls, was gearing up for a busy holiday season filled with family members functions, parties and shopping. So when she began to lose her appetite and energy, Bridget initially chalked it up to holiday tension.
When the New Year came and went, but Bridget’s symptoms were still present, she knew it was additional than tension. After several visits to her primary care physician, Bridget saw an internist, and underwent a colonoscopy. In March 2004, she was diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer malignancy that had spread to her liver.
“I know it sounds cliché, but I couldn’t believe this was happening to me,” said Bridget. “Scheduling a colonoscopy was not a priority for me for the reason that I was under 50 and lived a healthy lifestyle. I ate appropriate, didn’t drink or smoke, and went regularly for a mammogram. One thing I learned from this encounter is that colon melanoma is really a disorder much more folks, especially females, need to be far better informed about.”
The American Cancer malignancy Society reports that colorectal cancer, commonly referred to as colon cancer malignancy, is the second-leading cause of cancer-related death with the United States, second only to lung most cancers. It’s also the third most frequent cancer diagnosed in both men and females.
Danger factors for colon melanoma include things like a family members or personal history from the illness, intestinal polyps or chronic inflammatory bowel condition, obesity, a high-fat diet, and being age 50 or older. Signs may incorporate changes in bowel habits, abdominal discomfort, vomiting, fatigue, blood with the stool or unexplained weight loss, though quite a few individuals are diagnosed without any symptoms.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends men and women over age 50 who have an average threat for colon cancer malignancy receive screening. Higher-risk patients, which include those with a household history in the condition, need to talk with their physicians about when they should begin screening.
Fortunately for Bridget, a new cure for metastatic colorectal melanoma had just been approved by the FDA, only weeks prior to her diagnosis. Her oncologist decided to treat her using a mixture of traditional chemotherapy plus a targeted therapy called Avastin® (bevacizumab). Though she occasionally has part outcomes including fatigue, Bridget’s melanoma has responded to the treatment and she is doing well. She is thankful to become able to spend time with her husband and daughters, and to practice her favorite hobby, photography.
Typically, metastatic colorectal cancer patients undergo surgery followed by chemotherapy. Today’s targeted therapies, which are created to attack melanoma cells in a a lot more particular way than chemotherapy, offer an additional tool for doctors to use in treating this sickness. Avastin, for example, is an angiogenesis inhibitor, which means it interferes with the blood vessels that feed cancer malignancy tumors, to assist prevent tumors from growing and spreading to other parts belonging to the body. Avastin is approved for use in combination with intravenous 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy for first-line remedy of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer malignancy.
It truly is essential to keep in mind that Avastin has been associated with part outcomes in colorectal cancer malignancy. Serious side outcomes occur rarely, but can consist of gastrointestinal perforation and slow or incomplete wound healing and blood clot complications. Other far more prevalent side outcomes seen in clinical trials comprise nosebleeds, higher blood pressure, proteinuria (too much protein within the urine, which could possibly be a sign of kidney damage), weakness, pain, diarrhea, plus a reduced white blood cell count.
Due to the fact everyone is different, it isn’t feasible to predict what side outcomes an individual might knowledge. If you have questions about aspect side effects or treatment with Avastin, talk to your doctor or one more member in the health-care team.
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