Cancer Resources

Strengthen the Medical Workforce: The growing demand for cancer specialists is expected to far outpace the number of practicing oncologists in our health care system.

At the same time, the nation’s demand for primary care physicians, nurses and other health professionals will continue to increase as our population ages, rates of chronic disease continue to rise, and more Americans gain access to preventive and chronic disease health care services. The Obama-Biden plan will help our health care workforce grow by expanding funding for loan repayment, adequate reimbursement, grants for training curricula, the Nurse Reinvestment Act of Title VIII of the Public Health Act, and infrastructure support to improve working conditions. The Obama-Biden
plan to double cancer research funding will also help recruit and retain clinical researchers who specialize in cancer by providing adequate funding for oncological study. In addition, investing in health information technology and practice redesign will free up time of physicians and clinical personnel to care for patients, not cater to insurance companies. And the Obama-Biden investment in cancer research will directly benefit our nation’s cancer centers, which are at the front line in the effort to eradicate cancer and are largely responsible for training the cancer workforce that will practice in the United States.

Support Advances in Personalized Medicine: Barack Obama has been a congressional leader in bringing attention to the potential of genomics to improve treatment and develop cures for Americans with cancer.
Genomics is the study of gene structure and function, and researchers have started using genomics to increase understanding of diseases and develop better diagnostic tools and treatments. As a Senator, Barack Obama introduced the Genomics and Personalized Medicine Act to create an interagency task force on genomics research, modernize FDA review of genomics tests and expand support to genomics researchers, including
funding and creation of a new mechanism to allow researchers across the country to access and analyze genomics research. As president, Obama will continue to support advances in personalized medicine to help ensure early detection and treatment of cancer and other diseases. Continue reading ‘The Obama-Biden Plan to Combat Cancer’ »

Colorectal cancer – cancer of the colon or the rectum is the second most common cancer in America. It is one of the deadliest of cancers and accounts for 20% of all the cancer deaths. As much as 50% of those who are diagnosed with colorectal cancer will eventually die as per the latest medical statistics. One main reason for such a high mortality is due to the fact that the majority of colorectal cancer cases are detected at a very late stage. If detected early the mortality due this disease is entirely preventable.

One early symptom of this type of cancer is traces of blood on the surface of or mixed in the stools. This can be easily detected with laboratory testing if not visually clear. In some cases there may be pain or tenderness in the abdomen. But in most cases there will be no symptoms of colorectal cancer until the tumor grows big enough to cause obstruction or rupture of the intestine. At this stage aggressive form of treatment like surgery have to be resorted to. Continue reading ‘Symptoms of the Colorectal Colon Cancer and the Hemoccult Test’ »