MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – School lunches for kids are about to get a lot healthier.

The government is announcing new nutrition standards for school meals. First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack went to lunch at an Alexandria, Va., school on Wednesday to announce the new guidelines.

They include serving fruits and vegetables every day of the week, more whole grains and less salt and fat. Schools will also have to serve low fat milk, and limit calories by controlling portion size.

“When we send our kids to school we have a right to expect that they won’t be eating the kinds of fatty, salty, sugary foods that we’re trying to keep from them when they are at home,” Obama said.

These new rules are the first major changes to school nutrition in 15 years. They aren’t as aggressive as the Obama administration wanted. Congress blocked some changes that would have limited french fries and pizzas.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — We all want our kids to do good in school. Now, a new study shows If you want your child to get better grades you may want to make sure they’re getting physically active.

Researchers in the Netherlands analyzed 14 studies from the United States, Canada and South Africa and found strong evidence of a relationship between physical activity and academic performance.

“Increased circulation to the brain, it may have some positive effects in terms of the neurotransmitters, the chemicals that are responsible for behavior and learning and even in terms of attention span,” said Dr. Andrew Adesman.

Most of the studies focused on the physical activity kids got at school, from gym class to sports clubs. But many school systems are cutting sports and physical education programs to save money.

Pediatricians hope these new findings will put an emphasis back on exercise.

“What we can’t do is continue to cut physical activity from the schedule of children in grade school with the thought that it’s going to improve their academics. In fact it may work against us,” Adesman said.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Many Minnesotans are told to take Vitamin D in the winter due to a lack of sun. But is that enough?

New research weighs in on whether the vitamin is effective at preventing bone fractures or cancer.

Watch the report above for more!

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Taking part in sports may not be enough to keep young people from being overweight, according to a University of Minnesota study.

The study shows nearly half of overweight kids, ages 12 to 17, also take part in organized physical activities.

The researchers say they’re findings show activity alone may not be enough to combat obesity.

They say the problem is what they call the high-calorie culture in youth sports.

Researchers blame snacks during games, sugary drinks, concession stands at games, and post-game fast food trips. They say all that junk food counteracts the physical activity.

More evidence is linking newer birth control pills to a higher risk of serious blood clots. In Health Watch, a new study by Israeli researchers focused on pills like Yaz and Yasmin.

Watch the report above.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — In Health Watch, there are new guidelines out about cervical cancer screening. And, for many women, it will mean fewer trips to the doctor’s office.

Watch the report above!

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The University of Minnesota brought together a couple of brain cancer patients with very similar stories, but with one major difference. John Huls is a man and Piper is a Golden Retriever.

They are both part of the same Glioma treatment group.

On Monday, Piper was a special guest at the University. She was back for her final shot of a vaccine, which is made from the cells found in the tumor a veterinary surgeon cut out of her brain.

“What we’re trying to do with the vaccine is to turn on the body’s immune system,” said Dr. Elizabeth Pluhar, a veterinary surgeon at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center.

In many ways, Huls owes his life to Piper and her doctor.

The treatment worked so well on Piper and 49 other dogs that a similar vaccine is being tested on eight people. WCCO-TV introduced you to Zach and Batman about a month ago, and, on Monday, the University introduced Piper and Huls to each other.

“I’ve always been a dog lover,” said Huls, a retired stockbroker and Air Force pilot from St. Cloud.

Huls had his tumor removed two years ago at the Mayo Clinic. In July, he started the experimental treatment at the University,

“I’ve never felt better,” he said. “I have good stamina, vitality and my cognitive functions are as good as they ever were.”

“I just had twin boys last year,” said his daughter, Becky. “They’re 15 months old now, so if that original prognosis, you know, turned out, he wouldn’t have even met them. And now … we’re just up at the cabin together.”

“To hear how good he feels,” said Pluhar, “I just can’t even express how wonderful that makes me feel, that we started here with, you know, the dogs.”

Dr. John Ohlfest leads the human trial. He said since the vaccine seems to work without surgery, the next trial will focus on children with tumors in their brain stems, where they can’t even try surgery.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The University of Minnesota attracted an enormous delivery Wednesday morning — 39,000 pounds of magnets.

The magnets, weighing between 6,000 and 18,000 pounds, were delivered to the Biomedical Nuclear Magnetic Resonance facility on the Minneapolis campus.

Giant cranes had to place the three high-powered magnets, which will assist in molecular research. The University brought in three specialized engineers from other countries to oversee the placement of the magnets.

The University says the magnets will help advance research done to fight HIV, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — America has seen a 77-percent increase in cosmetic procedures over the past decade. And that’s just the beginning.

Trend experts say 70 million baby boomers have no intention of acting — or looking — their age. It’s estimated that by 2015, the quest to stay young will grow to a $114 billion annual industry — a leap of nearly 50 percent in spending.

Facelifts, tightening, tugging and laser-zapping our way to smoother skin are just some of the options. Botox injections top the list of popular interventions at 5.5 million procedures yearly.

“They’re very helpful to improve the look of a face without dramatically changing it with surgery,” said Dermatologist Malinee Saxena.

She said healthy lifestyles and healthy attitudes really are the place to begin.

“It is nothing that you need. It is not medically necessary,” Saxena said. “If it’s something that really bothers you every day and you need to change your self-esteem, then it’s a reasonable thing to look into.”

Saxena said one of the best things you can do for your skin is free. It’s called shade. Find some. You can also find it in a bottle. Sometimes they label it as sunscreen.

“So the No. 1 thing that will help prevent aging skin is sunscreen and sunscreen every day. If you’re in your car, you’re in the sun and people forget that,” she said.

Saxena said sunscreens should have at least a 30 SPF and cover UVA and UVB light. Next, she says, don’t smoke. It’s terrible for your tissues — inside and out. Also, exercise and healthy eating really do translate into a more youthful look and feel.

So, don’t be shy if you have a cosmetic question for a specialist but experts say if you’re happy with who you see in the mirror, that’s a good reflection on you, too.

“Well, you know, more power to ‘em. I agree. But sometimes you just have to grow old, gracefully,” said Jennifer Wesley.

Saxena recommends that we do a little homework when choosing our doctors and look for those who are board certified in their specialties.

She also said over-the-counter skin creams with retinol are one of the cheapest products you can buy that work.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Two years ago a dog named Batman made a fairly miraculous recovery from a killer cancer. What doctors learned from Batman is now showing real promise at helping save people.

One year after being treated for a tumor that kills most dogs within 30 days of diagnosis, Batman, a 12-year-old pooch, was cancer-free.

University of Minnesota veterinary surgeon Liz Pluhar cut out most of the tumor. To mop up the scattered cancer cells, Batman was given a custom cancer vaccine.

Under a research grant, nine dogs had the procedure and all of them had their brain cancers shrink or disappear.

“We did it in mice and we cured mice. Then we did it in dogs and we cured dogs,” said pediatric neuro-oncologist Dr. Chris Moertel. “Now it’s a matter of proving the practicality in human beings.”

Seventeen-year-old Zach Mathieu is helping put the cancer vaccine to the test. Until last October, the world knew Zach as dynamite wakeboarder, an A-student and all-around great kid from a big, loving family.

Then he was told he had eight months to live.

“I was falling a lot,” Zach said.

“He was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, stage four, multi-forming,” said Zach’s mother, Jennifer Mathieu. “It’s a very nasty, aggressive form of brain cancer.”

After chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, Zach was out of options, so his family brought him to the University of Minnesota where Zach was accepted for the first round trial of the cancer vaccine.

The trial led to some very good news.

“This is phenomenal that you’re at week eight and you have a completely stable to smaller tumor,” Zach was recently told at a check-up.

Moertel said the process begins with tumor cells in the lab.

“We grown that in a selective culture so that it expresses the characteristics of what we call brain tumor stem cells,” said Moertel. “And we combine that with cells from the patient’s immune system that we harvest those in a process we call phoresis.”

Moertel said they’re much more reluctant to use the word “cure” when talking about human patients, but the nine volunteers enrolled in this first phase of the human clinical trial, including Zach, can hope to achieve a better quality of life.

“We’re still fairly early, but we’re gratified to see that Zach has had no tumor progression at all,” said Moertel.

“I consider Dr. Moertel a hero,” Zach said.

There are lots of heroes in this story at the University of Minnesota Veterinary College, University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital, the volunteers and Moertel’s team.

“He’s given us hope. That’s a great thing,” said Zach’s mother.

Zach will get his custom vaccine once a month for a year. Just as the research in dogs now helps people, researchers say what is learned in people could be used to save more dogs.

It could also speed up the progress of medicine far faster than what could be accomplished in the lab alone.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (WCCO) — Normandale Community College in Bloomington announced a win-win for job seekers Thursday: Course work in a field with jobs that are in demand.

In July, Minnesota lost 19,800 jobs, sending its unemployment rate up slightly to 7.2 percent. Despite these figures, the college found a national shortage of 51,000 Health IT workers.

“Clinics and hospitals are actually scrambling to find people,” says Dr. James Welters from Northwest Family Physicians, “Having someone you can turn to to just do it, allows me and my partners and my staff to get back to work and taking care of patients.”

So, the $500 class crams two years worth of classes related to the field into six months. It’s cheap because of an $800,000 Federal Stimulus Grant, but the school must also enroll 150 people.

Students who graduated last Spring in the school’s first class say the payoff was immediate.

“Demand for this type of work is going to be very high,” said graduate Paul Jorgenson. “Actually, starting Monday I have a consulting job I’m going to do.”

Instructors say it’s open to anyone who either has a background in “working in” or “working with” jobs in Healthcare or IT.

“It’s all via internet, so if you lived outstate, you could take the program. If you live right here, you can take the program,” says Sunny Ainley.

It’s also open to all ages.

“Peers in my class the age range average was 49 or 50 years old,” says Paul Jorgenson. “So, a lot of us were nervous going back to school.”

With a job about to begin, however, Jorgenson’s nerves have turned to excitement.

With doctors’ offices across the country having to be 100 percent digital by 2014, demand for these jobs should only increase.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — It’s been shown that lower flu vaccination years tend to have worse disease outbreaks. So, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is pushing the message earlier this year: Get vaccinated.

The hard numbers from the CDC make flu vaccination sound like an easy decision. Approximately 65 million Americans get the bug annually, which leads to a projected 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths.

With unused vaccine left over last season, the CDC hopes more people will get immunized and protected if it’s available earlier. Virtually everyone over 6 months old is encouraged to get immunized against the flu.

Target launched its flu vaccine program at all of its stores and clinics with an emphasis on convenience. Most insurance coverage is accepted.

When insurance doesn’t cover the cost, Target’s price is $25 for the shot and $36 for the flu mist.

“No appointments, so guests are able to get it fairly easily and get it at a lower cost,” said Desri Rogstad, a Target Pharmacist.

If the there is a rush on vaccines once the flu season begins, Target prepared by getting immunization certification for pharmacists at its 1,650 stores.

The CDC announced the three virus strains to be covered in this year’s flu vaccine in mid-July. It determined that H1N1, H3N2 and an influenza B virus are most likely to be circulating this fall and winter.

The very young, very old and chronically ill are most at risk from complications of the flu.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A new autism study found that siblings of children with autism have a much greater risk of developing the disorder than first thought.

Researchers followed 664 babies who had a sibling with autism and found that those babies had a 20 times greater chance of having autism as well.

“Our finding indicate … the recurrence of autism within families is at least double what we thought it was previously,” said Dr. Ted Hutman, of the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment.

With the risk even higher now, experts say doctors will use the new findings to counsel parents of children with autism who want to have more kids.

It’s already known that autism is more common in boys than girls, and in the study, boys with siblings with autism had a 26 percent risk of autism compared to 9 percent risk for girls.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — There’s a new type of surgery that can stop heartburn — without an incision.

The surgery, designed by Dr. Miguel Burch, works by strengthening a person’s valve so food can go down, and not back up.

“What changed is the valve at the end of the esophagus probably started off weak an just got weaker over time,” said Burch, who works at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. “We put an endoscope down and through it a sewing machine, it allows us to shape the stomach.”

Doctors do point out that this surgery should be done as a last resort. Heartburn can be lessened by losing a few pounds or by cutting out caffeine.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the individual was hospitalized in Minnesota after traveling through western states, including North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. Laboratory analysis in Minnesota confirmed the diagnosis of anthrax.

The MDH is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the investigation. Because anthrax can be used as a bioterrorism agent, the FBI was involved in the investigation, but since there is no evidence suggesting it was a criminal or terrorist act, they are no longer actively investigating the incident.

Health officials say that this case does not represent an increased risk of anthrax to the public.

“All evidence points to this case of anthrax being caused by exposure to naturally occurring anthrax in the environment,” said Minnesota State Epidemiologist Ruth Lynfield.

In rare cases, individuals can become sickened by anthrax if they handle infected animal carcasses or ingest contaminated soil or meat from infected animals. The individual apparently had exposure to soil and animal remains.

Because these cases are so rare, health officials are not discouraging people from traveling to areas where anthrax can be found naturally in the environment.

More information on anthrax, symptoms and treatment, visit the MDH website.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – More than 100 medical devices have been recalled after a report showed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) process of approving them is flawed.

Some of the recalled devices have caused serious harm to patients, even death.
Katherine Ayers had one of those recalled devices implanted into her body.

She had hip replacement surgery five years ago, and she was doing great until her implant was recalled.

Metal from the hip transplant started eroding in her body, and she had to undergo a second surgery six months ago.

“Having to have a bigger incision and have more things cut into again… it just was a lot longer recovery,” Ayers said.

Ayer’s implant was approved through the FDA’s 510 (K) process, a program the Institute of Medicine now finds flawed.

Devices get approved faster in the FDA process, because companies just need to show their devices are similar to ones already on the market.

A recent study shows more than 100 devices were recalled between 2005 and 2009, affecting tens of thousands of patients.

The Advanced Medical Technology Association, whose members produce medical devices, disagrees with the report and says abandoning the current program would be a disservice to patients and public health.

Leaders of the Minnesota Nurses Association bargaining committee are recommending nurses reject the offer.

Peter Danielson, a member of the union bargaining team, says issues include safe staffing levels and management’s proposed concessions from nurses on health-care and pension plans.

Sanford Bemidji Chief Operations Officer Joy Johnson says Sanford has presented “a fair plan based on current economic realities.”

The MNA represents more than 230 nurses at Sanford Bemidji. The two sides have been negotiating since April. The current contract expired on Feb. 28.

Sanford Health recently bought the Bemidji hospital, previously known as North Country Regional Hospital.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

PLYMOUTH, Minn. (WCCO) – While watching 3-year-old Jacqueline at a Plymouth daycare, one would never know she has a condition that about one in 3,000 children is born with. It is a condition more common in children than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s disease combined, and you have probably never heard of it.

It is neurofibromatosis, nicknamed NF, a genetic condition that causes tumors to grow along the nerves. Until Jacqueline was diagnosed, her mother, Joanne Pastel, had never heard of NF.

Pastel is a Twin Cities children’s author who writes “Bur Bur & Friends,” which features young characters with disabilities and medical conditions. But, to accomplish more for Jacqueline and other children with NF, Pastel joined the board of the Children’s Tumor Foundation, a group dedicated to “ending neurofibromatosis through research.”

“I feel so lucky that, so far, [Jacqueline] seems to have a milder case of it,” Pastel said. “But I want to be able to help everyone, and hopefully we can help find a cure for it.”

The University of Minnesota has one of the largest research centers in the world dedicated to understanding neurofibromatosis. While there is no cure yet, they have already made progress in managing the complications caused by the condition.

Dr. Christopher Moertel, a pediatric neuro-oncologist, said that the U of M’s research has made progress in managing the bone disorders caused by NF as well as the malignancies that might emanate from it.

“In the olden days, people could go blind developing optical gliomas in the context of neurofibromatosis,” he said. “Now, we’ve developed therapies that we can prevent those optic gliomas and save vision.”

There’s no newborn screening for NF. Café’ au lait birthmarks that appear in the first few months of life and get darker or more numerous are often a clue for diagnosis.

A NF forum, featuring specialists from around the country, will gather in the Twin Cities Thursday. For more information on the forum, click here.

The health and welfare spending bill signed into law earlier this week by Gov. Mark Dayton cuts or delays $435 million in payments to HMOs, which together have state contracts worth about $3 billion this year. The HMO cuts account for more than two-fifths of the spending reductions for health and welfare programs. The reductions were part of a budget deal that ended a 20-day government shutdown, the nation’s longest in at least a decade.

The pinch comes a few months after the Democratic governor put the plans on notice that his administration planned to extract savings through competitive bidding, stepped-up public scrutiny of their state contracts and an agreement to give back some of their profits of this year. During budget negotiations, Dayton’s focus on the health plans lined up with a GOP desire to rein in health and welfare spending as the state faced a $5 billion budget gap.

“Last year or the year before, they would have stonewalled all of this. This time, they knew they had to change,” GOP Rep. Jim Abeler, who heads the House health and human services spending panel, said Friday.

Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson, one of Dayton’s top advisers, said Dayton and Republicans both wanted to get a grip on rising medical costs.

Jesson said during the budget negotiations, her department received competitive bids from health plans for next year’s state contracts in the Twin Cities area, and used the information to help determine the size of the cuts. The new budget reduces projected spending on health plans by $277 million, while delaying another $135 million into the next budget cycle and holding back $23 million unless HMOs meet aggressive goals to reduce emergency room visits, hospitalizations and hospital readmissions by patients.

“We were not just blindly cutting rates — we were doing it knowing what the industry could bear,” Jesson said.

Jesson and Abeler both said they expect the state cuts to force plans to better manage patient care, including coordinating between various health care providers who treat the same person and coordinating medical care with social services.

Health plans still are working out how to handle the financial hit.

Eileen Smith, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Council of Health Plans, said the plans will need cooperation across the entire health care system in order to reduce real costs instead of shifting the burden to privately insured patients.

“Just reducing a premium or capping a premium or cutting what you’re going to pay doesn’t reduce the cost of health care,” Smith said. “It reduces the state’s cost, but health insurance is expensive because health care is expensive.”

Jesson said the new budget doesn’t just cut costs, but also aims to reshape the health care system to make it work better.

She added that Minnesota HMOs have profited more in recent years from state contracts than from private business.

“They shouldn’t be making the amounts of money they have on the public programs,” Jesson said. “I don’t think they will end up shifting costs. I think they can absorb these cuts without shifting costs.”

One of the affected plans is UCare, which earlier this year returned $30 million to the state from its reserves, prompting Dayton to press other plans to do the same. Instead, they agreed to cap profits from this year’s state contracts at 1 percent.

Ghita Worcester, senior vice president at UCare, said the budget cuts are substantial and will not be easy to manage. In particular, the goals for reducing hospital visits might be more than health plans can deliver.

“Minnesota isn’t high nationally in the utilization of those services, so getting the kind of reduction that this language calls for will really take a lot,” Worcester said, adding that the goals are “probably almost outside what I’d be comfortable to say what’s possible.”

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Doctors say the HPV is causing an epidemic of oral cancers in otherwise healthy young men. It’s estimated that HPV causes about 70 percent of cancers of the tongue and tonsils, and 80 percent of these cancers occur in men.

Experts say the cancer is spread through oral contact.

Doctors call it a shocking trend, saying it could be the start of a pandemic.

“To see a change in the demographic like this is concerning, because the patients coming in now are really these clean-living patients. Most of them are professionals. Very few of them have any tobacco history,” said DR. Eric Genden of Mount Sinai Medical Center.

The virus can also be spread through kissing; it can lie dormant for years before possibly developing into cancer.

(CBS) — Summer usually means fun in the sun and leisurely late nights. For some, however, it means more migraines.

“I definitely think I get more in the summer,” said Kristen Deubel, a migraine sufferer. “When they get really bad I do have to spend just hours or even a whole day in bed sometimes.”

Migraine sufferers like Kristen often have to cope with more frequent, debilitating and painful headaches this time of year. Doctors say the picnic menu at backyard barbecues and parties is partly to blame.

“Foods such as cold cuts, pastrami, salami, those are typically made with nitrates, as are hot dogs. So, people eat a lot more of those in the summer and those chemicals can trigger headaches,” said Dr. Juline Bryson, with the Roosevelt Hospital.

The weather itself is another culprit. Heat and humidity cause the body to sweat and lose a lot of water and sodium — that dehydration can spark headaches.

Summer storms with big dips in the barometric pressure can also bring on trouble.

“When the storm clouds are rolling in, when there’s a big “L” on the weather map, people need to be a little more cautious and pay more attention to their triggers,” said Bryson.

To prevent migraines, sticking to the routine is important. Doctors recommend eating and sleeping at the usual time, and taking it easy on the alcohol. Clear, dry alcoholic drinks are less likely to cause an attack.

Kristen tries to do all of that and more.

“It just wasn’t worth it to me anymore to eat those things or drink those things,” said Deubel.

Because she can’t control the weather, but she can control her triggers and enjoy her summer.

The university’s program is the first of its kind in the nation.

“They can do a filling. They can do certain types of crowns. They can do initial assessments on patients” said Ann Leja, Interim Dean at the school’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

WCCO’s Bruce Hagevik Interviews Ann Leja

These dental practitioners will serve areas where dentists are in short supply.

“So they’ll be working in places where people don’t have access or are under-served,” said Leja.

Studies show oral health care is one of the greatest unmet health needs in the nation.

The Minnesota Department of Health says about one third of the 3,000 practicing dentists in the state are 55 or older, and the number entering the profession is not keeping up with the number who are retiring.

The 2009 Minnesota legislature authorized creation of the new category of dental practitioner.

Commander Brian Mueller says three 100-gallon barrels of prescription drugs were collected on April 30 by people who voluntarily turned in unused or unneeded pills.

Mueller says that’s a significant amount of drugs that won’t fall into the wrong hands.

“I spend a lot of time working (on) our drug task force, and we do find that there’s a large scale diversion of a lot of these legitimately prescribed drugs.”

The haul included 1,100 grams of Oxycodone or Percocet, 1,800 grams of Hydrocodone or Vicodin, 650 grams of Codeine, and 550 grams of Amphetamine or Adderall.

Mueller says turning the drugs in to the proper authorities is safer than simply disposing of the pills yourself.

“A lot of these drugs are toxic,” Mueller says. “Simply flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away isn’t good for our environment. We take great precautions that these get disposed of.”

Mueller says they have another drug “take back” planned for the fall, and he says they hope to make it a more frequent occurrence.

NewsRadio 830 WCCO’s Adam Carter Reports

In January 2003, I was 42 and completing my first year of my pediatric residency. My life was extremely busy; I was working 80 to 120 hours a week. When I first complained of being tired, it was attributed to my age and work schedule. Over the next eight months, my symptoms worsened; I became anemic and had blood in my stool.

In August 2003, I was admitted to the hospital. By the end of the week, I had my surgery and diagnosis – Stage IV colon cancer. I started chemotherapy, and during the next two and a half years, I had two recurrences. The first was in my liver and ovary, and the second in my abdominal lymph nodes and my pancreas.

Miraculously, I have been NED (no evidence of disease) since May 2006. I believe that one of the main reasons for my status is my vigilance in following through on my treatment and having my side effects appropriately managed.

Cancer treatment can be difficult; therefore, it is important to aggressively manage any side effects in order to have the opportunity to complete treatment. I cannot stress enough how important this is. Aggressive side effect management increases your likelihood of completing treatment. The main reason that people don’t complete treatment is unpleasant side effects.

Everyone responds differently to treatment, and therefore, not every individual experiences all side effects to the same degree. Talk with your doctor about every pill you are taking, including supplements, as some may interfere with treatment. If a medication is not working, ask your doctor about other options. Be persistent!

Laura Potter

Here are some of the most common side effects of colorectal cancer treatment and how they can be managed or treated:

Nausea and Vomiting

It is important to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting early and aggressively. There are numerous prescription medications available for treating CINV. If a medication is not working, talk to your doctor about trying something else.

Diarrhea

After colon resection, it will take some time for your digestive system to adjust. By trial and error, you will discover which foods you can tolerate. Treatments include prescriptions such as Sandostatin®, a long-acting injection, and over-the-counter loperamide.

Fatigue

If you experience treatment-related fatigue, it is important to rest when you are tired. Plan activities for when you have the most energy. Ask for help from family or friends when fatigue interferes with daily activities. Fatigue may also be a result of depression, pain, or sleep problems. Let your doctor know if you have any of these symptoms.

Peripheral Neuropathy

This may involve tingling and pain in your hands and feet and an inability to tolerate cold. Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy usually regress after treatment ends. However, up to 3.5 percent of people still have neuropathy four years after treatment ends. Some anti-epileptics, antidepressants, and creams are helpful in reducing the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. It is also helpful to ingest foods and liquids at room temperature and to keep a pair of gloves near the refrigerator so that you can wear them when getting items out of the fridge or freezer, as your hands will be sensitive to the cold.

Mucositis or Candidiasis

Mucositis, or candidiasis, is the painful inflammation and ulceration of the mucous membranes lining the digestive tract. It is commonly known as a yeast infection and is caused by a fungus. Symptoms include white patches or plaques and cold sores. Mucositis can be treated with Magic™ mouthwash, antifungal prescription medicines, local anesthetics, and analgesics. Do not use hydrocortisone, as it will exacerbate the mucositis. The infection can spread, so do not assume that your pain is a hemorrhoid. It could be candidiasis, and hemorrhoid cream will only worsen the condition. Transient lactose intolerance may also occur with mucositis.

Hand and Foot Syndrome

This involves blistering and peeling of the hands and feet; it also affects the nails. Treatment involves gently applying mild skin creams to the affected area. To prevent exacerbations, take cool showers, wear thick cotton socks, avoid constrictive shoes, avoid friction and heat, and stay well hydrated.

The goal is to complete treatment. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. However, by properly managing treatment-related side effects, you increase the likelihood that you will complete your recommended treatment.

This article was originally published in Coping with Cancer magazine, March/April 2010. Reprinted by permission of COPING® magazine, www.copingmag.com.