October 25, 2002

IN THIS ISSUE:
Drug Discount Card Rebates, Nurses and Patient Care, Preserving Fertility, Deciding if Genetic Testing is for You, Lab Tests on Your Own 

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NEWS HEADLINES 

Discount Drug Card Refunds on the Way, Are You Due One?

Caution Recommended in Epoetin Use for Anemia in Hematologic Malignancy

Nurse Workload Tied to Surgery Patients' Survival

In Mice, Synthetic Estrogen Protects and Builds Bones by Rachael Myers Lowe, cancerpage

Lab Tests Shed Light on Anti-Tumor Function of p53 by Rachael Myers Lowe, cancerpage

45 new cancer news stories have been added to cancerpage.com since last week's newsletter. 

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PRESERVING FERTILITY

For sure, risk of cancer increases with age and is highest for people well past their peak reproductive years. Nonetheless, thousands of young adults and children are diagnosed with cancer every year. The stats are on their side - most of them will survive their disease. But the treatments that will save their lives often threaten their ability to have children in the future. Until recently, preserving the future fertility of young cancer patients just wasn't even on the map. That's all changing now. And helping to bring about that change is fertileHOPE, a non-profit organization founded by two-time cancer survivor Lindsay Nohr. The fertileHOPE website is an excellent resource on fertility and cancer - what the risks to fertility are and what you can do in advance of treatment to preserve fertility.

Website address: http://www.fertilehope.org/home.html 

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GENETIC TESTING - IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU? 

Genetic testing isn't right for everyone. In fact, most diseases have no genetic tests available. But if one or more members of your immediate family have been diagnosed with a cancer or a condition associated with increased risk of cancer, genetic testing might answer some of your questions. InteliHealth offers an informative guide on genetic testing. Included in the online resource is an interactive decision guide for breast or ovarian cancer genetic testing. Adding a colon cancer decision guide is planned for 2003. 

Website address: http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/32193/32193.html

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DO IT YOURSELF LAB TESTS

Who says you have to wait for your doctor to order lab tests? Good sense may dictate that course and the medical establishment certainly frowns on ignoring it, but a growing number of patients are bypassing their physicians for some routine and not-so-routine tests. Ordering up a battery of tests might be just a phone-call away. Time Magazine examined the pros and cons of this emerging trend in its September 11 edition. An interesting read.

To Read the Article http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101021028-366334,00.html