One sure sign that the War on Cancer is being won...1200 WOAI reports that a main topic in the annual conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology which opens today will be how best to treat patients who have beaten certain types of cancer.
The ASCO convention in Chicago is the largest cancer conference in the world, attracting some 35,000 oncologists from around the world.
Dr. Steven Kalter, an oncologist at San Antonio's START Center, says the focus this year is on helping people who have undergone treatment for colorectal cancer live healthy lives. He says the fact that 'healthy lives' and 'colon cancer' are being discussed in the same sentence shows how far medical science has come.
He says more and more, the focus is shifting to what individuals can do to recover after a successful course of cancer treatment.
"Maintaining ideal boy weight, that is to limit obesity, and to limit alcohol consumption to maybe one alcohol containing beverage per night," he said.
Research to be presented at the conference will also provide insight into certain foods that lessen the chance of some cancers recurring.
"Consuming tree nuts, that is nuts like almonds or cashews, eating perhaps two ounces of tree nuts per week."
He stresses the benefit comes from eating nuts that grow on trees, not peanuts or peanut butter.
Another session which interests START, which is one of the world's most succesful center for clinical trials, is one on how to include older people in clinical trials, and how the outcomes may be different with older patients.
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