
DATE: Friday, November 14, 1997             TAG: 9711130265

SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 18   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   82 lines

FREE COLORECTAL CANCER SCREENINGS SCHEDULED

Eric Kaiser thought it was something he ate when a stabbing pain in his abdomen sidelined him at work last May.

Resting at home only worsened the pain, so Kaiser went to the emergency room at Virginia Beach General Hospital. The alleged food sensitivity turned out to be a cancerous tumor in his large intestine, which caused a blockage and ruptured. Kaiser, 64, is still undergoing heavy doses of chemotherapy and radiation.

``If this happened 20 or 25 years ago, I would have died,'' said Kaiser, the corporate safety director for Marine Hydraulics International, a Norfolk shipyard. ``I consider myself very fortunate. The cancer could have been spread through my intestines and not just been localized.''

To prevent another close call like Kaiser's, The Coastal Cancer Resource Center at Virginia Beach General Hospital is offering free colorectal cancer screenings this month.

Registered nurse Cindy Allen, manager of the resource center, said that many people who may have colorectal cancer ignore changes in bowel habits, like Kaiser did. Symptoms include diarrhea, constipation, or both; a narrowing of the stool, an increase in abdominal pain and rectal bleeding. Colorectal cancer is most common in those ages 40 to 70.

``A lot of people think it's hemorrhoids,'' said Allen. ``If it's found early, it's very curable but the symptoms are so insidious. You have to be very aware of your own body.''

Those who would like to be screened simply need to pick up a Hemoccult test kit at the resource center inside the hospital. Follow the instructions, perform the test and drop it off at the resource center. You will be contacted with the results after the testing is completed.

There are some precautions you must take before performing the test. Avoid aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for seven days prior to and during the test period. Avoid Vitamin C in excess of 250 mg. a day, red meat (including processed meats and liver) and raw fruits and vegetables for three days prior to and during the test period.

Also, you cannot collect samples during a menstrual period or while you have bleeding hemorrhoids.

A robust-looking Kaiser, while acknowledging that undergoing cancer treatment is no picnic, is keeping a positive attitude.

``I've never been sick on the treatment,'' he said. ``My doctor told me to stay home for six weeks. I told him if I did that he'd have a mental patient on his hands.

``So I work one to four hours a day and go fishing every weekend.''

Allen said that she wishes more cancer patients were like Kaiser.

``A lot of people simply let their lives stop,'' she said. ``When you go in with a positive attitude, you turn out a lot better. You have to be an active partner in your health care and not a victim.'' MEMO: For more information on the colorectal cancer screenings or any of

the cancer support groups, call the Coastal Cancer Resource Center at

481-8686. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Those who would like to be screened can pick up a Hemoccult test kit

at Coastal Cancer Resource Center.

KNOW THW FACTS

Colorectal cancer risk factors

Colorectal cancer will be diagnosed in about 156,000 Americans

this year, 90 percent of them over the age of 50. Approximately

58,300 die each year from colorectal cancer.

You are at a higher risk with these factors:

A history of inflammatory bowel disease, such as ulcerative

colitis and Crohn's disease