Colorectal Cancer Awareness Making March About More Than Basketball

In the United States, March means college basketball. “March Madness” brings us the excitement and entertainment of the NCAA college basketball championship tournament. But for a dedicated group of advocates, researchers, patients and families, it means something else entirely. March is colorectal cancer awareness month.

According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer will be the third most frequently diagnosed and the second most deadly cancer in the United States in 2019 (1). Most of those who develop colorectal cancer do not have a family history or genetic connection to the disease. However, in some families, cancer occurs more often than expected. A family history of colorectal cancer can suggest a genetic factor. Continue reading “Colorectal Cancer Awareness Making March About More Than Basketball”

Milk (Fat) Does a Body Good

One Milk Marketing Board campaign uses celebrities to promote its product by photographing them with milk moustaches. Glamour aside, selling cow’s milk is important to the livelihood of many farmers worldwide and generates a variety of well-appreciated products. What would pizza be without cheese? Summer without ice cream? Lunches without yogurt? Mashed potatoes without butter? Flammkuchen without crème fraiche? You can see where I am going with this. I live in America’s Dairyland where people commonly drink milk with meals. I think there is nothing better than a cold glass of milk with a rich chocolate cake. However, the Milk Marketing Board has missed a significant finding: milk fats can attenuate metastasis and some of the systemic effects of cancer and chemotherapy—at least in mice. Continue reading “Milk (Fat) Does a Body Good”