Moderate to vigorous aerobic activity is associated with a lower risk of several cancers. But a new study has found that weightlifting can also help reduce risk for certain kinds of cancers.
The study, published in the most recent issue of the journal for the American College of Sports Medicine, looked at the impact of weightlifting and cancer risk in 10 common types of cancer.
Researchers found weightlifting significantly reduced risk of colon cancer. For kidney cancer, weightlifting caused risk to trend downward. For the other cancers studied, weightlifting had no statistically significant impact.
Weightlifting is associated with improvements in blood pressure, overall physical function and reduced risk of falls in older adults. But researchers say this is the first study they are aware of that points to possible benefits for improving cancer risk.
West Virginia has the second highest rate of colorectal cancer in the nation, beat only by Kentucky.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from Marshall Health and Charleston Area Medical Center.
Researchers at West Virginia University Cancer Institute are studying whether a blood test could detect colorectal cancer.
According to a press release, the first of its kind blood test looks for an abnormal gene associated with colorectal cancer. If the gene is detected after the screening test, a healthcare provider would recommend the patient for a colonoscopy. Colonoscopies are semi-invasive procedures used to diagnose and treat precancerous tumors or early cancer.
Despite high rates of colorectal cancer — West Virginia ranks third in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – screening rates here are low with only about 66 percent of West Virginians reporting being up to date with tests.
Researchers said people delay or do not screen due to fear, lack of access to care, lack of insurance that covers the test, travel and time among other things. The hope is that the new test will lower the barrier to testing and help catch early cases of cancer before they progress.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from Marshall Health and Charleston Area Medical Center.
Rural Appalachia has some of the highest cancer mortality rates in the country — up to 36 percent higher than what is seen elsewhere. The culprit? That’s a multi-fold answer. Kara Lofton talked about cancer rates in Appalachia with freelance reporter Lyndsey Gilpin, who wrote a story addressing the discrepancy. Data journalism website FiveThirtyEight published the story earlier this month.
In one of the opening paragraphs of the article you write: “In rural Appalachian Kentucky, the cancer mortality rate is 36 percent higher than it is for urban, non-Appalachian people in the rest of the country; in rural Appalachian Virginia it is 15 percent higher; in those areas of West Virginia, 19 percent. Those are pretty stunning statistics. What is going on in rural Appalachia to make cancer rates so much higher here?
It’s really because of this perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances. You have a rural population with very high obesity rates, high rates of smoking, really high poverty rate, a high unemployment rate and then you have a lack of education. And then on top of that you have the health care side of things with lack of access to preventive care and lack of access to really good treatment.
You also write that “[p]eople in much of rural Appalachia are more likely to die within three to five years of their diagnoses than those in both urban Appalachian areas and urban areas across the U.S. Why is that?
That’s primarily because of this lack of access we’re talking about. And even when people can get care they have to drive farther and wait longer and perhaps not have access to advanced clinical trials or really great health care systems hospitals – things like that – that can provide them with the best kind of available resources for the best outcomes and survival rates.
Preventive screenings are one of the best tools we have to catch cancer early. What role does access to preventive services – or access to care at all – have on cancer rates in Appalachia?
Preventive care is perhaps the biggest piece of this puzzle. From everyone I talked to it seemed like that was the part they are trying to fix and it could be the most immediate fix. And so a lot of the cancers they focused on were preventable cancers. So breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer and cervical cancer. There are a lot of barriers to get to the point when they can access something as easy as a screening.
You mention in the article that economic, social and environmental factors also play a role in cancer incidence. What is going on in rural Appalachia that is different from the rest of the country?
Lifestyle is a big part of it, but lifestyle factors have a lot to do with the economics and the social and environmental factors. So obviously this isn’t new to anyone I talked to in Appalachia. Poverty and the decline of the coal mining industry have a very real effect on specific health care outcomes.
Appalachia is well known as a hub for commercial coal production. Is coal mining causing higher cancer rates?
It’s not as clear as that. We can’t draw the direct connection between coal pollution in cancer. Almost everyone I spoke to that was living in eastern Kentucky talked about the fact that they were leery about water contamination and its relationship with cancer or other chronic illnesses, but if you look at theresearchthere’s not enough to prove that link. There is research that shows mortality and chronic illnesses are higher in coal producing counties.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.
On the one end is stage I, on the other stage IV. Several subgroups are in between. For stage I patients, the five-year survival rate is 92 percent. For stage IV, that number drops to 11.
“If you’re screened early enough you can prevent yourself altogether from having cancer,” said Kevin Tephabock, senior manager of primary care systems for the American Cancer Society. His job is to work with health care facilities in West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington D.C. to improve cancer screening rates. Currently only about 63 percent of West Virginians are getting screened.
“For years, colonoscopy was the gold standard…and colonoscopy helps significantly. It decreases colorectal cancer mortality about 30 percent,” he said. “However, many people were not comfortable with the idea of having a colonoscopy. So now there is actually some new testing out there that’s available.”
Called Fecal Occult Blood Tests, they basically test for blood in feces. They are available at primary care facilities and can be taken home by the patient, used, then returned to the doctor or lab. If a polyp or cancer is suspected, further testing is needed.
Screenings are covered by insurance. A new nationwide initiative called 80 by 18 is attempting to increase screening rates to 80 percent by 2018. (Governor Tomblin was the first U.S. governor to sign the pledge.) State officials hope to achieve this goal, in part, by working with primary care facilities.
“In West Virginia one of our bigger barriers is just geographically,” said Tephabock. “We have somewhat of a shortage in terms of GI docs…and so someone in southern WV may have a very difficult time finding a GI doc.”
The screenings find precancerous polyps that can then be surgically removed. That’s it. You continue getting your screenings every year, but other than that, no major life changes.
Credit Kara Lofton / WVPB
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WVPB
Chris Stadelman receives treatment for stage IV colorectal cancer at Charleston Area Medical Center Cancer Center
“As I’ve told several people it’s a day and a half of really unpleasant experience, but it’s a whole lot better than carrying a chemo pack around every two weeks for the rest of your life,” said Chris Stadelman, Governor Tomblin’s Director of Communications.
Stadelman was diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer last year at the age of 44 – too young to have needed a screening by federal guidelines.
“I have now been through 28 rounds of chemotherapy,” he said. “Going every two weeks for about 4 hours in the David Lee Cancer Center and then have a 46-hour infusion that’s done through a shoulder badge, a little pack, that I take with me.”
He has been in treatment since October of last year. All the test results so far have been as positive as can be expected. He will likely be in treatment for the rest of his life.
“I had a sense something was wrong and I waited and I waited,” he said. “So paying attention to something that may seem like nothing – well I’m too young for that to happen – clearly a lot of us are not too young for that to happen so I think it makes sense to go ahead and get those screenings if you sense anything might possibly be wrong.”
Credit Crystal Collins / WV Public Broadcasting
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WV Public Broadcasting
Stadelman hid his diagnosis for months. He said he’s not entirely sure why. Then added, “I don’t want people to treat me any differently. I want to go about my job the same way…But the more I thought about it I have, because of my job with the governor’s office, because of my experience in media, I have opportunities and connections to help someone else.”
“I think that one to one connection makes such a difference. You can read the studies and hear about what you’re supposed to do, but knowing someone this has happened to makes a big difference for anyone. I have some credibility when it comes to telling people to go get your colonoscopy and get checked and pay attention to things.”
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.
