The latest colon cancer screening recommendations call for earlier screenings and include guidance to better reflect individual risks. The starting age for screening for the average person with no risk factors is now 45, five years earlier than the previous recommendations. A family history of polyps, colon cancer or inflammatory bowel disease pushes the recommended…
The primary care provider is the first line of defense against colon cancer, yet for every two patients who are referred by their physician to get colonoscopies, only one of them will end up completing the important cancer screening. The reasons why people don’t get colonoscopies A common reason for not scheduling a colonoscopy: Patients…
The Norton Cancer Institute Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Program was formed in 2018 with the chief objective to provide faster, easier access to evidence-based, compassionate care and novel treatments for gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies. These include cancers of the liver, pancreas, biliary tract, stomach and esophagus. The cornerstone of the program is the closer alignment of specialists…
Alison Sharpe, D.O., is the newest member of the Norton Gastroenterology Consultants of Louisville team. The Bowling Green, Kentucky, native completed her gastroenterology fellowship at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City. Dr. Sharpe attended the University of Kentucky as an undergraduate and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, Pennsylvania, for medical school. She completed…
Though colorectal cancer cases have been steadily decreasing for the past two decades, it remains the third most common cancer in both men and women. According to the American Cancer Society, nearly all unscreened people know they need a colon cancer screening. So why aren’t they getting screened, specifically via colonoscopy? One of the top…