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Forum on Colorectal Cancer, Mar. 20, 2008

The kick-off meeting for the Colorectal Cancer Prevention program at the Asian Pacific Health Center (APHC) took place at Jasmine Seafood Restaurant in San Diego on March 20, 2008. The event co-organized by APHC and the Vietnamese Physicians Association of San Diego was sponsored by the American Cancer Society (ACS) to celebrate March as the Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Among the nearly 40 attendees were physicians, dentists, pharmacists, and other health professionals practicing in various settings.

Dr Ton Tran, APHC Medical Director, welcomed all the attendees, and introduced Maura Prescher, ACS Health Professional Account Manager. Maura brought the greetings from the ACS and gave an overview of the contents in the package that all attendees received upon coming. Next, Dr Ton presented the featured speaker: Dr Tuan Nguyen, gastroenterologist and well-known specialist on Hepatitis B and C in San Diego. The topic was: Update on Colorectal cancer: Forum on colorectal cancer screening in the Vietnamese community.

Colorectal cancer is the second cause of cancer related death in the US for both men and women combined. Dr Tuan went through the new guidelines recently published. Each test has its pros and cons. All persons aged 50 years and older should begin regular screening.

Tests that find polyps and cancer comprise:
· Flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years
· Colonoscopy every 10 years
· Double contrast barium enema every 5 years
· CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) every 5 years

Tests that mainly find cancer:
· Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) every year
· Fecal immunochemical test (FIT) every year
· Stool DNA test (sDNA), interval uncertain
Note: Colonoscopy should be done if test results are positive.

For more details, please visit American Cancer Society

Regarding colonoscopy, Dr Tuan went through a demonstration of techniques via interesting video segments which gathered the attention of all After a round of questions and answers, the survey forms were collected. They will be processed to take heed for future events. The program is given 1 hour of Category 1 credit toward the California Medical Association’s Certification in Continuing Medical Education and the American Medical Association’s Physicians’s Recognition Award.

At the end, Dr. Nguyen discussed the risk stratification among the population. Dr Nguyen was presented with a gift and the ACS Cookbook for health.

On this occasion, Binh Tran mentioned the petition for three measures envisioned by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and requested that we support these initiatives:

- To secure additional funding of $12 million in fiscal year 2009 for the California Department of Health Services program, Every Woman Counts, to provide breast and cervical screening services for the state’s underserved women (AB 2035).
- To expand the eligibility age for the Every Woman Counts program to high-risk women aged 38 and older (rather than aged 40 and older) (SB 1348) and
- To include coverage of digital mammography services under the Every Woman Counts program (AB 2887).
Please call or e-mail to the Assembly Members, using the contact numbers in the open letter to all.

As the Asian Pacific Health Center is accepted as a 4th year Susan G. Komen for the Cure grantee, the passing of the pending Komen Breast Health Package will allow more accessible and better care for the underserved women.

Dinner continued in a cozy atmosphere. Many attendees appreciated the excellent food served with promptness in the private room.

Our thanks to the sponsors, especially:

· Maura Prescher, ACS Health Professional Account Manager for securing the funds for the program,
· Demy Din, MPH, Manager for Health Programs, for the close working relationship with the APHC for a great many years,
· Sheila LaHousse, MA, Partnership Program Coordinator, National Cancer Institute Cancer Information Service at Moores UCSD Cancer Center, for her assistance in promoting of the project on different occasions,
· Members of the Vietnamese Physicians of San Diego,
· Tuan Nguyen, MD, for graciously speaking at the meeting
· Members of the San Diego Vietnamese Pharmacists Association
· Dentists in town,
· Members of the Vietnamese Federation of San Diego, and
· Health professionals in San Diego and adjoining areas.

Binh Nhung Tran, PharmD
Executive Director
Asian Pacific Health Center
3/21/08