ASTRO releases brochure on colorectal cancer treatments

The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) has published a new patient information brochure on radiation therapy for colorectal cancer to help patients and their families better understand how different treatments work to cure colorectal cancer.

This year, about 147,000 Americans will be diagnosed with cancer of the colon and rectum. The disease affects both men and women equally. However, many patients are not aware that radiation therapy is often combined with surgery and/or chemotherapy to eradicate the cancer.

Patients and patient advocacy organizations can request free copies of the ASTRO's "Radiation Therapy for Colorectal Cancer: Facts to Help People Understand Their Treatment Options" brochure by calling Beth Bukata or Nick Lashinsky at 1-800-962-7876 or e-mailing bethb@astro.org or nickl@astro.org.

The brochure can also be viewed online at www.astro.org/patient/.

Around the web

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.

The newly cleared offering, AutoChamber, was designed with opportunistic screening in mind. It can evaluate many different kinds of CT images, including those originally gathered to screen patients for lung cancer. 

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