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Show The SaU Lake TribunevMondd, Januar 27, I'M i BJ Kit Can Beal the Odds On Major Killer; Coloreelal Cancer IIomc-Teslin- g Since 1980, colorectal canter has claimed the life of a Utahn every three days But Henry Duehlmeier was one who beat the odds A kit he used to check for hidden blood in the stool which can indicate other conditions as well as cancer turned up positive one day last November, prompting Mr Duehlmeier to visit his doctor A small tumor was found in his colon, the lower end of the large intestine Within a week, he had surgery By December, the Mr, Duehlmeier had recovered sufficiently to shovel snow off his driveway and go home-testin- because we think it w ill save a significant number of lives in Utah this year," says Dr Lewis We also hope it will create enough awareness about this disease so people over age 40 will work with their doctors and obtain regular screenings in the future " Mr Duehlmeier is a classic example of the value of regular stool testing His brother died of colorectal cancer 10 years ago, boosting Mr Duehlmeier s chances of contracting the disease. "They caught it too late," he says of his brother's death When he died, I began asking for a hemoccult cancer screening kit from the American Cancer Society and sending it in to Cottonwood Hospital for evaluation " . r g bowling My doctor says I helped detect my own cancer and early detection saved my life," he says Detection of colorectal cancers be- fore they cause obvious symptoms tremendously improves survival odds, according to statistics. Dr. Steven W. Lewis, vice president of medi- cal affairs for Intermountain Health Care, says about 75 percent of colorectal cancer patients can be successfully treated, if the disease is detected early enough. When the cancer is extensive enough to cause symptoms, survival drops to 25 percent. In Utah, colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer, striking almost exclusively in people over the age of 40. Ninety five percent occur in people older than 50. An estimated 144 Utahns will succumb to the disease in 1985; many of them would be alive today if the cancer had been caught early. To help improve Utahns' chances of surviving the cancer nobody talks about, IHC and the Utah division of the American Cancer Society are sponsoring a month-lon- g screening program during January. Free kits that test for hidden blood in the stool will be available by mail from the Henry Duehlmeier Test Helped Odds health care corporation, which will process the test kits and return results within 30 days. The test is recommended for individuals 40 years or older. To obtain a kit, write to Intermoun-tai- n Health Care Inc., Colorectal Cancer Screening Program, P.O. Box 11200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84147-020IHC is sponsoring this program Car and Drivers 10 Best for 1986. Buy a new Volkswagen GTI and get back up to one years interest charges. Car and Driver magazine was impressed with the Volkswagen GTI. They named it one of the years 10 best. This offer is available to qualified buyers. With 20 down, you arrange your best financing, on a fixed rate loan, fully amortized, and not to exceed 13 APR. Your refund will be based on total interest averaged over the term of the loan. See your participating authorized dealer. Dealer contribution may affect vehicle price. Fleet and lease excluded. After nine years of negative screenings, Mr. Duehlmeier had a "positive" test result last November He didn't delay medical treatment, even though the result could have been due to a minor problem. "Henry is the best example I've ;een of what people can do to protect themselves. says his physician, Dr John Preston Hughes. In effect, by completing these tests regularly, Henry detected his own cancer." Sponsors of the screening program estimate that if 46,000 people use the kits, between 1,000 and 2,000 will have positive test results. Perhaps 20 positive results would indicate new cases of colorectal cancer. The other results could be due to several causes, including hemorrhoids, ulcers and be- ONLY AT 'Dave StnaKa '& VOLKSWAGEN nign polyps. ( falls Oldest Volkswagen Dealer More sophisticated tests, including a digital examination and proctoscopic inspection of the colon, are used to confirm cancer. Surgery is the primary treatment, although chemotherapy and radiation may also be m S0UTHI&1MAIN GSM SAimL'AKEienw H2ZD GffiSSfcliS PH used. Changing Face of Health Care Physician Assistants Fill Gaps Left by Doctors By Anne Wilson to medical manpower shortages Tribune Medical Writer As a respiratory therapist working with critically ill patients, Charles King didn't deal with the whole per- son. I wanted a little bigger picture of medicine than just talking heads, said Mr. King. I wanted more personal contact with patients. He decided to become a physician g but thrivassistant, a ing medical specialty that would give him the chance to take medical hisslow-growin- tories, perform physical exams, stitch wounds and cast broken bones. His years of clinical experience with patients helped him secure a place in the Utah Medex program, administered through the University of Utahs Department of Family and Community Medicine. Mr. King is nearing the end of his preceptorship, during which he actually worked with a physician. If he passes the national certifying examination, he will join approximately 75 physician assistants, or PAs, practicing in a variety of settings throughout Utah. The profession dates back to the 1960s, when a physician writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association cited the need for advanced medical assistants who could handle technical procedures and accept some of the supervising doctors medical responsibilities. The first PA education program was established at Duke University in 1965, with the admission of four corps-meThe Vietnam war produced a generation of competent military medics who wanted to put their training to use in civilian life. To make the transition possible, the federal government funded a number of Medex training programs around the country, including Utah's. But over time, the governments funding has dwindled, prompting many universities to establish their own curriculums. Utah is one of two states that has retained the original Medex concept, modified and updated to fit medical needs in the 1980s. According to Virginia Aldrich, one of the earliest graduates of the Utah Medex program, the role of the physician assistant has changed. Originally, the PA was considered an answer wtant Ready are. yoni in America's rural areas. Although PAs still practice in rural settings, the maldistribution of physicians has left gaps in inner cities and institutions. More and more physician assistants are working in prisons and big cities, where doctors cant be lured. Health maintenance organizations are hiring PAs in large numbers; in Utah, for example, Family Health Plan is the largest institutional employer of - PAs. Ms. Aldrich, who was a registered nurse before becoming a PA, practices in the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. Patients she sees in the cen- V , t i.l il i ter's clinic need physicals or medical evaluation of illness that might have been caused by exposure to a toxic substance in the workplace. She also handles some administrative duties at the center, teaches at the university and is involved in research in occupational medicine, a field she says will doubtless attract more PAs in the future. PAs, Ms. Aldrich says, are not the only intermediate level health practitioners that are changing the way health care is delivered. Nurse practitioners, for example, perform many of the same tasks as PAs. But the PAs dependent relationship with a supervising physician distinguishes them from nurse practitioners, who may collaborate with a doctor but maintain an independent practice. In Utah, PAs are regulated by the Physician's Licensing Board but are certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assisevtants. They must be ery six years and complete a mandatory amount of continuing medical education to keep their certification active in the interval. The services PAs may perform are largely dependent on their supervising physician. Mostly they perform routine tasks, leaving the doctor free to handle more complex medical problems. "They probably spend more time with the patients, educating them and counseling them, says Ms. Aldrich. Public acceptance of PAs has been good, research indicates. Ms. Aldrich says she has not yet been rejected by a patient. - . ' ' . 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