The University of Kansas Health System is treating 122 total COVID patients today, up from 115 yesterday. Other significant numbers:
- 45 with the active virus, 43 yesterday
- 2 in ICU, 4 yesterday
- 2 on ventilators, 3 yesterday
- 77 hospitalized but out of acute infection phase, 72 yesterday
Key points from today’s guests:
Kayla Delich, rectal cancer patient
- Young mother in her 20s, thought she had hemorrhoids from giving birth
- Diagnosed with rectal cancer after a colonoscopy to find the cause of her bleeding
- Cancer treatment left her with permanent colostomy bag
- Feeling great today
- Colonoscopy is not scary and is a lot easier than chemotherapy and radiation
Dr. John Ashcraft, chief of colon and rectal surgery
- Number of patients in 20s and 30s with colorectal cancer rising rapidly. Not certain why, but processed foods, sedentary lifestyle and obesity may play a role.
- Symptoms include bleeding, unexplained weight loss, bloated belly
- A high fiber low fat diet can help prevent colorectal cancer
- Colonoscopy is the gold standard for diagnosing and preventing colorectal cancer
- Guidelines call for testing beginning at age 45
- Home tests such as Cologuard good if colonoscopy not available, but often catches things late in the game. Colonoscopy can both catch and treat the disease
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director, Infection Prevention and Control
- Many people missed colonoscopy screenings during COVID. Vital to make up now
- It’s good that COVID case numbers are down, but must continue vaccinations and boosters.
Wednesday, March 2 at 8:00 a.m. join our Chief Medical Officer Doctor Steve Stites as he puts on his professor hat, along with four other distinguished guests, to debut a new regular feature he's been working on for some time. In the first episode of Show Me The Science, we’ll show the results of clinical trials of two drugs to treat or prevent COVID. One has FDA emergency use authorization, the other comes with an FDA warning, plus warnings and/or restrictions by the World Health Organization, National Institutes of Health, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Plus, we’ll show you how you can enroll in a clinical trial on the use of ivermectin for treating COVID.
ATTENTION: media procedure for joining:
Zoom link: https://kumc-ois.zoom.us/j/7828978628
Telephone Zoom link: 1-312-626-6799, meeting ID: 782 897 8628
TVU Grid link: UoK_Health_SDI
Restream links: Facebook.com/kuhospital
YouTube.com/kuhospital
Send advance questions to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.
