Writing — Long-form

Selected examples of my writing to communicate with audiences in the medical research, Seattle history and arts spaces. You can also read print media coverage resulting from my pitches.

Wrote and edited newsletter targeting cancer research study participants. (Photo and identifying text are obscured to maintain research guidelines on study participant anonymity.)

Medical research using study participant data

Protection in an Over-the-Counter Pill? NSAIDS and Colorectal Cancer (CRC)

 “I don’t take any pills. Can we skip these questions?”

We ask you those questions about medications at each interview because two recent studies – one of which uses information contributed by readers of this article --  show long-term use of certain over-the-counter pills can reduce the risk of dying from CRC.

Previous studies have shown using NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) can help protect people from developing new and recurring tumors. That use may also ”… translate into slower growth of tumors,” says Anna Coghill, a researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Research Center. And the longer one used the pills, the more effective the protection.

Coghill and Dr. Polly Newcomb, one of the lead scientists of CORE Family Studies/ Colon Cancer Family Registry, examined the information provided by people like you. They learned patients who used NSAIDs regularly before their diagnosis were about 20% less likely to die of colorectal cancer, compared to those who never used them. People with proximal disease (colorectal cancers found on the right side of the colon or in the part that crosses the abdomen) were most likely to survive.

This bit is important: cancer screening is less effective in finding proximal disease, and these patients usually have a lower chance of surviving their cancer diagnosis.

Coghill also analyzed data from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), the long-term study of women and colorectal cancer, cardiovascular disease, and breast cancer. The results strengthened the conclusions of her previous research. Women who’d taken NSAIDs before enrolling, and continued use for at least three years, were 30% less likely to die of colon or rectal cancer.

But before you stockpile ibuprofen, Coghill recommends consulting with your doctor first. While useful, NSAIDs can also affect your risk of heart disease, especially if you’re taking a COX-2 inhibitor like Celebrex.

If you would like to read a summary of Coghill’s latest study, contact us at: corestudies@fhcrc.org.

Introduction of specialty clinic to potential patients

A Different Kind of Inheritance

Even if you and a couple of your relatives have had cancer, it doesn’t automatically mean your children will develop the disease. But some people do inherit a cancer risk that’s higher than normal. And it takes some digging to find out the cancer risks in a family.

Searching for genes that might trigger certain cancers is one way the Gastrointestinal Cancer Prevention Program (GICPP) helps people stay healthy. Clinic coordinator Angela Jacobson says there are now several new genetic tests, and improvements to existing tests. “The tests are becoming more sensitive, and they can catch more mutations,” she explains. Finding more mutations means identifying an elevated cancer risk that might have gone undetected just two years ago – and provides a chance to reduce the threat in those people in the family who have an increased risk of cancer.

Some of the newer genetic tests look for evidence of Lynch syndrome (also known as hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer or HNPCC). Another inherited colorectal cancer is familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). 

However, most colorectal cancers are not inherited. And sometimes the genetic mutation can’t be identified. But the risk doesn’t disappear just because the genetic cause isn’t clear. That’s why the GICPP clinic relies on more than genetic testing to determine a person’s cancer risk.

The clinic provides new patients access to a team of cancer prevention experts: gastroenterologists, a genetic counselor, a nutritionist, and a gynecological oncologist, if necessary. During those discussions, the team will develop a cancer screening and prevention plan tailored to each person’s cancer risks and lifestyle.  Then the recommendations are shared with the patient’s primary care provider or gastroenterologist. 

Factors that make an individual high risk for gastrointestinal cancers include one or more of the following:

• Strong family history—two or more close relatives with cancer on the same side of the family, at least one of which is a gastrointestinal cancer

• Cancer before the age of 50

• Colon polyps before the age of 40

• More than 10 colon polyps, at any age

• Two or more types of cancer

• An abnormal result on a genetic test for a hereditary gastrointestinal cancer syndrome, such as Lynch syndrome or FAP.

The most important expert on the cancer prevention team, however, may be the patient. That person may become a sort of detective, collecting crucial information -- personal medical records like colonoscopy reports, tumor pathology reports and genetic testing results for themselves and their relatives. GICPP staff assist patients in completing the paperwork necessary to verify the patient’s and their family members’ cancer and colon polyp histories . Then the staff reviews these medical records, to make the most accurate cancer risk determination and recommendations for cancer prevention and screening.

The follow-up work can be daunting to some. But the clinic staff helps as much as they can. “We are typically able to help with insurance coverage or payment of testing, when the patient doesn’t have insurance,” Angela says. She also adds insurance companies are increasingly paying for a significant portion of genetic testing costs.

The GICPP clinic meets on the second and fourth Monday of each month. Appointments are usually booked two to four weeks in advance, to allow time for the person to collect records and verify family medical histories. If you’d like to learn more, call the clinic at 206-288-1024.

Historical archive article

Initiated and wrote historical article on behalf of Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute (now known as Langston Seattle). The intended audiences were: larger arts organizations (e.g., Seattle Art Museum) with intersecting arts programming, Seattle performing arts supporters, and African American affinity groups.