News Release

October 29, 2004

Contact: Maureen McGuire, 860-679-4523
e-mail: mmcguire@nso.uchc.edu

The Answer to Cancer

UConn Expert to Share Hopeful Message During Greater Hartford Jewish Book Festival

FARMINGTON, CONN. – Cancer is a formidable foe, but authors Carolyn D. Runowicz, M.D., and Sheldon H. Cherry, M.D., offer a hopeful, science-based approach in their new book, The Answer to Cancer, to help men and women lower their risk and fight back against this widespread disease.

The answer, they argue, is prevention.

Drs. Runowicz and Cherry will share insights from the book during the Greater Hartford Jewish Book Festival on Sunday, November 7, at 5 p.m. at the Greater Hartford Jewish Community Center on 335 Bloomfield Avenue in West Hartford. The program is free. For tickets, call 860-231-6307.

Dr. Runowicz is a nationally recognized expert in gynecologic oncology and director of the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center. She is also second vice president of the American Cancer Society and will become president of the national organization in 2005. Dr. Cherry, her husband, is a prominent gynecologist in New York City and is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.

“Prevention is the new frontier of cancer research,” Dr. Runowicz says, noting that the FDA has already approved drugs for cancer prevention and several large-scale, national studies are currently looking at new drugs and approaches to prevent cancer.

The Answer to Cancer places a strong emphasis on proactive steps people can take to lower their risk of developing cancer. This includes maintaining a healthy weight, eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day, exercising on most days of the week, and completing all appropriate cancer screening tests.

“We want to empower people and help them use the best scientific knowledge to optimize their health,” says Dr. Runowicz, herself a breast cancer survivor.

The book provides a primer on how cancer develops as well as detailed discussions about nine common cancers. For each of the cancers, Drs. Runowicz and Cherry spell out risk factors, causes, all necessary screening tests and preventive measures, as well as new and emerging chemopreventive therapies – using natural or synthetic substances, such as a nutrient or a drug, to keep cancer at bay or derail the disease process before it becomes invasive.

In the final section of the book, Drs. Runowicz and Cherry offer seven basic steps to improve defenses against cancer through their “Cancer Prevention Plan”:

• Quit smoking
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Eat at least five fruits and vegetables a day – and strive for nine
• Exercise most days of the week and incorporate exercise into your daily routine
• Practice safe sex
• Avoid overexposure to sunlight
• Schedule cancer check-ups
  

The Answer to Cancer is published by Rodale Books and is widely available in book stores. Previous books by Drs. Runowicz and Cherry include The Menopause Book: A Guide to Women’s Health After 40 and Women and Cancer: A Thorough and Compassionate Resource for Patients and Their Families. Dr. Runowicz is also the author of To Be Alive: A Woman’s Guide to a Full Life After Cancer.

The Greater Hartford Jewish Book Festival will run from November 1 to 15 and will feature more than 25 accomplished writers. Most events will take place at the Greater Hartford Jewish Community Center. For more information, call 860-231-6307.

The University of Connecticut Health Center includes the schools of medicine and dental medicine, John Dempsey Hospital, the UConn Medical Group and University Dentists. Founded in 1961, the Health Center pursues a mission of providing outstanding health care education in an environment of exemplary patient care, research and public service. To learn more about the UConn Health Center, visit our website at www.uchc.edu.

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