Bayer Advertisement

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Michelle
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2006 11:28 am
Location: Quincy, IL

Bayer Advertisement

Postby Michelle » Wed Mar 01, 2006 11:38 am

I've been sick with my chemo treatments for a few days and resorted to the television for entertainment. When I saw an ad for Bayer I was disappointed and concerned.

The commercial refers to a colonoscopy as being the "hardest" of three things to do for your health. For me, the colonoscopy was the easiest part of this entire colon cancer adventure. I'm only sorry that I didn't do it earlier. I think it's very irresponsible of Bayer to portray colonoscopies as being anything other than easy. I would hate to think that their advertisement might cause a person to avoid a colonoscopy.

Anybody else concerned? Shall we bombard Bayer with letters, calls, and/or e-mails of protest?

Michelle

Guest

Bayer Ad

Postby Guest » Wed Mar 01, 2006 1:58 pm

From Edward

I agree with Michelle, once you have one colonoscopy the next five are easy. I think they hired an ad company and approved it. It should say get checked immediatly and aspirin isn't a substitute. This is their whold report:

NEW RESEARCH SHOWS ASPIRIN MAY REDUCE THE RISK OF COLORECTAL CANCER
Possible additional benefit from aspirin regimen use

A study published in the August 24/31 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that regular aspirin use (defined as 2 or more 325mg tablets per week) was associated with a statistically significant 23% reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer in a large cohort of women with no previous history of such cancer, who were enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and followed for a period of 20 years. The apparent benefit with aspirin use was substantially greater with increasing dose and long-term use (10 years or more), with the greatest reduction in risk observed at doses greater than 14 "standard tablets" (325mg tablets) per week.1

The study authors point out that the amount of aspirin required for a chemopreventive benefit may be higher than the commonly recommended dose for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. This supports findings from three earlier prospective trials that demonstrated that low-dose aspirin (81-325mg) appears to cause a measurable decrease in the recurrence of polyps (potentially dangerous growths in the colon) in patients with a history of adenomas or colorectal cancer.2,3,4 Earlier this year, a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology found that colon cancer patients who took low-dose aspirin regularly fared better after surgery, reducing their risk of disease recurrence and death by half compared to non-users.5 The results from these studies are part of a growing body of evidence of aspirin's promise in the prevention of various cancers, including those of the breast, stomach, esophagus, ovaries and prostate, as well as leukemia.

While research for aspirin use in chemoprevention to date is compelling, aspirin is not indicated for this use. Therefore, additional research is needed before aspirin is routinely recommended for this use. Furthermore, because this study indicated that aspirin can be associated with dose-related side effects, such as serious G.I. bleeding, conclusions regarding the benefit-to-risk relationship of the doses evaluated in this study also require additional research.

In 2004 the same group of authors reported similar results in a cohort of 27,077 women enrolled in the NHS studying the occurrence of precancerous lesions.6 The new data, based on a much larger cohort of 82,911 women, further supports the results reported last year by studying the incidence of cancer itself.

In the meantime, consumers are advised to consult their physician regarding their risk factors for cancer and appropriate prevention strategies. Individuals already on an aspirin regimen for cardioprevention are advised to speak with their doctor about additional benefits they may derive from their aspirin regimen.

As the makers of Bayer Aspirin®, we are committed to working with the scientific community to maximize the utility of aspirin as scientific support evolves. Bayer has provided support for numerous studies to evaluate aspirin's potential to address unmet health needs. Additionally, Bayer provides education and supports charitable organizations that encourage patient/physician dialogue about CVD risk and management.

About Bayer Consumer Care
Bayer Consumer Care, a division of Bayer HealthCare, is headquartered in Morristown, N.J. Bayer Consumer Care is among the largest marketers of over-the-counter medications and nutritional supplements in the world. Some of the most trusted and recognizable brands in the world today come from the Bayer portfolio of products. Bayer HealthCare combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Biological Products, Consumer Care, Diagnostics and Pharmaceuticals divisions. A subgroup of Bayer AG, Bayer HealthCare had sales of approximately 8.9 billion Euro in 2003 and employs about 34,600 people worldwide.


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1 Chan AT, et al. [Title}. JAMA 2005;294:914-923.
2 Sandler RS, Halabi S, Baron JA, et al. A randomized trial of aspirin to prevent colorectal adenomas in patients with previous colorectal cancer. N Engl J Med 2003;348:883-890.
3 Baron JA, Cole BF, Sandler RS, et al. A randomized trial of aspirin to prevent colorectal adenomas.
4 Benamouzig R, Deyra J, Martin A, et al. Daily soluble aspirin and prevention of colorectal adenoma recurrence: one-year results of the APACC trial. Gastroenterology 2003;125:328-336.
5 Fuchs C, Meyerhardt JA, Heseltine DL, et al. Influence of regular aspirin use on survival for patients with stage III colon cancer: findings from Intergroup trial CALGB 89803. Presented at annual meeting of American Society of Clinical Oncology, May 17, 2005 (abstract).
6 Chan AT, Giovannucci EL, Schernhammer ES, et al. A prospective study of aspirin use and the risk for colorectal adenoma. Ann Intern Med 2004;140:157-166.





Additional Colorectal Cancer Information
The long term use of low dose aspirin is proven to prevent cardiovascular events. Additionally, preliminary research indicates additional, cancer chemopreventive benefits may accrue as well to such CV use. Additional research points to a possible aspirin benefit in a variety of cancers, including colorectal, breast, stomach, esophageal, ovarian and prostate cancer, and leukemia, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and turban tumor syndrome.

Excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the U.S. and it accounts for approximately 10% of cancer deaths. More than 140,000 new cases will be diagnosed in 2004. (American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org, “Detailed Colon and Rectum Cancer Guide: What are the Key Statistics?”)

Recent evidence for a possible role for aspirin in preventing colorectal cancer include:

Based on the findings of three prospective trials, low dose aspirin (81-325mg) appears to cause a measurable decrease in the recurrence of colorectal adenomas (potentially cancerous growths in the colon) in patients with a history of either colorectal cancer or adenomas. (Sandler et al, NEJM, March 2003, Baron et al, NEJM, March 2003, Benamouzig et al, Gastroenterology 2003 125; 328-336)


In addition, recent research based on the Nurses’ Health Study cohort found that regular aspirin use (defined as ≥2 tablets per week) was associated with a statistically significant 25% reduction in the risk of colorectal adenomas. (Chan AT, Giovannucci EL, Schernhammer ES, et al. A prospective study of aspirin use and the risk for colorectal adenoma. Ann Intern Med 2004;140:157-166.)
Africans Americans have higher incidence of death rates from cancer, including colorectal cancer and are also more likely to suffer from heart disease.

While the evidence for aspirin use in chemoprevention of cancer to date is promising, additional research is needed before aspirin can be recommended for regular use in groups at elevated risk. As the makers of Bayer® Aspirin, we have provided support for numerous studies to evaluate aspirin’s potential to address unmet health needs. Bayer is committed to working with the scientific community to maximize the utility of aspirin as scientific support evolves.

Consumers are advised to consult their physicians regarding their risk factors for cancer and appropriate prevention strategies including adequate fiber intake, smoking cessation, etc. The determination of who is an appropriate candidate for aspirin therapy and what, if any, lifestyle or other disease prevention measures are appropriate, should be made with a health professional.

Livestrong,

Edward

Terry Miller
Posts: 72
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2005 12:45 pm

Bayer

Postby Terry Miller » Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:01 pm

Hi Michelle,
I agree about the colonscopy. Had I known how easy it was perhaps I would have had one a few years sooner and been able to miss out on the colon resection. The only tough thing about the colonscopy is the prep and its downside is surely outweighed by its upside. The drugs are great... the only one I can remember is the first one when I looked up and saw the tumor and thought I was dreaming. When I awoke, my wife was in the room to share the bad news (it really turned out to be good news). I've heard of individuals having scopes with insufficient amounts of sedation...that would not be good. Colonoscopies are life savers.... there's nothing bad that I can say. I'm on the 5 year plan right now and when my time comes around, it comes around.
Best of luck with your treatments and I plan to email Bayer so they won't misrepresent a lifesaver that could discourage others from the test.
Sincerely,
Terry

ASTEPHENS33
Posts: 353
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:04 pm
Location: Seattle, Washington
Contact:

Thanks

Postby ASTEPHENS33 » Sat Mar 04, 2006 1:16 pm

I have not seen the commercial, but plan to email Bayer. I appreciate your being alert to this. We need to be ENCOURAGING to everyone to have a colonoscopy and not dissaude them by the difficulty or the possibility that an aspirin is going to be a substitute. Thanks for pointing this out.

guest

bayer commercial

Postby guest » Sat Mar 04, 2006 2:59 pm

I have been trying to catch the commercial and have not seen it as of yet.I can't imagine why they would do something like that! I have been seeing one from American Cancer Society encouraging folks to get colonoscopies.I agree with everyone here who said the test itself is nothing-I was out for mine.The prep is a different story but it is only for a short time.My daughter was smart,when she was doing prep she sent her husband to store for baby wipes and A&D Ointment.We passed it around when the rest of our gang had to do prep.It sure helped the problem and made it a little more tolerable!


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