Colon Cancer Survivor to Share His Story Today

Curtis Pesmen

Author Curtis Pesmen will discuss his personal experience in surviving colon cancer at a community education event Thursday, Oct. 20, at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center. The event is designed to empower and motivate those coping with the diagnosis of cancer, provide insight on how to navigate the fast-moving research and treatment landscape, and provide information about treatment options and the latest treatment advancements. Alan Venook, MD, professor of hematology-oncology at UCSF Medical Center, will join Pesmen in hosting the educational program and discussion. The event is free and open to the public. It is scheduled for 5:30 to 7 p.m. in Herbst Hall, 1600 Divisadero St., at UCSF Mount Zion in San Francisco. Pesmen is the author of "How a Man Ages" and the recently published "The Colon Cancer Survivors' Guide," which draws on his own compelling and inspirational experience of surviving the disease. He underwent a screening colonoscopy in 1997 that was negative, but four years ago received a diagnosis of stage III colorectal cancer.

"The Colon Cancer Survivors' Guide"

According to Pesmen, he wrote the survival guide to help the fast-growing population of survivors of the disease -- as well as their family and friends -- put colon cancer or its recurrence in its place and move forward with the power of new knowledge. The book will be distributed free at the event. Pesmen, who was the health/features editor of SELF magazine in the 1990s, helped develop the internationally recognized pink-ribbon breast cancer awareness campaign. An award-winning, seven-part series about his successful fight against colon cancer was featured in Esquire magazine in 2001 and 2003. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and second most common cause of cancer death in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 14,100 will be diagnosed with the disease in California this year, and nearly 5,500 will die from it. This year in the United States, an estimated 146,000 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed, and 57,000 will be fatal. For more information about the event, call 415/502-8351. UCSF is a leading university that consistently defines health care worldwide by conducting advanced biomedical research, educating graduate students in health care, and providing complex patient care. Source: Stephanie Levin Links: UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center