2007年VOA标准英语-Doctors Give President Bush Clean Bill of Healt

By Melinda Smith
Washington
24 July 2007
 

President Bush recently (Saturday, July 21) had five small growths removed from his colon¹.  The growths, or polyps, were found during a routine colon cancer scan.  The growths were small and turned out to be benign² (non-cancerous).  Carol Pearson has more on colon cancer and research on new screening techniques. Melinda Smith narrates³.

Tammy Faye Messner

The same week President Bush had a procedure called a colonoscopy to see if he had any cancerous or pre-cancerous grows -- a well known American evangelical broadcaster died of colon cancer.  Her name was Tammy Faye Messner.

Mrs. Messner was on a popular CNN program shortly before she died. "When I leave this earth - because I love the Lord - I am going straight to heaven."

Tammy Faye Messner is one of 600,000 people who will die of colorectal cancer this year according to figures from the World Health Organization.

Colorectal cancer strikes the large intestine⁴ and the part of the colon that leads to the rectum.  It is the fourth most common type of cancer.

But, if it is caught early, proper treatment almost always leads to a complete cure.

Doctors removed five polyps, or growths, during President Bush's procedure.   Gastroenterologists say finding polyps during colonoscopies is quite common.

Dr. Roshina Rajapaksa

Dr. Roshina Rajapaksa, of New York University Medical Center, says, "We're really looking to stop colon cancer before it starts, so when we find a polyp, which is a pre-cancerous growth, we remove it so it doesn't have a chance to grow into a cancer."

She recommends people should have regular colonoscopies starting at age 50 and then every 10 years after that.  People who have polyps need more frequent screening.

In the United States, death rates from colorectal cancer have fallen.  Experts attribute it to earlier detection and improved screening.

Recently, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, found that proteins in the blood may identify the cancer. Scientists examined blood samples from seemingly healthy people before their colonoscopies and compared them to blood samples from people with colon cancer.

They used a particular protein as a marker for the disease and were able to tell -- with 100 percent accuracy -- who had the cancer and who did not. The researchers were also able to identify which seemingly healthy people had pre-cancerous growths.

A colonoscopy is currently the most accurate test for colon cancer. But a blood test may one day become another screening option.

1 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

2 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

3 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

4 intestine   

adj.内部的；国内的；n.肠

参考例句：

• This vitamin is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine.这种维生素通过小肠壁被吸收。
• The service productivity is the function,including external efficiency,intestine efficiency and capacity efficiency.服务业的生产率是一个包含有外部效率、内部效率和能力效率的函数。