UAB Radiation Oncology, Rays of Hope Volume 5 issue 1 | Page 15

GI TEAM
CLINICAL SPOTLIGHT
A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR COLORECTAL CANCER CARE
Dr. Rojymon Jacob Joins Multi-Disciplinary GI Team
Team Approach
On March 2, UAB Medicine hosted a Facebook Live event
where the GI Team answered questions about colorectal
cancer and prevention.  Dr. Jacob said, "The idea behind
this team approach is to all work together to provide
personalized care for our patients and to maintain the
highest level of care."
The GI Team was also featured in The Scene: March 2018. 
"UAB Medicine's Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month has
been a huge success for raising awareness for the second
leading cause of cancer deaths in America."  Check out the
Facebook Live video from the inflatable colon and see a
slideshow of photos from this year's Colon on the Green at
www.oneuabmedicine.org.
By: Adam Kope | UAB News
People suffering from colorectal cancer now have a new,
less stressful way to receive treatment thanks to UAB
Medicine. The UAB Multidisciplinary Colorectal Cancer
Clinic — which officially opened Feb. 28 — will provide a one-
stop shop for cancer care.
Traditionally, patients with colorectal cancer — indicated by
malignant cells in the colon or rectum — would see multiple
physicians and specialists over the course of several days.
     "The format of the clinic will serve to provide the highest
level of care by developing individualized care-plans for
organ-preserving surgeries, high-precision radiation therapy
and state-of-the-art systemic therapies,” said Rojymon Jacob,
M.D., associate professor in the Department of Radiation
Oncology and scientist within the UAB Comprehensive Cancer
Center.
     “At the new clinic, patients will see multiple specialists in
the same day and will leave their initial visit with an
individualized treatment plan,” said Greg Kennedy, M.D.,
Ph.D., director of the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery and
John H. Blue Chair of General Surgery.      Most cases of colon cancer begin as small, noncancerous
clumps of cells called polyps, which are growths on the inner
surface of the colon. While most polyps do not become
cancer, almost all cancers start as polyps. Colon cancer may
have no obvious symptoms, which is why most doctors
recommend regular colonoscopies starting at age 50, and for
those with a family history of the disease, doctors recommend
getting screened even earlier.
     Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer
diagnosed in both men and women in the United States. It is
the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and
third in women, according to the American Cancer Society,
and it is expected to cause more than 50,000 deaths in 2018.      This is a multidisciplinary effort between the divisions of
Gastrointestinal Surgery, Hematology and Oncology and the
Department of Radiation Oncology. The clinic is seeing
patients one day a week on Wednesdays at the Whitaker Clinic
— a branch of the Kirklin Clinic of UAB Hospital
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