On July 20 in Portland, Oregon, Pearl Jam held a benefit concert for the Northwest Chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) to raise awareness for a disease no one likes to discuss. Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis twenty years ago and has gone public with what he personally felt for many years was an embarrassing disease.

McCready, a spokesperson for the NW Chapter of CCFA, said, "Having struggled with Crohn's disease for more than 20 years and experienced first hand difficulties in getting a diagnosis and treatment, I want to help others learn about the disease, how it is affecting them and how to find ways to cope."

UCB, a leading global biopharmaceutical company that recently launched Crohns and Me, an information and resource website for people with Crohn's disease, joined with CCFA, in sponsoring the Pearl Jam Portland benefit concert.

People suffering with Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, also known as IBD, often have cancer concerns. With an expert panel of gastroenterologists, statisticians and pathologists, The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America has published Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis: Understanding Colorectal Cancer (PDF document) to provide information for patients concerned about the risk of colon cancer.

Some of the key points in the publication:

• Some studies have shown as much as a five-fold increased risk in the development of intestinal cancer in people with IBD compared to the general population. However, more than 90 percent of patients with IBD do not go on to develop cancer.
• If there is a family history of colon cancer, both Crohn's and ulcerative colitis patients are at increased risk for colon cancer.
• For Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, the two factors that increase the risk for cancer are disease duration and the extent of the colon affected by colitis. The risk of colon cancer does not start increasing until eight to ten years after disease onset. Those with the entire colon involved are at greatest risk -- those with only part of the colon having colitis are at medium risk.
• Cancer risk is the same for patients with both inactive and active IBD. The extent of colonic involvement and the length of time since onset appear to be the important factors, not the amount of inflammation.
• Medications to treat IBD do not increase cancer risk. There is no known association between sulfasalazine, corticosteroids, antibiotics, immunosuppressives, antidiarrheals, and antispasmodic medications to the development of cancer. Some experts believe taking these medicines might lower risk of developing cancer.
• Symptoms of IBD are similar to early signs of colon cancer. If you have had Crohn's or colitis for more than eight to ten years, a colonoscopy with biopsies are recommended every one to two years.
• Dysplasia is a pattern of cells that is neither normal nor cancer. Of patients who undergo surgery because thay had dysplasia, less than 50 percent actually are found to have cancer. The experts state that the improtant thing to remember is dysplasia does not mean cancer.
  

The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America explains Crohn's disease as a chronic disorder that causes inflammation of the digestive or gastrointestinal tract caused by an abnormal response by the body's immune system. Although it can involve any area of the GI tract from the mouth to the anus, it most commonly affects the small intestine or colon. Crohn's and ulcerative colitis are the two main disease categories that belong to a larger group of illnesses called inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

To learn more about Crohn's, visit The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. You can learn more about benefit concerts and the activism of Pearl Jam here.