Colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer of men and women in the U.S., yet it is also the most preventable form of cancer. Studies show that more than 90 percent of lives could be saved through the early detection and treatment of colorectal cancer, says Dr. Mark Pochapin, Director of the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. But a mix of ignorance, misinformation,and embarrassment about the disease is killing people — many of whom would go on to live a full life if they had the right information and the right screenings.

A patient with metastatic brain cancer has become the first in the New York City area to receive the unique GliaSite Radiation Therapy System (RTS). A team of neurosurgeons and radiation specialists led by neurosurgeon Dr. Susan Pannullo performed this procedure at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Dead and dying nerve cells directly affected by stroke, other injury, or neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's are known to trigger cell death, or apoptosis, in their healthy neighbors. This cell death cascade is often more devastating than the original injury in terms of brain and spinal cord damage. But new evidence in an animal model suggests that these neurons could be saved.

Tourette syndrome is a rare neuropsychiatric disorder in which the patient is subject to random physical and vocal tics. At times, a patient may suddenly utter obscenities -- in a manner that is both embarrassing and frightening. Generally beginning in childhood, the disorder can disrupt normal life and can give rise to chronic misunderstandings.

Dr. Claudia Henschke, Chief of the Chest Imaging Division of the New York Weill Cornell Medical Center of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, is leading a statewide consortium of medical institutions in a large-scale study of early CT (computerized tomography) screening of smokers for lung cancer.

A new procedure has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to correct farsightedness. Laser Thermal Keratoplasty (LTK) takes less than three seconds per eye and involves no cutting or removal of corneal eye tissue.

Of the 13 distinguished healthcare professionals whom President Clinton has appointed to a new White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy, two are from New York Weill Cornell Medical Center: Dr. Joseph J. Fins and Dr. William R. Fair.

A research team consisting of scientists from the Department of Psychiatry of Weill Cornell Medical College and the Department of Psychology of Harvard University has launched a major study of the enigmatic form of mental illness known as "borderline personality disorder" (BPD).