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Cancer Answers is hosted by Dr. Anees Chagpar, Associate Professor of Surgical Oncology and Director of The Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and Dr. Francine Foss, Professor of Medical Oncology. The show features a guest cancer specialist who will share the most recent advances in cancer therapy and respond to listeners questions. Myths, facts and advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment are discussed, with a different focus eachweek. Nationally acclaimed specialists in various types of cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment discuss common misconceptions about the disease and respond to questions from the community.Listeners can submit questions to be answered on the program at canceranswers@yale.edu or by leaving a message at (888) 234-4YCC. As a resource, archived programs from 2006 through the present are available in both audio and written versions on the Yale Cancer Center website.

University of Hartford Student Dies From Bacterial Meningitis

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A senior at the University of Hartford has died of bacterial meningitis. Patrick Chittenden died Friday, just two weeks away from graduation. 

Email and text alerts were sent out notifying University of Hartford students. The school has extended hours at the health center for those who are concerned they may have contracted the disease.

Bacterial meningitis infects the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Those infected experience flu-like symptoms, such as headache, fever, and vomiting. 

Dr. Ulysses Wu, chief of infectious diseases at Hartford's St. Francis Hospital, said bacterial meningitis has one tell-tale symptom. 

"With this particular bacteria," Wu said, "you can also get a rash on your trunk and extremities. If they have the rash, then most physicians have a high index of suspicion that it could be this."

Credit St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center
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St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center
Dr. Ulysses Wu spoke with WNPR's Ray Hardman.

Dr. Wu said the disease is treatable with antibiotics if caught early.

Bacterial meningitis is transmitted by saliva and mucus. That puts people in close contact with an infected person, like a significant other or a roommate, at the greatest risk for infection. Most colleges and universities, including the University of Hartford, require all freshmen to get vaccinated against meningitis, although some students may be exempt from the requirement due to health or religious reasons.

Patrick Chittenden lived in an apartment off-campus. His roommates and others close to him are being treated with a course of antibiotics as a precaution.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 4,100 cases of bacterial meningitis in the U.S. between 2003 and 2007. Five hundred of those cases resulted in death.

Ray Hardman is Connecticut Public’s Arts and Culture Reporter. He is the host of CPTV’s Emmy-nominated original series Where Art Thou? Listeners to Connecticut Public Radio may know Ray as the local voice of Morning Edition, and later of All Things Considered.

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