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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.

How to Protect Your Flock in Connecticut From the Bird Flu

At Sub Edge Farm, food and water for poultry are kept inside to avoid attracting waterfowl.

Since March, avian influenza has hit 14 farms in the western and mid-western United States. So far, at least four million chickens and turkeys have died or been euthanized.

There are no bird flu cases yet in the northeast this year, but the Connecticut Department of Agriculture is advising poultry farmers and backyard flock owners to follow simple precautions.

Rodger Phillips and his family raise four types of poultry at Sub Edge Farm in Farmington and Avon. Phillips pointed them out during a recent visit.

"These are our pasture-raised broilers," Phillips said. "They're male chickens, and we raise them for meat. We do a few hundred of these guys a year."

Credit Lucy Nalpathanchil / WNPR
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WNPR
Toulouse goslings at Sub Edge Farm.

The broilers are pretty quiet compared to their companions in the pasture.

"Those are actually geese -- Toulouse geese," Phillips said. "We're raising them to be watch geese. They're supposed to be really good at alerting you of any dangers like foxes or coyotes."

The farmers also have two types of layers: hens and domestic ducks. Eggs are sold right on the farm.

When asked about bird flu, Phillips said he and other poultry producers in the state are worried. At Sub Edge, they try to follow good farm practices.

"Flock health is extremely important to us, so just keeping an eye on your birds," Phillips said. "We also limit who gets to walk into the pasture with the chickens, so if there's visiting farmers who might have something on their boots, we don't really let anybody walk in the pasture with the birds."

Credit Lucy Nalpathanchil / WNPR
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WNPR
Hens and roosters at Sub Edge Farm.

Dr. Mary Jane Lis is the state veterinarian with the Department of Agriculture. "Poultry owners -- they're the best protection their birds have," she said. "Avian influenza can be spread by wild birds, in particular waterfowl. We want to make sure people keep their poultry away from wild birds such as ducks, geese, and swans."

At Sub Edge Farm, they avoid attracting waterfowl by keeping food and water for their birds inside. 

Lis said poultry owners should also practice good hand-washing, and make sure clothing and footwear is disinfected before going into their bird areas.

Signs of bird flu include lethargic birds who no longer are interested in eating or drinking. Lis said if residents notice sick or dying birds, they can contact the state Agriculture Department to have them tested.

Meanwhile, the USDA maintains that the risk of humans contracting this bird flu virus is very low, and that the nation's food supply remains safe.

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