HORSHAM, Pa., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ — People living with
ulcerative colitis (UC) say greater understanding is needed about
the life-altering nature of this chronic inflammatory bowel disease
that affects approximately 500,000 Americans.  Data released
today from Voices of UC (voicesofuc.com), an
initiative developed to educate and raise awareness of the
condition, captures the dual perspectives of people who live with
the condition and the physicians who treat it.  These new
survey findings illustrate the physical and emotional toll of the
disease, as well as a disconnect in the way patients and physicians
discuss and manage the condition.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101008/PH77685)

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20101008/PH77685)

The Voices of UC survey was conducted by Manhattan
Research and is a collaborative effort between Centocor Ortho
Biotech Inc. and the Digestive Disease National Coalition (DDNC), a
non-profit advocacy organization comprised of the major national
voluntary and professional societies concerned with the many
diseases of the digestive tract. The 2010 Voices of UC
initiative is a follow-up to a 2005 survey to look at what has
changed and what struggles remain for people living with UC.
 While 10 percent fewer patients were hospitalized with
UC-related issues in 2010, some aspects of living with UC have not
changed. In fact, a full one-third of patients still get an
incorrect diagnosis before a doctor correctly identifies their
condition as UC, and getting the right diagnosis continues to take
well over a year.

Actor and program spokesperson James Van Der Beek, formerly of
the television programs “Dawson’s Creek” and “Mercy,” has wit

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