Archive for November, 2009

Colon Cancer Symptoms and Signs – Education is Your Best Defense at Fighting This Dreaded Disease

Colon cancer has one of the highest occurrence rates, and typically appears in males and females who are older than 50 years of age. Some of the most effective methods of lowering your risks are eating healthy foods and getting immediate help from a physician if you notice any irregularities.

If you increase the amount of fiber you eat daily by only 3/4ths of an ounce, you can significantly reduce your chance of developing colon cancer and many other forms of intestinal disease. Increase your fiber by 3/4 of an ounce every day and you will dodge the horrifying results this disease can reap upon you and your loved ones.

While most people with an hereditary predisposition to this disease can’t prevent it from developing, healthy people can do their part to ward off the risk by following a good diet and making healthy lifestyle choices.

There are two main types:

The hereditary form of the disease, which results from genetically inherited abnormalities of the large intestine; and acquired or sporadic, which develops as a result of bad diet and unhealthy lifestyle.

This disease usually occurs as a result of polyps that form in different parts of the large intestine.

If someone in your immediate family has had this form of cancer, you need to get a checkup from a physician on a regular basis so that any irregularities can be detected early and increase your chances of remission.

It is recommended that anyone who is newly diagnosed with colon cancer should find educational resources on the subject, which are widely available either online or from a library.

Once it has spread, the cancer produces symptoms that cannot be ignored, such as blood in the stool, changes in bowel habits, fatigue, vomiting and nausea. During this phase, the disease is easier to detect and diagnose.

If you have been diagnosed with colon cancer you need to adopt a healthy lifestyle. If you are prone to this disease you must take charge of your health now. Educating yourself on the subject is your best defense.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Edmund_Kirkland

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Colon Cancer Causes and Risk Factors

You or a family member have been diagnosed with colon cancer and you want to know what caused this cancer. Doctors don’t know the exact cause of colon cancer, but they do know that it usually starts as small growths on the inside of the colon called polyps. These polyps can take years to grow large enough to be seen during a routine colonoscopy and then it takes several more years for those polyps to become cancerous.

While the exact cause of colon cancer is unknown, there are several risk factors that can increase your chances of developing this cancer. A risk factor is something that can raise the chances of you developing cancer or another disease. Some risk factors, such as age, cannot be changed while others, such as diet, can be modified and reduce the risk. The risk factors for colon cancer range from age to hereditary diseases.

The first risk factor for colon cancer is the most common. It is your age. Approximately 90% of all colon cancer cases are found in people over the age of 50. Many of these cases have no other risk factors, making this the most important factor in developing this cancer. This is why many doctors suggest getting a colonoscopy as part of your annual exam starting at age 50.

Another risk factor for developing colon cancer is your family’s medical history and any hereditary diseases that may affect the development of colon polyps. If a member of your immediate family (parents, siblings, or children) has had colon cancer, you are more likely to develop it. The risk depends upon how many relatives have had it, how old they were when they were diagnosed and if the history spans multiple generations. This is referred to as a strong family history of colon cancer and may be caused by genetic mutations. These mutations are more common in certain ethnic groups, such as Jews of Eastern European heritage. If this is your case, you may want to have a blood test to check for any genetic mutations.

These genetic changes can cause several conditions, such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), attenuated familial adenomatous polyposis (AFAP) and hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC). All of these genetic conditions can develop into colon cancer, if left untreated. These conditions are rare and few of the people diagnosed with colon cancer actually have them.

Your medical history also contributes to your risk of developing colon cancer. Your risk is higher if you have had any cancer in the past. Large polyps, even after removal, can increase your chances of developing colon cancer. There are also certain diseases that can increase your risk of colon cancer, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

The final – and easiest to change – risk factors are diet, exercise and habits. A high fat, high calorie and high protein diet has been shown to increase the chances of you developing colon cancer. This type of diet may also contribute to another risk factor, weight. Lack of exercise also contributes to your risk. You can minimize these three risk factors by making some simple changes such as eating more fruits and vegetables and beginning exercise. These two changes will help you lose weight and improve your diet. Smoking and drinking also contribute to colon cancer risk. Some studies have shown that smoking increases your chance of developing colon cancer. Alcoholics are also at an increased risk for colon cancer because of their alcohol consumption. Studies have shown that drinking more than 2 drinks a day increases the risk of colon cancer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

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Colon Cancer – Aspirin May Prevent It!

Maybe it’s the American love of red meat, maybe it’s genetics. Either way you slice however, colon cancer (colon CA) is in the public eye as one the most common types of cancer in the U.S. today. With over 130,000 new cases identified each year, your chances are about 1 in 6, of getting the disease sometime during your life. If you have a primary relative, parent or sibling, with a hereditary form of colon cancer, your chances of getting colon CA is much higher. How much higher? In some cases, such as colon cancer associated with Lynch syndrome, the chances of developing hereditary colon cancer from a genetic donor parent is a whopping 90-100%! (Lynch syndrome is only associated with about 3-5% of all colon cancer however). So, now that we have a group of patients with a known level of cancer predictability, we have news of a miracle drug that can significantly lower the risk of developing colon cancer. This drug is known as acetylsalicylic acid, or plain old aspirin.

After testing and following an 1100 person test group of patients with Lynch syndrome, researchers came to the conclusion that there was indeed a significant long term drop in colon and endometrial CA. Half of the group was given a placebo, and the other half was given a daily dose of 600mg of aspirin. That’s equivalent to two adult aspirin tablets. After about 2.5 years, the data showed no significant difference in the cancer rate, but after 4 years, there were only 6 cases of colon cancer in the aspirin group. That’s in contrast to the 16 cases of persons with Lynch syndrome, that took the placebo, and developed colon cancer.

There is some thought that aspirin acts as a COX-2 inhibitor, which is a similar action in some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain medications. COX-2 is a co-enzyme found in high levels in tumors and is involved in cell growth and cell division. Therefore if we stunt the cancer cell growth and division, we stunt the development of tumors. There is still a lot of research and studies to do before your gastroenterologist or oncologist will recommend this regimen for you, but hey, its only aspirin. People with cardiovascular disease take it daily in small doses, (81mg). There is a higher risk of bruising and bleeding with daily aspirin as it causes the your blood platelets to not be as “sticky”, but it just may be worth that risk. Who would have thought that this wonder drug invented in Germany in 1897 would have so many uses?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rich_D._Fan

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Moderate Exercise Helps With Colon Cancer – Prevention After Colon Cancer Treatment

Moderate and regular exercise substantially reduces the risk that colon cancer will return and patients currently undergoing treatment can improve their overall chance of survival.

This excellent news was reported by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists in a pair of studies published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in August 2006 but merit repeating because they show definite life prolonging impact by simple exercise in a life critical disease.

The researchers reported colon cancer patients who engaged in moderate exercise for 6 to 12 months after completing therapy had a 50 percent higher survival rate than those who didn’t exercise. The improvement took place in patients with very early and more advanced (but non-spreading) colon cancer. All patients had undergone surgery.

Jeffrey Meyerhardt, MD, MPH, [Dana-Farber] was the lead author and reported: “From previous studies we know that regular physical activity reduces the risk of developing colon cancer, but until now few studies have looked at the survival effect of exercise on people who have been treated for disease… While our work found a significant benefit for patients who exercise, it’s important that exercise be seen as a supplement to, not a replacement for, standard therapies.”

Results appear particularly robust because the two studies used different sets of data to arrive at their shared conclusion. Patients who simply exercised such as walking 6 hours a week were 47 percent more likely to be alive and free of disease than those who were less physically active.

Additionally, patients who increased their physical activity after colon cancer diagnosis had about a 50 % less chance of dying from colon cancer or from other causes than physically inactive patients.

Meyerhardt is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School: “As with any exercise program, people should check with their doctor before increasing their degree of physical activity… to reduce the chances that colon cancer will return after treatment, as well as for overall health reasons, regular exercise is a good option for survivors to consider.”

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_Goldner,_J.D.

Colon Cancer Treatment Options

The earlier colon cancer is detected, the higher survival rate increase. Colon cancer can be treated successfully with early detection so the best treatment of colon cancer is being checked regularly if you have a family history of it, fall under any of the risks factors for colon cancer, or are the age 50 or above.

Depending on the size of the cancer, location, overall general health, and in what stage the cancer was detected will play a factor into what type of treatment will be discussed with you through your doctor. The most common method of colon cancer treatment is surgical removal often followed by chemo or radiation is it is felt there is any risk of cancerous cells remaining. Surgical removal of cancer in the colon often results in a temporary or permanent colostomy. Your surgeon will remove the cancer from your colon along with a certain percentage of healthy colon on each side of the cancerous growth. They will then reattach the colon. In many cases, if the cancer is not caught at onset, the surgeon will have to remove quiet a large section of the colon leading to the need of a permanent colostomy bag. A colostomy bag becomes the new exit for your bodies waste. Sometimes a patient will have to wear a temporary colostomy bag to give the colon the proper time needed to heal successfully.

Chemotherapy or radiation may follow the surgical procedure if there is any chance that cancer cells were missed or thought to be in other areas of your body. Chemotherapy medications are administered either through an IV or through a pill form. The medication kills and controls cancerous cells. If colon cancer is caught at early onset, and presents very small and isolated, your doctor may consider using just chemotherapy or radiation to eliminate the cancer.

Radiation therapy uses ionizing radiation to control malignant cancer cells either before or after surgery, or both. It can also be done solely if the colon cancer is caught early. Before surgery, it is generally used to control and/or minimize the size of the tumor to make removal of the tumor easier. After surgery it s used to eradicate any existing cancer cells that may still be present. The ionized radiation is applied directly to the tumor and a small amount of the surrounding healthy tissue to ensure that the entire tumor is treated.

Biological therapy is also being offered to patients with colon cancer. It is still on a research basis treatment; however, researches have been seeing significant results. Biologic therapy works with your body’s immune system to eliminate cancer cells. Currently there are several different types of biological therapy being tested including interferons, interleukins, colony stimulating factors, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, gene therapy, and nonspecific immune-modulating agents. Biological therapy can be used in conjunction of more traditional means of therapy, or depending on the stage of colon cancer, it can be used solely. The different types of biologic therapies, in theory, are a means to wake up your own immune system to recognize the cancer cells as being a foreign object in your system and fight them off much like your immune system does when you get a virus. Most of the biologic therapies are used to stop the growth of cancer cells, or control or suppress the growth.

If faced with colon cancer, educate yourself to all of the options available to you and discuss them in detail with your doctor. If you fall in the risk factors of colon cancer such as over the age of 50, previous history of cancer, family history, or other colon/rectal related problems make sure you get regular check ups. Early detection is essential in the battle of colon cancer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=George_Edmondson

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