Cancer Resources

When it comes to reducing your risk of developing colon cancer, there is a lot of good news. This is a type of cancer that usually develops slowly, which means that there is time to take steps to prevent it or at least to detect it before it becomes serious.

One of the best ways to prevent colon cancer is through a healthy diet.

Eat more vegetable and fruits

If you eat three or more servings of vegetables a day, you can lower you risk of developing colon cancer. It is not clear why, but it appears that the folic acid in vegetables helps keep ceels healthy. Generally speaking, a serving is about half a cup of chopped vegetables or a cup of leafy greens.

Fruits and veggies supply a variety of essential vitamins and minerals, and also contain cancer-fighting substances known as phytochemicals.

After convening an expert panel that reviewed hundreds of epidemiological studies on dietary intake of fruits and vegetables, the American Institute of Cancer Research found overwhelming evidence that fruit and vegetable consumption reduces the risk of cancer. Continue reading ‘6 Steps to Beating Colon Cancer’ »

Age: Everyone can have colon cancer, fifty year old people and older are more vulnerable. Why? As people age, the cells don’t repair damages as well as younger people, and genetic mutations within the colon tissue may cause cells to have excessive growth activity.

Gender: Men and women can develop cancer of the colon, but men are a little more likely to get colorectal cancer.

Ethnicity: In the U.S., cancer rates are higher among Japanese-Americans, African-Americans, and non-Hispanic whites compared to other ethnic groups. Continue reading ‘Risks of Colon Cancer’ »

Fecal Occult Blood Testing (FOBT)

These laboratory kits cost about $10 and they are the most common colon cancer screening tests, although their effectiveness is being questioned. This test involves taking samples from two different parts of your stool, for three days, and spreading the samples on the testing paper. A recent study found a 33 percent reduction in death (in average-risk people) from colorectal cancer in the group having an annual FOBT test. Some of this reduction in risk could be due to colonoscopies that were performed due to false positive FOBT results. If you are opting for an FOBT as part of your annual physical exam, there are a few things you might want to know:

* Of all the different FOBT tests available, HemeSelect (an immunochemical test) has been shown to perform better than the others.
* The test is more accurate (avoiding false-negative and false-positive test results) when you abstain from taking aspirin and eating certain foods (red meat, some raw fruits and vegetables, and vitamin C supplements). Be sure to ask your doctor if there are any food guidelines he/she wants you to follow before taking the samples.
* It can still miss a cancer that wasn’t bleeding at the time or it can pick up bleeding for which no source can be found. Continue reading ‘Colon Cancer Tests’ »

Colon cancer is regarded to be one of the most lethal types of cancers that touches dozens of individuals each year. What makes it so intense is how tricky it is for people to know the symptoms and the ability for physicians to catch it when it is in the early phase. When found too late there is little to nothing that anyone has the ability to do to treat it.

One of the easiest ways that you can understand how to spot this disease early is to know the risk factors. This will help you to recognize whether you are regarded – by medical standards – to be a high or low risk. If you believe that you are high risk you need to have scheduled visits and screenings planned with your physician.

Age – Studies present that around 90% of people who have been diagnosed with this condition are fifty years or more. Yet, it is still manageable for younger people to have it – it is merely not as ordinary. Continue reading ‘The Common Risk Factors of Colon Cancer’ »

Often, colon cancer begins as a small cluster of cells known as “colon polyps.” While benign at first, some of these polyps may become cancerous over time. Doctors routinely perform a colonoscopy to check for polyps once a patient is over 50 and they may advocate the removal of polyps, if found. While there is no guaranteed way to prevent polyps from turning cancerous, doctors say that early colonoscopy screening and a healthy lifestyle are the best ways to beat this deadly cancer.

There are many important risk factors for cancer of the colon that makes someone a good candidate for colon cancer screening. Age is one factor, as about 90% of people diagnosed with this cancer are over 50. People are also more at-risk if they have ever had colorectal cancer, polyps, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, acromegaly (a growth hormone disorder) or radiation therapy as part of another cancer treatment. Some studies have shown that a greater risk exists for people who eat diets low in fiber and high in fat/calories, or diets high in red meat/processed meats. Obese individuals and smokers have an increased chance of developing and dying from this type of cancer too. As with most health conditions, genetics also play a role in many cases. Continue reading ‘Colon Cancer Polyps’ »

Cancer of the colon is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the USA and there are few preventive strategies available to help fight this scourge. Some reports suggest that a diet high in animal fats and proteins increases the risk for colorectal cancer; but recent evidence has refuted that theory. Other studies have shown that bioactive compounds found in plant foods such as spices may help to counter this disease. Licorice is the latest spice to be studied in this context.

Preventive drugs

One group of compounds that have shown to help prevent colorectal cancer are the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen and the cyclooxygenase (COX-2) inhibitors such as Celebrex and Vioxx. The only problem with these drugs is that they have frequent, severe side effects such as intestinal ulceration and cardiac toxicity. Licorice on the other hand has been found to aid in the healing of ulcers by inhibiting the ulcer-causing Helicobacter bacteria. Continue reading ‘Licorice – Colon Cancer Conquerer’ »

More than 95% of colorectal cancers come from adenocarcinoma polyps. These cancers start in cells that form mucus glands, which lubricate the colon and rectum. A polyp is a group of cells that form on top of each other and may eventually turn cancerous. Carcinoid tumors, gastrointestinal stromal tumors and lymphomas also cause 5% of colon cancers. Doctors say the best way to prevent colon cancer is to undergo regular screening tests after the age of 50 and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Before talking about colon cancer prevention, let’s talk a little about what colon cancer is, exactly. Both the colon and rectum are part of the digestive system. The first part of the digestive system, which is the esophagus and stomach, breaks down food to be processed into energy. Next, the broken down food travels to the small intestine/bowel, which is a narrow, 20-foot section that continues breaking down food and absorbing most of the nutrients. The small intestine then sends the remaining material to the five-foot-long colon (which is also referred to as “the large intestine”), where it absorbs salt and water and stores waste. The first part of the colon is the ascending colon, which is attached to the small intestine and the appendix on the right side of the abdomen. The transverse colon runs from the right to the left side of the upper abdomen. The descending colon travels downward on the left side and the sigmoid colon is an S-shaped portion that passes food matter down to the rectum, the final six inches of the digestive system, which will pass food out of the body through the anus. No one is really sure what exactly causes a colon cancer cell to develop in the first place, or why some experience a colon cancer recurrence, but research suggests a variety of lifestyle, hereditary and environmental factors are at play. Continue reading ‘Colon Cancer – Prevention Tips’ »

Colon cancer is also known as colorectal cancer. Colon cancer is considered a cancerous growth in the appendix, colon and rectum of the human body. This cancer is one of the deadly cancers and account for a huge number of deaths. This disease develops in 4 stages, each intense than the other. Early detection of colon cancer helps in curing the disease. This disease is mostly diagnosed through colonoscopy. Surgery is the main treatment for this disease, though number of colon cancer alternative treatments is available these days.

Smoking, drinking alcohol in excess, improper diet is considered the prime risk factors for this disease. There are several different tests available to detect this disease. Digital rectal exam, fecal occult blood test, endoscopy are some of them. For times surgery and chemotherapy have been the traditional treatments for this disease. These days, new colon cancer alternative treatments are available. Continue reading ‘Colon Cancer Alternative Treatment – 2 New Methods’ »

Besides the genetic link, other risks that have been suggested for colon cancer include ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, a history of smoking, excessive alcohol use, being overweight, a sedentary lifestyle, and a diet low in fruits, vegetables, and dietary fiber.

Minimize exposure to carcinogens

Not smoking and avoiding people when they smoke are big steps in the right direction. Avoiding carcinogenic chemicals and radiation will also help.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Estrogen replacement therapy (and estrogen in combination with progestin) is suggested to substantially decrease colon cancer risk in postmenopausal women. Although this conclusion is still controversial, researchers suspect that the hormone estrogen exerts a protective effect. This has not been proven and experts don’t recommend using it exclusively for colon protection. The suspected connection is that hormone therapy reduces the production of bile acids. Continue reading ‘Help Prevent Colon Cancer’ »

In the United States alone, 1 in 17 people will develop colon cancer. The colon spreads from your anus to your small intestine. The small intestine is about 4 feet long and twists and intertwines around other organs in the body. It digests and absorbs nutrients and helps to expel waste out of the body. Because the colon lies so close to other structures in the body, if colon cancer is left undetected, it can easily spread through the walls to adjacent structures such as lymph nodes and organs. Eventually, it can spread to organs that are farther away like the lungs.

Cancer occurs when cells transform and grow abnormally. This type of unhealthy growth overwhelms healthy cells and tissues by taking away the oxygen supply, nutrients, and space. This is why it is so important that cancer is detected at an early stage. Prognosis is better if the cancer is caught earlier rather than later.

Causes
As with any other type of cancer, the exact cause of why the cells begin to transform to unhealthy levels is unknown. Most forms of colon cancer are caused by clusters of these abnormal cells on the inside wall of the colon. This form of cancer usually occurs before the patient turns 40, but not always. Continue reading ‘Learning More About Colon Cancer’ »