Screenings Key To Catch Colon Cancer

By Kurt Helin
Editor

This year, it is estimated that nearly 150,000 Americans will be diagnosed with Colorectal cancer, commonly called colon cancer.

More than 50,000 will die from it. That makes colon cancer the second leading killer among cancers (trailing only lung cancer).

“The good news is (colon cancer) is the most preventable form of cancer,” said Dr. Imad Shbeeb, a surgeon working at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. “We have the tools and technology. We can find it as a polyp when it is benign and we can prevent it from developing.”

The challenge is in getting people tested for it.

It is recommended people — from both sexes and all races — start being regularly checked for colon cancer at age 50, Shbeeb said. That should start even earlier for people with a family history of colon cancer.

“Screening should start at age 50, but half of the people in that age group have not had any screening test,” Shbeeb said. “If the disease is found early when it is benign or in the early stages, the cure rate is better than 90%. If it is found later, the cure rate drops to 50% and below.”

There are no symptoms for colon cancer until the disease is very advanced, which is another reason screenings are necessary, Shbeeb said.

“At this time, in this country, colonoscopy is the best way to detect and remove polyps,” Shbeeb said.

There are other methods that could find polyps — barium enemas, X-rays and the newer “virtual colonoscopy” — Shbeeb said. However, with any of those other methods, if any polyps are found, a colonoscopy has to be done anyway to remove them. With a colonoscopy, everything can be found and removed in one step, he said.

While the cure rate with the removal of polyps is high, it’s better yet if people never get them in the first place. There are diet and other steps that can help reduce someone’s chances of getting colon cancer in the first place.

That starts with eating more fiber — the average American consumes about 15 grams of fiber a day and doctors recommend having close to twice that much. What that means is eating more whole grain breads, more vegetables and things such as beans.

People who exercise regularly, don’t smoke and try to eat lean meats also have a lower risk of colon cancer, according to studies.

While eating more healthy foods and getting checkups seems like common-sense things, sometimes it is hard to get the word out. When Shbeeb does lectures to the public on the topic, he said he is surprised at how many people come up to him saying their doctor has never talked to them about colon cancer screenings.

“Many people just need to be made aware of this and bring it up to their health care provider,” Shbeeb said. “That’s why March was declared Colon Cancer Awareness Month, to help make people aware.”

More information about colon cancer can be found online in many places, including at the National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov.

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