How foolish some people are. Even when it means dying from a large bowel cancer at an early age. I`ve seen it happen many times over the years. So here are 10 points that can prevent this needless tragedy:
1) About 90 per cent of colon cancer occurs in people over 50. This provides ample time to detect and treat this malignancy.
But there is one big hurdle, and I鈥檝e heard friends and patients react to it over and over again. They respond: 鈥淵es, I鈥檓 going to have a colonoscopy one of these days.鈥�
Ninety-nine per cent of the time this means none of these days. And I鈥檝e seen some of these people die horrible deaths from this preventable malignancy.
2) Colon cancer usually starts in the inner lining of the intestine. A polyp, a fleshy growth, slowly develops, often remaining non-cancerous for years. But when polyps turn into cancer, 95 per cent called adenocarcinomas, by this time cancerous cells have spread to the liver and other parts of the body. Now, treatment is like closing the barn door after the horses have escaped.
3) Do not conclude you can wait until early symptoms appear and then consult your doctor. This is the same as trying to purchase insurance on your home after it鈥檚 been destroyed by fire. You can have an advanced malignancy without early symptoms.
4) The first warning sign (not early sign) of colon cancer and the most common one is rectal bleeding. Sometimes a small amount of blood will appear on the stool. Or blood from earlier bleeding which was not detected may give stools a tarry appearance. Or a large amount of blood will be present in the toilet bowl. On rare occasions, an enlarging cancer will cause intestinal obstruction.
5) The best way to diagnose a precancerous bowel polyp is by colonoscopy. A lighted flexible instrument is inserted into the rectum and gradually inched forward until it has explored the entire large bowel.
If a polyp is found, a wired loop is placed around it and the polyp removed.
6) Some patients who refuse a colonoscopy can use a test to check for blood in the stool that cannot be seen by the naked eye. But if the test is positive, it鈥檚 mandatory to have a colonoscopy. Never fool yourself that it鈥檚 as accurate as this procedure.
7) Many people refuse colonoscopy due to embarrassment and fear that it鈥檚 a painful procedure. Forget the embarrassment. If the president of the U.S. or the Queen can submit to one, so can you. If a few cramps bother you, sedation is available.
8) Colon cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the U.S. Only lung cancer causes more deaths. We do not have a reliable way to diagnose precancerous lesions of the lung, but we can detect precancerous lesions of the colon.
9) There鈥檚 no general agreement on when to have a colonoscopy. Ninety per cent of colon cancer occurs after 50 years of age. But since some begin earlier, I believe it鈥檚 prudent to have a colonoscopy in the early 30s. Moreover, since 10 to 15 per cent of colon malignancies occur in those with a close relative who has the disease, all the more reason to arrange for an early colonoscopy.
10) If I still haven鈥檛 convinced you that colonoscopy can save your life, what should you do? I鈥檇 suggest seeing a psychiatrist. After all, isn鈥檛 it reasonable to seek an answer for why anyone would refuse a sure cure for colon cancer?
