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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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Colon cancer affects men and women with equal frequency, but there is a common misperception that it's a "man's disease". Colon cancer ranks as the third most common cause of cancer deaths in women and will claim the lives of more than 25,000 American women this year.
The good news about colon cancer is simply this: with proper screening, it is a treatable and curable disease. Screening procedures such as a colonoscopy, or sigmoidoscopy, provide doctors with a clear view of the digestive system lining so they can identify and treat abnormal tissue growth before the development of colon cancer.
Age: Age is the most important risk factor for developing colon cancer. As women grow older, their risk doubles every five years.
Other risk factors: menopause, family history of colon cancer or polyps, sedentary lifestyle, and a high fat or low fiber diet.
Cancer history: Women with breast or uterine cancers also have an increased risk of developing colon cancer.
Healthy weight: In addition to regular screenings, adults can reduce their risks by exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT): Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in postmenopausal women decreases the risk of developing colon cancer by 20-45 percent.
Calcium: Taking supplemental calcium reduces the risk by 30-50 percent and decreases the development of recurrent polyps.
There are several screening methods for colon cancer including:
Doctors consider colonoscopy to be the most sensitive and accurate test and recommend it for all adults over the age of 50. For individuals at high risk, such as those with a family history of colon cancer, screening should begin at age 40.
Research conducted at University Hospitals of Cleveland indicates that even though colon cancer screening has been proven to be an effective tool for early detection, it still remains vastly underutilized in the United States. Researchers found that more than half of nearly 6,000 patients aged 70 and older, had a colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy or fecal occult blood test within only six months of their cancer diagnosis.
The study also showed that 94 percent of patients either did not have a colonoscopy, or if they did, it was not until the colonoscopy revealed cancer. This data leads researchers to suspect that most people wait too long before undergoing some form of colorectal screening.
This article was originally published in the March 2006 issue of Smart Health - Northeast Ohio's Health and Wellness Magazine Just For Women, and was adapted for use on NetWellness with permission, 2006.
Last Reviewed: Nov 15, 2006
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Gregory S Cooper, MD Associate Professor Ireland Cancer Center Gastroenterology Division University Hospitals School of Medicine Case Western Reserve University |
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