colon rectal Cancer

Colonrectal Cancer and Obesity

By Bill VanBurkleo D.O. FAEP 

              COLORECTAL CANCER
    Colonrectal cancer is such an important subject, and so many people die from it, and it is one of the easiest to cure if detected soon enough..This cancer is the second most common  form of cancer in the U.S. It affects men and women in equal numbers. It is one  of the most responsive to treatment.
   The majority of colorectal cancers begin as small growths on the intestinal wall. They look like polyps. Most polyps in the colon are benign, but since we can't tell which are benign or which are cancer, we usually remove those  we find. These polyps usually bleed and it is  this bleeding that alerts us to a possibility of colorectal cancer. Any rectal bleeding,  even if you have hemorrhoids, should be investigated; especially in people  over the age of forty.
   There  seems to be some good evidence that colorectal cancer  is influenced  by diet. In those countries where they eat less meat and fat,  colorectal  cancer rates are lower. In Japan, the diet has plenty of fiber  and relative little fat. The cancer rate in Japan is half that of the U.S. When Japanese migrate  to Hawaii and the West, their children,  who  adopt  the American diet, develop colorectal cancer at the same rate as Americans.
   The keys to early detection are: 1) Everyone over the age of forty  have an annual checkup that includes a digital rectal exam. 2) Everyone over age fifty have  a stool blood test once a year. 3) Everyone  over  fifty  have their colon examined through a sigmoidoscope. If you have rectal bleeding, a  history of polyps in your colon or a close relative has had cancer,  you are at a greater risk for colorectal cancer.
   What  can you do to help reduce your risk? Well, a number of ideas  have been  suggested by research. The possibilities are: 1) Eat high fiber  diet 2) Foods such as cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi, and  cauliflower may reduce risk. 3) Yearly checkups...especially if you have rectal bleeding or frequent diarrhea, constipation or gas.


      OBESITY
  An  increase in body weight of 20 percent or more above  desirable  body weight constitutes a significant health risk. The chance of hypertension is twenty-nine times higher for the overweight. High blood cholesterol, in the young (20 - 44), is 2.1 times higher in overweight than non-overweight. The risk  of coronary artery heart disease increases with increasing levels of obesity.
    There  is  an  increase  incidence  of  cancer   inverweightpeople...especially of the colon and prostate in males and of the  endometrium,  uterus, cervix, and gallbladder in females. Diabetes is 2.9  times higher in the overweight. 80 percent of Type II diabetics are obese. Obesity  affects longevity (how long one lives). One study  revealed  that  the  mortality  (death) rate for non-smoking men that were only 9  percent  over their  desirable weight was 3.9 times that of non-smoking men who  were  at their desirable weight. The findings for overweight women were similar. All studies  to  date indicate that weight reduction should  be  initiated  for anyone  with excess body weight over 20 percent of their desirable  weight. Weight  reduction may be life saving for people with extreme obesity.  This has  been  arbitrarily defined as weight twice the desirable weight or a weight that is 100 pounds over the desirable weight.
   Weight  reduction is highly desirable with any of the  following conditions: non-insulin dependent diabetes or a family  history  of  diabetes; essential hypertension; high triglycerides or high  cholesterol,  coronary artery  disease, gout or any type of heart  disease;  chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; or osteoarthritis of the spine, hips, or knees.

06-01-2008 10:11 Bill VanBurkleo Published in Health, Newsletter

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