Many patients do not recognize how important colorectal cancer screening is towards their overall health. Dr. Alla Weisz encourage concierge patients to learn more about Colorectal Cancer Prevention:
- Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States.
- This is true for both men and women. The risk is only slightly lower for women.
- According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 150,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer in 2019.
- More than 50,000 Americans will die from colorectal cancer in 2019.
Lifestyle Risks Associated with Colorectal Cancer
But there is good news as well. There are many lifestyle-related risk factors that you are able to change. Here are some of those factors that, if not corrected, will increase your risk:
- Overweight or obese (especially if you have a large waistline).
- Physically inactivity.
- Eating a diet high in red meat and processed meat, or if you eat meat cooked at very high temperatures (frying, broiling, grilling).
- Eating a low-fiber diet.
- Smoking tobacco for a long time you are more likely than non-smokers to develop colorectal cancer.
- Engaging in moderate to heavy alcohol use.
General Cancer Risks Important to Aging
There are also health factors/risks that you cannot change, but need to be aware of:
- Your risk goes up as you age. Younger adults can get it, but it’s much more common after age 50.
- If you have a history of adenomatous polyps (adenomas), you are at increased risk
- Having family members who have had adenomatous polyps (the kind of polyps that can become cancerous).
- If you’ve had colorectal cancer when you were younger, even though it was completely removed, you are more likely to develop new cancers in other parts of the colon and rectum.
- If you have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including either ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, your risk is increased. Especially if you have been diagnosed with dysplasia. If you have IBD, you may need to start getting screened for colorectal cancer when you are younger and be screened more often.
Important Facts About Risks
- About 5% of people who develop colorectal cancer have inherited gene changes (mutations) that cause family cancer syndromes and can lead to them getting the disease.
- The most common inherited syndromes linked with colorectal cancers are Lynch syndrome (hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer, or HNPCC) and familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). Women with this condition also have a very high risk of developing cancer of the endometrium (lining of the uterus).
- Your racial and ethnic background are also risk factors. African Americans have the highest colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates of all racial groups in the US. Jews of Eastern European descent (Ashkenazi Jews) have one of the highest colorectal cancer risks of any ethnic group in the world.
- People with type 2 (usually non-insulin dependent) diabetes have an increased risk of colorectal cancer.
Why Do I Need A Colonoscopy?
A colonoscopy is the best way to identify and prevent colorectal cancer. Preparing for a colonoscopy used to be an unpleasant ordeal that caused many people to avoid it. This is not true today. Modern bowel preparation is critical to obtaining an accurate study and is much less unpleasant and more efficient than it used to be.
As part of your overall health evaluation at Weisz Concierge Medical, your risk factors receive evaluation and advisement on how frequently you will need to undergo colorectal cancer screening.
Medical Screening
There is no other internal cancer in humans for which screening is more effective than colorectal cancer. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) gives CRC screening a grade “A” recommendation. This means that primary care doctors, like Dr. Weisz, offer it to all eligible patients.
In addition to structural exams such as colonoscopy, the USPSTF recommends several other stool-based tests that may be used for screening. The three most frequently-used types of screening tests are:
- Colonoscopy. Recommended every ten years for low-risk patients.
- Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT). Recommended every year.
- FIT-DNA Test. Sold in the US under the brand name Cologuard.
