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Colorectal Cancer: Not Just Grandma’s Disease

 
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Colon cancer is not only found in the older population iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Colon cancer is most often thought of as an older person’s disease. In fact, current screening guidelines for colon cancer begin at age 50 for people without a family history of the disease.

But thinking colon cancer only affects grandma or grandpa can spell danger for many young adults.

Colon cancer was once considered a rare disease for people under age 50, but since 2003, researchers have been observing a growing number of new diagnoses in young adults.

Researchers admit this is a puzzling and troubling upward trend, particularly since colon cancer rates among older people in industrialized countries have been declining since the late 1980s.

Public education campaigns and screenings are largely credited with lowering colon cancer, sometimes called bowel cancer, among older people in the United States.

But for someone in their early to mid-20s, 30s, and 40s, colon cancer is not routinely screened for and can be frequently misdiagnosed, sometimes with dire consequences.

Carol Carr of Glen Burnie, MD, was in her early 30s when she showed all the signs of colon cancer — unexplained weight loss, diarrhea, vomiting, cramping, iron deficiency, and extreme fatigue — but because she was young, doctors thought the symptoms was more likely caused by the flu, anxiety, or even a brain disorder.

After a battery of treatments failed, Carr saw a specialist who ordered a colonoscopy. The outpatient test found a stage II tumor that had blocked most of her colon and had grown through her intestinal wall.

Eden Stotsky-Himelfarn, a gastrointestinal surgical nurse at Johns Hopkins says her story is similar to Carr’s. Stotsky-Himelfarn was diagnosed with Stage 3 rectal cancer at age 26 after having tried doctor after doctor, and treatment after treatment.

Online, a person named Faith posts on the Cancer Compass message board, “I had a 24-year-old daughter with colon cancer. By the time she was properly diagnosed it had spread to almost every part of her body. Too late for any type surgery. They told us it was anorexia, But boy they were WRONG. She lived 16 months after the right diagnoses, 15 months of that was chemo. So please, if you feel you have cancer at any age, Please, get it checked."

Dr. Nancy You, an assistant professor in the Department of Surgical Oncology and Affiliate Faculty of University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Clinical Cancer Genetics programs studies non-hereditary colorectal cancer in young people.

She says nobody knows why colon cancer is increasing among young adults and right now, it’s difficult to know if current colon cancer research is even applicable to the younger population.

Dr. You was a presenter at the 2012 Colon Cancer Alliance Conference held July 20-21 in Baltimore, MD. During her address, she said it ‘s imperative that more wide-scale research on younger people is done to better understand the new patterns of the disease.

One difference is colorectal cancer can be deadly, yet patients under age 50 don't seem to be dying at higher rates despite the more frequent diagnosis, research found.

Early diagnosis for any cancer type is key, but Dr. You says younger bodies may also be better able to withstand treatment, leading to better outcomes.

While researchers look for hard answers as to why there’s a sharp increase among young people, some clues point squarely at lifestyle choices.

A 2009 study by American Cancer Society looked at factors possibly driving the colon cancer upsurge among young adults ages 20-49 without a family history.

Researchers say obesity — a major risk factor for colorectal cancer — and the consumption of fast food, including eating more red meat and less milk, an increase in tobacco and alcohol use, and a sedentary lifestyle could be playing a role.

The researchers note that between the late 1970s and the mid-1990s, fast-food consumption in the United States increased five-fold among children and three-fold among adults.

“A diet high in fast food is associated with both greater meat consumption and reduced milk consumption. Increased consumption of red and processed meat has been shown to increase risk of cancers of the distal colon and rectum, while milk and calcium consumption have shown to have a protective effect,” the study says.

American Cancer Society has more about colorectal cancer, including symptoms, treatments and prevention information. http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/ColonandRectumCancer/DetailedGuide/colorectal-cancer-risk-factors

The National Institutes of Health has more information for Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/aya

Lynette Summerill is an award-winning writer and Scuba enthusiast living in San Diego, CA with her husband and two beach dogs. In addition to writing about cancer-related issues for EmpowHER, her work has been seen in newspapers and magazines around the world.

Sources:

More Younger People Getting Colon Cancer. Baltimore Sun. Andrea K. Walker. July 29, 2012
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-07-29/health/bs-hs-colon-cancer-young-people-20120727_1_colorectal-cancer-colon-cancer-alliance-american-cancer-society

Cancer Compass Message Board. Faith: posted June 15, 2006.
http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,1145,0.htm

Increase in Incidence of Colorectal Cancer Among Young Men and Women in the United States. Rebecca L. Siegel, Ahmedin Jemal and Elizabeth M. Ward.doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-09-0186 Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev June 2009 18; 1695.
Abstract at:
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/18/6/1695.short

Study says colorectal cancer increasing in young adults. EurekaAlert! Retrieved July 26, 2012.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/acs-ssc060509.php

Reviewed July 31, 2012
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

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