This article is from WeChat official account:Pineapple factor (ID: checkpoint_1), author: pineapple, drawing from the title: the movie “Black panther”
Chadwick Boseman, the hero of the Marvel movie “Black Panther”, died of colon cancer at the age of 43. According to reports, he had been diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016. It was stage 3 at that time and then progressed to stage 4. After bravely fighting the disease for nearly 4 years, he unfortunately left us. This reminds me of my good friend Dr. Tom, who died of bowel cancer in his 40s after actively coexisting with cancer for many years.
The occurrence of cancer is full of randomness. The fate of Chadwick and Tom is embarrassing, but the reason why we remember them is because they lived out the breadth of their lives in a limited time, leaving the people and the world around them Valuable wealth. Each of us, the luckier, has no reason not to work harder.
1. Younger colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer is indeed worrying. Although 65 to 74 years old is the highest age, American researchers have found that the average age of colorectal cancer patients is continuing to decrease. More and more young people are suffering from this so-called “senile disease.”
(fried, grilled, etc.) may also increase the risk of cancer.
Excessive drinking. Alcohol is directly related to colorectal cancer, so it is recommended to limit alcohol intake, especially for women, no more than one glass of (360ml beer or 150ml Red wine).
In addition, smoking, obesity, family history, chronic intestinal inflammation, etc. all increase the risk of cancer.
Conversely, a diet rich in vegetables, fruits and whole grains can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, because high-fiber foods promote defecation, reduce waste and toxins on the intestinal wall cells and reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.
Studies have found that vegetarians have a 16% lower risk of colorectal cancer than non-vegetarians. However, the best diet for preventing colorectal cancer is not a vegetarian diet, but a vegetarian diet with healthy meats(such as fish, etc.). The Mediterranean diet, which has become quite popular in recent years, is a diet plan that is close to this kind of food.
3. Early screening for colorectal cancer
The occurrence of cancer is random. Even if you live a healthy lifestyle, you may be recruited. Therefore, screening becomes particularly important.
If there is one type of cancer, whether men or women, people at a certain age should be screened, it is colorectal cancer. In the United States over the past two decades, the incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer have continued to decline, mainly due to the promotion of colorectal cancer screening since the 1980s.
Why can colorectal cancer be screened effectively? Because it has a relatively clear pathogenesis and gradual deterioration process. The figure below shows the progression of colorectal cancer from early stage 1 to late stage 4.
It can be seen that the process of tumor canceration is a process of gradual expansion of the territory and finally metastasis.
Generally speaking, stage 1 colorectal cancer still stays in the original place, as long as it is removed by local means such as surgery, it is basically done. However, stage 4 colorectal cancer has broken through local restrictions and has spread to surrounding tissues and even other organs. At this time, the difficulty of treatment is greatly increased. Surgery alone is not enough, and systemic treatment is needed, such as chemotherapy, targeted drugs, and immune drugs.
Fortunately, the entire cancerous process of colorectal cancer is relatively slow. It takes an average of more than 20 years from the mutation of one cell to the beginning of abnormal growth, to a benign polyp, and then to advanced colorectal cancer. Therefore, the overall age of colorectal cancer patients is relatively older, and most of them are elderly people over 65 years old.
The slow growth of colorectal cancer also gives us a good opportunity for screening.
If the tumors that have not metastasized can be found within 10 years or even 5 years after the cells start to mutate, and they can be removed by surgery and other means, a clinical cure can be achieved.
The survival rate of stage 1 and stage 2 colorectal cancer is very high. What we want to avoid is stage 4 malignant tumors.
4. Gold standard: colonoscopy
An important question is here. How to do colorectal cancer screening? Is it a blood test for tumor markers?
No. The gold standard for colorectal cancer screening is colonoscopy.
The colonoscope is a flexible tube with a light source at its end.tion: none; “> Pineapple factor (ID: checkpoint_1 ), of: pineapple < /p>