What is colon cancer?
Colon cancer is cancer of the large intestine at the lower part of your digestive system, otherwise known as the colon.
In most cases, colon cancer begins with the appearance of small, noncancerous clumps of cells, referred to as adenomatous polyps. Over time some of these polyps can mutate and turn into colon cancer. For most people polyps are small and produce very few symptoms, so doctors recommend regular screening tests as a preventative precaution.
What are the signs of colon cancer?
While in general, the signs and symptoms of colon cancer are very hard to detect, you should pay attention to a sudden change in your bowel habits, including prolonged diarrhoea, constipation, or blood in your stool.
Fatigue is also a symptom of colon cancer, but is very easy to confuse with other things, so you should watch out for sudden weight loss, or persistent abdominal cramps and pain. Instead of self-diagnosing though, if you’re worried about colon cancer, make sure that you call your GP to set up a screening test.
How can I reduce the risk of getting it?
While getting regular cancer screening is recommended, especially for the over 50’s, you can greatly reduce your risk of getting colon cancer by following these simple tips:
- Quit smoking
– Smoking? But doesn’t that cause lung cancer? While we all know that they aren’t referred to as “cancer sticks” for no reason, it might come as a surprise to you that smoking can increase your chances of developing at least 14 different types of cancer and is by far the biggest preventable cause of all of them. Smoking accounts for more than 1 in 4 UK cancer deaths and nearly a fifth of all cancer cases, according to Cancer Research UK. Smoking also interferes with the effectiveness of your workout, so it’s time to stub it out for good.
- Get control of your weight – Excess body weight, as defined by the body mass index (BMI) has now been linked to many diseases, among them colon cancer. Excess weight and obesity constitute the fifth leading risk for overall mortality and account for at least 2.8 million adult deaths a year. In Europe alone, around 11% of colon cancer cases have been attributed to obesity. Make sure you implement healthy eating habits into your lifestyle and that you exercise regularly.
- Get moving – Sedentary jobs are not just bad for your posture and circulation, but regular prolonged periods of sitting can actually increase your risk of colon cancer. So if you sit at an office desk all day long, sit to eat dinner, watch the television, and drive your car, try to get up and walk around often, as this can greatly reduce the risk.
- Avoid Antibiotics
– There’s been a lot of talk about the need for us to cut down on our reliance on antibiotics as we can decrease their long term effectiveness, but did you know that many antibiotics can actually change your gut bacteria and have harmful effects on your health? While studies about the direct link between antibiotics and colon cancer are still in the exploratory stages, you now have an extra reason not to reach for the antibiotics too soon.
- Cut down on your sugar intake – You’ve heard this before. Too much sugar is bad for you on so many levels, but as many Western countries begin to rely on food products that are heavy in refined sugars, so has the number of reported colon cancer cases increased, as high sugar intake can harm the health of gut bacteria.
While in some cases colon cancer may be hereditary, and in others, the causes are not determined, what is known is that high fat, low fibre diets, a sedentary lifestyle and too much sugar are all potential triggers. So reduce your risk of developing this life-threatening disease and get control over your health, body and mind at the same time.
