• April 23, 2024

It is said that the friend must be close, but the enemy always a little more. Although definitely nobody would like to have the colon cancer as a close enemy, we need to know its secrets so that the knowledge be our best weapon of combat .

So if you have listened, have been told, have received suggestions and have even made recommendations regarding this silent enemy , this short article aims to demystify the mysteries that, in recent years, have hovered around this pathology.

1. Is my lifestyle decisive for having this disease?

Decisive not, but important yes. It has been seen that this type of Cancer it is more frequent in people who consume low diet in fiber Y delicious in grease , and it is not about red meat being bad, on the contrary, it is an important source of protein; the fundamental thing is not to abuse in the consumption of any product.

The colon cancer is more associated with the distribution of fat in the body, there is a strong association with the abdominal obesity , that's why the importance of diet and above all the exercise .

The smoking and the alcoholism they are bad for everything and the colon cancer is no exception. Although male sex and old age were risk factors before, we face an enemy that currently does not differ in sexes or ages.

2. Where is suspicion born?

Our main suspicion must be independent of the signs, I must ask myself, does anyone in my family He had colon cancer? Is the history of polyps ?

If you add any of the following to this: blood in stool , abdominal pain without explanation, evacuations that alternate frequently between periods of constipation Y diarrhea.

In addition to thinned stools or lost of weight significant in a short time not associated to diet or exercise ; it is clear to me that we change the term "suspicion" by "CAUTION" and urgently check us.

3. What is colonoscopy?

It is a study that is done under sedation (therefore it does not hurt) that allows not only to remove polyps (which often degenerate into Cancer ) but have an early diagnosis.

Currently, it is one of the main routine studies that should be performed under the minimum suspicion or family history of this pathology.

4. What do I do when they tell me: You have colon cancer ?

The important thing is to stage it, because treatment and prognosis depend on it. Should come immediately with a oncologist . The treatment varies between surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, et cetera.

5. Am I going to die?

Definitely the colon cancer is curable if it is detected weather , but what does this mean? As the title of this article correctly says, we are talking about a silent enemy , so waiting for the symptoms is a bad omen.

Detect to weather it means conducting studies of annual check up from the 30 years of age , with a specific focus on this condition, regardless of having a family history. "

The data center of National Cancer Institute's SEER reported the following survival rates for the colon cancer : 

  Stage Relative 5-year survival rate I 92% IIA 87% IIB 63% IIIA 89% IIIB 69% IIIC 53% IV 11%

The conclusion is that we should not create panic but we should preventive attitude , know the secrets of our silent enemy and fight it from the beginning.

And now that it has the bases, turn it into a desktop theme and help disseminate knowledge.