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Overview for Dietary and Lifestyle or Treatment info
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The second most common cancer affecting the UK population is cancer
of the bowel. If detected at an early stage, it is more curable than
others but unfortunately many patients leave it too late before consulting
a doctor. Part of the reason why this is the case was, put bluntly
by Price Charles who said that "bowels and bottoms" were not generally
the subject of conversation in most areas of the population, and therefore,
the possibility that something may not be right with this area is
not openly discussed.
The incidence increases with age and is more common in the over 50s.
The risk is about 1:50 and the familial incidence increase of one
other member of the family has it. There is not doubt that our diet
has something to do with the causation. Those whose diet is high in
meat and animal fats are more liable to develop it; whereas in African
and Asian populations, were the intake of fibre is high, the incidence
is low. There is also no doubt that molecular genetic abnormalities
can be incremented and as studies are much in vogue more precise details
will be determined in the near future.
Adenomatous polyps (benign polyps) are commonly found in the intestine;
about 10% of the population have them. These do carry the risk of
a change from the benign state to the malignant and this has been
related to the size of the benign polyp, ie the larger it is the greater
the risk. There is a condition, Familial Adenomatous poluposis (FAP)
in which the intestine is found to have hundreds of polyps. Prophylactic
coleatomy is offered in young adulthood. If undiscovered, the tumour
is proceeds to involve the intestinal wall, the blood and lymphatic
systems. This means that eventually the liver may become involved.
Unhappily, many cases reach this stage before being recognised.
What, therefore, must you look out for in your general health to alert
you to the possibility of having a bowel tumour?
- If your bowel rhythm changes for no apparent reason, that might
indicate a bowel problem. Many people believe that to obtain good
health the bowel has to be activated on a daily basis, even to the
point of using laxatives. This is not the case that most people
know what to expect from their bowel habit. If that changes then
it should be looked at.
- If blood is noticed in associated with a bowel movement that is
abnormal. however, it could be from a simple cause, such as haemorrhoids,
where the blood coats the motion. It the blood is intimately mixed
with the stool and happens regularly, then that is another reason
for attention.
- Other symptoms, such as colicky type abdominal paid can occur.
this probably being caused by the muscular wall of the intestine
contracting in relation to a tumour present in the wall. However,
this type of abdominal discomfort is common and does not mean that
a cancer is present. On feeling the abdomen a mass can sometimes
be felt in the right side, the side in which the appendix is usually
located.
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