Colon Cancer
Written by:Colon cancer is a malignant disease that affects the large intestine that can cause different clinical forms depending on its location.
Colorectal cancer is the second most frequent neoplasm in our environment in both sexes (after lung cancer in men and breast cancer in women). Each year 18,000 new cases are diagnosed. Its incidence is 31 per 100,000 population with a mortality rate of 18.5 per 100,000.
The risk of colon cancer increases with age, so that 90% of patients diagnosed with colon cancer are over 50 years old , with an average of 70 years.
Also, if the patient has a family history of colon cancer, the risk of suffering from it increases. This is due to genetic alterations that can be transmitted from generation to generation. In this way, people with a family history of colon cancer need early monitoring for the diagnosis of this disease.
Colon cancer symptoms
A colon cancer can occur in different ways from the elimination of blood per year or alterations in the depositional habit , and even alternating periods of diarrhea and constipation. A simple test like the stool occult blood stool can focus us towards its early diagnosis.
Prevention of colon cancer
From the moment the first anomalous cells begin to grow to form polyps, and later to become a colorectal cancer, it takes years. If we perform colonoscopies and remove these polyps completely, we will reduce the possibility of suffering from this disease.
People who do not have risk factors should begin periodic diagnostic tests at 50 years of age. However, people with a family history or other risk factors for polyps or colorectal cancer, such as inflammatory bowel disease, should be screened earlier .
