Understanding Colon Cancer
The Tancredi Colon Cancer Prevention Foundation wants you to understand the importance of colorectal cancer awareness. The topic of colorectal cancer is often difficult to discuss with your physician, and/or family members. We don’t want that difficulty, or the fear to discuss this serious issue, to stand in your way of preventing cancer from developing in your colon. A heightened sense of awareness surrounding colon cancer is required to be successful at preventing the disease.
As a courtesy to the public, the Tancredi Colon Cancer Prevention Foundation has provided basic, but very important, information about colon cancer, and the methods used to screen for colon cancer. Please use this information to educate yourself on the dangers associated with colon cancer, and the methods used to prevent it
Discuss Screening With Your Physician
While difficult to discuss with others, the topics of colorectal cancer awareness and prevention are very simple to understand. The information contained herein is not intended to take the place of dialog between you and your personal physician. Rather it is designed to encourage you to have open dialog with your physician on the topic of colon cancer.
We want you, your family, neighbors, and colleagues to know that colon cancer is preventable. Prevention is a matter of understanding the seriousness of the disease, risk factors that increase your chances of developing colon cancer, and the options that each and every one of us have to prevent it from happening to us, or those around us.
If you are age 50 or older or are part of another high risk group, request your physician to order a screening for colorectal cancer because what you don’t know, can kill you.
Promote Prevention
Please help the Tancredi Colon Cancer Prevention Foundation promote our important message that colon cancer is preventable with timely screenings. Even if you’re not part of a high risk group for colon cancer, chances are you know someone who is – a parent, grandparent, relative, colleague, or friend. When you pass on this information to those at risk, you may be passing on decades of additional life. If you think that statement is an exaggeration, I can personally attest that it is not. Both of my parents developed colorectal cancer, and died as a result of complications related to the disease. In both cases, colon cancer was preventable, but my parents chose not to have dialog with their personal physicians and to turn their heads to the early warning signs that cancer was present. My parents’ cancer didn’t have to happen. It was preventable.
What is Colon Cancer?
Colon cancer is a disease in which the cells in the colon or rectum become abnormal and divide uncontrollably to forming a mass knows as a “tumor”.
What Causes Colon Cancer?
The cause of colon cancer is unknown, but studies have determined that certain factors and conditions increase a person’s chance of developing the disease. These factors include, but are not limited to:
- Low fiber/high fat diet.
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Stress
- Use of tobacco products
- Family history
- Crohn’s Disease
- And Ulcerative Colitis
Who Is At Risk of Developing Colon Cancer?
It is possible that anyone could develop colon cancer. However, individuals age 50 and older are considered to be most at risk. In fact, the segment of the population represents 90% of colon cancer cases recorded. Younger individuals with a family history of colon cancer, or who have other bowel related conditions such as Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s Disease, have an increased risk of developing the disease.
What Methods Are Available To Screen For Colon Cancer?
Health care providers may suggest one or more tests for colorectal cancer screening, including a fecal occult blood test (FOBT); sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy; virtual colonoscopy; double contrast barium enema (DCBE); or digital rectal exam (DRE).
While each of these tests will offer varying degrees of accuracy, the most dependable exam is a colonoscopy. A colonoscopy is a test that examines the rectum, and the entire colon. This colorectal examination is conducted with a lighted instrument known as a colonscope. If pre-cancerous polyps are found during the examination, your gastroenterologist can usually remove the growths before they mature in to cancerous tumors. Cancerous tissue discovered during a colonoscopy can be biopsied so that further treatment can be recommended.
Because of the invasive nature of this test, patients too often are afraid of the exam and/or the negative stigma that accompanies the procedure. While the exam is invasive, carries risk of complications, and requires preparation, it is relatively painless, and is generally completed within a 30 minute span. The patient is usually sedated, or lightly anesthetized, and unaware that the procedure is being conducted. Once finished, the patient is awakened and informed of the test results.
Though no exam is 100% accurate, a colonoscopy is the most accurate screening method. Our motto is… “30 minutes of your day, could save you 30 years of your life!”
For individuals too fearful to undergo a colonoscopy, a relatively new procedure known as a “virtual colonoscopy”, offers a second and similarly reliable method of screening. The test is similar to a colonoscopy in that the physician examines the rectum, and the entire length of the colon, but does so in a minimally invasive way. The term “virtual” offers the best hint to how this relatively accurate exam is conducted.
Recently, the advancement of technology has made significantly detailed medical imaging much more accurate and affordable. In a virtual colonoscopy, the patient is still required to prepare for the exam by completely cleansing out the colon. However, sedation, or anesthetization is not required because a physical scope is not inserted in to your rectum or colon. Rather, the exam is conducted using sophisticated imaging equipment creating a 3-dimensional video of your rectum and colon.
Once the patient is imaged (similar to an X-ray or MRI procedure), a radiologist can simply examine the film of the colon as a gastroenterologist would during a standard colonoscopy. If a patient is found to have pre-cancerous polyps, they will be required to undergo a standard colonoscopy to remove the non-cancerous growths. If cancer is found, the patient’s physician will recommend follow-up visits and treatment. If the patient is found to be free of polyps or cancer, they will be free to go home, and their physician will inform them of the next recommended screening date.
Remarkably, virtual colonoscopy exhibits nearly the same degree of accuracy that a standard colonoscopy delivers. Most health insurance carriers cover the exam, and in most cases, a virtual colonoscopy is significantly less expensive than a traditional colonoscopy. The absence of sedation and medical team support members used during a standard colonoscopy result in the lower cost.
While which physician you choose to complete your virtual colonoscopy is your choice, the Tancredi Colon Cancer Prevention Foundation has partnered with Colon Health Centers of America, a company dedicated to Saving Lives by creating progressive, integrated colon cancer screening centers by creating progressive, integrated colon cancer screening centers across America. With an office already open in Delaware, CHC is dedicated to opening facilities across the country to provide optimal virtual colonoscopy services to as many individuals as possible. Even if you do not choose CHC to conduct your virtual colonoscopy, we strongly encourage you to visit their website to educate yourself on virtual colonoscopy. Simply click on “CHC”, and you will be directed to the website for further information on locations near you.
As discussed, standard and virtual colonoscopies are the most accurate methods of screenings. However, any screening method recognized by leading cancer-related organizations, even those with very limited accuracy, are better than no screening at all. Prior to be screened, we strongly urge you to thoroughly discuss your options with your physician to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each screening method. Also, we highly recommend that you use the accompanying links to assist you in the review of the different types of screening options available to you. Only you and your doctor can determine the method of screening that is appropriate for you, and at what age that screening should take place.
Disclaimer: The Tancredi Colon Cancer Prevention Foundation does not employ physicians, or other medical related staff, to certify the above information or recommendations. The information presented above is offered as a synopsis to provide the public with general information pertaining to colorectal cancer and methods of screenings. The above information was assembled using a broad base of resources including the National Cancer Institute, a part of the U.S. National Institute of Health. Questions regarding what screening method that is most appropriate for you should be handled directly by your personal physician. The Tancredi Colon Cancer Prevention Foundation, the National Cancer Institute, or any other organization linked to this website, will not be held responsible for the reliability of the information presented on this page, or the related pages of any websites linked to this page. The information here is presented as a courtesy of the Tancredi Colon Cancer Prevention Foundation to assist the public with basic information pertaining to colon cancer, and the methods used to screen for colorectal cancer.