Colorectal cancer, which is considered a shameful disease, kills 10 people every year. Poles. Many would be saved by a colonoscopy, which is enough to perform once every 10 years – said the participants of the conference entitled To Tame Cancer, which took place on Wednesday in Warsaw.
The conference, supported, among others, by the wife of the President of the Republic of Poland – Anna Komorowska, was part of an educational campaign titled Tame cancer – and what do you know about colon cancer.
Many people prefer to avoid screening so as not to expose themselves to stress related to the risk of hearing the so-called difficult diagnosis. Meanwhile, cancer detected early is curable – said Dr. Janusz Meder, president of the Polish Oncology Union. He reminded that with each abnormal symptom persisting for more than 2-3 weeks, the doctor should first of all rule out cancer, and only then look for other causes.
We have – next to Hungary – one of the highest mortality rates from this type of cancer in Europe. The latest data from the National Cancer Registry show that in 2008, 14,6 thousand people in Poland developed colorectal cancer. people, including 8 thousand. men and 6,6 thous. women. At the same time, 10,4 thousand died. patients, and therefore the mortality rate due to this type of cancer is as high as 70 percent.
As prof. Andrzej Deptała, colorectal cancer has become one of the most common cancers. In men, only lung cancer is the more common cause of death (17 deaths annually). Colorectal cancer mortality has been increasing continuously for 50 years. While morbidity is rising in other industrialized countries, deaths are falling, largely due to better detection and treatment.
Colorectal cancer is still considered a shameful disease that it is better not to talk about. It is a very private part of the body – said Jola Gore-Booth, founder of the Europacolon patient organization.
Colonoscopy is an effective method for the early detection of colon tumors. If there has been no family history of this cancer, the first examination should be done in your XNUMXs. If parents or siblings were ill, they should be performed after the age of forty.
The test is repeated every ten years (every five years when polyps are detected). Small polyps can be removed during the colonoscopy, right after detection.
Stool occult blood tests can also detect colon cancer when it is not yet advanced. In the USA, such tests are performed every year.
When it comes to the prevention of colon cancer, dietitian Dr. Dariusz Włodarek recommends a diet with a lot of fiber, consisting mainly of unprocessed foods, with a limited amount of sugar and fat.
During the conference, there was a vernissage of posters devoted to colorectal cancer; The book A Zosia has a cancer on a leash was also presented, which was intended to familiarize children with the problem of cancer in children. (PAP)