Bowel cancer can be tracked. Do it before clinical signs (always late).
Second leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer, colon cancer is 90% curable when early detected.
1) Epidemiology: Colon cancer and rectal cancer are malignant tumors that develop from large bowel mucosa. They are the most common digestive tract cancers.
Widespread in North America, Australia, New-Zealand, Great Britain; rare in India, Colombia, Senegal : 50 times more frequent in the US than in Senegal.
Even in the US, great variations : black Americans, native Americans, hispanics are more likely than non-hispanic whites to be diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer.
Third most common cancer in both men and women, third cause of death in both sexes. 170 000 Americans will be afflicted each year, 60 000 will die from it.
2) Risk factors:
- diet plays a vital role: high-fat and low-fiber diets can lead to colon cancer, while low-fat and rich-fiber diets protect the organism from tumors.
Obesity increase colon cancer risk among WOMEN.
- tobacco use is also not recommended.
- fairly heavy alcohol consumption appears to moderately increase the risk of cancer in the colon and rectum (Annals of Internal Medicine, 2005).
- pre-disposition factors do exist: there are hereditary syndromes (hereditary polyposis colon cancers).
3) Cancer growth: the tumors deeply invade the bowel walls, reaching successively the different layers of the colon membrane, the peritoneum, then the lymph nodes. Later, the metastases reach the liver, the lungs, the brain, and bones.
4) Symptoms:
- abdominal pain, diarrhea and/or constipation, sometimes alternating;
- bleeding tumor produces blood in stool, either red (low located tumor) or black (high situated tumor);
- sometimes: abdominal mass, abdominal pain, fever, weight loss, anorexia;
- jaundice with bowel obstruction, requiring urgent surgery.
5) Diagnosis of colon cancer:
- radiology: sigmoidoscopy, far better test is undoubtedly colonoscopy, either conventional or (better now, see below) virtual colonoscopy;
- biopsies;
- tumor marker assays: CEA, CA 19-9, CA 125.
The Hemocult (widely used) is not reliable, because frequently disadvantaged by chronic blood loss.
The most effective strategy includes :
1) ultrafast EBT body scanner, 64 slice CT scans, EBT better than more common spiral CT scans because extremely low radiation, (as performed by our partners :
-"Colorado Heart & Body Imaging", CO, Denver, USA, www.coloradoheart.com,
-"Lifescore", CA, San Diego, USA, www.lifescore.com,
-and the "Monaco Life Check Center", Monaco, www.monacolifecheck.com, EBT combines low radiation, high speed and high resolution to create unique pictures of the head, neck, chest and abdomen),
2) and cancer check-up blood test Cancersafe®test.
6) Treatment of colon cancer:
- surgery: for localized curables cases, depending on stage of tumor; and now keyhole, or laparoscopic, surgery is a safe option for the removal of tumors from the colon.
- radiation: used post-operatively;
- chemotherapy: to reduce risk of recurrence;
- radiochemotherapy.
7) Follow-up:
- clinical exams;
- colonoscopy, especially virtual colonoscopy;
- tumor markers assays.
8) Prevention:
- fiber rich diets;
- after 40, it is highly recommended to perform a colonoscopy (searching for polyps that can lead to tumors) every 3 years, and the tumor marker dosages.
About virtual colonoscopy July 2006
Virtual colonoscopy is a minimally invasive, safe and more comfortable procedure for colon screening. With this technique, 100% of the colon surface can be seen. It is estimated that physicians only see 70%-80% of the colon surface with conventional colonoscopy.
The qualities:
-minimally-invasive procedure;
-no risk of perforating the colon;
-short time examination (20-30 minutes as opposed to 2 hours);
-enhanced detection of polyps as small as 3mm;
-and because the preparation is more comfortable and agreable, and there is no patient sedation, you SHOULD do it asap. See "our partners".
Fight Against Colon Cancer Goes Virtual
“You can avoid the procedure, but not the consequences; we’re giving patients another option.”
- Dr. Michael Wright, LifeScore, San Diego
“Conventional colonoscopy has failed to lower colon cancer rates for one primary reason-it is not widely accepted by the public."
Dr. James Ehrlich, Colorado Heart & Body Imaging, Denver
DENVER –Traditional colonoscopy is unpleasant and embarrassing. Each year, hundreds of thousands avoid the colon cancer screening test – this year, about 50 000 people will succumb to a disease that has more than a 90 percent cure rate if detected early.
Two of the nation’s top experts in preventive imaging, Dr Michael Wright of San Diego, CA, and Dr. James Ehrlich of Denver, CO, are touting the use of FDA-approved “ultrafast,” low radiation electron beam tomography (EBT) combined with advanced workstations to visualize the large intestine simply, safely and noninvasively.
“ People are risking their lives just to avoid the traditional procedure”, says Wright, president and chief medical officer of LifeScore San Diego. We’re providing a proven, accurate and more palatable alternative to standart colon exams”.
“Traditional colonoscopy has been a failure of acceptance”, says Ehrlich, medical director and founder of Colorado Heart & Body Imaging in Denver. “It is an important preventive procedure that, tragically, attracts too few people nationwide.”
· Less than 30 percent of “at risk” Americans are getting any type of colon screening.
· Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the US (after lung cancer).
· About 50,000 Americans die each year from colon cancer.
Both doctors operate imaging centers that offer the new technology, which they say will pave the way for more effectively dealing with one of the nation’s deadliest, yet more preventable, forms of cancer.
LifeScore of San Diego offers the virtual colonoscopy procedure. Wright is president and chief medical officer of the facility, associate professor in the Preventive Medicine Department at San Diego State University and clinical instructor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. He believes strongly in the value of this virtual alternative and predicts that insurance companies will eventually cover the procedure under the same guidelines it covers traditional colonoscopy, which is actually more expensive.
“Virtual colonoscopy sees 100 percent of the colon surface because of its ability to navigate in both directions and can always reach the cecum,” says Wright. “The patient undergoes a much milder bowel preparation, receives no sedation and can return to normal activities immediately.”
In addition to Colorado Heart & Body Imaging in Denver, Ehrlich serves as medical co-director of similar facilities in Houston and Washington D.C., and performs consulting at imaging centers nationally and in Europe. He says he is working closely with gastroenterologists to get more people screened.
Both doctors readily admit that there are circumstances when it is preferable for individuals to undergo traditional colonoscopy – a history of repeated polyps that need to be excised is a prime example. Patients need to be aware that conventional optical colonoscopy offers the capability of immediate excision of discovered polyps, an advantage its virtual “cousin” cannot claim.
Yet, the fact remains that hundreds of thousands of people still avoid screening altogether. Wright and Ehrlich believe that offering patients the option of a far more agreeable examination represents a tremendous advance and should save lives.
So, do it as soon as possible !
www.lifescore.com,
www.coloradoheart.com,
The above-mentioned tumor markers are part of the Cancersafe® test; performing this panel once a year is highly recommended.
You can also use our new ColonSafe®Test, less complete than Cancersafe, targeted just for colon cancer. contact us.
Cancer can be detected : do it NOW.
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