Vital verdict from the expert: Colon cancer at a young age!
Colorectal cancers are among the deadliest cancers. It is vital to intervene early in this type of cancer and to apply the right treatment. Ignoring the symptoms of colon cancer causes this disease to develop very quickly. Turkish Colon and Rectal Diseases Surgery Association (TKRD) President Prof. dr. Dr Ayhan Kuzu said of colon cancer: “There has been a 30 per cent increase in the incidence of colon cancer at a young age over the last 20 years.”
Experts state that colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women. In addition, experts emphasize that colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death in the list of diseases that cause death.
Speaking at a press statement on the occasion of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, which is held every March in the world and Turkey to raise awareness, TKRCD President Prof. Dr Ayhan Kuzu pointed out that the number of colon cancer cases under the age of 50 has increased by more than 30 percent in the last 20 years and said: “The cancer above the age of 50 in particular is gradually declining in the statistics of the Ministry of Health . . It also increases in cancers under age 50. This is also the case in Turkey. According to the Department of Health, colon cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women of all ages, while colon cancer is the second most common in people under the age of 50. That is why we must do something about its frequent occurrence.”
Emphasizing that, according to a study conducted in the US, those born in 1990 have a 2 times higher risk of colon cancer and a 4 times higher risk of rectal cancer compared to those born in 1950, Kuzu said: “There is a 30 percent increase in colorectal cancer seen at a young age in the past 20 years. When we examine these patients, cancer that is seen at a young age does not cause any complaints in 10 percent of the patients. The other 90 percent of these young people have a complaint, but they don’t go to the hospital, they put it off. If we look at cancer patients under 50, about 50 percent of them go to the doctor after 6 months, and about 70 percent of them come to us in an advanced stage. has passed beyond the intestinal wall and progressed to the lymph nodes.
Expressing that there are preventable and unavoidable causes of colon cancer, Kuzu continued his words as follows:
“Being advanced in age, having a family history of colon cancer or polyps in the colon, type 2 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease stand out as causes that we cannot prevent. If they are there, they already form a risk group. But the most important are the risk factors that we can change.
When it comes to risk factors that we can change, being overweight comes first. In one study, when body mass index increases by 5 kilograms per square meter, there is an increase in both men and women. This increase corresponds to an increase of 30 percent in men and 12 percent in women. If more than 5 kilograms gain per square meter, the incidence of colorectal cancer at a young age increases. Another reason is inactivity. There is a serious difference between those who are inactive and those who exercise. For young people, this percentage leads to an increase of about 15 percent.”
On the other hand, expressing that smoking has a serious impact on colon cancer, Kuzu added that the consumption of processed foods such as sausages, sausages and salami, packaged foods and low-fiber foods are among the causes of colon cancer.
Referring to a study looking at which races are most common among those under 50, Lamb said there was about a 47 percent increase in the white race between 1990 and 2014.