I. What is colorectal cancer?
Colorectal cancer is a malignant tumor that occurs in the mucosal epithelium of the colon (colon, rectum and anus) under the action of various carcinogenic factors such as environment or genetics.
Why most of the colorectal cancer patients are already in the middle or late stage when they are diagnosed? What is the difference in treatment results?
Some patients (or even doctors) mistakenly think it is benign disease such as hemorrhoids and dysentery when symptoms appear. Once the disease is not cured for a long time and cancer is suspected, the disease has already reached the middle or late stage. The five-year survival rate of early colorectal cancer can reach 90-95% after surgery (even under colonoscopy), while the survival rate of late stage cancer is only 10%.
What are the signs of colorectal cancer?
1.Blood in stool
Blood in the stool, mostly dark red, occasionally “bright red”, is often mistaken for bleeding hemorrhoids. Therefore, we remind our friends that they should not think that blood in stool is “hemorrhoid”.
2.Constipation, frequent bowel movements
Unexplained changes in bowel habits, more frequent stools (but less stools each time!) Sometimes diarrhea and constipation occur alternately.
3.Fine stools
The stool becomes thin, sometimes dry and “sheep manure-like”, sometimes the stool becomes thin and “flat” or “concave”.
4.Abdominal pain
It is mostly hidden pain, and the effect of treatment according to inflammation is often not good, sometimes a mass can be found in the tumor site.
5.Anemia
50-60% of right hemicolectomized colon cancers often show anemia (hemoglobin below 100g/L).
6.Obstruction
Due to the obstruction of intestinal cavity by tumor, some patients have different degrees of intestinal obstruction, difficulty in defecation, constipation, etc.
7.Anal pain
Some patients with low rectal cancer have anal pain during defecation, which is often mistaken for “hemorrhoids”.
8.High-risk groups
People with long-term high-fat and high-protein diet; people with familial adenomatous polyp disease, ulcerative colitis, hereditary disease Gnrdner’s syndrome; people with family history of gastrointestinal tumors; people who have had colorectal cancer or have adenomatous polyps in the remaining colon; people with history of schistosomiasis.
How can we get early diagnosis?
The main ways of early diagnosis are
1.Healthy physical examination. That is, regular screening for healthy people.
2.Actively treat pre-cancerous diseases. For example, adenomatous polyps of the colon and ulcerative colitis should be actively treated.
3. Genetic monitoring of immediate family members of colorectal cancer patients.
In particular, when the above signs of bowel cancer appear, one should immediately visit the Department of Anal and Intestinal Surgery or the Department of Oncology and perform fecal occult blood test, preferably colonoscopy, which is currently an effective means for early diagnosis of colorectal cancer.
It must be emphasized that many early colorectal cancers do not have symptoms, and one must not think that no symptoms means no disease.
V. How to conduct colorectal cancer screening?
”Screening” means regular specialized health examination (fecal occult blood test and colonoscopy). There are different examination requirements for different subjects.
1.For asymptomatic middle-aged and elderly people over 50 years old, they should have annual fecal occult blood test, and once the fecal occult blood test is positive, they should have colonoscopy immediately.
2.People with family history of colorectal cancer should be screened from the age of 40 according to the above method.
3.People with malignant tumor in their immediate family should undergo relevant genetic testing and necessary colonoscopy
4. Nowadays, colorectal cancer has a trend of youthfulness (the youngest patient with colorectal cancer admitted to the Department of Anorectal and Gastrointestinal Surgery of Guizhou Cancer Hospital was only 17 years old), therefore, those with family history of colorectal cancer should undergo the above examination from 20-25 years old.
How to treat colorectal cancer?
The most effective treatment method for colorectal cancer is surgery. In view of the anatomical characteristics of human colon, as long as the treatment is actively cooperated, the treatment effect of colorectal cancer is relatively good compared with the malignant tumors in some other parts of the body. The 5-year survival rate of early colorectal cancer patients can reach more than 90-95% after active treatment. Therefore, “colorectal cancer is not an incurable disease”. At present, “multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment + standardized individualized treatment” is the latest concept of colorectal cancer diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, even if you are diagnosed with colorectal cancer, as long as you have the right attitude and face it positively, you can get the best treatment effect by adopting comprehensive treatment, standardized treatment and individualized treatment mainly based on surgery! Of course, whether radiotherapy is needed after surgery depends on the depth of cancer infiltration, whether there is metastasis and the patient’s overall situation. At present, the latest model of colorectal cancer treatment: clinical diagnosis — neoadjuvant radiotherapy — surgery — adjuvant radiotherapy — regular review and follow-up!
7.Can colorectal cancer be prevented? How to prevent it?
Colorectal cancer can be prevented by
1. Etiological prevention.
①Establish good dietary habits. Bad dietary habits are the cause of colorectal cancer.
② Actively treat diseases that are prone to cancer. If colorectal polyps (especially adenomatous polyps) are found, they should be removed in time; if familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is found, it should be treated in time.
③ Genetic prediction of hereditary colorectal cancer. People with family history of colorectal cancer should receive genetic testing.
2.Early detection of colorectal cancer
Actively participate in regular screening. Regular health checkup is the most effective way to detect colorectal cancer at an early stage.
What kind of recipes are “healthy recipes”?
From the perspective of colorectal cancer prevention, the European Organization for Cancer Prevention and the International Union of Nutrition have made the following dietary recommendations.
1. Reduce the intake of high-fat and high-protein foods, and increase the intake of green leafy and root vegetables and fruits.
2. eat more starchy and fibrous foods (e.g. coarse grains, vegetables and fruits)
3, eat more fresh food, less pickled and smoked food, no moldy food, and less alcoholic beverages.
4, maintain an appropriate body weight.
5.The daily salt intake is less than 5 grams.