The Colon Cancer Foundation Launches Health Management and Patient Registry Tool in Collaboration with Backpack Health, a Konica Minolta Service

Media Contact: Cindy Borassi
borassi@coloncancerfoundation.org

Portchester, N.Y., November 19, 2020— The Colon Cancer Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is pleased to announce a unique partnership with Backpack Health, a Konica Minolta Service, to launch The Colorectal Cancer Patient Registry. This partnership allows colorectal cancer patients to securely track and manage their health data through iOS, Android, and web-based tools that enable easy sharing of medical information with health care providers, caregivers, and researchers.

Colorectal cancer patients need complex care to manage symptoms and eliminate the cancer from their body, often under the care of multiple specialists. Backpack Health’s secure mobile and web-based platform allows patients to streamline their medical information from different care providers, share with designated family members to improve care management, and reduce their burden of both managing health data and participating in research efforts to combat colorectal cancer.

“For people living with colorectal cancer, managing health information can feel like a full-time job. This partnership with Backpack Health will provide patients and caregivers a chance to have a stronger grasp on their diagnosis and treatment, which is really life-changing,” says Cindy Borassi, Interim President at the Colon Cancer Foundation.

By joining The Colorectal Cancer Patient Registry, Backpack Health users play an active role in their own care as well as research that can lead to newer treatments and improved quality of life for those affected by colorectal cancer.

The portable and concise nature of Backpack Health lends patients and their caregivers the flexibility of instant access to health records that can be readily shared with care teams via a Share Card. Additionally, the multilingual capabilities of Backpack Health’s platform can erase language barriers between health care providers, patients, and their loved ones.

“Backpack Health is excited to collaborate with The Colon Cancer Foundation, making it convenient and efficient for patients and their families to better manage and monitor their health, ” said Dr. Matthew Silva, Chief Executive Officer of Invicro and Board Member of Konica Minolta Precision Medicine. “We understand the importance and value to deliver useful and effective tools that can store, analyze, and share access to health records in real-time with providers and caregivers authorized by each patient.”

About the Colon Cancer Foundation

The Colon Cancer Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization registered in the state of New York and is listed by the IRS as a public charity. The organization is dedicated to supporting colorectal cancer research; educating the public about the importance of early detection, and forming strategic partnerships in the fight against colorectal cancer. The foundation offers those affected by colorectal cancer a platform to increase public awareness of colorectal cancer, while also working to lower incidence and death rates through public education, collaborations, and early-screening education. The Colon Cancer Foundation hosts annual events and challenges that seeks to raise money to support the foundation’s mission.

For more information please visit (www.coloncancerfoundation.org/) or connect with us on Instagram (www.instagram.com/coloncancerfoundation), Facebook (www.facebook.com/ColonCancerFoundation), or twitter (https://twitter.com/ColonCancerFdn).

About Backpack Health

Backpack Health, a Konica Minolta Service, builds secure, innovative information tools to help people manage their health journey — including wellness, illnesses, injuries, and chronic health conditions. The Backpack Health mission is to make it easy for everyone to access, own and control their health information to support better health care and attain better health for themselves, their loved ones and their communities. Backpack Health provides a platform for organizations to engage patients, collect up-to-date data and build communities around the globe. The platform also bridges patient connection and medical data gaps offering pharmaceutical sponsors data access to accelerate their drug development research and clinical trials for novel diseases. To assure data protection for its users’ information, Backpack Health complies with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), adheres to its data protection principles, and participates in the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks and the advice in the light of recent changes to these frameworks. Learn more at www.backpackhealth.com.

About Konica Minolta
Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) is a global digital technology company with core strengths in imaging and data analysis, optics, materials, and nano-fabrication. Through innovation, Konica Minolta creates products and digital solutions for the betterment of business and society—today and for generations to come. Across its Business Technologies, Healthcare, and Industrial-facing businesses, the company aspires to be an Integral Value Provider that applies the full range of its expertise to offer comprehensive solutions to the customer’s most pressing problems, works with the partners to ensure the solutions are sustainable, anticipates and addresses tomorrow’s issues, and tailors each solution to meet the unique and specific needs of its valued customers. Leveraging these capabilities, Konica Minolta contributes to productivity improvement and workflow change for its customers, and provides leading-edge service solutions in the IoT era. Headquartered in Tokyo and with operations in more than 50 countries, Konica Minolta has more than 43,000 employees serving approximately two million customers in over 150 countries. Konica Minolta is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, (TSE4902). For further information, visit: https://www.konicaminolta.com/.

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Benefits of a Shared Decision-Making Tool for Colorectal Cancer Patients

A shared decision-making tool is an approach that allows the clinician to collaborate with the patient in reaching evidence-informed decision making. This tool permits the patient and the physician to work together in order to make health care decisions based on the patient’s preferences and can ultimately strengthen the patient-clinician relationship. It plays a vital role in patient-centered health care, granting the physician and the patient an opportunity to be up with treatment plans together. 

According to the University of Utah Health Plans, shared decision-making tools have the ability to increase adherence to medical treatment, enhance decision making, which in turn will improve patient satisfaction. The significance of shared decision-making tools is reinforced by the chair of Population Health Sciences at University of Utah Health, Angie Fagerlin, Ph.D., who says, “If people don’t feel engaged in the decision-making process they are less likely to see the benefits of treatments. Instead, they may see them as a hassle and not fill their prescriptions or take the medications.”

The importance of a patient’s voice in regards to shared decision-making will help the physician gain a better understanding of their patient’s needs and preferences. The patient’s voice can be either active or passive.

  • The active voice is associated with the patient’s worries and what he/she requires in order to combat their disease
  • The passive voice is that of health-related information which is collected from the patient 

The patient’s voice is essential in terms of what he/she expects from their treatment plan. 

A couple of shared decision-making tools developed for metastatic breast cancer have enabled active patient participation in health care decisions. An example of such a tool is CONNECT, which is primarily used during a consultation between a physician and a patient. CONNECT is a computer-based communication tool that assesses the content covered during a consultation and treatment outcome expectations. A clinical trial evaluating the tool found that CONNECT made it easier for patients to participate in their respective treatment plans and therefore left them feeling more satisfied with the care they received. 

Patient Preferences for Prostate Care (PreProCare) is another tool that helps patient-centered treatment among prostate cancer patients. It allows patients to choose the treatment that they deem fit and that aligns with their values. This tool narrows down treatments for prostate cancer while giving patients the autonomy to choose based on their preferences. The tool works to identify the preferred features of prostate cancer treatments that will help in designing ways to help patients. The PreProCare tool improved patients’ 24-month satisfaction rate with care and decision and reduced regrets. 

 

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COVID-19 Continues to Impact Colorectal Cancer Surgical Care

As 2020 nears to a close, the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has reached its 11-month mark, leaving many aspects of human life at a continued pause. While rescheduling weddings and graduations is rather possible, immunocompromised individuals do not have the choice to place aspects of their health care on hold. Immunocompromised individuals fear that they will come into contact with COVID-19 at a hospital or medical clinic, forcing many to neglect treatment plans, screenings, or check-ins with their care providers.

Cancer patients make up a large portion of the immunocompromised population in the world. During a presentation at the European Society of Surgical Oncology’s virtual conference, Marco Montorsi reported that elective cancer surgery in Italy has dropped by almost 76%, and most outpatient clinics have been completely cancelled. Though this reduction of elective oncological procedures has largely been influenced by the public’s collective deterrence of any health care facility, surgical oncologists support the notion that it is possible to engage in a safe surgical procedure, provided appropriate COVID-19 guidelines are followed.

Research conducted at a university hospital in Lombardy, Italy, compared postoperative outcomes of 2019 colorectal cancer (CRC) surgeries to those conducted during the peak COVID-19 period in 2020. Published in the British Journal of Surgery, the study showed that compared to 2019, the procedures done in 2020 actually had fewer or comparable postoperative complications. In other words, the peak of COVID-19 pandemic (February 23 to March 31) in Italy has fortunately caused no new harm to CRC patients undergoing surgery. Additionally, the reported length of stay was reduced by one day, going from an average of four days in 2019 to three in 2020.

While the hesitation of undergoing elective health care procedures during the pandemic seems justified, it is important to decipher the risks and benefits of such a decision, especially for cancer care, considering the impact of timely interventions on disease outcome. The researchers from Italy developed an oncologic case prioritization guideline that outlines both patient priority scale and selection criteria in order to determine if surgery is a priority, or if therapeutic alternatives may be an option. The rankings of urgency include:

  • Red (urgent)
  • Orange (deferrable urgency)
  • Yellow (potentially curative cancer surgery without alternatives)
  • Green (available therapeutic alternatives without compromising outcomes)

Given that oncological surgical centers and hospitals are adhering to COVID-19 research-based guidelines, cancer patients have safe options for continued care and treatment. Patients are encouraged to discuss any concerns with their primary care provider.

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Initiate CRC Screening From Age 45!

The anticipated draft recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Task Force Services (USPSTF) is here…and it brought forth great news for the colorectal cancer (CRC) community. This independent panel of experts has proposed lowering CRC screening age for average-risk adults from 50 to 45 years.

The B grade recommendation means private insurance plans must cover this preventive service without the individual paying anything out-of-pocket (no copayment, coinsurance, or deductible). A key provision of the Affordable Care Act is that private health insurance plans must cover preventive health care services recommended by expert medical bodies without cost-sharing.

Members of CCF’s Medical Advisory Council welcomed this recommendation.

Judy Yee, MD, FACR Chair of Radiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, said, “The new USPSTF draft guidelines will help to increase screening in patients younger than 50. Specifically, for individuals between the ages of 45-49, the B rating by the USPSTF indicates that colorectal cancer screening must be covered by private health plans.” Dr. Yee is a proponent of providing patients the option of validated screening tests such as CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy). “CT colonography is a structural exam, like colonoscopy, and can find polyps before they turn in to cancer, which is an advantage over the stool-based tests. Knowing about all the options is important and ultimately the best test is the one that actually gets done.”

Kimmie Ng, MD, MPH, Director of the Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Center and Co-Director of the Colon and Rectal Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, told CCF, “45 is the new 50!” Dr. Ng strongly believes that the revised screening age recommendation “is hugely impactful, will change standard of care in preventive medicine, and lead to insurance coverage of screening for people starting at age 45. However, research must continue into what the underlying causes of young-onset colorectal cancer are, as this new guideline will not benefit the many patients who are diagnosed younger than 45.”

Cindy Borassi, Interim President of the CCF, said, “The Colon Cancer Foundation applauds the USPSTF for taking a step in the right direction by lowering the screening-age recommendation for CRC screening. With early-age onset colon cancer a growing concern in both the U.S. and globally, initiating screening at 45 years instead of 50 among individuals with an average risk of CRC will lead to earlier diagnosis, potentially before the disease progresses to an advanced stage, which can dramatically improve patient outcomes. This is a significant boost to our foundation’s promise of raising awareness of the importance of early detection of CRC.”

A study published in JAMA Network Open earlier this year that analyzed CRC incidence in 1-year age increments found a steep rise in incidence among people in their early 50s, reflecting the large number of CRCs detected during first screening, which would be at the existing recommendation of 50 years. The proposed recommendation by USPSTF, once finalized, will help diagnose these early-onset cases much before they progress to an advanced stage.

It is important to remember that these are draft recommendations and the USPSTF is inviting stakeholders to provide comments till November 23, 2020. It is imperative that the CRC community prepare to spread the message on early screening within the population and primary care centers once the final recommendation is released early next year.

USPSTF has proposed lowering the screening age for CRC to 45! Lend your support and send in your comments directly to USPSTF by November 23.

Send Your Comment to USPSTF

 

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Skipped Cancer Screenings: Racial Inequality, Coronavirus, or Denial?

As the nation moves towards a new era of inclusivity and diversity, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)’s fourth annual survey sheds light on racial inequality and other issues that influence cancer screening and health care access amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

ASCO’s National Cancer Opinion Survey is a largely accessible national representative survey conducted by The Harris Poll. The 2020 survey, conducted virtually from July 21st to September 8th, revealed that 4,012 U.S. adults aged 18 and older are suffering or have suffered from cancer in 2020 alone. ASCO President Lori Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO said that “this survey assesses Americans’ perceptions of a wide range of cancer prevention and care issues during a most turbulent time in our country,” with the goal of addressing these needs within the context of access to cancer screening.

In line with the national racial equality crisis, and the Black Lives Matter Movement, this year’s survey placed a focus on understanding whether race can affect health care access. The survey found that 59% of Americans are aware of racial disparities impacting the care a person receives, with a majority of these views belonging to those in racial and ethnic minorities.

Figure 1: The Impact of Racism on Health Care Access. ASCO’s National Cancer Opinion Survey found that the majority of racial minorities (including Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians) argue that racism impacts the care an individual receives.

71% of respondents belonging to the Black ethnic group believe that they are less likely to receive the same quality of cancer care as Caucasians, while only 47% of Caucasians seem to agree with this belief. This large divide between the opinions of the two groups potentially stems from the fact that Caucasians aren’t overtly subjected to racial discrimination when it comes to their health care rights and quality of care, and they may subconsciously choose to believe that it does not exist. It could also be due to the lack of adequate information surrounding the extent of racial disparities within health care. This unconscious ignorance seen within the large majority of the American population needs to be resolved so that the nation can move forward to incorporate racial equality in cancer health care access.

Another prominent issue that ASCO has raised is the unequal distribution of good health care insurance within the population—56% of Americans argue that the type of health care insurance influences the likelihood of cancer survival. Additionally, despite increasing evidence showing worsened cancer prognosis in racial minorities, particularly for those belonging to the Black minority, fewer than 1 in 5 (19%) Americans actively believe that race impacts cancer survival, with Hispanic and Black respondents holding these views more than Whites.  Dr. Pierce argues that “racism undermines public health,” significantly affecting those suffering from cancer. She also states that “for almost every cancer, Black Americans fare worse than other racial groups” and that “now is the time to address the systemic issue of health inequity that negatively impact the health of Blacks and other people of color.”

 

Another surprising discovery from 2020’s National Cancer Opinion Survey is that a hefty two-thirds of Americans have either delayed or avoided their cancer screenings due to fear surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. While pushing cancer screenings for a couple of months is not necessarily life-threatening, ASCO’s Chief Medical Officer Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FSCT, FASCO, is concerned that “a significant number of Americans might stop getting preventative care for long periods of time or altogether,” inevitably causing a drastic surge in cancer-associated morbidity and mortality. Though screenings may seem subjectively avoidable during a global pandemic, cancer can be well managed through screening—data shows that a majority of cancer-related deaths could be prevented with early screening and diagnostic measures.

Figure 2: Incorporation of Cancer Prevention Behaviors into Routine life. The National Cancer Opinion Survey conducted by ASCO consistently reports that a large proportion of the population do not include cancer prevention behaviors (usage of sunblock, healthy weight, and limited alcohol consumption) into their daily schedules.

Simultaneous to increased delays in cancer screenings, previous ASCO National Cancer Opinion surveys have also reported that most Americans are not incorporating cancer prevention behaviors into their regular schedules. For instance, less than half of the respondents use sunblock, maintain a healthy weight, or limit alcohol consumption, thereby increasing their cancer risk. While these cancer prevention steps may not seem that important in light of the current global situation, they are vital to reducing an individual’s risk of developing cancer. Therefore, researchers, oncologists, medical doctors, and other health care professionals strongly recommend incorporating these behaviors into daily routines.

To conclude, this year’s National Cancer Opinion Survey conducted by ASCO uncovers several issues within the American health care system, namely unequal access to cancer screenings due to racial disparities, cancer screening denial, and fear of developing COVID-19. In light of recent events and unprecedented circumstances, researchers and health care professionals now more than ever argue that it is imperative to proactively find solutions to these issues to better transform the future of the American health care system.

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USPSTF Draft Recommendation: Initiate CRC Screening at 45

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)—which is made up of an independent expert physician panel who recommend preventive care guidelines—has proposed initiating colorectal cancer (CRC) screening at 45 years for average-risk adults. This is a B grade recommendation. Screening for those between 50 and 75 years remains an A grade recommendation and screening for the 76 to 85 age group is a C grade recommendation.

An A grade recommendation means there is high certainty of a substantial net benefit, a B grade recommendation means that there is a high certainty of a moderate net benefit or a moderate certainty of a moderate net benefit, and a C grade recommendation means the service should be offered based on professional judgement and an individual patient’s situation because there is a moderate certainty of a small net benefit.

Task Force chair Alex Krist, MD, MPH, said, “Unfortunately, not enough people in the U.S. receive this effective preventive service that has been proven to save lives. We hope that this recommendation to screen people ages 45 to 75 for colorectal cancer will encourage more screening and reduce people’s risk of dying from this disease.” The Task Force has particularly recognized the disproportionately high number of CRC incidence and mortality among Black Americans and has urged physicians to offer this screening to their Black patients starting 45 years.

Both direct visualization (colonoscopy, CT colonography, flexible sigmoidoscopy, and flexible sigmoidoscopy with FIT) and stool-based tests (HSgFOBT, FIT, and sDNA-FIT) are included in the screening recommendation.

The draft recommendation is open for public comment till November 23.

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Why You Should Get Screened For Colon Cancer

Although a colon cancer screening might not sound like the most exciting thing in the world, it is still extremely important. There are far more reasons why you absolutely should commit to regular colon cancer screenings, than reasons not to. Here is an overview of the many compelling reasons why colon cancer screenings are something that you should be a priority.

The Benefits of Colon Cancer Screenings

Colon cancer treatment has come a long way over the years as continuous advancements have made it much more manageable when it’s caught early on. The key to beating colon cancer is knowing whether you have it or not as early as reasonably possible. By agreeing to colon cancer screenings on a regular basis, you can stay on top of things so that if you contract it, you’ll have the vantage ground of prescience.

Preventing colon cancer is of utmost importance because it plays such a key role in beating the disease.

They Are Easy to Perform and There Is Very Little Risk

One of the most commonly used forms of colon cancer screening is a colonoscopy. These procedures are relatively easy to perform with a very low risk of any adverse effects. Overall, the benefits of having a colonoscopy at regular intervals are much more favorable than the consequences of neglecting your screenings. It is recommended that people who are considered to be at average risk of contracting the disease should have a colonoscopy every 10 years starting at age 50.

It’s one of the rites of passage to middle age, and it’s nothing to worry about. Colon cancer screenings help to keep you healthy and safe by ensuring early detection.

You Owe it to Yourself and to Your Family

When it comes down to it, you owe it not only to yourself but also to your family to get screened for colon cancer. One of the most painful situations is one in which there is nothing that could have been done to prevent a potentially fatal disease. In these situations, when no amount of effort could possibly help it leaves families feeling helpless as they watch their loved one struggle in vain.

More painful still, however, are the cases in which the disease could have been prevented quite easily and wasn’t. It’s far better to undergo the mild discomfort and inconveniences of colon cancer screenings than to hope for the best and wind up hearing that you have only a few months to live. In these cases, loved ones can be unforgiving as they seek to place blame on someone in their grief. They will hold you at fault which only adds salt to the wound as no one will ever be harder on you in such a situation than yourself.

Let’s face it, no one knows exactly how much time on this Earth they will be blessed with, but by going to your colon cancer screening tests, you will gain precious knowledge that could save your life.

Does Your Family Have a History of Colon Cancer?

Folks who are considered to be of average risk of contracting colon cancer are encouraged to have a colonoscopy every 10 years or so. If however, someone in your family had colon or rectal cancer, you will be considered to be at a higher risk and will need more frequent screenings.

You should know that if someone in your family had colon cancer, it does not automatically mean that you will succumb to the same disease. Although you will certainly have a higher chance of contracting colon cancer at some point, as long as you’ve been going to your screenings you will be able to catch it early and defeat it much more easily.

For those of you who have had a family member with colon cancer, screening tests like colonoscopies are your safeguard against the disease. Don’t look at a colonoscopy as something to dread, look at it as a way to protect yourself instead.

On the surface, you might be thinking that you can’t afford to have regular colon cancer screenings. Fortunately, colon cancer screenings are exempt from co-pays under the Affordable Care Act.

 

 

 

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Patient Inhibitions A Significant Barrier to Colon Cancer Screening 

Numerous challenges present themselves when a patient chooses to get screened for colorectal cancer (CRC), but we know very little about why patients may opt-out of getting screened. 

A survey mailed to 660 patients aged 50-75 years old from the Virginia Ambulatory Care Outcome Research Network practices in June-July 2005 posed an open-ended question regarding what the most important barrier to CRC screening might be. Approximately 74% of the individuals who responded noted fear as the most important barrier to CRC screening. According to Nagelhout et al, one of the most common patient-reported barriers is fear, which was observed among 27.6% of responders. Other reasons included:

  • absence of physician advice
  • lack of time, lack of awareness
  • limited information

Patients’ outlook toward the screening procedure and the uncertainties surrounding it seemed to influence their decision to not get screened. Many individuals in the recommended CRC screening age range either lack awareness about why they need to get tested or they believe they don’t need to be screened because they feel ‘fine’.

Fear and anxiety concerning CRC screening is equally prevalent across different racial and ethnic groups. A series of studies suggest fear to serve as the most common barrier in CRC screening. Many patients expressed concern about getting infected with AIDS as a result of a medical device being inserted into their rectum. Several were reluctant to participate due to fear of anticipated pain, while others felt apprehensive about the preparation needed prior to a colonoscopy. Patients also expressed concern about being diagnosed with cancer after getting screened, fear of complications during the screening, and having an overall fear of getting a medical test done.

A significant gender-based difference has also been identified with respect to CRC screening. Women are far more likely to list fear as a barrier primarily due to negative past experiences pertaining to sexual abuse.

Health care providers need to gain a better understanding of barriers from the patient’s perspective, including psychological barriers, as well as what can be done to eliminate them. As noted by Jones et al, patients believe the motivation to overcome fears relies on how passionately physicians advocate for CRC screening. Patients felt that physicians should reiterate and express the importance of CRC screening while remaining empathetic. Above all, physicians need to be mindful that many patients may need to reach a level of comfort before they agree to be screened.

 

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Colon Cancer Foundation to Present at the 2020 Collaborative Group of the Americas Annual Meeting

The Colon Cancer Foundation (CCF) has been invited to present a poster at the 24th Annual Meeting of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancer. The event will be held virtually, November 14-15, 2020.

CCF will be presenting findings from its Early-Age Onset Colorectal Cancer Virtual Summit, held in April 2020, where researchers and cancer care providers shared their experiences with colorectal cancer (CRC)—particularly early-age onset CRC—care during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. With more than 323 attendees, presenters focused on changes in screening and surveillance policies, modifying oncological and surgical care, and using alternative care delivery models such a telehealth, among other things, due to the pandemic. Discussions also touched upon the importance of the emotional well-being of clinical care providers.

Be on a lookout for the full meeting report, which will be released on the CCF website in November.

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Colon and Rectal Cancer Can Be a Reality For Gen-X, Millennials, and Gen-Z

Colon cancer and rectal cancer, commonly grouped together as colorectal cancer (CRC), is on the rise among individuals under the age of 50, with the most notable increase observed amongst individuals aged 20-39 years, according to the American Cancer Society.

Recently, award-winning actor and “Black Panther” star, Chadwick Boseman, lost his 4-year long battle to colon cancer at age 43. Boseman’s tragic death provides an opportunity to convey the urgent message of how colon cancer can impact a young person’s health, even if they are younger than the suggested screening age for those at average risk–usually 50 years.

Colon and rectal cancer remain the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S., and the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer globally. In 2020, an estimated one million lives will be lost to CRC across the globe.

The main difference between colon cancer and rectal cancer is the location of the cancerous lesion(s). The last 12 centimeters of the large intestine is identified as the rectum, while the rest of the large intestine is classified as the colon. Differentiating between the two requires the help of a doctor and advanced imaging technology. Identifying whether a person has colon or rectal cancer is also important to identify the treatment strategy needed to fight the cancer.

Colon cancer has about a 2% risk of recurrence. Rectal cancer, on the other hand, has about a 20% chance of recurrence due to the absence of a protective layer called the serosa that exists in the colon. Rectal cancer even poses a greater risk of spreading to surrounding organs—a process known as metastasis. Metasis can complicate treatment as the cancerous cells break away from the original tumor and travel to other areas in the body, most commonly the liver. This process will also advance the cancer to stage IV, the most aggressive stage.

Recent trends indicating the steepest increase in incidence rates amongst younger age groups means young adults should pay careful attention to their gastrointestinal health. Though older age and aging are risk factors for CRC, colon and rectal cancers can both be attributed to varying lifestyle influences including diet, exercise, and alcohol consumption. Specifically, a low-fat diet high in fiber, fruits, and vegetables is best recommended for reducing the onset of colon and rectal cancer. Additionally, a colonoscopy is best recommended for identifying colon and rectal cancer and is often called the “gold standard,” due to the ability to prevent 90% of CRCs.

Most importantly, visit a doctor if any of the following symptoms occur as they may be a sign of CRC:

  • Sudden or unexpected weight loss
  • Abnormal bowel movements that last for more than a few days
  • Bloody or dark stools
  • Cramping or pain in the abdomen
  • Weakness or fatigue

Prevention and detection are simultaneous in most cases, which is why it is important to “check your butt” as early as you can!

 

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