Bowel Cancer - Causes, Effects, Prevention

Bowel cancer is known in two forms colon and rectal cancer this cancer takes place in the large bowel of our body. Bowel cancer is a general term for a cancer that begins in a large bowel or large intestine (bowel is an organ below the stomach also known as the colon or large intestine). Bowel particles can grow and become large which can create a blockage in the intestine.

Causes:

Elderly:

One of the causes is age. Almost 9 in 10 cases of bowel cancer occur in people aged 60 or over. Diet is also a leading cause of bowel cancer for the elderly. A diet high in red or processed meats and low in fibre can increase your risk. More causes of bowel cancer include excess weight and lack of exercise.

Women:

The exact cause of colorectal cancer is not known, but certain risk factors are strongly linked to the disease, including diet, tobacco smoking and heavy alcohol use. Also, people with certain hereditary cancer syndromes or a family history of colorectal cancer have a high risk of developing the disease.

Family history of colon cancer or polyps. Having a parent, sibling, or other close relative with colon cancer or a history of polyps makes you more likely to develop colon cancer.

Men:

Men and women are equally at risk for bowel cancer, but men are more likely to develop it.

Also people who eat a lot of cholesterol and very less fibre are more prone to it.

Effects:

Elderly:

The most frequently absorbed effects on elderly people is hypertension, diarrhea and Fatigue other effects include bleeding rectum and cramps.

The age standardized rates of colorectal cancer in India have been estimated to be 4.2 and 3.2/100,000 for males and females, respectively, compared to 35.3 and 25.7, respectively, in the USA. Colorectal cancer is generally a disease affecting individuals 50 years of age or older. 90% of cases in India are people above the age of 60. 54.3% patients that are diagnosed with colon cancer, ages 60 above die from colon cancer . They die in about 2 or 3 years after they are diagnosed of the disease. 45.7 % survive and are able to live for another 5 or 7 years . If they are healthy enough or get luck they get up to 10 years.

Youngsters:

More than 16000 people below 50 are currently diagnosed with bowl cancer every year. There are 45 new cases each. 10 people die from this disease all over the world

Bowl cancer is one of the most concern cancer as more and more people are diagnosed because it The dead rates of bowl cancer overall cuts down in 1970 and 2016, the American cancer society tells that there has been 51% increase of bowl cancer among those under age 50 since 1994.

Women:

In its early stages, colon cancer may have no noticeable symptoms. When they do occur, signs of colon cancer in women tend to be the same as those seen in men, and can include: constipation, diarrhea, or other changes in bowel habits. blood stool or rectal bleeding.

Men:

If you’ve already had bowel cancer, you could get it again, especially if you had it for the first time before age 60.

Common Symptoms:

1. Abdominal pain
2. Blood in the stool
3. Constipation
4. Diarrhea
5. Decreased appetite
6. Weight loss

Prevention:

Now let’s talk about how to prevent bowel cancer as “Prevention is better than cure”.

1. First of all to have a healthy body you also need to have to eat healthy. Now be eat healthy I specifically mean a ‘High Fibre Diet’. This means no French fries or potato chips as these very low fibre foods which is not at all good for your digestive system.
2. Now if you already have a good diet but you don’t really go out then you better change. It is scientifically proven that physically active people have a lesser chance on developing bowel cancer as moving around helps digestion by a lot.
3. And last but not the least is to know your family history. This means that you should know if someone in your family previously had bowel cancer, smokes/used to smoke, or if he/she was overweight as your genes also play a big role in the development of bowel cancer.