How to prevent colon cancer?

Why is colorectal cancer a preventable cancer? Because 80 to 90 percent of colorectal cancers slowly evolve from a small polyp. Some gene mutations accumulate over time, and it takes an average of 5 to 10 years for a polyp to slowly turn into cancer, which means there is actually plenty of time to discover it or avoid it.

So how to prevent colorectal cancer?

The first is to avoid bad eating habits, eat less greasy, high-fat foods, and some pickled foods, such as bacon, pickled fish, processed meat, barbecue, canned food, or long-term consumption of pickles, etc. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as foods rich in dietary fiber, such as mushrooms, bamboo shoots, corn, brown rice, oats, sour jujube, etc. These things all contain more dietary fiber.

Secondly, we should pay close attention to the body's warning signs. Unexplained changes in bowel habits, alternating constipation and diarrhea, abnormal increases and decreases in bowel movements, and abdominal pain before and after bowel movements may all be early signs of intestinal health problems. For example, sometimes there is a feeling of urgency, when defecating, you want to defecate but can't, but want to defecate again after defecating, or your stomach hurts before defecation, but not after defecation, and sometimes you always feel that your bowel movements are not clean, etc. In other words, there must be something wrong when things are abnormal. If there is a significant change in bowel habits, even if there is no obvious blood in the stool or black stool, it should be taken seriously.

Changes in stool shape and color also need to be taken seriously. For example, the stool may suddenly become thinner, or some obvious grooves may be found on the stool, which should also be taken seriously. In addition, the easiest thing to find is blood in the stool. Many people think that blood in the stool is hemorrhoids, but in fact it is very likely caused by intestinal cancer or colon polyps. The blood in the stool of hemorrhoids is most likely a trace of blood in the stool, or blood dripping after defecation, but the bowel habits generally do not change, and most of the bleeding from hemorrhoids is still mainly fresh blood. If there is some dark red or jam-like blood in the stool, or mucus and blood in the stool, or stool and blood mixed together, it should be paid special attention, because if the intestinal cancer is not so low, the blood from it may pass through our intestines and bacteria, which will make the blood darker red or black. It does not mean that fresh blood is not intestinal cancer. If the cancer is very close to our anus, fresh blood may also be caused by intestinal cancer.

Another thing is that age is also very important. If you are over a certain age and there are changes in bowel habits and characteristics, you should pay special attention to it.

Third, a particularly important measure to prevent colon cancer is to have regular physical examinations.

First of all, during the physical examination, there is a simple examination called digital rectal examination, which is recommended. Because more than 50% of colorectal cancers in Chinese people are rectal cancers, and about 70%-80% of these rectal cancers are located at a relatively low position of 7-8 cm from the anus. 7-8 cm can be touched by our doctors' hands, and preliminary screening can be done through digital examination. Therefore, during the physical examination, the digital rectal examination must not be ruled out.

Secondly, when doing a physical examination, you must pay attention to the fecal occult blood test, because some colon polyps or colorectal cancer may not cause obvious symptoms, but because there is a small amount of bleeding, when you check the stool, it may show positive fecal occult blood. If you find positive fecal occult blood, you should pay attention to it. Further examinations, such as colonoscopy, may reveal colorectal cancer or colon polyps.

Finally, some ordinary physical examinations may not include colonoscopy. If you are over a certain age, such as over 45 years old, or have some high-risk factors for colorectal cancer, it is very necessary to add a colonoscopy during the physical examination, because colonoscopy is the gold standard for diagnosing colorectal cancer. Through colonoscopy, the entire intestine is checked, and if lesions are found, a biopsy is taken in time, and a pathological examination is performed to determine whether there is a risk. Moreover, if polyps are found during colonoscopy, they can be removed in time, which can further reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.

If you detect colorectal cancer early, your cure rate can be as high as 90% or more. Colonoscopy is an important means of preventing colorectal cancer. Through early detection and treatment, we can effectively reduce the incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer. Therefore, understanding and taking appropriate preventive measures are essential to maintaining intestinal health.

Author: Dr. Chrysanthemum Lin Guole Team

Reviewer: Wang Qiang, deputy chief physician of the Department of Gastroenterology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Produced by: China Association for Science and Technology Department of Science Popularization

Producer: China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.